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Delta plane flips upside down upon arrival in Canada, all 80 on board survive
A Delta Air Lines jet carrying 80 people has flipped upside down upon landing at one of the busiest airports in Canada, injuring at least 18 people but causing no deaths.
The plane carrying 76 passengers and four crew turned over onto its roof as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at about 3:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday.
Deborah Flint, the CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said there had been no loss of life and those on board had suffered only “relatively minor injuries”.
“17 injured passengers were taken to local area hospitals. At this time, we do not know of any of those passengers having critical injuries,” Flint told reporters at a news conference.
“No airport CEO wants to have these types of press conferences but this is exactly what our emergency, our operations and our first responders are all practised and trained for,” Flint added.
“And again, this outcome is in due part to their heroic work and I thank them profusely.”
Toronto Pearson International Airport said in a later update that an 18th passenger had been transported to hospital after the others.
Ornge, an air ambulance service in the province of Ontario, said earlier on Monday that a child, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 40s had all been transported to hospital with critical injuries.
The reason for the differing accounts of the patients’ condition was not immediately clear.
Footage shared on social media showed passengers exiting the upside-down CRJ-900 plane, which had been travelling from Minneapolis in the United States, while shielding their faces from strong wind and falling snow.
“We just landed. Our plane crashed. It’s upside down,” one passenger, identified as John Nelson, explained on a cellphone video he recorded and posted as he walked away from the upturned aircraft. “Most people appear to be OK.”
While authorities have not provided a cause for the crash, the botched landing came as Toronto was reeling from back-to-back winter storms.
Over the weekend, an estimated 22cm (8.7 inches) of snow blanketed the airport, in addition to snowfall from the week before.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the Peel Regional Police in Ontario said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said a team of its investigators would also assist the investigation.
The Association of Flight Attendants urged the public against speculating about the cause of the incident while “everyone works to gather information and support those involved”.
The crash is the fourth aviation accident to occur in North America in less than a month, the most serious of which – a midair collision between a commercial jetliner and a US Army helicopter near Washington, DC – killed 67 people.
The incident also comes as the US aviation sector is reeling from mass layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has maintained that thinning the federal government workforce is necessary to reduce spending and peel back waste.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, a union of air traffic control employees, has warned that the “draconian” job cuts will increase the workload of a workforce that is “already stretched thin”.
[Aljazeera]
The Iranian warship Iris Dena was given permission by India to dock three days before it was torpedoed by a US submarine, India has said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said Iran had sought permission for three of its ships to dock at Indian ports on 28 February – the day the US and Israel began a war on Iran – and permission was granted by India on 1 March.
The ships’ movements between 1 and 4 March are not clear and nor is why only one of them made it to India.
The sinking of the Iris Dena, with 130 sailors on board, in international waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on 4 March marked a dramatic widening of the war – and raised questions about India’s authority in its backyard.
It was the first military strike outside the Middle East since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. President Donald Trump has said destroying Iran’s navy is one aim of the assault.
The three Iranian ships – Iris Dena, Iris Bushehr and Iris Lavan – had all participated in a military exercise hosted by India between 15 and 25 February in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
They left Indian waters on 25 February and were likely to have been in international waters on 28 February – when the US and Israel began attacking Iran.
“The Iranian side had requested permission on 28 February for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on 1 March,” Jaishankar told parliament on Monday. “Iris Lavan actually docked on 4 March in Kochi. The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities. We believe that this was the right thing to do.”
On 4 March, Iris Dena sank after being hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine, killing at least 87 of its crew members.
According to the Indian Navy, the Iris Dena was operating about 20 nautical miles – roughly 23 miles (37km) – west of Galle in waters that fall under Sri Lanka’s designated search-and-rescue zone on the day it was struck.
The US tracks vessels across the world’s oceans, and a quarter of its submarine fleet of 65-70 is at sea at any given time, according to analysts.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores” and that the warship was “struck in international waters without warning.”
Later, Sri Lanka said it had provided sanctuary for Iris Bushehr on 5 March, a day after it requested for docking following an engine malfunction.
Eventually, India also confirmed that Iris Lavan was docked in its southern city Kochi.
The BBC has written to the Iranian embassy in India and India’s external affairs ministry seeking clarification on the movements of the three Iranian naval vessels after Delhi granted them permission to dock.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has touted the attack on Iris Dena as an example of America’s military prowess, claiming it was “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two”.
While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then.
The Iris Dena was one of about 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since Israel and the US launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran.
[BBC]
The white ball series between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held in the UAE from March 13 to 25, is likely to be postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing military conflict in West Asia.
While neither ACB nor SLC has issued an official statement, ESPNcricinfo has learned that both boards have agreed the series cannot take place in the UAE, keeping the ongoing crisis in mind. While both boards are still discussing alternatives, the bilateral series is unlikely to be shifted elsewhere due to logistical challenges.
The series comprising six white-ball matches was scheduled to start on March 13 starting with the three T20Is. The T20I leg was scheduled in Sharjah – on March 13, 15 and 17 – while the three ODIs were scheduled in Dubai on March 20, 22 and 25.
The series was set to be Afghanistan’s first under Ibrahim Zadran’s leadership, with the opener taking over the reins from Rashid Khan after a group-stage exit in the World Cup.
Last week, six matches of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 in Nepal involving Oman, UAE and the hosts were postponed because of the conflict.
The travel plans of several teams that were in India and Sri Lanka for the men’s T20 World Cup have also been disrupted owing to airspaces being closed or limited in West Asia.
Despite being knocked out over the last week, the contingents from West Indies and South Africa have been stuck in Kolkata, and received clarity only on Sunday, that they will be flying out on Tuesday.
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has officially announced the appointment of Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the men’s national team. Kirsten, who comes with a hefty coaching pedigree, will take over the reins on April 15 on a two-year contract that runs until April 14 2028.
The former South Africa batter will take over a Sri Lankan side seeking stability and a blueprint for consistency in the modern game. While outgoing head coach Sanath Jayasuriya was undoubtedly a household name, Kirsten is without question the most blockbuster appointment to the position in Sri Lanka’s history.
He famously guided India to their 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup victory. And under his tenure, South Africa reached the top of the Test rankings. Most recently, he served as a consultant for Namibia during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
As a player, Kirsten was a stalwart for South Africa, amassing over 14,000 international runs and becoming the first from his country to reach 100 Test matches.
Kirsten hopes to join a long line of non-Sri Lankan coaches who have significantly influenced the nation’s cricketing history. This tradition includes Dav Whatmore, who orchestrated the historic 1996 World Cup win; Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss, who led the team to World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011; and Chris Silverwood, the most recent foreign head coach before Sanath Jayasuriya took over as interim and then full-time coach in late 2024.
The appointment comes at a critical juncture following the team’s limp exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup, and marks a pointed departure from the post-2024 World Cup pivot towards coaches with more local knowledge.
Jayasuriya, who officially resigned as head coach following the tournament’s conclusion, will now lead the High Performance Centre. Sri Lanka enjoyed historic home successes in 2024 under his leadership – including a first ODI series win against India in 27 years – but their recent World Cup campaign ended in the Super Eight after disappointing losses to England and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka’s campaign was marked by competing philosophies, with batters in particular seemingly lacking clarity in their roles. SLC, in a media release, stated that the “appointment of the new head coach is part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s efforts to revamp the structure of the National High Performance Center,” and Kirsten will first and foremost be tasked with establishing a clear path to success.
With the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup set to be held in his native South Africa, alongside Namibia and Zimbabwe, Kirsten’s intimate knowledge of those conditions would have also likely played a role in his hire, but SLC will be hoping that his impact will be longer lasting and help build a winning culture similar to those he helped established in India and South Africa.
[Cricinfo]
Prime Minister on official visit to Manila, Philippines
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure women’s rights are realized in everyday Life, and are not confined merely to Laws – PM
North Korea cancels Pyongyang Marathon for ‘some reasons’
Canadian officials rescue 23 people who floated away on ice sheet
India offered sanctuary to Iranian ship three days before US sank it
Afghanistan-Sri Lanka white-ball series set to be postponed due to West Asia conflict
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