Putin apologises to Azerbaijani president for 'tragic' plane crash

NEWS WIRES

28 December 2024 at 9:10 am·1-min read

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to Azerbaijan's President for the fact that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Russian airspace, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Dozens of passengers were killed and wounded in the crash that aviation experts speculated was hit by Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian drone attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Putin's apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

An official Kremlin statement issued Saturday said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny airport as the airliner “repeatedly” attempted to land there on Wednesday. It did not explicitly say one of these hit the plane.

The statement said Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

(AP)

Malay Mail
Transport Ministry announces four-day road ban for heavy vehicles nationwide, reduces speed limits two days before and after CNY
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — The Transport Ministry has announced a four-day road ban for heavy vehicles nationwide, along wit...
Reuters
Bird feathers, blood found in both engines of crashed jet in South Korea, source says
Seoul (Reuters) -Investigators found bird feathers and blood in both engines of the Jeju Air jet that crashed in South Korea last month, killing 179 people, a person familiar with the probe told Reuters on Friday. The Boeing 737-800 plane, which departed from the Thai capital Bangkok for Muan county in southwestern South Korea, belly-landed and overshot the regional airport's runway, bursting into flames after hitting an embankment. Only two crew members at the tail end of the plane survived the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
People
World’s Safest Airline for 2025 Revealed — and No U.S. Airline Makes the Top 5
AirlineRatings.com has revealed its annual list of the world’s safest full-service and low-cost airlines
Yahoo Finance
Trump's EV, tariff plans bring more uncertainty to an auto industry already in flux
Like other businesses emerging from a post-pandemic, higher-rate environment, the auto sector is in flux.
Futurism
Commercial Jets Forced to Divert After Elon Musk's Starship Explodes, Raining Fiery Debris Through Sky
Evasive Maneuvers While it may have provided an eye-popping spectacle for spectators on the ground, the mid-flight explosion of SpaceX's Starship on Thursday evening posed a serious threat to nearby aircraft. As Reuters reports, the rocket's debris that rained down over the Caribbean forced airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to change course to avoid being struck by the fiery remains. The scale of the disruption wreaked is significant. The flight tracking website FlightRadar24 says that doz
The Independent
Innocent person killed when cop chase with murder suspect who wanted to ‘call his mom’ ends in crash
The deadly incident occurred in Texas on Thursday at around 10.30 a.m. after the suspect, name as Gabriel Cerna, collided with another vehicle on the interstate
Malay Mail
In Singapore, Malaysian tenant jailed for secretly filming landlady, daughter for at least seven years
SINGAPORE, Jan 18 — A Malaysian tenant who lived with a family in Singapore for nearly a decade has been sentenced to 19...
The Telegraph
Two Iranian ‘judges of death’ gunned down in Tehran
An armed assailant fatally shot two notorious Iranian judges inside the Islamic Republic’s supreme court on Saturday.
Malay Mail
Supermarket chain closes Bangsar bakery with roach spotted crawling on bread: outlet undergoes sanitisation, deep cleaning and pest control
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — A supermarket chain has apologised after a Facebook post from a customer highlighted a cockroach...
Reuters
Nvidia CEO says not attending Trump's inauguration
Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang said on Friday he will not be attending U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, but will instead be "on the road" celebrating the Lunar New Year with employees and their families. Asked by reporters outside Nvidia's new year party in Taipei whether he had talked with the incoming Trump administration about the new artificial intelligence export control rules the outgoing Biden administration unveiled this week, Huang said, "not yet". He also said he had met C.C. Wei, the chairman of Nvidia's main supplier TSMC for lunch where they talked about ramping up production of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips Blackwell.
Malay Mail
Six heists, one showdown: Police shoot dead three car theft suspects in Rawang
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — Three suspects linked to car theft and robbery were shot dead by police at Persiaran Kota Emerald...
People
Michelle Yeoh Recalls Being ‘Depressed’ After a Bad Stunt Accident — and Reveals Which Famous Director Helped Her
Yeoh says she almost stepped back from working on action films before talking to this filmmaker
The Independent
Why Michelle Obama will skip Trump’s inauguration
The former first lady will not attend the president-elect’s inauguration and also missed Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in Washington DC earlier this month
AFP News
US president-elect Trump holds phone talks with Chinese leader Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping held phone talks Friday with US president-elect Donald Trump, Chinese state media reported.Earlier on Friday, China announced Xi would send Vice President Han Zheng to attend Trump's inauguration next week.
Malay Mail
‘Thrown under the bus’: Najib disagrees he’s to blame in 1MDB, claims was uneasy with Jho Low
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today disagreed with Low Taek Jho’s attempt to “throw him under the bus” and...
AFP News
US trade envoy finds China's shipbuilding policies warrant 'urgent action'
The US Trade Representative said Thursday that its probe into China's practices in the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors found that Beijing's undermining of fair competition warranted "urgent action.""Beijing's targeted dominance of these sectors undermines fair, market-oriented competition, increases economic security risks, and is the greatest barrier to revitalization of US industries," USTR Katherine Tai said in a statement.
INSIDER
24 of the most daring looks Elle Fanning has ever worn, from sheer fabric to bold cutouts
Elle Fanning is no stranger to a best-dressed list. From her glass-like Met Gala dress to sheer Cannes gowns, here are her boldest looks.
AFP News
'No money': gloom on Beijing streets as economic growth slows
Consumers pinching pennies, businesses seeing fewer customers, and a pervading sense that the economy just isn't bouncing back -- the mood was grim in Beijing as China posted some of its lowest growth in decades."For us who do business, it's obvious that there are much fewer customers coming to our store, and customers' consumption levels don't compare to before," Yang said.
Malay Mail
Police arrest man in Subang Jaya for alleged sexual abuse of 15-year-old stepdaughter
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — Police have arrested a man on suspicion of sexually abusing his 15-year-old stepdaughter at their...
Malay Mail
Plastic chairs fly during nine-person brawl at Ang Mo Kio coffee shop, three arrested
SINGAPORE, Jan 18 — Three men have been arrested for affray following a violent altercation in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore lat...

Latest stories