Azerbaijan in Foreign Media | Azərbaycan Qərb Mediasında

[Galandar]

The Guardian: End of the USSR: visualising how the former Soviet countries are doing, 20 years on

The CaucasusAzerbaijan's oil dividend makes it one of the strongest performing economies in the post-Soviet space, and it is one of the few former Soviet republics with a growing population. Armenia and Georgia have both seen incipient growth through the 2000s rudely interrupted by the global recession of 2008/09. The frozen conflicts of Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan and Armenia) and Abkhazia (Georgia) have exacted a political and economic price, and in Georgia's case a fractured relationship with its dominant northern neighbour Russia has resulted in the only war between former Soviet republics (2008). Armenia suffers from the worst unemployment of all 15 republics, and democratic breakthroughs have been few - only Georgia has held free and fair elections. Still, life expectancy has risen sharply across the region, and infant mortality rates have been reduced impressively...

The full article is here http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...countries-data

[Xtreminal]

Today, Turquoise Center's biggest street in Houston, Texas will carry name of Azerbaijan, and therefore it will be known as Azerbaijan street.

Source: Igra Newspaper

image hosted on flickr

[BaKuCiTy]

Originally Posted by Xtreminal

Today, Turquoise Center's biggest street in Houston, Texas will carry name of Azerbaijan, and therefore it will be known as Azerbaijan street.

Source: Igra Newspaper

image hosted on flickr

[Mishka AD]

Egyptian newspaper features Azerbaijan

The Egypt-based Arabic newspaper “Arab-Africa” published an article under the title “The first parliamentary republic in the Orient” by the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Egypt Shahin Abdullayev.
The author informed readers on the history of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

The article says that Azerbaijan was the first country to introduce women`s suffrage ahead of several European countries. He provided background on education, culture and military of the country.

Abdullayev also spoke of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and briefed the readers on the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

The author informed readers on achievements gained in Azerbaijan after restoring its independence. On Azerbaijan`s oil-gas sector, Abdullayev noted the country`s role in European energy security.

SOURCE: today.az

[Xtreminal]

Changing Azerbaijan and visionary leadership

I have been in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the rising star of the Caucasus, for two days to attend the first meeting of the Baku International Humanitarian Forum.


Azerbaijan is a country with a promising future as it has achieved growth rates of up to 30 percent, particularly between 2006 and 2008, after the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude oil pipeline, and it managed to grow by 9 percent in 2009 while the rest of the world was stricken by an economic crisis, and 4 percent in 2010, when oil prices were down. Most importantly, although this sister country is indebted to oil exports for its growth, it has recently been making significant investments in order to diversify its economy and save its economy from dependence on energy exports. The Azerbaijani administration is today granting serious economic incentives to thousands of private or public investments and enterprises.

Thanks to these incentives, the country has been making stable and major economic and social progress that is unmatched by any of the countries in the region. Even a cursory visit to Baku is enough to showcase the dazzling aspects of this tremendous development, change and transformation. Everywhere you look, you see skyscrapers either under construction or newly completely and commissioned, all with the finest examples of architectural design. Another thing that will catch your eye in this city are the ubiquitous stores of internationally known brands and international luxury hotels that are being built or have recently opened their doors. These stores and growing number of hotels are a concrete sign that Azerbaijan has become a center of attraction for international circles.

The infrastructure for roads and passes in the city has largely been completed and any comparison between the past and today of vehicles on these roads will give you an idea of the gigantic progress Azerbaijan has made in recent years. The number of old Soviet-era cars reminiscent of old Azerbaijan is decreasing each day and quickly being replaced by the latest model luxury cars. The remaining old cars allow every newcomer, like me, to draw comparisons between the old and new Azerbaijan. With a per capita income of about $11,000 Azerbaijan is today close to becoming a $100 billion economy based on its purchasing power parity.

With its location near the Caspian Sea, its surface area of 82,629 square kilometers and its population of 8.4 million, about 2 million of whom live in the capital city of Baku, Azerbaijan has great potential for development, which is also indicated by the fact that about 52 percent of its population is still living in rural areas. Azerbaijan is urbanizing at an annual rate of 1.4 percent and the rate of agricultural share in the economy has decreased to 5.2 percent, with industry and the services sector corresponding to 60 and 34.8 percent, respectively. In the country, where the unemployment rate is below 1 percent, the proportion of the employed to the population gives us a bleak picture. The proportion of the employed to the population is 38.3 percent in agriculture, 12.1 percent in industry and 49.6 percent in the service sector. The fact that Azerbaijan has a young population and a workforce of about 6 million is considered both as a challenge and an opportunity in terms of the country’s human capital. At this point, the importance the Azerbaijani leadership attaches to education becomes significant.

Being a country where the period of compulsory education is 12 years, Azerbaijan is among the countries that have understood the importance of education. The Azerbaijani administration is currently allocating only 2.8 percent of the state budget while sending students abroad for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies in order to provide the country’s rapid development process with a quality workforce and specialists. The Office of the President of Azerbaijan is planning to provide full scholarships to 5,000 Azerbaijani students who will study abroad in quality Western universities as part of a program that will be in place until 2017. It is possible today to predict that these students being sent to universities abroad, with proper planning and consideration of criteria of success and the areas where they will be needed most, will drive a complete change as well as socioeconomic and political development in their country when they return. As a leader who has made significant investments in every area that concerns human capital, including education, health, environment and science, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will certainly make his country the brightest shining star of the region and the world’s political arena with his visionary policies that attach great importance to education.

Aliyev is not only developing policies to boost the country’s young population’s intellectual capacity for social and economic development but is also using the state’s resources generously to implement these policies. At the same time, he is looking for ways to seamlessly benefit from the world’s intellectual achievements. The first Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which has been taking place in Baku over the last two days, is being held for this purpose. Although it was initially planned to be a biennial event, experts say it may be held as an annual event because of its huge success. The most fundamental feature of the forum that sets it apart from others is that it is a multidisciplinary event. A number of statesmen, politicians and world-renowned social scientists as well as famed academics from the fields of technology, science and industry are presenting papers within the scope of six different programs running through the forum.

The participants of the opening ceremony of the forum at the Gulistan Palace included Aliyev, former Turkish President Süleyman Demirel, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, the former presidents of Bulgaria, Jelu Jelev and Petar Stoyanov, former Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster and former Estonian President Arnold Ruutel, as well as Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Prize winner in literature Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, Nobel Prize winner in economics James Mirrless and many world-renowned scholars, which is proof that the forum will quickly become one of the world’s important and distinguished intellectual summits.

As noted by Aliyev, this forum is only one of the many serious intellectual forums recently held in Azerbaijan. Having accelerated its strong efforts in the humanitarian field, as the basis of human development, with the 2008 Baku process, Azerbaijan hosted a joint meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Council of Europe (CoE) in 2009. The country also brought together the leaders of different religious groups across the globe in Baku in 2010 and, building upon its geography, culture, history and geopolitical role that unites the East with the West, it hosted the Dialogue of Civilizations Forum in April 2011.

Unfortunately, the leaders of some countries seek to introduce increased restrictions on individual rights and freedoms and make the country more closed to the world in order to imbue their authoritarian policies in response to people’s rising demands for freedom and democracy accompanying the Arab Spring. Unlike these leaders, who turn into a curse for their own nations because they fail to correctly analyze the needs of the country, Aliyev has opted to open his country further in the 20th anniversary of its establishment to raise the bar on individual rights and freedoms and to benefit from the intellectual achievements of the international community by holding such international meetings. His efforts are admirable and deserve to be praised.

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist...eadership.html

[Xtreminal]

Azerbaijan: Overview of 20 years

Back in the 1990s, it was hard to believe that Azerbaijan would become what it is today. Since the country gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has faced a lot of adversity such as the Armenian aggression, the occupation of 20 percent of its territories including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, a flood of one million refugees and internally displaced people and a ravaged economy and infrastructure.

The only power that the nation possessed in those days was its courage and its charismatic and iron-willed leader, Heydar Aliyev. Having mobilised the nation, in a short span of time he managed to force the aggressor to sign a ceasefire agreement and garnered the mediatory services of an international organisation to tackle the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite unprecedented pressure by external forces, contracts were signed with oil companies such as BP, Amoco, Unocal, Statoil and others in 1995. Not only did Heydar Aliyev achieve the signing of the above-mentioned contract on the exploration of oil and gas reserves in the Absheron peninsula, he also insisted on the transportation of hydrocarbons via Georgia to the Turkish Mediterranean Jeyhan seaport, which laid the foundation for the economic and political freedom of Azerbaijan.

In 2003, President H Aliyev passed away and since then his successor, Ilham Aliyev – a young and energetic man, highly educated with a pragmatic approach towards tackling issues - has led the country, paving the way to the renaissance of Azerbaijan.

A country a population of nine and a half million people has become the leading power in Transcaucasia and, for a few years, had the fastest growing economy in the world. Having constructed Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines, Azerbaijan began the Baku-Tbilisi–Gars railway project in order to link the country with Turkey and this geostrategic transport corridor will be completed in 2012. These projects are not only yielding substantive economic dividends, but also political ones since the country is ensuring the energy security of Europe.

Oil revenues accumulated in the Oil Fund are being used pragmatically for economic diversification. For instance, only the IT sector is expected to become more profitable than the oil sector by 2025. In a span of only 15 years, Azerbaijan has gone from being a country seeking loans to being an investor, financing projects in Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Central Asia, Afghanistan and owning $40 billion foreign exchange reserves.

The economic growth of Azerbaijan goes accompanied by an enormous construction boom, development of infrastructure, establishment of new factories and production units. The entire country has become one massive construction area with new highways, bridges, thousands of new houses, hundreds schools, hospitals and theatres.

The country enjoys aanother advantage in its fertile lands and mild climate which makes Azerbaijan self-sufficient in almost all foodstuff products and attracts tourists from all over the world to the resorts of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasian mountains.

The development in the country was not a stranger to culture and sports. The Azerbaijan Olympic team returned from the last Olympic Games with 7 medals and surprised Europe by the winning the Eurovision song contest.

The core issue of Azerbaijan-Nagorno Karabakh remains unsolved, despite four resolutions of the UN Security Council. This forced Azerbaijan to increase its military budget, which is now exceeding the entire budget of the country-aggressor, although the leadership of the country is determined to resolve this problem through peaceful means.

Azerbaijan is one of the few unique countries in the world, being situated on the border of Europe and Asia and integrated in the political structures of both continents. Being a member of the Council of Europe and the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe, Azerbaijan plays an active role in the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organisation. President Aliyev has done a lot for the promotion of Islamic values, which ware not encouraged during the Soviet era and made Azerbaijanis an integral part of the Muslim Ummah. The restoration of independence in Azerbaijan was happily welcomed by Pakistan, which was one of the first countries to recognise it. Pakistan and Azerbaijan have deep-rooted historical links with each other, enjoy strategic relations, always support each other in international forums and stand together during difficult times. Azerbaijan was amongst the first countries to help Pakistan after the natural calamities of 2005 and 2010. The name of the First Lady of the country and President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva will always remain in the hearts of Kashmiris, for whom she constructed and fully equipped a modern secondary school in Muzaffarabad in the place of the old one which was destroyed by an earthquake.

Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...10-2011_pg7_22

[Xtreminal]

CNN on Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is an oil and gas rich nation that hugs the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

Bordering Iran, Georgia, Russia and Armenia, it has a population of 8.3 million people, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Roughly a quarter of the country's residents live in the capital, Baku, a cosmopolitan urban center that combines ultra-modern skyscrapers with a historic Walled City that is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Islam is the most prominent religion in Azerbaijan although according the country's government there are also minority Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities.



Azerbaijan gained formal independence from the former USSR in 1991 after initially declaring its national sovereignty in 1988. Since then it has been locked in a territorial dispute with ethnic Armenian separatists.

A six year conflict from 1988 to 1994 saw the separatists -- backed by troops from Armenia -- and Azerbaijani forces fight over the Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakichevan regions in the Southwest of the country.



A ceasefire was agreed in 1994 but by then the separatists, who are seeking full independence from Azerbaijan, had taken control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding provinces.

Azerbaijan still claims sovereignty over these areas but has tried to resolve the issue via diplomatic means in the period since, according to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.



Much of Azerbaijan's history has revolved around its vast oil and gas reserves.

The ancient fire worshiping civilization, the Zoroastrians, erected temples in the vicinity of burning gas vents at various sites across the country as far back as the third century, according to the country's tourist board.



These temples are now popular tourist attractions with one of the most well preserved situated in Surakhani on the outskirts of Baku.

At the beginning of the 20th century however Azerbaijani's landed on a new use for their bountiful natural resources -- industrial fuel.

Vast sums of money poured into the country to fund oil exploration and at one stage it was one of the world's major oil centers.

Nowadays, Azerbaijan has a major role in oil exporting and is a major shareholder in an oil pipeline that runs from the Caspian Sea all the way to Ceyhan in Turkey.

In recent years Azerbaijan has attempted to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on its natural resources.



The country has developed successful construction, banking, retail and real estate sectors, although these have been hit by the global financial downturn.

Economic growth reached double digit figures between 2006 and 2008 before sliding back to 3.7% in 2010, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Like many emerging market economies experiencing rapid growth and with access to vast natural resources, Azerbaijan has been impacted by corruption.

Transparency International ranked the country 134th out of 178 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index 2010, although the Azerbaijani government maintains it is attempting to eradicate graft. The World Bank named the country as one of the world's fastest reforming nations in its 2009 "Doing Business" report as a result of these efforts.

Criticism of corruption within the country is mirrored by international concerns about Azerbaijan's commitment to democratic principles.

Current president, Ilham Aliyev, came to power in 2003 taking over from his father, Heydar Aliyev, who had ruled the country since 1993.



Although President Ilham Aliyev secured a landslide electoral victory, international observers criticized the fairness of the vote.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) cited numerous cases of voter intimidation, unequal conditions for electoral candidates and serious flaws with the counting of votes.

Subsequent elections in 2005, 2008 and 2010 have also been criticized for falling below expected democratic standards by the OSCE and the U.S. State Department. The government has denied electoral abuses and insisted that democracy will be upheld in the country.

Despite being on the receiving end of foreign condemnation with regards its political processes, Azerbaijan has managed to build closer ties with regional and international partners in recent years.

The country joined the Council of Europe in 2001 -- which aims to develop a common legal and democratic area across the continent -- and works in conjunction with a consortium of western oil companies to extract its abundant natural resources. It is also working towards legal and regulatory reforms that would enable accession to the World Trade Organization, according to the U.S Department of State.

In October 2011 Azerbaijan was awarded one of the six non-permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council. From January 2012, the country will sit alongside permanent members of the Security Council -- France, China, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. -- for a period of two years.

Culturally, Azerbaijan has also looked to raise its profile internationally. In 2011, the country won the Eurovision Song Contest, a continent-wide musical competition.



As a result of this success, Azerbaijan will host the next Eurovision event which has been scheduled to take place in Baku in May, 2012.

The country's state broadcaster that is hosting the event has said it will give Azerbaijan the opportunity to further display its culture and traditions to the whole of Europe.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/10/wo...untry-profile/

[BaKuCiTy]

CNN: Карабахские кони – национальное достояние Азербайджана. ФОТО
суббота, 12 ноября 2011, 13:24 Баку, 09:24 GMT

CNN: Карабахские кони – национальное достояние Азербайджана
Телеканал CNN предлагает своим читателям рассказ об уникальной породе лошадей, выведенных в Азербайджане и являющихся одним из национальных символов нашей страны.

Как передает AZE.az, в статье, озаглавленной «Азербайджан борется за сохранение национальных животных от вымирания» автор – Эмили Уитер – отмечает, что карабахские кони известны своей силой, скоростью и выносливостью.

«Эти сильные и благородные существа несут в себе все те качества, которые и следует ждать от национального символа страны, - отмечает CNN. - Легендарный карабахский конь - редкое и красивое животное, которое имеет большое значение для азербайджанцев».

Однако, отмечает CNN, национальное азербайджанское животное, изображение которого можно найти везде – даже на почтовых марках - находится на грани вымирания.

В густых лесах предгорий Шеки находится одно из крупнейших и чистопородных стад карабахских лошадей.

Владелец - Яшар Гулузаде – вот уже десять лет пытается восстановить эту уникальную породу в нетронутой гористой местности.

По словам заводчика карабахской породы, к упадку популяции карабахских лошадей привел нагорно-карабахский, армяно-азербайджанский конфликт и сложная экономическая ситуация, возникшая в результате конфликта в 90-х годах.

«В начале армяно-азербайджанского конфликта лошадей постоянно перемещали с одного места на другое, и это стало одной из причин резкого сокращения популяции, поскольку беременные кобылы, вынужденные менять место обитания, не могли воспроизводить здоровое потомство», - говорит Яшар Гулузаде.

Гулузаде также отметил, что территории, на которых тогда находились карабахские кони, не были приспособлены для содержания животных и не имели пастбищ. Все это также привело к снижению популяции.

С тех пор правительство предприняло ряд мер, направленных для сохранения уникальной породы.

Министерство сельского хозяйства Азербайджана разработало ряд программ в этом направлении. Так, согласно законодательству, это уникальное животное не может быть экспортировано для продажи.

Хандан Раджабли, директор Azerbreeding - управляющий отделения Минсельхоза АР по племенному разведению рассказал CNN, что в будущем министерство может рассмотреть вопрос о продаже лошадей, для того чтобы собрать деньги на их содержание. Однако главная цель – разведение и защита этих уникальных животных.

По словам Х.Раджабли, программы, разработанные министерством, включают в себя улучшение ветеринарных услуг, финансирование исследований в сфере ДНК для улучшения породы, подготовку кадров.

Азербайджанским коллегам в генных исследованиях оказывают помощь немецкие ученые. Немецкий заводчик лошадей Верена Шолен является одним из экспертов, которые работают с правительством Азербайджана и оказывают им консультации по селекционным программам и в области технического оборудования.

Верена Шолен потратила десятилетия на изучение уникальной породы карабахских лошадей и происхождения породы. Она отмечает, что любит общаться с этими животными, поскольку они спокойные и дружелюбные.

Отличительная особенность карабахских коней - своеобразная золотистая масть, которую называют «золотым сиянием».

Лошади также известны своей исключительной скоростью. Так, в 2004 году лошадь из Агдамского района установила мировой рекорд, пробежав 1000 метров за 1 минуту и 9 секунд.

Председатель Фонда карабахских лошадей, доктор Адиль Багиров, сам родом из Карабаха. Он говорит о том, что карабахские кони всегда были очень важны для Азербайджана: «Азербайджанцы - народ тюркской группы, в древности вел полукочевой образ жизни, особенно в Карабахском регионе, который имеет отличные пастбища с прекрасной травой».

«Еще в XIX веке значительная часть азербайджанцев, в частности, в Карабахском регионе, жила в горах летом и в долинах зимой», - продолжает он.

А.Багиров также отметил, что отличительной особенностью карабахских лошадей была способность преодолевать горную и пересеченную местность. В наши дни карабахские кони в основном используются для гонок.

В стаде Я.Гулузаде 35 лошадей чистокровной карабахской породы. Он говорит о том, что продолжит свою работу по разведению карабахских коней.

«Моя стратегия для разведения построена на том, что каждая чистокровная кобыла должна оставить хотя бы одно потомство, и предпочтительно – тоже кобыл», отметил он.

«Карабахские кони стали символом национального наследия и гордости. Это древняя национальная порода, которая неотделима от нашей национальной идентичности», - отметил Хандан Раджабли.

Веками карабахские кони отличались невероятной выносливостью и силой. Это дает надежду, что уникальная порода сумеет спастись от вымирания.







Метин Али
AZE.az

адрес новости: http://www.aze.az/news_cnn_karabaxskie_koni_68792.html

[Galandar]

Нашему правительству несомненно нужно возрождать традицию разведения этих лошадей. Было бы хорошо построить новый завод аналогичный тому, что существовал в оккупированном Агдаме.

[Xtreminal]

The Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan, the Bay of Fundy and Poland's Lake District: Which gets your vote to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World?

They are the most spectacular, awe-inducing sights our planet has to offer, and now an online contest is set to reveal just which seven are the world's most special.

A worldwide poll to find the best natural wonders on the planet is nearing its conclusion after receiving millions of votes from around the globe.

Established international landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, the Amazon and the Great Barrier Reef are all represented in the voting, alongside lesser known sites such as the Bay of Fundy in Canada and Jeju Island in South Korea.

Those wishing to cast their vote can do so by visiting www.new7wonders.com





Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1eIDYibsx

[bossco]

Originally Posted by Xtreminal

The Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan, the Bay of Fundy and Poland's Lake District: Which gets your vote to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1eIDYibsx

Seems the article is outdated a bit. Those wonders have also been selected and provisionally announced. The voting ended on 11.11.11 @ 11:11

The New7Wonders of Nature are…

AMAZON,
HALONG BAY,
IGUAZU FALLS,
JEJU ISLAND,
KOMODO,
PUERTO PRINCESA UNDERGROUND RIVER,
TABLE MOUNTAIN

The first count of the global vote to elect the New7Wonders of Nature has been announced. In alphabetical order, they are: Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River, Table Mountain.

Announcing the results at the headquarters of the New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, said: “I would like to thank the many champions, citizens, voluntary organisations, public bodies and governments that have helped promote the New7Wonders of Nature campaign over the past four years, starting with over 440 locations from over 220 countries and all the way to the 28 Finalist candidates from whom the New7Wonders of Nature have been chosen.”

The results announced this evening are provisional and based on the first count of votes completed since voting ended at 11:11 GMT this morning. The results will now be checked, validated and independently verified. Once the voting validation process is completed, in early 2012, New7Wonders will then work with the confirmed winners to organise the Official Inauguration events. Note: It may happen that one or more of the provisional winners announced today will not be confirmed during the validation process, New7Wonders will issue a media update should this happen.

“We congratulate each of these participants on achieving their provisional New7Wonders of Nature status, and look forward to completing the confirmation process to celebrate each one in their own Official Inauguration ceremony early in 2012,” said Bernard Weber, adding, “When the New7Wonders of Nature are confirmed they will join the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World in becoming part of Global Memory for humankind for ever.”

http://news.n7w.com/2011/11/11/the-n...25e2%2580%25a6

[Xtreminal]

Euronews заговорит на азербайджанском

Руководство телевизионного канала Euronews рассматривает возможность вещания на азербайджанском языке. Согласно утвержденному плану, многообещающее сотрудничество начнется в ближайшее время с трансляции новостей Euronews и нескольких его программ посредством Общественного телевидения Азербайджана.

Для налаживания сотрудничества в Баку на днях побывали председатель Наблюдательного совета канала Euronews Питер Луиджи Малесани и генеральный директор Исполнительного совета Майкл Питерс. Гости ознакомились с деятельностью и возможностями партнера по сотрудничеству, провели переговоры с соответствующими структурами и были приняты президентом Азербайджана Ильхамом Алиевым.

В ходе этих встреч было отмечено, что на последнем заседании Наблюдательного совета Euronews обсуждался вопрос расширения вещания на различных языках. И среди потенциальных претендентов очень высокие шансы имеет Азербайджан. По словам Питера Луиджи Малесани, канал Euronews поможет Азербайджану лучше узнать Европу. При этом он сообщил, что канал планирует еженедельно транслировать передачи о ходе подготовки к конкурсу «Евровидение-2012», который состоится в Баку.

Следует заметить, что интерес к Баку и Азербайджану в Европе еще более возрос после победы на «Евровидении-2011» азербайджанского дуэта Ell/Nikki (Эльдар Гасымов и Нигяр Джамал) с поп-балладой Running Scared. Сегодня в стране идет большая подготовка к этому масштабному мероприятию. Достаточно напомнить, что подготовительную работу к проведению конкурса патронирует первая леди Азербайджана Мехрибан Алиева. А это означает, что конкурс превратится в большой праздник и удивит участников музыкального фестиваля и гостей страны своей грандиозностью и восточным колоритом.

Между тем, хотя до начала конкурса осталось почти шесть месяцев, официально все еще не оглашено, где именно будет проведено мероприятие. Выдвигаются различные версии, однако, по всей видимости, «Евровидение-2012» будет проведен в строящемся концертном комплексе Baku Crystal Hall рядом с площадью Государственного Флага. На днях подобное предположение прозвучало в эфире телекомпании CNN. Согласно данным телеканала, концертный комплекс Baku Crystal Hall будет сдан в эксплуатацию в апреле 2012 года и сможет собрать под своими сводами более 25 тыс. человек. Напомним, что конкурс «Евровидение-2012» пройдет в Баку с 20 по 26

© Независимая газета

[Xtreminal]

Rebuilding ancient Silk Road

Azerbaijan was once known as the gateway between China and Europe, where ancient transport links were crucial in transporting goods east to west on the silk trading route. Now, in the capital Baku, authorities are developing the country's transport infrastructure to claim Azerbaijan as a central stop on the new Silk Road.

“The road to development begins with the development of roads, so clearly it's a very crucial element of allowing the flow of goods between people so that markets can function,” Joseph Owen, World Bank manager for Azerbaijan, told CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Today the region is focused is on the TRACECA project - a Transport Corridor of Europe, the Caucuses and Asia.

Azerbaijan is located in the very center of the TRACECA project and it's a gateway to both Europe and Asia.

Just a three-hour drive from Baku, work is underway on the Sahil to Tagayev highway. When finished it will connect two major arterial routes.

“This road, before the construction, was in very poor condition,” says supervising engineer Zoran Veselinovic. “Now with the reconstruction we expect it will have enormous impact on the connections of China and Russia and Iran and so on.”

Akif Mustafayev, Azerbaijan National Secretary for TRACECA, says the program has led to a boom in cargo transportation. “In 1995 only 335,000 tons of cargo were delivered to Europe via Azerbaijan - this grew to 85 million in 2010,” he explains.

The repaving and restoration of the Silk Road is essential, as local governments realize, as their ancestors did, the value of good transport links between East and West.

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/1...iref=allsearch

Video also included in the link

[Galandar]

France 24 about Khojaly massacre

[alieff]

english version

http://vimeo.com/37417399

[Xtreminal]

'Amazing Race' week 6 recap: Art and J.J. get down and dirty as race lands in Azerbaijan


In one of the wackiest challenges in “Amazing Race” history, contestants had to use shoe horns to wipe crude oil off the bodies of men taking a theropeudic dip in black gold at a local health spa in this former Soviet republic.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...#ixzz1qFV6tMZ8

[Xtreminal]

Amazing Race episod in Azerbaijan. I love when guy stated "everybody wears black in here, I think its national colour"

[Xtreminal]

Some of the stuff will kill you from laughter))) Especially scrubbing oily man)

[Singidunum]

Concert hall in Novi Pazar just reopened after reconstruction that was financed as a gift of Azerbaijan

Originally Posted by Boza KG

http://www.novipazar.rs/vest.asp?id=1602

[Galandar]

I see Azerbaijan is becoming an important donor for Serbia Anyway I am happy with this trend. Serbia is a good and reliable partner country of us now!