Britain Says It’s Not Practical to Send Ukraine Fighter Jets

A Ukrainian serviceman looks on, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian serviceman looks on, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Britain Says It’s Not Practical to Send Ukraine Fighter Jets

A Ukrainian serviceman looks on, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian serviceman looks on, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Britain does not believe it is practical to send its fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday, after Kyiv indicated it would push for such Western planes.

"The UK's ... fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine," the spokesperson told reporters.

"We will continue to discuss with our allies about what we think what is the right approach."



Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Iran's police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"The police commander... was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff," the police said, AFP reported.

"Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi's death depends on the medical examiner's final report.

The police said the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

"The behaviour of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority," the statement added.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi "was killed under torture in the detention center".

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.