Rouhani asks military to apologise for holding back plane information

TEHRAN: President Hassan Rouhani appealed on Wednesday for unity and flagged the need for changes to the way Iran is run, after a wave of angry protests over the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner. The Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was shot down in a catastrophic error shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard. One week on from the disaster, Rouhani called for “national unity” in remarks broadcast live on state television. “If there was a delay” by the armed forces to release information about what happened, “let them apologise”, he said. Rouhani also sought a full explanation after it took Iran days to admit the airliner had been mistakenly shot down. The blunder...