Officials optimistic after Iran meeting
Geneva Officials negotiating Iran’s nuclear future left the table in an upbeat mood Wednesday, with Tehran renewing its vow to refrain from developing nuclear weapons and signaling it will pursue talks with Europe toward a final agreement on its atomic program.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and other key European ministers met for three hours with Iranian negotiators under an implied threat that Tehran could be brought before the U.N. Security Council to face possible international sanctions over its suspected nuclear activities.
After the meeting, Straw said Iran had “reaffirmed its commitment not to seek to develop nuclear weapons. The freeze of the enrichment program will continue until an agreement is reached.”
Canada gives queen a royal farewell party
Edmonton, Alberta Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip received a carnival sendoff complete with cowpokes twirling ropes beside Shetland ponies Wednesday on the final day of their visit to Canada.
Despite overcast skies and a biting wind, about 6,000 people – many waving tiny flags of Canada, Alberta and the United Kingdom – came to Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton to say goodbye.
Later the queen, wearing a cream-colored suitcoat and matching hat, was treated to a royal goodbye by some 10,000 people at the Calgary Saddledome before heading to the airport.
She received military honors and reviewed the guard of honor mounted by her two regiments – the Calgary Highlanders and the King’s Own Calgary Regiment.
The queen’s 22nd visit to Canada included tours in neighboring Saskatchewan, another prairie province marking its 100th anniversary of joining the Canadian Confederation.
Some came dressed Wednesday in their royal best, including six little girls in tiny tiaras. Among the onlookers was Chantelle Kent, 9, who said she got up at 5:30 a.m. for the show. She and her sister, 12-year-old Morgan, said the 79-year-old monarch looked like their grandmother.
“She has the bluest eyes,” said Morgan.
Plane goes missing minutes after takeoff
Kinshasa, Congo A commercial aircraft carrying 21 passengers and five crew members disappeared Wednesday after takeoff in eastern Congo, an aviation official said.
The Russian-made Antonov 12 vanished after leaving an airstrip in the eastern town of Goma, en route for Kindu, another town in the region, said Raymond Sangara, coordinator of Congo’s civil aviation authority.
“We can’t say if there was a crash or a forced landing. These are things we don’t know now,” Sangara said by telephone from Goma.
Sangara said the plane lost contact with the control tower three minutes after its morning departure. It never arrived in Kindu, located 240 miles southwest of Goma.