Airlines are proud to claim that travel on modern fleets is statistically safer than road journeys. In 2017 there were no commercial airliner crashes.
Yet with horrifying regularity passenger jets come down during moments of heightened international tensions. As happened on Wednesday when the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot out of the sky above Tehran with all 176 perishing on board.
Such was the global anxiety over the Iran-US confrontation, the news took a long time to sink in.
The loss of the flight was at first presented as a technical issue. The news was subservient to questions over the continuing cycle of retaliation between Tehran and Washington.
Officials in Tehran must act swiftly to ease concerns over a cover-up since Wednesday morning
Tehran has only days later admitted that its armed forces shot down the aircraft due to "human error", after insisting that engine failure caused the incident. The country's ambassador to the UK apologised yesterday for a belligerent press briefing in which he insisted there was no human error involved.
The statement of responsibility came after the true horror of the loss of life was at last sinking in. The tragedy ranks alongside the 1988 incident in which the USS Vincennes mistakenly shot down Iranian Airlines 655 during a period of tension between Washington and Tehran.
There will hopefully now be a clear prioritising of the humanitarian considerations. A pause in the exchange of insults in the aftermath of mass death should now ensue.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, has tried to focus minds on the need to recover the bodies and gain consular access for grieving relatives. With 138 of those on the flight bound for Canada, his country has suffered an immense blow. A total of 57 passengers were Canadian, even as reports earlier stated 63.
Access to the black boxes will remain a huge issue. Fears stirred by the Iranian regime's orders to bulldoze over the sites of the crash linger despite yesterday's announcement.
The personal stories of those who died only came to light as the week ended. The young couple aged 25 and 26 who had only married seven days earlier. The man who lived because his ticket was ruled invalid but lost his wife on board the plane. The children that perished with their parents.
In a microcosm of the tragedy, the Canadian province of Alberta has suffered a disproportionate loss, particularly its academic life.
There is still a danger of a bitter fight to control the narrative. The downing of Malaysian Airline MH17 over the Russian offensive in Ukraine has left a toxic legacy. There the perpetrators claimed fake news surrounding allegations of responsibility. Ugly misrepresentations successfully muddied the waters in the wake of an attack.
The toxic history of the Iranian relationship with the US informs the situation.
Earlier in the week US President Donald Trump invoked the 52 US embassy hostages and warned Tehran against retaliation for the drone strike that killed the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s barbed retort to the White House tweet now casts a long shadow. Mr Rouhani angrily replied that the touchstone for Iran was 290, the number of passengers killed after the Vincennes incident in the Arabian Gulf.
Having admitted responsibility, Iran should heed the calls for swift access to the site of the crash. Ambiguities over the integrity of the black boxes can only be resolved by outside and independent inspectors. Allowing for the highest standards of investigation is the way forward.
The mourning relatives are already in a grieving process. If the lessons of past tragedies tell us anything it is that the quest for answers will last as long as impediments to investigation exist.
Iran already faces lawsuits around the world over its state-sponsorship of terror and policies of hostage taking. Courts in the US and elsewhere have found the Iranian government culpable for needless loss of life.
Officials in Tehran must act swiftly to ease concerns over a cover-up since Wednesday morning.
Jim Swire, a Scottish doctor was the father of Flora who was killed along with 268 others in the 1988 Pan Am 103 Lockerbie bombing that was laid at the door of Col Muammar Qaddafi's regime in Libya. Writing a quarter of a century after the disaster, Mr Swire described his daughter, who was flying to America to meet her boyfriend, as "a seeker after truth". It was an idealised image that shaped his own life as he tirelessly campaigned to established how the bombing was carried out.
Mr Swire pointed to other devastating incidents that had taken place in Britain to highlight the indefatigability of those left behind to find out why their relatives died. “If you look at terrible UK disasters – Northern Ireland and the Irish Republican Army trials, the Hillsborough disaster and also Lockerbie, it is the denial of truth to the victims that is the common thread,” he wrote. “So, indeed, there is a thread and that thread is truth.”
A new raft of families must not face the same ordeal over what happened in Tehran on the night of January 8.
Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
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6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) | US$95,000 | (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) ) | $175,000) | (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) ) | $135,000 ) | (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 3 (TB) ) | $300,000) | (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Curlin Handicap Listed (TB)) | $160,000) | (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB)) | $175,000) | (T) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap (TB) ) | $135,000 ) | (T) 2,000m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
