Ukraine asks Iran to hand over downed jet’s black boxes

KIEV: Ukraine has asked Iran to hand over the black box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed after being hit by an Iranian missile, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The Office of the General Prosecutor said it would take “all measures“ to properly decode the black boxes and “preserve evidence in the investigation of the accident”. The Ukrainian prosecutor´s office said the country had sent “a request for legal assistance linked to the handover to the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 flight recorders”.

Rouhani calls for ‘national unity’ after accidentally downing Ukrainian jet: President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday called for “national unity” and flagged the need for changes to the way Iran is run after the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner.

Rouhani also said Iranians want “diversity” as he urged the electoral authorities to refrain from disqualifying would-be candidates for a February 21 general election.“The people are our masters and we are its servants. The servant must address the master with modesty, precision and honesty,” Rouhani said after a cabinet meeting.

“The people want to make sure that the authorities treat them with sincerity, integrity and trust,” he said in the remarks aired live on state television. Rouhani also said the armed forces should “apologise” and fully explain what happened in the air disaster, which came hours after they fired a wave of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq.

New footage shows Iranian missiles hitting Ukraine plane: New video footage has emerged showing two Iranian missiles tearing through the night sky and hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane, sending the aircraft down in flames and killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The projectiles were fired 30 seconds apart and explain why the plane´s transponder was not working as it hurtled to the ground — it was disabled by the first strike, before being hit by a second, said the New York Times, which published the verified security camera footage Tuesday.