PSG beat Basaksehir in Champions League game suspended after racism walkout

Yahoo – AFP, Andy SCOTT, 9 December 2020

Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was accused of using racist language

Paris Saint-Germain beat Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1 on Wednesday with Neymar scoring a hat-trick as both teams took a knee before restarting their Champions League match suspended 24 hours earlier in an unprecedented protest over an allegedly racist comment by a match official. 

The teams, who had joined forces on Tuesday to walk off the pitch following the row, gathered around the centre circle prior to the resumption and were joined by the match officials as they kneeled in support of the Black Lives Matter cause. 

Before that they sported t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism" while warming up at the Parc des Princes, where large banners in the empty stands carried the same message. 

The game restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, when a touchline argument erupted over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir's Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as "black", or "negru" in Romanian. 

Players from Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir as well as officials take
a knee before restarting their suspended Champions League game on Wednesday

Coltescu and the other Romanian match officials were replaced for the restart by a new refereeing team headed by the Netherlands' Danny Makkelie. 

Already qualified for the last 16 thanks to Manchester United's defeat to RB Leipzig in Germany on Tuesday, PSG still needed to win the restarted game to secure top spot in their group and cruised to victory with Neymar outstanding. 

Neymar hat-trick 

He curled in a stunning opener before making it 2-0 and then won a penalty which Kylian Mbappe converted for the third goal before half-time. 

Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, completed his hat-trick with another brilliant hit after the interval, and Mbappe got PSG's fifth following a reply by Mehmet Topal for Basaksehir. 

The Turkish side had already been eliminated before this game but they have left their mark on the Champions League with their response to the alleged treatment of Webo, who was sent off as he reacted furiously to the alleged comment. 

That red card was suspended by UEFA pending a probe into the matter, with European football's governing body promising a "thorough investigation". 

Basaksehir are understood to have close ties to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he got involved in the row on Tuesday, tweeting that he "strongly condemns the racist remarks". 

PSG stars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar sport t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism"
while warming up before their Champions League match with Istanbul Basaksehir restarted

France's sports minister Roxana Maracineanu, who was born in Romania, praised the players' "historic decision". 

It was an unprecedented, unified response by the teams, to what Basaksehir midfielder Giuliano called a "disgraceful" comment from the official. 

"As a team and a group, we decided to protest because that is unacceptable. Racism has to end," Giuliano told Brazilian media. 

The row flared after Webo was shown the red card. 

Television microphones in the empty stadium -- matches are taking place without spectators because of Covid-19 restrictions -- picked up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him. 

In the exchange in question between the all-Romanian officiating team, Coltescu said: "The black one over there. This is not possible. Go and identify him. That guy, the black one." 

Basaksehir's Senegalese forward Demba Ba, among the substitutes for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official in English, saying: "When you mention a white guy, you never say 'this white guy', you just say 'this guy', so why when you mention a black guy do you say 'this black guy?'" 

Neymar joined other players and the officials in taking a knee before restarting
the game. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick as PSG won 5-1

'Disturbing tipping point' 

The incident drew reaction from around the world, with Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender and now a TV pundit, saying on BT Sport in the UK: "I think we are at a disturbing tipping point. Not a week goes by without an incident involving race. 

"The players walking off is a step in the right direction, but it can't just be left to them." 

Ferdinand's brother Anton was involved in a high-profile incident in 2012 when Chelsea player John Terry was accused of racially abusing him during a match in England. 

Many athletes have taken a strong stand against racism since Black Lives Matter protests flared around the world over the death of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis in May. 

The Turkish champions had refused to restart the game on Tuesday as long as fourth official Coltescu was still involved.

Tens of thousands of Belarus opposition supporters march in Minsk: AFP

theSundaily – AFP, 16 Aug 2020

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the presidential election results
demanding the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
and the release of political prisoners, in Minsk, Belarus August 16, 2020. The
banner reads: "Fair elections. Tribunal. Freedom for political prisoners". - Reuters

MINSK: Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered in Minsk on Sunday to join a “March for Freedom” over President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed re-election.

Chanting “Leave!”, the protesters marched down Independence Avenue following an opposition call for the biggest rally yet in a week of demonstrations since the vote.

Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons. Many wore white, the colour that has come to symbolise the opposition movement. Those marching included a group of veteran paratroopers in uniform berets.

Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as “We are against violence” and “Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead”.

Protesters walked through the city carrying a 100-metre-long red-and-white flag, once the state flag and now used to represent opposition to the current regime.

They chanted “Long live Belarus!” and called for Lukashenko to “Leave!” as cars honked horns in support.

The protests came as Lukashenko held a rally for supporters in central Minsk, urging them to save the country from destruction.

Thousands of Israelis rally against Netanyahu

Yahoo – AFP, August 1, 2020

A bandana-clad protester blows a shofar, an ancient musical horn, as he
 walks alongside others during a demonstration against Israel's Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Thousands protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu across Israel on Saturday night, demanding he resign over alleged corruption and a resurgence of coronavirus cases.

The protests took place at scores of intersections and bridges, where people held banners accusing Netanyahu of "failure" and calling for his resignation, as well as outside his private residence in the northern town Caesarea.

The main event took place outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem, where organisers said thousands demanded Netanyahu step down.

In Tel Aviv, hundreds protested against rising unemployment and the government's alleged failure to support self-employed people who have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic, media reports said.

Wearing face masks to forestall coronavirus transmission, protestors carried signs accusing Netanyahu, whose graft trial is ongoing at the Jerusalem district court, of corruption and failing to resolve the coronavirus crisis and the related economic malaise.

Israel won praise for its initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the government has come under criticism amid a resurgence in cases after restrictions were lifted starting in late April. Netanyahu has himself acknowledged that the economy was re-opened too quickly.

The country of some nine million people has so far recorded over 72,000 confirmed cases, including 523 deaths.

The protests have been going on for weeks, with Netanyahu on Saturday night accusing private television channels 12 and 13 of "delivering propaganda for the anarchist Leftwing demonstrations" by providing extensive coverage of the rallies.

"They are desperately trying to brainwash the public, in order to bring down a strong prime minister from the Right," his Likud party wrote in a post re-tweeted by Netanyahu on Twitter.

Netanyahu further accused the media of "ignoring the violent nature of the protests and the calls in them to murder the prime minister and his family".

Egypt Hotel Gang Rape Allegations Ignite New #MeToo Wave

Barrons – AFP, July 30, 2020

Protesters in 2013 hold up placards and shout slogans during a demonstration
against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo. Khaled DESOUKI

A gang rape allegation at a luxury hotel in Egypt stemming from a prominent social media account has triggered a new #MeToo wave in the deeply conservative country.

The alleged assault took place at the five-star Fairmont Nile City hotel in Cairo in 2014 where a group of six men drugged and raped a young woman, according to several social media accounts

Names and pictures of the figures accused, who hail from elite families, have circulated online, but AFP has been unable to verify their authenticity.

AFP spoke to a source close to the victim who corroborated details of the 2014 rapes posted online.

The victim was unwilling to comment publicly for fear of a backlash.

No official investigation has been launched so far, as tweets flood in under the hashtag #FairmontIncident.

Young Egyptian women posting testimonials of sexual misconduct earlier this month triggered a national outcry which led to the arrest of Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

On July 4, authorities detained Zaki who confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and blackmailing the victims, according to prosecutors.

Egypt's National Council for Women on Wednesday condemned retaliatory threats made against women exposing sexual misconduct.

The council "stands by every woman and girl exposed to any... threat by providing all necessary support", it said.

It also called on females "who might be subjected to harassment and/or threats to immediately report through the official reporting mechanisms".

Egypt's minister of international cooperation, Rania al-Mashat, for her part, posted a supportive message on Instagram: "To all the girls out there, we hear you".

The Fairmont Hotel has said it carried out an investigation of the graphic claims posted online.

"An internal investigation was undertaken by the hotel upon receipt of knowledge of the disturbing allegations," Yara ElDouky, Fairmont's communication director, told AFP.

"We can confirm that at no time were any reports of the incident filed to the hotel, nor to the hotel’s tourism police," she said.

"All personnel at the hotel are committed to assisting the relevant authorities and we will continue to offer our unfettered support," she added.

The allegations come as Egypt sentenced to jail several young female influencers on popular app TikTok on charges of violating public morals.

A 2013 study by UN Women found that 99% of women in Egypt had at some point in their lives been sexually harassed, either verbally or physically.

In Egypt, sexual predator case reignites #MeToo debate

Yahoo – AFP, Menna Zaki and Hager Harabech, July 16, 2020

A woman in Egypt checks an Instagram account for reporting allegations of
sexual harassment and misconduct (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

Cairo (AFP) - Egypt has seen a strong resurgence of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women made shocking claims of sexual abuse and assault by a member of the country's wealthy elite.

Amid a campaign unprecedented in its intensity in the deeply conservative country, state and religious authorities have started to take a firmer stand.

The latest outpouring of anger, on the Instagram account "Assault Police", centres on allegations against Ahmed Bassam Zaki, a 22-year-old former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

They have ranged from claims that he took part in a rape at the gym hall of a gated residential community to screen-grabs showing salacious messages and blackmail of women. Some alleged incidents involved girls as young as 14.

Police on July 4 arrested Zaki who, according to prosecutors, has confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and to blackmailing the victims.

While Zaki is awaiting trial, his case has kicked off a wave of other complaints in a society where, United Nations surveys say, most women have experienced catcalling, pinching, groping or worse.

In this file photo from 2013 protesters hold up placards and shout slogans during
a demonstration against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo (AFP Photo/
Khaled DESOUKI)

"Women immediately jumped at the opportunity to vent and tell their stories," the Instagram page administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"It is now bigger than Ahmed Bassam Zaki. We receive a dozen messages per minute from girls and women telling of personal incidents of harassment, abuse and rape, some dating back years."

Victim-blaming

Following Zaki's arrest, the campaign has swept up other well-known figures.

One of them is Mohamed Hashem, a writer and founder of a top publishing house, who was detained over harassment allegations but later released on bail.

The current momentum builds on earlier #MeToo waves in Egypt, the latest in January following a mob assault on two women in Mansoura, north of Cairo, on New Year's Eve.

The Zaki case highlights that sexual assault and harassment -- widely perceived to be more prevalent among the poorer classes -- pervades all levels of society.

Zaki is a former student of the prestigious American University in Cairo. He briefly went on to study in Barcelona but was expelled this month after a claim of online harassment by another student.

A protester at a 2013 rally in Cairo holds a placard pledging an 'uprising of 

women in the Arab world' (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

"We are talking about Class A, the creme de la creme of society who enrol in universities and schools worth tens of thousands of pounds annually," said Fathy Farid of Aman, an initiative against gender-based violence.

Campaigners hope the case will help shift attitudes in Egypt, which only criminalised sexual harassment in 2014.

Women in Egypt are often reluctant to speak out about sexual harassment, fearing public shaming and being blamed for wearing "provocative" clothing.

'A safer place'

In stark contrast to the #MeToo revival, Egypt has also seen an ongoing campaign targeting female TikTok influencers accused of "indecency and immorality".

Among recent cases is that of a 17-year-old girl who was arrested after posting a TikTok video in which she said she had been gang raped by a group of young men.

These girls "suffer discrimination and bullying" and their arrests "are part of violence against women because they come from lower classes," said lawyer Intesar al-Saeed.

Campaigners hope to shift attitudes in Egypt, which only criminalised sexual 

harassment in 2014 (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

The Instagram group administrator also reported "a lot of these messages" attacking the women, but added that "they are nothing compared to the messages of support".

As more online testimonies have kept pouring in, the National Council for Women said it had received at least 400 complaints and enquiries on sexual harassment and abuse.

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has taken some action.

His cabinet has approved amendments, yet to be passed by parliament, to the criminal code that would grant the right of anonymity to victims of sexual assault.

And the prestigious religious institution Al Azhar released a strongly-worded statement lambasting harassment as "forbidden and deviant".

The Dar al-Iftar, in charge of issuing religious edicts, slammed those who blame women for wearing provocative clothing as "sick".

The Instagram activist said the goal is, "if we're not forced to shut down the account for any reason, to turn Assault Police into a platform for women to share their stories.

"We are optimistic about making this country a safer place for women."

Europeans join global wave of anti-racism protests

Yahoo – AFP, by Patrick Rahir with Alexandria Sage in Rome, 7 June 2020

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Madrid

Calling for racial justice, protesters rallied across Europe Sunday, joining a wave of demonstrations sparked by the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of US police.

A video of the incident with Floyd pleading for his life in Minneapolis as a white police officer knelt on his neck has sparked angry protests worldwide, even as countries continue to discourage large gatherings to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

Several thousand people massed outside the US embassy in Madrid, shouting "I cannot breathe", Floyd's last words, and demanding justice.

"Racism knows no borders," said Leinisa Seemdo, a 26-year-old Spanish translator from Cape Verde. "In all the countries where I have lived, I have experienced discrimination because of the colour of my skin."

Main protests over the death of George Floyd in selected cities worldwide, as of June 7

Rome's Piazza del Popolo ("People's Plaza") fell silent for eight minutes -- roughly the time Floyd was pinned down by the policeman -- with thousands of people taking a knee in memory of Floyd, their fists in the air.

"We can't breathe," shouted the crowd, after the collective silence.

"It's really hard to live here," said Senegalese migrant Morikeba Samate, 32, one of the thousands to have arrived in Italy after risking the perilous crossing across the Mediterranean.

Opposition to that wave of migration buoyed the far-right in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

Floyd's death last month has unleashed the most serious and widespread civil unrest in the United States since Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

Protesters raised their fists and held eight minutes' silence in a protest in Rome

The police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder while three fellow officers face lesser charges.

'No Justice, No Peace'

More than 1,000 people on Sunday also gathered at a Black Lives Matter protest near the US embassy in Budapest.

"We have come together to stand up against racism," Hungarian reggae singer G Ras told cheering protesters. "If we want to live in a better world, we need to radically change the way we live."

Almost 4,000 attended two similar events in the Netherlands.

Protesters carried placards and plays drums during a rally in solidarity with 

the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Rome

Another rally took place in London on Sunday despite a coronavirus ban against large gatherings, following scuffles Saturday during an otherwise peaceful protest.

In Bristol, a city linked to the slave trade, the statue of trader Edward Colston was torn down Sunday and thrown into the harbour.

In Lausanne, Switzerland, a black-clad demonstrator's placard read "my colour is not a threat", while almost 10,000 people marched in Brussels, police said.

"The murder of George Floyd had clearly woken up a lot of people," commented Ange Kaze of the Belgian Network for Black Lives.

As well as Rome, other demonstrations were planned during the day in Copenhagen, 

Brussels, Glasgow and London

A few skirmishes broke out at the end of the Brussels rally, but a demonstration by 15,000 in Copenhagen ended peacefully.

Fighting was also reported however at the end of a protest in Goteborg, Sweden, were almost 2,000 people turned out for a march authorised for just 50 owing to coronavirus restrictions.

As countries begin to emerge from lockdowns, governments are struggling to balance people's need to express anger against the risk of protests spreading a disease that has killed nearly 400,000 worldwide.

Demonstrators have rallied in Australia in support of the US protests

In France, more than 23,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, and football players from a half dozen German teams knelt over the weekend in Floyd's memory.

His death occured during a pandemic that has disproportionately affected black people and ethnic minorities in mega cities such as London, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

The historic economic recession triggered by virus lockdowns has hammered the poor and marginalised even more.

A combination of economic woes, social tensions and anger at US President Donald Trump's response has refocused attention on racial divides like few other events since the 1960s.

Calling for racial justice, protesters rallied across Europe Sunday, joining a wave
of demonstrations sparked by the death of African American George Floyd at the
hands of US police

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Madrid

Main protests over the death of George Floyd in selected cities worldwide, as of June 7

Protesters raised their fists and held eight minutes' silence in a protest in Rome

Protesters carried placards and plays drums during a rally in solidarity with the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Rome

As well as Rome, other demonstrations were planned during the day in Copenhagen, Brussels, Glasgow and London

Demonstrators have rallied in Australia in support of the US protests.

Defiant Australians protest racial injustice despite warnings

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew LEESON, June 6, 2020

Marchers defied government warnings about coronavirus to rally in Sydney
(AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Tens of thousands of Australians defied government calls to stay at home Saturday by spilling onto the streets for Black Lives Matter protests in major towns and cities across the country.

Marchers in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere rejected arguments from law enforcement and conservative leaders that mass protests could fuel the spread of coronavirus.

A court on Friday declared the Sydney protest illegal on health grounds, although the ruling was overturned by an appeals court minutes before the march was due to start.

"The fact that they have tried to push us all back and stop the protest, it makes people want to do it even more," said Jumikah Donovan, one of thousands who turned up thinking the ban was still in place.

The Sydney march of at least 20,000 was largely peaceful but as night fell a smaller group of a few hundred protesters faced-off with police over two hours.

Protesters were also out in force in Brisbane (AFP Photo/Patrick HAMILTON)

A large number of police eventually forced them into a nearby railway station where a tense stand-off ended with police using pepper spray on the crowd.

Police confirmed only three arrests during the rally.

Demonstrators brandished signs that read "I can't breathe", a nod to the last words of African-American man George Floyd, whose death while being arrested has sparked civil rights protests around the world.

Another read: "Same story, different soil."

The movement has resonated strongly with many in Australia -- a country also wrestling with the legacy of a racist past.

Organisers said they hoped to draw attention to high imprisonment rates among Aboriginal Australians and the large number of deaths in custody of indigenous people -- more than 400 in the last three decades.

Many protesters wore face masks, brought hand sanitiser and tried to social 

distance (AFP Photo/Patrick HAMILTON)

No prosecutions have been brought despite dozens of investigations, inquests and in some cases video evidence of abuse.

'Voice for change'

Many of the protesters wore face masks, brought hand sanitiser and tried to social distance as best they could.

"There are things in the world that need to be addressed," said Fay Goli. "If a majority can stand together there will be a stronger voice for change."

Australia has seen a sustained drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, but social distancing rules remain in force and mass gatherings are not permitted.

"Police are prepared for anybody that wants to just flout the law," New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott told media before the rallies.

(AFP Photo/Andrew LEESON)

Protesters in Melbourne were warned they could face fines for attending a rally if social distancing was not observed, although police appeared not to be enforcing those rules.

The day before the protests Prime Minister Scott Morrison had urged people to stay home.

"Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments rather than putting your own health at risk," Morrison said.

He admitted there was more to be done to address indigenous inequality, but rejected parallels with the United States.

"Let's deal with this as Australians and not appropriate what's happening in other countries to our country at this time," he said.

Kimia Alizadeh: Iran's top female athlete defects

DW, 12 January 2020

Iran's only female Olympic medallist, Kimia Alizadeh, has said she has left the country permanently following accusations of mistreatment and sexism against officials. The 21-year-old is reportedly in the Netherlands.

Kimia Alizadeh | 2016 Rio Olympics - Taekwondo (Reuters/I. Kato)

Amid rising unrest in Iran following the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian plane and simmering tensions with the USA, Iran's only female Olympic medallist, Taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh, has announced that she has defected.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, the 21-year-old said she didn't want to be a part of "hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery" as "one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran".

"I wore whatever they told me and repeated whatever they ordered. Every sentence they ordered I repeated. None of us matter for them, we are just tools," she added.

Alizadeh, who made history when she won bronze in Taekwondo at the Rio Olympics as an 18-year-old, is believed to be training in the Netherlands, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

She has claimed in the past that the Islamic Republic has used her as a propaganda tool and accused Iranian officials of sexism and mistreatment.

The ISNA agency reported that Alizadeh is hoping to still compete at the Tokyo Olympics later this year, but not under the Iranian flag.

Iranian students demonstrated following a tribute for victims of
Wednesday's plane crash (AFP Photo/Atta KENARE)

Related Article:

Iran agrees de-escalation 'only solution' to solve crisis with US

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart WILLIAMS, January 11, 2020

An Iranian holds a newspaper with a picture of the debris of the Ukrainian plane
that crashed in Tehran on January 8, 2020, outside a news stand in the Islamic
republic's capital (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE)

Paris (AFP) - When a Boeing passenger jet crashed in Iran early on January 8, speculation immediately swirled that the only plausible explanation was that it had been shot down by Iran.

The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, retaliating for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike.

Immediately, theories multiplied arguing that Tehran's air defence system, on high alert for possible US retaliation, may have been triggered by accident.

Western leaders cited intelligence pointing to an accidental strike by Iran. Verified video images later emerged showing a missile striking a plane.

From Wednesday to Friday, Iranian officials repeatedly insisted that the plane had not been shot down. Early on Saturday however, the Islamic republic admitted that the plane had been hit by a short-range missile in what President Hassan Rouhani described as a "catastrophic mistake".

Ukrainian passenger jet crash in Iran (AFP Photo)

What happened on January 8?

The Boeing 737-800NG for UIA's flight PS752 between Tehran and Kiev took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 6:12 am local time.

Although there was no distress message from the pilot, the plane had begun to turn back for the airport before crashing at 6:18 am, said the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. The aircraft came down near Sabashahr on the outskirts of Tehran.

There were 10 departures from Tehran airport that day before flight PS752, according to the Flight Radar 24 monitoring site. That raised questions as to why air traffic had not been halted given the situation.

All 176 people on board the flight PS752 -- mainly Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals, but also Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes -- were killed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly 

state Iran could be to blame for the plane crash (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

How did pressure grow?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly state Iran could be to blame. He said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources "including our allies and our own intelligence" that indicated "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."

"This may well have been unintentional," Trudeau added.

His language was echoed by other Western leaders including Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

US President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" as "somebody could have made a mistake", and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said the United States believed it was "likely" that an Iranian missile downed the airliner.

The New York Times also said it had verified a video appearing to show a missile hitting a plane at night above the Tehran suburb of Parand, west of the airport.

What did Iran initially say?

For three days, Iranian officials refused to countenance any suggestion that one of its missiles had brought down the plane.

The country's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said that one "thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile", arguing that it would have exploded immediately if hit by a missile.

Experts questioned that claim, arguing that such missiles explode before coming into contact with the target.

This handout photograph taken and released on January 11, 2019, by The 

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, shows people analysing 

the remains of the Ukraine International Airlines plane Boeing 737-800 that

crashed outside Tehran (AFP Photo/STR)

What does Iran now admit?

In an announcement early Saturday that took many experts by surprise, Iran admitted it had "unintentionally" shot down the jet after a missile operator mistook the plane for a cruise missile.

Tehran said its systems had been on high alert for American retaliation in the hours after the Iranian strikes on bases housing US troops in Iran.

"He had 10 seconds to decide," the aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said of the operator, who he insisted had "acted alone".

"He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances he took the wrong decision."

Rouhani called it an "unforgivable mistake", vowed that compensation would be paid to the families while those responsible would be prosecuted.

What kind of missile was used?

Unverified images posted on social media show the remains of a Russian-made Tor M-1 missile but Tehran has yet to give details on the kind of weaponry used.

Tehran received 29 such air defence systems from Moscow under a $700 million contract signed in 2005, a deal that caused considerable unease in the West.

The Bellingcat open-source analytics website has said the origin of the images is yet to be determined, and the people who captured the images have not come forward.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured on January 9, 2020 in a 

presidential press handout photo placing flowers at a memorial for the victims 

of the Ukraine International Airlines crash in Tehran, has toughened his stance 

on Iran (AFP Photo/HO)

What does Ukraine want now?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, initially wary of blaming Tehran, has toughened his line since Tehran's admission.

After Zelensky spoke to Rouhani later Saturday, the Ukrainian presidency said that Zelensky asked Tehran to allow the bodies of the 11 Ukrainian victims to be repatriated "by January 19".

He added that Ukrainian diplomats had produced a list of steps to be taken to "resolve the compensation issue".

Despite the three days of denial from Tehran, some have compared its reaction favourably to that from Moscow over the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Although the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team says a Russian-made BUK missile fired by pro-Russian separatists was to blame, Russia still denies any involvement.

Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported https://t.co/jtSIrcZiX1

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 11, 2020