Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 28 december 2019
12 killed, dozens hurt after jetliner crashes in Kazakhstan

Associated Press the wings slipped and fell.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) The weather in Almaty was
— A jetliner with 98 people clear, with temperatures
aboard struggled to get air- just below freezing. The
borne and crashed shortly plane was flying to Nur-
after takeoff Friday in Ka- Sultan, the capital formerly
zakhstan, killing at least 12 known as Astana.
people, authorities said. Video footage showed the
The Bek Air jet, identified as front of the broken-up fu-
a 23-year-old Fokker 100, selage rammed against a
hit a concrete wall and a building and the rear of the
two-story building soon af- plane lying in a field next to
ter departing from Almaty, the airport.
Kazakhstan's largest city Passengers who survived
and former capital, airport may have been saved
officials said. by the fact that the plane
The aircraft's tail also struck crashed at a lower speed
the runway twice during and from a lower altitude
takeoff, indicating that it because it was taking off,
struggled to get off the and it came down in ter-
ground, Deputy Prime Min- rain that may have eased
ister Roman Sklyar said. the impact.
Fifty-four people people "The lower the speed, the
were reported hospitalized lower the energy, and the
with injuries, at least 10 of In this handout photo provided by the Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakh- fact that it lands on things
stan, police and rescuers work on the side of a plane crash near Almaty International Airport,
them in critical condition, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. that might not tear it up so
officials said. Associated Press much" all play a role, said
The cause of the predawn Adrian Young, senior avia-
crash was unclear. Au- One survivor said the plane gain altitude, shaking quite the jet underwent de-ic- tion consultant at the To70
thorities quickly suspended started shaking less than severely, and then went ing before the flight, but consultancy in the Nether-
all Bek Air and Fokker 100 two minutes after takeoff. down," Aslan Nazaraliyev Nazaraliyev recalled that lands.
flights in Kazakhstan while "At first, the left wing jolted told The Associated Press its wings were covered in Cold weather may have
the investigation got un- really hard, then the right. by phone. ice, and passengers who helped prevent fire, Young
derway. The plane continued to Government officials said used emergency exits over said.q

Iran-backed groups accuse Iraqi president of caving to US

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA did."
Associated Press The Iran-affiliated groups
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran- said the president had vio-
supported groups on Friday lated the constitution "by
blasted Iraq's president for refusing to carry out his
not naming their preferred duties" to name the can-
prime minister candidate, didate chosen by parlia-
saying his decision was at ment's largest bloc.
the behest of the United Since last year's elections,
States, and warned him however, politicians have
to not name anyone who disagreed over which bloc
could be "an agent of the is the largest, a dispute that
Americans." has led them to twice miss
In refusing to appoint Fa- the deadline for naming a
tah-backed candidate new premier.
Asaad al-Eidani on Thurs- There are two main blocs
day, President Barham Salih in the Iraqi Parliament: Sai-
said he was responding to roon, led by populist Shiite
broad opposition by anti- cleric Muqtada al-Sadr;
government protesters who and Fatah, headed by
have flooded the streets Hadi al-Amiri. But the num-
for nearly three months to bers in the blocs have con-
demand the overthrow of tinued to change since the
Iraq's entire political class. elections, with an unknown
The protesters, who accuse number of lawmakers leav-
the government of corrup- A protester walks past a poster with a defaced picture of the governor of the southern Basra prov- ing some blocs and joining
ince Asaad al-Eidani and Arabic that reads "rejected by the people," during the ongoing protests,
tion and mismanagement, in Tahrir square, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. others. In a statement Fri-
poured into the streets Associated Press day, protesters called the
Wednesday demanding Iran-backed groups "blocs
an independent candi- Salih's move "suspicious." statement said. called Salih a coward in of corruption" that are do-
date for prime minister. "We know that he is carry- Legislator Odai Awad, an interview with a local ing everything they can to
But in a statement Friday, ing out an American will a member of the Iran- TV station and said "every ensure that sects and eth-
the Hezbollah Brigades, or that aims to pull the coun- backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Iraqi should spit in the face nic groups hold the coun-
Kataeb Hezbollah, called try toward chaos," the or League of the Righteous, of the president for what he try's top posts. q