Thursday, January 09, 2020

SHIT HOLE COUNTRIES MOST CONFIDENCE IN TRUMP
A majority of Nigerians and Kenyans have confidence in President Trump, according to Pew research
By Bukola Adebayo, CNN Thu January 9, 2020

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)Most Kenyans and Nigerians have confidence in President Donald Trump, according to data released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

While international confidence in Trump's handling of world affairs has flagged across Europe and most of the rest of the world, opinions of the US President remained mostly positive in two of Africa's most populous countries, the research finds.
Sixty-five percent of Kenyans and 58% of Nigerians believe Trump "will do the right thing regarding world affairs," it finds.
By contrast, trust in Trump dips in the other two African countries polled, with just 12% of those in Tunisia -- in the continent's north -- and 42% of South Africans confident of his global decisions, polls show.

Kenyans, Nigerians and South Africans also favored Trump over German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the 32 nations of the world surveyed, Merkel's approval ratings surpassed those of Trump, Marcron, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
More than half of Nigerians have expressed confidence in Trump's leadership since he took office, despite accusations that the President in mid-2017 made vulgar remarks about immigrants from the West African nation. The White House has denied the allegations.

Trump's confidence rating lowest in Mexico
Across the countries polled, a median 29% of respondents expressed confidence Trump would do the "right thing" on the world stage, according to Pew's experts. That figure has remained fairly unchanged since his inauguration.
"Perceptions of Trump are more positive in general in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa compared with Europe, though opinions vary across the countries surveyed in these regions," they wrote.

"Majorities in the Philippines, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria and India have confidence that the president will do the right thing in world affairs. Yet few in Japan, Australia, Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey share this view."
The President's rating was lowest in Mexico, where 89% said they have no confidence in him, data show. Trump's administration has sought to stem the tide of migrants and asylum-seekers entering the US from Mexico.
Anti-Trump sentiments were also common in most of Western Europe, as more than 3 in 4 respondents in Germany, Sweden, France, Spain and the Netherlands said they "do not have confidence in him."
The surveys were conducted by the Pew Research Center from May 18 to October 2. The margin of sampling error and exact methodology varies by country.

CNN's Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Which countries love Trump the most and least?

President Donald Trump speaks as he participates in a signing ceremony for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

President Donald Trump has been a polarising figure at home - but how has he fared abroad? A new report by the Pew Research Center details what the world thinks of the US leader.

Pew, a non-partisan US-based opinion pollster, surveyed nearly 37,000 individuals across 33 countries from May to October of last year.

So the polling was done before the US president gave the order to kill Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani.

Here are some key findings.

Views on Trump...

Only 29% of the countries surveyed by Pew expressed confidence in Mr Trump last year, in keeping with how his presidency has been viewed since its infancy in 2017.

Pew notes that this lack of confidence is in part due to opposition to the president's foreign policy.

Mr Trump's policies on tariffs, climate, immigration and Iran are all largely unpopular globally. His negotiations with North Korea's Kim Jong-un garnered the most support, with a median 41% approval across the 33 countries polled.

Confidence in Trump around the world in 2019

Medians based on 32 countries

Only 29% of the countries surveyed by Pew expressed confidence in Mr Trump last year, in keeping with how his presidency has been viewed since its infancy in 2017.

Pew notes that this lack of confidence is in part due to opposition to the president's foreign policy.

No opinion responses not shown

Source: Pew Research Center

... and views on America

Unlike Mr Trump, the US remains favourable in the eyes of the world, generally speaking, Pew found.

"Favourable opinion of the US declined dramatically when Trump took office and remains significantly lower than during the Obama era," Pew reported.

But in the last year, there have been some increases in favourable views of the US, which Pew says "may be driven at least in part by increased favourability among supporters of right-wing populist groups in some nations".

Views of the US around the world in 2019

Medians based on 33 countries

No opinion responses not shown

Source: Pew Research Center

Overall, Israel has the highest rating of the US in Pew's survey, with 83% of those polled viewing the US in a favourable light.

In Mexico, the Middle East and Northern Africa, views of the US are mostly negative. In Turkey, just one in five reported a favourable opinion of the US.

How Trump stacks up against other leaders

It appears none of the five leaders have received particularly high marks overall, but Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel saw the highest of the group.

The US president received the highest negative ratings of the group, though Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping were also seen in a negative light.

"Trump is more popular among people on the political right, yet even among these respondents, confidence in Trump rises to 50% or higher in only six nations," according to the report.

So which countries love Trump the most?

While overall, it seems the world lacks confidence that the US president will make the right choices, Mr Trump does find support in some countries.

Mr Trump is popular in the African nations surveyed despite his past missteps - including reportedly calling African states "shithole countries".

Graph showing countries support of Trump

Kenya and Nigeria, which view Mr Trump favourably, are both among the top recipients of US economic aid, according to the Security Assistance Monitor. Pew also notes sub-Saharan African nations have typically expressed favourable opinions of the US.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was the first sub-Saharan African leader invited to the White House in 2018. The Trump administration also sold 12 US military aircraft to Nigeria in a reversal of an Obama-era policy.

Mr Trump's support in the Philippines is less surprising, considering his praise for his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2017, Mr Trump was criticised for telling Mr Duterte he was doing an "unbelievable job on the drug problem" in his country.

Since coming into office in 2016, Mr Duterte has encouraged extrajudicial killings of those involved in the drug trade, which critics allege undermines human rights.

Mr Trump's favourability in Israel is also expected; the US president has a close relationship with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and the US has long been supportive of Israel.

The Trump administration has gone controversially further in that support - moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognising Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which was seized from Syria in 1967.

How the world has viewed US presidents

For most countries, there is a clear lack of trust in Mr Trump's international policy in comparison to his predecessor, but the trends, as tracked by Pew since 2002, do appear to have a partisan pattern.

President George W Bush, the Republican who preceded Democrat Barack Obama, saw similarly low trust ratings throughout his tenure.

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OK IT'S FOR REAL
Madame Tussauds removes Prince Harry and Meghan figures from Royal Family set

Wax figures of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have been separated from the rest of the royals at Madame Tussauds in England.

The move follows the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s announcement that they plan to step back as “senior members” of the Royal Family to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution.”

The royal display at the popular London tourist attraction saw the Sussexes standing next to Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

“Alongside the rest of the world we are reacting to the surprising news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be stepping back as senior Royals. From today Meghan and Harry’s figures will no longer appear in our Royal Family set,” Steve Davies, general manager at Madame Tussauds London, said in a statement.

“As two of our most popular and well-loved figures they will of course remain an important feature at Madame Tussauds London as we watch to see what the next chapter holds for the them.”

THE TUSSAUDS SCHOOL OF FALSIFICATION
OF HISTORY

NOW YOU SEEM THEM
Madame Tussauds London moves its figures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from its Royal Family set to elsewhere in the attraction

Madame Tussauds London moves its figures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from its Royal Family set to elsewhere in the attraction

NOW YOU DON'T

The empty space left next to the figures of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as Madame Tussauds London moved its figures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from its Royal Family set to elsewhere in the attraction.

Madame Tussauds in London removes Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan figures: '#Megxit'

20 minutes ago

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#JTF2

Trudeau confirms Canadian military personnel were at airbase hit by Iranian missiles
PM says all Canadian personnel are safe, refuses to comment on U.S. drone strike that precipitated the attack

HIS PRUDENCE WAS OF COURSE DECRIED BY HIS OPPONENTS WHILE IT

LOOKS PRESCIENT CONSIDERING THAT CANADIAN CIVILIANS WERE ULTIMATELY KILLED AS A RESULT OF THE ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ASSASSINATION OF A MEMBER OF THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT WHO WAS ABOUT TO BOARD A COMMERCIAL PLANE AT A COMMERCIAL AIRPORT IN IRAQ.

THE TIT FOR TAT THAT IRAN THEN ACTED ON ENDED UP NOT HARMING ANY AMERICAN PERSONNEL AT THE BASES THEY ATTACKED BUT KILLED 176 PASSANGERS ABOARD A COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT, 63 CANADIANS

Murray Brewster, John Paul Tasker · CBC News ·

Posted: Jan 08, 2020 6:48 PM ET | Last Updated: January 8

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters with, left to right,

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance

and Deputy Minister of National Defence Jody Thomas at the National Press

Theatre in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today that Canadian troops were in harm's way when Iranian ballistic missiles slammed into a military base in northern Iraq early Wednesday, but he declined to condone — or criticize — the U.S. actions which precipitated the strike.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after a separate deadly air crash in Tehran claimed the lives of 63 Canadians, the prime minister said Canada condemns the Iranian attack on the base.

"I am relieved, as are all Canadians, that all personnel deployed in Iraq are safe," Trudeau said.

He expressed admiration for the professionalism of the soldiers under fire but also repeatedly emphasized the importance of staying the course in the ongoing effort to eradicate the remnants of the Islamic State.

That message, according to government insiders, was the main focus of Canada's diplomatic efforts Wednesday, conducted through a flurry of telephone calls to world leaders.
Drone strike was Washington's call: Trudeau

Keeping the anti-Islamic State coalition together and focused has taken precedence over pressing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for evidence justifying the American drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"It was a threat assessment the U.S. made," said Trudeau. "It was a threat assessment the U.S. was tasked with making and made."

The Trump administration has insisted since Friday's drone strike that Soleimani represented an imminent threat to American lives — but the language it's used to support that claim has changed over the last few days, with more emphasis being placed on the general's role in creating mayhem and bloodshed in the region with the secretive Quod Force branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Iranians gesture as they gather to mourn Gen. Qassem Soleimani,

head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed by an American

drone strike last week. (Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA/Reuters)

In some respects, Trudeau's remarks mirror the careful language being used by other world leaders — including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who on Monday deflected questions about whether the allies were troubled by the extraordinary decision to kill Soleimani.

NATO ambassadors were given a briefing by the U.S. State Department and military members on Monday, and apparently were given a sense of the intelligence the Americans were acting on when they ordered the drone strike. Trudeau did not say today whether Canada was convinced by that briefing, or whether he brought up the subject in a telephone call with President Trump on Wednesday.
'It opens the Pandora's Box'

Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Trudeau and a University of Ottawa professor, said Democrats in the U.S. have been doing a good job of demanding an explanation for the killing. He also emphasized the extraordinary nature of the United States targeting a foreign official for death, in legal and foreign policy terms.

"It opens the Pandora's Box and it might be one of the longer term consequences," said Paris, noting that it's largely unprecedented for a western country to kill an adversary's general outside of a state of war.

The focus of U.S. allies, including Canada, appears to be "stabilizing this situation, which is explosive," he said.

Trudeau said Canada is prepared to continue the "extremely important" anti-ISIS NATO training mission in Iraq.

"NATO has a significant role in the training mission that we're moving forward with — but there are always going to be more reflections on what are the next steps to take, given the current circumstances," the prime minister said.
Keeping the anti-ISIS mission alive

Canada has about 500 troops in Iraq, some of whom were moved out earlier this week as a precaution. Military assistance operations and most activities outside of heavily fortified compounds have been suspended until the security situation improves.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said today he could not state when, or if, the assistance might resume.

Paris said it's vital that both the NATO training mission and the more direct U.S.-led military coalition hunting ISIS holdouts resume their work.

"We have a clear interest in sustaining those missions and building up the capacity of the Iraqi government to hold the country together and to be countering any revival of ISIS," said Paris.

Iran's supreme leader says missile strike a 'slap on the face' for U.S.
Northern Iraq airbase targeted by Iran has been key in Canadian fight against ISIS
Iran missile strikes: Canadian troops safe, no known U.S. casualties

Less than two years after the American troops left Iraq following the 2003 invasion, the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of the threat from ISIS.

"It was not only horrifying in terms of ISIS's actions, but it threatened our security," said Paris. "Canada [and] the rest of our allies have a very clear interest in preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State."

Former top Canadian commander Tom Lawson, who first ordered special forces into Iraq, said that given the current tension between Iran and the U.S. — and even within the Iraqi government in Baghdad — restarting both missions could be tough.

"It's difficult to see a scenario that has [Canadian troops] return happily to supporting the Kurds in the north, and just as tough to figure out what kind of scenario could return the NATO mission out of Baghdad," the retired general told CBC's Power and Politics Wednesday night.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Murray Brewster is senior defense writer for CBC News, based in Ottawa. He has covered the Canadian military and foreign policy from Parliament Hill for over a decade. Among other assignments, he spent a total of 15 months on the ground covering the Afghan war for The Canadian Press. Prior to that, he covered defense issues and politics for CP in Nova Scotia for 11 years and was bureau chief for Standard Broadcast News in Ottawa.

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=JTF2

Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation (Full Album) Listen / Stream

Mystery of Weird Hum Heard Around the World Solved
By Laura Geggel - Associate Editor

(Image: © Shutterstock)

Mysterious seismic hums detected around the world were likely caused by an unusual geologic event — the rumblings of a magma-filled reservoir deep under the Indian Ocean, a new study finds.

These odd hums were an unconventional geologic birth announcement. A few months after the sounds rippled around the Earth, a new underwater volcano was born off the coast of the island of Mayotte, located between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Indian Ocean.

The new findings provide a detailed, one-year timeline of the newborn volcano's birth, which would make any mother (in this case, Mother Earth) proud. The study details how magma from a reservoir about 20 miles (35 kilometers) under the ocean floor migrated upward, traveling through Earth's crust until it reached the seafloor and created the new volcano.

"It took only [a] few weeks for the magma to propagate from the upper mantle to the seafloor, where a new submarine volcano was born," study lead researcher Simone Cesca, a seismologist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, told Live Science in an email.

This illustration shows how magma in a reservoir deep underground ascended to form a submarine volcano in the Indian Ocean. (Image credit: James Tuttle Keane/Nature Geoscience (2020))

A volcano is born

The saga began in May 2018, when global earthquake-monitoring agencies detected thousands of earthquakes near Mayotte, including a magnitude-5.9 quake, the largest ever detected in the region. Then, in November 2018, seismologists recorded weird seismic hums, some lasting up to 40 minutes, buzzing around the world. To put it mildly, these mysterious hums "trigger[ed] the curiosity of the scientific community," the researchers wrote in the study.

The researchers found more than 400 such signals, Cesca said.

In 2019, a French oceanographic mission showed that a new volcano had been born near Mayotte. It was huge, measuring about 3.1 miles (5 km) long and almost a half mile (0.8 km) high.

Other researchers have suggested that these mysterious hums were tied to the new volcano and possibly a shrinking underground magma chamber, given that Mayotte has sunk and moved several inches since the earthquakes began. However, that research has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

In the new study, the researchers used data gathered worldwide, as there wasn't any local seismic data available from Mayotte. Their analyses show that two major stages led to the volcano's birth. First, magma from a 9-mile-wide (15 km) reservoir flowed upward diagonally until it reached the seafloor, leading to a submarine eruption, Cesca said. As the magma moved, it "triggered energetic earthquakes along its path to the surface," he said. "In fact, we reconstructed the upward migration of magma by following the upward migration of earthquakes."

A sketch showing the deep magma reservoir and the magma highway that led to the new submarine volcano in the Indian Ocean. (Image credit: Cesca et al. 2019, Nature Geoscience)

In the next stage, the magma path became a highway of sorts, allowing magma to flow out of the reservoir to the seafloor, where it built the volcano. As the reservoir drained, Mayotte sank almost 8 inches (20 centimeters). It also caused the area above the reservoir, called the overburden, to weaken and sag, creating small faults and fractures there. When earthquakes related to the volcano and tectonic plates shook this particular area above the reservoir, they triggered "the resonance of the deep reservoir and generate[d] the peculiar, very long period signals," Cesca said. In other words, those strange seismic hums.

Related: Photos: Hawaii's New Underwater Volcano

In all, about 0.4 cubic miles (1.5 cubic km) of magma drained out of the reservoir, the researchers calculated. However, given the vast size of the volcano, it's likely that even more magma was involved, Cesca noted.

Although the volcano is now formed, earthquakes may still rattle the area.

"There are still possible hazards for the island of Mayotte today," study senior researcher and head of the section Physics of Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the GFZ Torsten Dahm, said in a statement "The Earth's crust above the deep reservoir could continue to collapse, triggering stronger earthquakes."

The new study was published online Monday (Jan. 6) in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The 10 Biggest Earthquakes in History
Photos: Fiery Lava from Kilauea Volcano Erupts on Hawaii's Big Island
In Photos: Aftermath of Iceland Volcano Floods

Originally published on Live Science.

Strange hums heard around the world traced to new underwater volcano
Ashley Strickland CNN Published Thursday, January 9, 2020

This image provided by NASA Data from six orbits of the

Suomi-NPP spacecraft on April 9, 2015 have been assembled

into this perspective composite of southern Africa and the

surrounding oceans. (NASA via AP)

In 2018, a multitude of seismic signals were detected by earthquake monitoring agencies all over the world in May and June. They created a weird humming sound and some of the signals detected in November of that year had a duration of up to 20 minutes.

The signals and humming triggered "the curiosity of the scientific community," according to a new study that explains what happened: the formation of a new underwater volcano.

The unusual amount of earthquakes were traced to the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, one of several in the Comoros archipelago found between Africa and Madagascar.

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Scientists detected 7,000 tectonic earthquakes within the scope of the study. These kinds of earthquakes occur when Earth's tectonic plates become stuck as they move alongside one another. The pressure that allows them to move on causes earthquakes.

The most severe earthquakes reached a magnitude of 5.9 in May 2018.

They also encountered 407 long-period seismic signals. These Very Long Period signals, called VLPs, are harmonic and low, reminiscent of a double bass or large bell. And their 20- to 30-minute signals could be detected hundreds of miles away.

The earthquakes and signals were coming from about 22 miles off the eastern coast of the island. Researchers couldn't see any signs of volcanic activity in this area, but they suspected that magmatic processes may be forming one.

Unfortunately, there was no seismic network on this part of the ocean floor, meaning they were only able to get measurements from the island, Madagascar and Africa.

But they noticed a lowering of the island's surface by seven inches, indicating activity linked to the earthquakes.

New seismological methods developed by the researchers helped them piece together a year-long timeline to reconstruct what happened. Their study published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The first phase involved magma rapidly rising from a reservoir in the mantle 18 miles below the Earth's surface. This opened a channel in the ocean floor, allowing the magma to flow and begin forming a new underwater volcano.

An oceanographic campaign in May 2019 showed that a volcano had formed in the same spot.

During the formation of the underwater volcano, earthquake activity dropped, and the ground of Mayotte lowered. Then, the VLP signals began.

"We interpret this as a sign of the collapse of the deep magma chamber off the coast of Mayotte," said Eleonora Rivalta, study co-author from the German Research Center for Geosciences GFZ. "It is the deepest and largest magma reservoir in the upper mantle to date, which is beginning to empty abruptly."

As dramatic as all of this sounds, it was hardly noticeable on the island itself. Mayotte is one of four volcanic islands in its archipelago and home to about 260,000 people, according to the study. It last erupted about 4,000 years ago.

"Since the seabed lies 3 kilometres below the water surface, almost nobody noticed the enormous eruption," said Torsten Dahm, study co-author and professor of geophysics and seismology at the University of Potsdam in Germany. "However, there are still possible hazards for the island of Mayotte today, as the Earth's crust above the deep reservoir could continue to collapse, triggering stronger earthquakes."

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Canada believes Flight PS752 was shot down by Iran: Trudeau

Ryan FlanaganCTVNews.ca Writer

@flanaganryan Contact

Published Thursday, January 9, 2020 9:36AM ESTLast Updated Thursday, January 9, 2020 2:47PM EST

TORONTO -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the plane that crashed in Iran Wednesday morning, killing all 138 people aboard, was shot down by an Iranian missile – perhaps by accident.

“We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional,” the prime minister said Thursday afternoon at a news conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that he also believes Iran was responsible for the plane going down.

Ukraine Airlines flight PS752 when crashed near Tehran shortly after taking off. Sixty-three of its passengers had Canadian passports, and many others were living in Canada as permanent residents or on visas.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne has talked to his Iranian counterpart about the crash. According to a summary of the phone call released Thursday by Global Affairs Canada, Champagne pressed Mohammad Javad Zarif to allow Canadian officials into the country to take part in the investigation, help identify the victims and provide consular services.Iran has said that it has invited Canadian investigators to take part in the probe.

Canada and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations since 2012, when Canada labelled Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.

This is a breaking news update. More details to come.

With files from The Canadian Press

Trudeau thanks Canadian allies for offering diplomatic support in Tehran in wake of Ukraine airliner crash
MICHELLE CARBERT AND BILL CURRY
OTTAWA
PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2020

Trudeau, seen here holding a news conference in Ottawa
on Jan. 8, 2020, said he could not categorically rule out
the possibility that the plane was shot down.
SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Italy and other Canadian allies with a diplomatic presence in Iran are helping to provide consular support for the friends and family of the dozens of Canadians killed aboard a Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran.

All 176 people on board died, including at least 63 Canadians.

Canada suspended diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012 and the Italian embassy in Tehran has been representing Canadian interests in the country since then through an arrangement known as a protecting power.

At a news conference in Ottawa Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and thanked Canada’s allies for their immediate help.

“We’ve had many countries step up to offer their support and assistance as we move forward, whether it’s Ukraine or countries like Australia, Italy, France to assist us in our consular work on the ground," he said.

The Prime Minister was asked whether he could categorically rule out the possibility that the plane was shot down.

“I cannot," he said. "It is too early to speculate. I would encourage people not to speculate. We are certainly aware that this is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Our focus today is on the many, many families who are grieving and our focus in the days and weeks to come will be on answering the questions that they have and that indeed we all have as to how this happened.”

Canada is seeking Iran’s approval to send a team of diplomats to Tehran and for Iranian officials to include members of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board as part of the investigation into the crash, including analyzing the plane’s black box flight recorder.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said satellite data showed the plane took off normally

“[It was a] very standard departure. However, we lost contact with it, suggesting something very unusual happened, but we cannot speculate at this point. There are a number of possibilities,” he said.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko, said that while Iran will oversee the investigation into the crash, Kyiv will do whatever it can to ensure Canada can take part in the probe. He said Ukraine can also act as an on-the-ground connection for Canada in Iran, as it has an embassy in Tehran.

“We just want to make sure that Canada knows that it can count on us in this situation. We have our people on the ground and, if there is anything we can do to ease the pain and to help all of us get the answers to the questions, we would be happy to do that,” the ambassador said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

Younes Zangiabadi, a board member with the Iranian Canadian Congress, knew nine people killed in the crash. He called on the Canadian government to send its own team of investigators to Iran to look into the crash. He said the government should also consider establishing a direct flight between Toronto and Tehran, so Iranian-Canadians are not forced to take multiple, unreliable flights between the two countries.

Mr. Zangiabadi said emergencies such as Wednesday’s plane crash underline the need for Canada to reopen its embassy in Tehran, saying it is absurd that Canadians in Iran are being told to contact the embassy in Turkey if they need consular help.

“You have the families who have lost their loved ones and have been asked to contact the Canadian embassy in Turkey? Like, what is this? This is outrageous,” he said.

“I really hope this is a wake-up call for the Canadian government to not only think about the politics of diplomatic relations but actually the demands and the needs of Iranian-Canadians.”

Retired diplomat John Mundy was Canada's most recent ambassador to Iran before he was expelled from the country in 2007. He said the former Canadian embassy used to have two consular staff whose jobs were to help Canadians in distress in Iran, but Ottawa has lost that on-the-ground capability since cutting off diplomatic relations. That kind of emergency consular response is likely run out of Ottawa now, he said.

“Foreign Affairs would probably, given the size of the disaster, set up a pretty well-resourced team in Ottawa that would work full-time on this until they’ve provided whatever assistance they can to the families of the Canadians who have died in this accident. It would work with the Italian government and the Italian embassy on the ground in Tehran to do that,” Mr. Mundy said.

Students, doctors, children: Ukrainian airliner crash victims had roots across Canada