Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally
Baku, Dec 29: Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticised Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.
"We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.
Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare." Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defence systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident" though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow's responsibility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has begun at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defence system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
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After Ola row, Kunal Kamra asks Blinkit CEO to reveal wages of delivery partners
Mumbai: After a verbal spat with Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal over customer complaints and faulty deliveries, comedian Kunal Kamra began 2025 by shedding light on the exploitation of gig workers in the quick commerce sector.
Blinkit CEO, Albinder Dhindsa, posted live updates on X about the most-ordered items on the platform. He wrote: “1,22,356 packs of condoms, 45,531 bottles of mineral water, 22,322 Partysmart, 2,434 Eno..are enroute right now! Prep for party?”
Kamra responded by questioning the wages of Blinkit’s delivery partners. “Can you also enlighten us with data on the average wages you paid your ‘Delivery Partners’ in 2024?” he asked Dhindsa, putting “delivery partners” in quotes, a reference to the fact that companies often avoid labeling delivery workers as employees, instead designating them as “partners.”
In a follow-up post, Kunal Kamra elaborated on the dark side of quick commerce, noting that platform owners exploit gig workers. “While we enjoy the convenience of quick commerce I’d like my first tweet of 2025 to be about the dark side,” he wrote.
“Platform owners exploit gig workers and they aren’t job creators. They are landlords without owning any land. They don’t have a bone of creativity or innovation all they do is exploit people by offering them freedom that they can’t afford while giving them wages that can’t meet their aspirations,” he added.
Kamra further criticised the business model, comparing platform owners to “thugs” who use "data as oil without paying for the oil fields." He added that someday there will be regulation that humbles them.
Other social media users echoed Kamra’s concerns, pointing out the lack of creativity and exploitation in the industry. One user commented, “Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato, Swiggy. All of them. Zero creativity- only exploitation. The delivery workers are stretched to a great extent for compensation that is not justified at all. 10 mins delivery isn’t a landmark thing tbh. It’s sheer exploitation of humanity to satisfy the ego & whims of the buyer.”
Can you also enlighten us with data on the average wages you paid your “Delivery Partners” in 2024… https://t.co/v0yBlvobCQ
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) December 31, 2024
While we enjoy the convenience of quick commerce I’d like my first tweet of 2025 to be about the dark side.
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) December 31, 2024
Platform owners exploit gig workers & they aren’t job creators.
They are landlords without owning any land.
They don’t have a bone of creativity or innovation all…
