International
Azerbaijani government sources say AZAL plane was hit by Russian missile
The Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, was hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, two Azerbaijani government sources told EFE on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
According to sources, Flight 8432, from Baku, was hit by shrapnel from a surface-to-air missile while it was in the airspace of the Russian city of Grozny, its destination.
They also said that the authorities did not allow the emergency landing requested by the pilots of the Embraer 190 at Russian airports and diverted it towards the city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan, for which it had to fly over the waters of the Caspian Sea.
According to the pro-government agency Caliber.Az, the missile used against the plane was a Pantsir-S.
The same media outlet reports that Russian sources acknowledge that Russian anti-aircraft defences were trying to shoot down Ukrainian drones in the skies over Chechnya, where the AZAL plane was flying.
In addition, the head of the Center for Combating Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andri Kovalenko, said that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.
“The explosion of an air defense missile damaged the plane and disabled its systems,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.
The black boxes are found
The black boxes of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, have been found at the scene of the tragedy, Kazakh officials said today.
“During the inspection of the crash site, two flight recorders were discovered, which will be handed over to the Air Accident Investigation Department,” Abilaibek Ordabaev, the transport prosecutor of Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, told a press conference.
He added that inspection work at the site of the accident, which covers more than 4,000 square meters, is “in the final stage.”
According to Kazakh sources, specialists from the Brazilian company Embraer will be in charge of decoding the black boxes. They will arrive in the Central Asian country tomorrow to join the investigation.
Attacks on Grozny
The holes in the plane’s fuselage that appeared during the flight and can be seen in the passengers’ images could not have been caused by birds, as initially reported by Russian sources, he said.
“Russia had to close the airspace over Grozny, but it did not do so,” Kovalenko stressed, referring to the risks created by the drone attack that was taking place in Grozny at the same time.
The Russian city was attacked by drones on Wednesday morning, according to the secretary of the Chechen Security Council and nephew of the head of the region, Jamzat Kadyrov.
“Everything that flew was shot down,” he said on Instagram.
The Ukrainian official said the plane “was damaged by the Russians and sent to Kazakhstan instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny and saving lives.”
The Kremlin calls for not rushing into hypotheses
Only the professionalism of the plane’s pilots prevented Russia from “turning this story into a Russian provocation against Ukraine,” he said, warning that Russia will do everything possible to hide its own responsibility for the plane crash and the deaths of people.
On Wednesday morning, 38 of the 67 people on board the plane died in the accident near the city of Aktau (Kazakhstan), after failing to land in the Russian city of Grozny (Chechnya).
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency earlier said the plane “hit birds” after which its captain decided to land at an alternate airfield in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The Kremlin today called on people not to rush to conclusions about the causes of the crash.
“It would be a mistake to formulate hypotheses before the conclusions of the investigation. We, of course, will not do so and no one should do so,” said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov at his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov insisted that it was necessary to “wait until the investigation is over.”
NATO calls for a “thorough” investigation
Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office spokesman Kanan Zeinalov said Thursday that Azerbaijani and Kazakh specialists are working together to clarify the causes of the tragedy, and Brazilian experts are also expected to join them.
Several pro-war Russian military bloggers, including Fighterbomber, have added their support to the theory that the aircraft was possibly shot down by Russian air defenses, noting that alleged shrapnel impacts can be seen in images of the wreckage of the plane.
NATO has called for a “thorough” investigation into the crash.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243. We wish those injured in the accident a speedy recovery and call for a thorough investigation,” NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said in a message on social media.
International
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday asked two federal judges to block the U.S. government under President Donald Trump from deporting any Venezuelan nationals detained in North Texas under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law, arguing that immigration officials appear to be moving forward with deportations despite Supreme Court-imposed limitations.
The ACLU has already filed lawsuits to stop the deportation of two Venezuelan men held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, challenging the application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The organization is now seeking a broader court order that would prevent the deportation of any immigrant in the region under that law.
In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan detainees of being members of the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang. These accusations, the ACLU argues, are being used to justify deportations under the wartime statute.
The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times in U.S. history — most notably during World War II to detain Japanese-American civilians in internment camps. The Trump administration has claimed the law allows them to swiftly remove individuals identified as gang members, regardless of their immigration status.
The ACLU, together with Democracy Forward, filed legal actions aiming to suspend all deportations carried out under the law. Although the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed deportations to resume, it unanimously ruled that they could only proceed if detainees are given a chance to present their cases in court and are granted “a reasonable amount of time” to challenge their pending removal.
International
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
A man identified as Rafael Rosario Mota falsely claimed to have rescued 12 people from the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo—a tragedy that left 231 people dead—but he was never at the scene.
Intelligence agents in the Dominican Republic arrested the 32-year-old man for pretending to be a hero who saved lives during the catastrophic incident, authorities announced.
Rosario Mota had been charging for media interviews in which he falsely claimed to have pulled survivors from the rubble after the nightclub’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8, during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“He was never at the scene of the tragedy,” the police stated. The arrest took place just after he finished another interview on a digital platform, where he repeated his fabricated story in exchange for money as part of a “media tour” filled with manipulated information and invented testimonies.
“False hero!” read a message shared on the police force’s Instagram account alongside a short video of the suspect, in which he apologized: “I did it because I was paid. I ask forgiveness from the public and the authorities.”
Central America
Nicaraguan Exiles to Mark 7th Anniversary of 2018 Protests with Global Commemorations
The Nicaraguan opposition in exile announced on Thursday that it will commemorate the seventh anniversary of the April 2018 protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, with events in Costa Rica, the United States, and several European countries.
The commemorative activities—which will call for justice for the victims, as well as freedom and democracy for Nicaragua—will include religious services, public forums, cultural fairs, and other public gatherings, according to official announcements.
In April 2018, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest controversial reforms to the social security system. The government’s violent response quickly turned the demonstrations into a broader call for the resignation of President Ortega, who is now 79 and has been in power since 2007.
The protests resulted in at least 355 deaths, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although Nicaraguan organizations claim the toll is as high as 684. Ortega has acknowledged “more than 300” deaths and maintains the unrest was an attempted coup d’état.
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
UN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoHonduran Police Offer $135K for Tips Leading to the Arrest of Romeo Vásquez
-
Central America4 days agoPetro questions Ecuador’s vote, cites reports of military control and arrests
-
International3 days agoArsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals
-
International4 days agoMPV Denounces Electoral Blockade as Secretary-General is Disqualified for May Elections
-
International2 days agoDominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
-
International4 days agoMaduro Plans Major Workers’ March on May 1st to Defend Venezuela’s Freedom
-
International3 days agoBogotá residents line up for yellow fever vaccine amid national alert
-
Central America2 days ago
Nicaraguan Exiles to Mark 7th Anniversary of 2018 Protests with Global Commemorations
-
International3 days agoDeSantis’ immigration crackdown sparks alarm in Venezuelan Communities in Doral
-
International3 days agoMexico refuses to restore ties with Ecuador while Noboa remains in office
-
International12 hours agoACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
-
International4 days agoColombia: Search continues for missing limb of italian scientist found dismembered
-
Central America12 hours agoUN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children