Azerbaijan

Copyright show:  No Like any exacting stage manager, the Azerbaijani government has labored hard to adjust the lights and perk up the props for Baku’s international debut as the host of Eurovision 2012. But the painstaking preparations did not just involve the Azerbaijani capital’s buildings and infrastructure. They also involved the distribution of Eurovision tickets. read more  

Following concern expressed in some quarters with how the international media has covered the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, East of Center looks at the geopolitical issues behind Western engagement of the oil-rich former Soviet republic, arguing that policy towards Azerbaijan might not solely be confined to energy interests. Written...  

Azerbaijani authorities are conducting an interior policy that keeps out opposition forces, political analyst of Zerkalo daily Rauf Mirgadirov said in Caucasus 2011 international conference that kicked off in Yerevan. Mirgadirov ...  

Look at Azerbaijan! But look beyond the shiny Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) which will be held tomorrow in Baku. Look at the "Dirty Secrets" [SLYT, BBC Panorama, 30 min., English] and at independent film maker Liz Mermin's film "Glanz und Schatten in Azerbaidschan" [SLYT, 30 min. German but more informative IMHO]. Locals that voted in the music contest for a country that was not in favor of the ruling family were investigated by the police...  

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has granted a three-room flat to resident of Sabirabad Elshan Aliyev due to the birth of triplets in his family. According to the news service for the Ministry ...  

Stephen Elmasian and Ani Haroian. House lawmakers directed Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis to send certified copies of their Nagorno-Karabakh resolution to President Obama and the four members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.  

Russia is letting it be known that it's ready to walk away from the Gabala radar station it operates in Azerbaijan if the government in Baku doesn't moderate its bargaining position. That's what a source in Russia's Ministry of Defense told Russian media today: “The Russian military is disappointed by the non-constructive approach from the Azerbaijani side concerning the talks on extending the lease of the Gabala missile radar,” the source...  

BAKU, Azerbaijan — More than 125 million people will turn their attention to Azerbaijan this week ... of President Ilham Aliyev one of the most repressive in the world. International watchdog groups and local advocates say that political ...  

A group of eleven people who are suspected of disseminating radical Islamic materials condemning the Eurovision-2012 song contest, which kicked off in Baku on Tuesday, have been detained in the Azeri city of Sumagit, APA news agency reported. One of the ...  

On May 16, in accordance with the agreement with the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission held scheduled monitoring of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces' contact-line near ...  

CSTO declaration has also fixed adherence to peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and highlighted that Azerbaijan is alone with its approaches and standpoints. It was indeed very important that ...  

What happens if European pop music and Islamic fundamentalism -- two equally powerful forces -- come head to head in Baku this week? Signs of a sequins-versus-turbans face-off already are emerging, as Azerbaijan, the host of the Eurovision 2012 Song Contest, does battle with a steady stream of tongue-lashing from neighboring Iran. Apparently, Tehran has put aside its earlier worries of a possible Western attack on its nuclear facilities to...  

PanARMENIAN.Net - On May 8-10, Nagorno Karabakh hosted an extended meeting of organizing committee of international conference on “Indigenous people of the Caucasus-Caspian Region. Apart from Armenian representatives, the committee comprises science ...  

In mid-April, Azerbaijan’s State Border Service (SBS) reported on the successful completion of week-long tactical exercises in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The exercises, called “Protection of Oil and Gas Fields, Platforms, and Export ...  

Vagif Aliyev, head of investment division at Azeri state-controlled oil and gas company SOCAR, however, told ICIS on Tuesday that supplying gas for the Ukrainian terminal is not a priority for his company. "This project is not high on our agenda at the ...