Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan over a plane crash that killed 38 people following what investigators believe was an “external impact”.
In a call with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Mr Putin “apologised for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace”, the Kremlin said on Saturday. It said Russian air defences were firing at Ukrainian drones in the area, but did not say they were responsible for the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
The Embraer-190 aircraft came down in a ball of fire near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday after veering off its course from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to Grozny in the Russian republic of Chechnya. There were 67 passengers and crew on board, of whom 38 died and 29 survivors were injured.
Mr Aliyev said holes in the plane's fuselage, as well as witness testimony and signs of “foreign particles” causing injuries to passengers and crew, suggested the flight was the victim of “external physical and technical interference”. His office likewise stopped short of pointing the finger at Russia.
The European Union's foreign affairs commissioner, Kaja Kallas, said reports that “Russian fire could have caused” the crash were a reminder of the MH17 disaster over Ukraine in 2024. She called for a “swift, independent international investigation”.
In the account relayed by Mr Putin, the plane made repeated attempts to land at Grozny, which at the time was being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, the Kremlin said. It said Russian air defences “repelled these attacks”.
The Russian leader “expressed deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured”, Mr Putin's office said. Mr Aliyev said the plane was able to make an emergency landing “solely due to the courage and professionalism of the pilots”.
Azerbaijani Transport Minister Rashan Nabiyev said on Friday that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact”, as did witness testimony. “The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” he told local media.
Crash investigators from Azerbaijan are in Grozny, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said. Passengers and crew who survived told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises in the aircraft as it circled over Grozny.
Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli said that after one noise, the oxygen masks automatically released. She said she went to perform first aid on a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, and then they heard another bang.
Mr Asadov said the noises sounded like something hitting the plane from outside. Shortly afterwards, he suddenly sustained a deep wound to his arm, “as if someone hit me in the arm with an axe”, he said.
Crash survivor Jerova Salihat, speaking to Azerbaijani television from hospital, said “something exploded” near her leg, while Vafa Shabanova said “there were two explosions in the sky, and an hour and a half later the plane crashed to the ground”.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said the captain was offered alternative airports after two unsuccessful landing attempts but he decided to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau in Kazakhstan.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WonderTree%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20April%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Waqas%20and%20Muhammad%20Usman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karachi%2C%20Pakistan%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%2C%20and%20Delaware%2C%20US%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Special%20education%2C%20education%20technology%2C%20assistive%20technology%2C%20augmented%20reality%3Cbr%3EN%3Cstrong%3Eumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowth%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Grants%20from%20the%20Lego%20Foundation%2C%20UAE's%20Anjal%20Z%2C%20Unicef%2C%20Pakistan's%20Ignite%20National%20Technology%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
