Azerbaijan’s leader on Monday accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors.

Russia’s seaborne crude exports slumped to the lowest level since August 2023, with the latest dip stretching the loss since an October peak to 540,000 barrels a day. The drop in shipments over the two-and-a-half month period has been concentrated at ports in western Russia,

Kazakhstan said there has been a seasonal rise in reported cases of metapneumovirus (HMPV) following a spike in neighboring China.

Initial indicators suggest oil exports from Kazakhstan were unchanged or higher in 2024 despite an unplanned drop in the country's oil output

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

Russia's crude oil production fell below its OPEC+ quota in December, raising concerns about its ability to meet future production cuts and potentially impacting the cartel's stability.

Speaking at the CIS meeting in St. Petersburg, Putin also said Russia's Emergency Ministry sent a plane with equipment and medical workers to Kazakhstan to assist with the aftermath of the crash.

Ukraine's air force says one of its F-16 fighter jet pilots shot down six missiles during a Russian aerial attack last month. Meanwhile, Moscow says its troops have inflicted a series of defeats on Ukrainian units in Kursk.

The Brazilian Air Force Laboratory has sent data from the flight recorders of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane to Kazakh investigators. The plane crashed on December 25 near the city of Aktau, Radio Liberty reports.

Brazilian investigators have extracted data from the two black boxes found at the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E-190.

Despite safety improvements since 2014, December 2024 witnessed several fatal crashes, raising fresh concerns.