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Iran military helicopter crashes into central fruit and vegetable market, reportedly killing 4

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian military helicopter crashed into a fruit and vegetable market in central Iran on Tuesday, reportedly killing at least four people.

The crash happened in the town of Dorcheh, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran, in the country’s Isfahan province, Iranian state television reported. Isfahan is home to a major Iranian air base, as well as a nuclear site struck by the U.S. during the Iran-Israel war in June.

The army helicopter had been on a training flight, state TV said. The pilot and co-pilot died in the crash, it added, showing footage of debris and smoke rising from the market.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said two people on the ground at the market died in the crash.

This is the second crash in less than a week in Iran. An F-4 fighter jet crashed near Iran’s western city of Hamedan, killing one of its pilots.

Iran has a history of fatal crashes. Western sanctions have dried up the supply of parts for aircraft in Iran, which relies on a fleet of aging helicopters and airplanes for both its government and commercial airlines.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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