MONTREAL - Why was the Ukrainian airliner mistakenly shot down near Tehran by Iranian forces last week for the loss of 176 lives even allowed to take off from a country that had just fired missiles towards its neighbour? And why didn't the airline just delay or cancel the flight?

BRUSSELS - Nine European Union states have called on the bloc's incoming executive Commission to introduce an EU-wide tax on aviation so as to charge a polluting industry more for its emissions and put all member states on level pegging. The industry set itself an ambitious 2050 target.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had insufficient personnel to oversee the certification of new Boeing airplanes and should make significant reforms in how it approves new aircraft, an international aviation panel said Friday. The FAA asks for funding to boost its staffing.