For your Sunday ponderage...
Plane crash in Iran:
A Sepahan Air Iran-140 plane bound for Tabas in northeast Iran crashed in a residential area after taking off from Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning, killing all 48 passengers and crew, Iranian state media reported.
The Civil Aviation Authority said the passengers included two infants and three children under the age of 12, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
The plane crashed into the Azad residential block on Mina 6 Boulevard, IRNA reported. State television reported at least three people in the area were taken to hospital with burns.
A photograph on IRNA's website showed a huge plume of black smoke billowing over traffic standing at a road intersection. A photograph from the Iran Student News Agency showed a charred tailfin lying on the ground.
A spokesman for Tehran's Fire Department was quoted by IRNA as saying the bodies are being transported to the coroner's office.
IRNA reported that an engine shutdown caused the crash. Iran's aviation sector has suffered repeated crashes which have been blamed by Iranian politicians on international sanctions.
Those sanctions have restricted Iranian carriers from buying new aircraft. For years, planes have been kept in service through parts imported on the black market, cannibalised from other planes or reproduced locally, aviation sources say.
But they have money for Hezbollah?
Okay....
Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Sunday to an Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza starting at 2100 GMT, officials from the warring sides said.
"Israel has accepted Egypt's proposal," a senior Israeli government official said, adding Israeli negotiators would return to Cairo on Monday to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians if the truce held.
The Israeli team had flown home on Friday before a previous three-day truce expired and hostilities in the month-old conflict resumed.
A Hamas official said Palestinian factions had accepted Egypt's call and that the Cairo talks would continue.
In a statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry urged "both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement".
A better use of this money would be for drones and transporting the affected to safer places:
Canada is bolstering its contribution to humanitarian aid in Iraq as the United States carries out air strikes against Islamic militants in the north of the country.
International Development Minister Christian Paradis says $5 million will go toward new assistance projects in Iraq, with $2.25 going immediately to what the government calls trusted humanitarian partners on the ground.
The three organizations are the International Red Cross, Mercy Corps and Save The Children Canada.
Paradis said the remaining amount will be spent after officials hear from Canada's partners in Iraq.
The money is to be used to distribute food, hygiene kits, cooking materials, blankets, tents and other needed supplies.
It is also intended for emergency repairs to essential water and sanitation services and to buy medical supplies.
Paradis also condemned members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria who launched attacks against Christians and other groups in northern Iraq.
"Canada continues to stand by the people of Iraq in these difficult times and condemns the terrorist actions of ISIS and the killing of innocent civilians in northern Iraq in the strongest possible terms," Paradis said in a statement issued by the prime minister's office.
"Canada will continue working closely with our allies to determine how we can best continue to support the needs of Iraqi civilians, particularly religious minorities."
ISIS, formerly known as Al Qaida in Iraq, was declared a terrorist organization by Ottawa in 2012.
By the end of the summer, President Barack Obama will make what some activists and legal experts say could be the "boldest move" of his presidency as he prepares to move without Congress on immigration reform.
The coming executive actions to change immigration policy could become the defining moment in a second term marred by congressional gridlock. A mid fierce debate over the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border they also could set up a potential political firestorm just weeks before the crucial midterm elections. Perhaps most importantly, Obama's coming executive actions could also test the limits of presidential power.
"Depending on how far they go, yes," David Martin, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who specializes in immigration law, told Business Insider. "It could be a significant challenge to the scope of presidential power."
The White House has provided few hints on what Obama will do on immigration as a review by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on his options is still ongoing. The Washington Post has reported, based on readouts of meetings among White House officials, congressional Democrats, and activist groups, that Obama could effectively expand the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA, as it is known, has shielded hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation .
According to the Washington Post report, the Obama administration is considering providing " temporary relief for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are closely related to U.S. citizens or those who have lived in the country a certain number of years." The number of people who could fit under those descriptions might be as high as five million.
Don't forget Shark Week.
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