Page 2 - Azerbaijan

Putin apologises to Azerbaijani counterpart for tragic plane crash incident

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a tragic incident following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. The plane was flying on Wednesday from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors. In an official statement Saturday, the Kremlin said air defence systems were firing near Grozny on Wednesday due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane. On Friday, a US official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon.

Azerbaijani, US officials suggest weapons fire may have hit crashed plane

Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a US official said on Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts. Friday's assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming air defenses. Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems, but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. Pressed on whether the US has intelligence that helped lead to t

Passengers claim hearing bangs before Azerbaijan plane crash that killed 38

Previous disasters include the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in 2020 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, killing all 176 people on board

Ukrainian attack was underway before Azerbaijani plane crash, says Russia

Russia's aviation chief said Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack was under way in the region of Chechnya at the time an Azerbaijani airliner attempted to land before diverting to Kazakhstan and crashing there earlier this week. Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, didn't comment on statements by an Azerbaijani lawmaker and many aviation experts who blamed Wednesday's crash on Russian air defence fire. Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was flying from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, but it turned to Aktau in Kazakhstan across the Caspian Sea and crashed while making an attempt to land there. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia were tight-lipped about a possible cause of the crash pending an official probe, but a member of Azerbaijan's parliament, Rasim Musabekov told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday

Azerbaijan Airlines suspends flights to Russian cities after plane crash

Azerbaijan's flag carrier announced Friday that it will suspend flights to several Russian airports, citing potential flight safety risks after a crash of one of its planes that many experts blamed on Russian air defence fire. Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was flying from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons still unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia were tight-lipped about a possible cause of the crash pending an official probe, but a lawmaker in Azerbaijan blamed Moscow. Rasim Musabekov told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday that the plane was fired on while in the skies over Grozny, and urged Russia to offer an official apology. Asked about Musabekov's statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry .

Russia's air defence likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash: Aviation experts

Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defence fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons still unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea. The plane went down about 3 km (2 miles) from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before crashing into the ground and exploding in a fireball. Other footage showed a part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft lying upside down on the grass. Azerbaijan mourned the crash victims with national flags at half-staff across on Thursday. Traffic stopped at noon, and sirens sounded from ships and trains as it observed

Nato calls for investigation of Azerbaijan Airlines crash that killed 38

An Embraer passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people

Bird strike, Russian missiles among Azerbaijan plane crash conspiracies

As investigators cite a possible bird strike for the plane crash, viral videos and social media speculation raise questions about shrapnel damage and a potential Russian defense system involvement

Toll hits 38 in Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near Kazakhstan's Aktau

The plane, which had 62 passengers and five crew members on board, crashed after being forced to make an emergency landing

COP29 summit: India leads Global South to reject 'unfair' finance deal

COP 29 president pushed decisions despite objections, citing procedural norms

COP29 Climate Summit: Climate finance draft sets stage for a clash

The final version not only keeps the role of public financing ambiguous but also tries to put the burden of making contributions on developing countries

New global climate finance draft poses challenges for developing world

Latest version of the Global Climate Finance plan fails on most counts to meet India and other developing countries' demands or expectations

Tata Power, ADB ink pact for $4.25 bn finance for key energy projects

Tata Power on Thursday said it has signed an initial pact with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to evaluate financing worth USD 4.25 billion for its several strategic projects. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with ADB at Baku, Azerbaijan, Tata Power said in a statement. "The MoU has been signed evaluate financing for its several strategic projects aimed at enhancing India's power infrastructure and promoting renewable and clean energy," it said. The total estimated project cost is about USD 4.25 billion, Tata Power said. The MoU outlines the evaluation of financing for several key ongoing projects such as the 966-MW solar wind hybrid project and pumped hydro storage project and other projects in the pipeline around energy transition, decarbonisation, and battery storage as well as ongoing financing for capex towards strengthening the distribution networks. Tata Power CEO and Managing Director Praveer Sinha said, "Collaboration with ADB is a crucial step as we explore ...

COP29: At climate talks, draft of deal gives little clarity on climate cash

A new draft text released early Thursday which will form the basis of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay. Negotiators at the talks known as COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, are trying to close the gap between the $1.3 trillion the developing world says is needed in climate finance and the few hundred billion that richer nations have been prepared to pay. But the draft text "presents two extreme ends of the aisle without much in between", said Li Shuo, Asia Society Policy Institute Director. Other than capturing the ground standing of both sides, this text hardly does anything more. Rob Moore, Associate Director at European think tank E3G said that negotiators need to make a huge amount of progress over the next few days and the road to agreement will need to see rapid and candid engagement, with numbers on the ...

Pak PM calls for $6.8 trillion in climate funding for developing nations

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for USD 6.8 trillion in climate funding for developing countries by 2030. Sharif was speaking at a climate finance roundtable hosted by Pakistan during the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. According to live coverage of his speech by Pakistani TV channels, the prime minister stressed that developing countries were facing huge climate challenges but were often left without adequate resources to meet them. We need urgent climate finance to tackle issues brought by environmental changes, Sharif said, as he asked the developed countries to fulfil promises that have remained largely unmet despite repeated commitments. Developing countries require USD 6.8 trillion in financing by 2030 to manage the impacts of climate change effectively, the premier said. He pointed out that while a climate finance goal of USD 100 billion annually was set in 2009, increasing this target is now crucial as the

Most G20 nations should advance climate action: Global South climate index

Most G20 members, including the US, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, need to significantly step up climate action, according to a Climate Accountability Matrix launched at COP29 here on Tuesday. The Climate Accountability Matrix (CAM) is a first-of-its-kind assessment tool from the Global South to analyse countries' performance in climate aspects beyond mitigation, including adaptation and means of implementation. As against the rich nations, countries from the Global South, such as India and South Africa have made significant efforts in climate action by actively participating in key agreements, undertaking reasonable efforts domestically and adhering to their obligations, the CAM, featured in a report by independent, New Delhi-based think tank the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), found. The CEEW report Are G20 Countries Delivering on Climate Goals? Tracking Progress on Commitments to Strengthen the Paris Agreement unveiled at the COP29 here introduces

Host nation Azerbaijan defends oil, gas sector at COP29 amid West criticism

Azerbaijan's oil and gas revenues accounted for 35 per cent of its economy in 2023, down from 50 per cent two years earlier. The government says these revenues will decline to 22 per cent by 2028

COP29: Experts call for $1 trn annual investment to fight climate change

At the COP29 climate summit, prominent voices in the climate action arena voiced a call for greater accountability, real climate finance, and transparent data from developed countries and called for USD 1 trillion per year in cross-border finance to developing countries. Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the President, Inter-American Development Bank from the Inter-American Development Bank, highlighted the enormous financial need for climate adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage. We need an NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal) that is relevant to actual climate finance needs, he stated, calling for USD 1 trillion per year in cross-border finance to developing countries. Persaud also noted that transparency is critical to finance accountability, arguing that clear data on financial flows and impact is essential. He cautioned, however, that loss and damage finance should be grant-based and separate from adaptation and mitigation to ensure funds reach the m

Targets unchanged a year after deal on tripling renewables by 2030: Report

A year after countries agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity to 11,000 gigawatts by 2030, a new report on Tuesday revealed that national targets still only aim for a collective doubling of capacity in the next six years. The report by global energy think tank Ember showed only eight countries have updated their renewable targets in the last 12 months, resulting in just a four-GW increase in overall renewable energy targets globally. The report analysed national 2030 renewable capacity targets for 96 countries and the EU as a bloc. These countries collectively account for 96 per cent of the world's renewable capacity, 95 per cent of global electricity sector demand and 94 per cent of global power sector emissions. Of the 96 countries, 83 have renewable capacity targets for 2030. At the UN's climate conference in December 2023 in Dubai, world leaders reached a historic agreement to triple global renewables capacity by 2030. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and ...

Azerbaijan accused of intensifying repression of critics amid hosting COP29

As representatives from nearly 200 countries, along with hundreds of journalists, arrived in Azerbaijan in November for the UN climate conference known this year as COP29, they bring with them a level of scrutiny the hosts aren't accustomed to and don't often tolerate. Azerbaijan has had a poor human rights record for many years and the government has regularly targeted journalists, activists and independent politicians. President Ilham Aliyev and his administration are accused by human rights organisations of spearheading an intensifying crackdown on freedom of speech ahead of the climate summit, including against climate activists and journalists. Aliyev's father, Haidar, ruled Azerbaijan from 1993 until he died in 2003 and Ilham took over. Both suppressed dissent as the country of almost 10 million people on the Caspian Sea basked in growing wealth from huge oil and natural gas reserves. Elections since independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s haven't been regarded as ful