Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has criticized Armenia’s pursuit of European Union integration while remaining a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), arguing that Yerevan cannot simultaneously benefit from both integration paths, AzerNEWS reports.

According to Galuzin, it is unacceptable for Armenia to enshrine EU integration as a legislative objective while continuing to enjoy the economic advantages provided by EAEU membership.

Commenting on the proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project, Galuzin said Russia’s participation would only strengthen the initiative.

He noted that the planned transport corridor is expected to be constructed using the Russian railway gauge to ensure uninterrupted rail connectivity with Azerbaijan. Galuzin also recalled that Armenia’s railway network is operated by South Caucasus Railway CJSC, a subsidiary of Russian Railways.

The deputy foreign minister stressed that any transit transportation through Armenian territory should comply with the rules and regulations of the EAEU, emphasizing that Armenia has repeatedly stated it has no intention of leaving the bloc.

Galuzin further argued that the project must also take Russia’s security interests into account, noting that the proposed route would pass through areas where Armenia’s borders with Trkiye and Iran are guarded by Russian border forces.

He also suggested that, following the recent US-Israeli military actions against Iran, Tehran would likely not welcome an increased US presence along its northern border.

“Thus, in any case, the position of Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union should be taken into account. We believe that Russia’s participation can only have a positive impact on the project,” Galuzin said

A century after the events that reshaped the intellectual map of the entire Turkic world, the First Turkological Congress in Baku is no longer perceived merely as an academic gathering of the interwar era. It stands instead as a decisive turning point in the history of twentieth-century humanistic thought.

Today, its legacy is discussed within academic circles, as well as in the broader political and cultural context of modern Azerbaijan and the wider Turkic world, where questions of language, identity, and cultural continuity have once again acquired strategic significance.

The First Turkological Congress,officially the First All-Union Turkological Congress opened on 26 February 1926 in Baku and continued until 6 March. Its venue was the emblematic Ismailiyya Palace, already regarded at the time as one of the city’s principal intellectual and civic landmarks.

The congress brought together 131 delegates: scholars, philologists, historians, ethnographers, writers, and public intellectuals from various Turkic-speaking regions of the Soviet Union, alongside invited international guests.

The proceedings were chaired by Samad aga Agamalioglu, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR. The Presidium itself reflected the congress’s ambition: to construct a trans-Turkic scholarly platform within a shared intellectual space that transcended regional boundaries.

To grasp the significance of the congress, one must recall the intellectual atmosphere of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The question of script reform had long predated 1926. As early as the nineteenth century, the Azerbaijani thinker Mirza Fatali Akhundov had already raised the issue of reforming the Arabic script, proposing alternatives better suited to phonetic clarity and educational accessibility.

Later, reformist linguistic and cultural ideas were further developed by Jalil Mammadguluzade, Firidun bey Kocharli, Muhammad agha Shakhtakhtli, and others. By the early 1920s, Soviet Azerbaijan had already established commissions dedicated to Latinization, while newspapers began experimenting with the new alphabet.

In this sense, Baku in 1926 was not an accidental host city, but a genuine laboratory of linguistic modernization.

Over seventeen sessions, approximately thirty-eight reports were presented, covering a wide disciplinary spectrum,from historical linguistics and ethnography to pedagogy and terminological systems. Seven major thematic clusters structured the debates: alphabet reform, orthography, terminology, educational methodology, interlingual relations, literary standards, and the historical origins of Turkic languages.

Particular emphasis was placed on the transition to the Latin script. It was in Baku that the methodological and theoretical foundations of Latinization were articulated in a systematic form, later influencing language policy across multiple Soviet republics.

At the same time, the congress embodied the tensions of its era: between scholarly modernization and political instrumentalization, between intellectual universalism and emerging state-driven cultural engineering.

One of the most tangible outcomes of the congress was the Latinization movement among Turkic peoples. By 1929, the use of the Arabic script had been officially discontinued in several Soviet regions. However, by the late 1930s, a new reversal took place: the introduction of Cyrillic scripts, which effectively displaced many of the earlier reforms of the 1920s.

Thus, the ideas debated in Baku were only partially realized and later reshaped under shifting political conditions.

This year marks the centenary of the First All-Union Turkological Congress held in Baku. In Azerbaijan, Turkic Week is being held, featuring academic conferences, exhibitions, lectures, and cultural events dedicated to the legacy of the congress and the development of Turkology.

Within its framework, scholars and cultural figures discuss shared heritage, language policy, and academic cooperation among Turkic states.

Historians today view the First Turkological Congress as a complex phenomenon in which scholarly advancement and the ideological currents of its time were deeply intertwined. On one hand, it served as a foundational platform for linguistics, ethnography, and literary studies. On the other, it was embedded in the broader political transformations of the twentieth century, which profoundly affected languages, scripts, and intellectual traditions.

A delegation led by Vandet Chea, Cambodia’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, has paid a visit to Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports.

According to the Public Relations Department of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the visit was organized within the framework of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the State Agency and the Cambodian side in 2025.

The purpose of the visit is to gain first-hand insight into the operations of the ASAN Service model and to discuss the application of Azerbaijan’s advanced public service delivery practices in Cambodia.

The delegation visited the Victory Monument and the Alley of Martyrs, honoring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The guests also visited ASAN Service Center, where the Chairman of the State Agency, Ulvi Mehdiyev, provided a detailed overview of the ASAN Service model, established at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev. He highlighted its citizen-centered approach, innovative solutions in public service delivery, and noted that Azerbaijan’s intellectual brand has been exported to more than 30 countries, including nations in Southeast Asia.

Minister Vandet Chea highly praised the ASAN Service experience, expressing his intention to introduce the successful model in Cambodia in the near future and emphasizing that the necessary steps would be taken to achieve this goal.

As part of the visit, representatives of the State Agency’s various structural divisions delivered comprehensive presentations on public service design, data-driven decision-making mechanisms implemented within ASAN Service, and other areas of expertise.

A solo concert by Honoured Artist, soloist of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Ilham Nazarov, has been successfully held at the Hall of Chamber and Organ Music, AzerNEWS reports.

The concert, titled “Countertenor,” was organised as part of the 2nd Opera Days project.

The holder of one of the rarest male voices in academic music, the countertenor voice Ilham Nazarov, demonstrated the uniqueness of his timbre from the very first pieces. This voice, distinguished by a combination of lightness, airiness, and high expressiveness, is considered one of the most unusual and rarely encountered in world operatic practice. It is precisely thanks to this that the artist confidently performs a highly complex repertoire spanning different eras and styles.

The concert was opened by Doctor of Philosophy in Art Studies, Professor, Honoured Art Worker Zumrud Dadashehade. She spoke about the singer’s artistic journey, his professional achievements, and the significance of the rare countertenor voice in contemporary musical art, congratulating the artist on his successful performance.

From classical works of world and Azerbaijani music to vivid pages of vocal art from various styles, the evening’s program demonstrated the artist’s extraordinary talent and high level of vocal mastery, turning each piece into an emotionally rich story.

Musical accompaniment was provided by the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev under the baton of Honoured Artist, maestro Ayyub Guliyev. The precise and sensitive interaction between the orchestra and the soloist gave the program special cohesion and dramatic expressiveness.

A special highlight of the evening was the performance of Honoured Artist Farida Mammadova. The duets of the soloists became the climax of the concert and received an especially warm response from the audience thanks to the harmonious combination of voices and expressive musical palette.

The performers’ appearances were consistently met with prolonged applause.

The concert became one of the most vivid events of the 2nd Opera Days, once again confirming that classical music in live performance continues to resonate with modern audiences and retains its emotional power.

The 2nd Opera Days project will conclude on June 30 with the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello,” which will serve as the final chord of the musical forum.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az and Milli.Az.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has added 20 Japanese companies and organizations to its export control list for dual-use goods, tightening restrictions on technology and materials that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, AzerNEWS reports.

Under the new measures, Chinese companies will be prohibited from supplying dual-use products to the listed entities without prior approval from Chinese authorities.

Beijing said the decision was taken in response to what it described as Japan’s policy of “remilitarization”, citing growing defense cooperation and increased military spending in recent years.

The list includes several prominent organizations, such as the National Institute for Defense Studies of Japan, as well as subsidiaries of major Japanese corporations including Mitsubishi, Komatsu, and Fujitsu.

Dual-use goods cover a wide range of products-from advanced semiconductors and precision machine tools to specialized materials and software. These technologies are increasingly becoming a focal point of global geopolitical competition, as governments seek to protect strategic industries and limit the transfer of sensitive technologies with potential military applications.

Allegations of financial misconduct at India’s Ram Temple in Ayodhya have triggered public anger, police investigations, and political controversy, casting a shadow over one of the country’s most prominent religious sites ahead of crucial state elections, AzerNEWS reports via Al Jazeera.

The controversy centers on claims that officials responsible for managing the temple embezzled donations worth potentially millions of dollars contributed by devotees.

The Ram Temple, inaugurated in January 2024 in a ceremony led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stands on the site where the 16th-century Babri Mosque once stood. The mosque was demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992, an event that sparked nationwide communal riots in which nearly 2,000 people-mostly Muslims-were killed.

For many Hindu devotees, the temple symbolizes a deeply significant religious and cultural milestone. However, the recent allegations have shaken public confidence.

“We have been betrayed [by the management], who have looted our faith, nothing less,” Ayodhya resident Brajesh Kumar told Al Jazeera. “Left to them, they will sell us all one day in the name of religion and stuff their own pockets.”

The allegations have prompted police investigations and arrests, while also fueling political debate in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, where elections are expected in the coming months.

The scandal has placed renewed scrutiny on the governance and financial oversight of one of India’s most significant religious institutions, with observers suggesting the controversy could influence both public opinion and the state’s political landscape.

The Senate of Kazakhstan has ratified two loan agreements with international financial institutions worth a combined $965 million, aimed at supporting the country’s budget and economic development, AzerNEWS reports.

The first agreement, signed in Astana on May 20, 2026, was concluded with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Under the deal, Kazakhstan will receive a loan of 92.3 billion Japanese yen (approximately $575.9 million) with a repayment period of 11 years, including a five-year grace period.

The second agreement was signed with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as part of the Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth Program. It provides Kazakhstan with an additional 62.4 billion Japanese yen (around $389.3 million) on the same terms-an 11-year maturity with a five-year grace period.

According to the Senate, the funds will be used to help finance the 2026 republican budget deficit, ensuring that the government can fully meet its fiscal commitments and continue implementing key social and economic programs.

An interesting fact is that both the IBRD and the AIIB are major international development institutions that regularly finance infrastructure, public sector reforms, and sustainable economic growth projects, helping countries maintain financial stability while investing in long-term development.

Residents of the Philippines are increasingly turning to rooftop solar panels as electricity prices continue to soar, making solar energy one of the fastest-growing alternatives in the country, AzerNEWS reports.

According to reports, the Philippines’ largest electricity distributor, Meralco, recently raised power tariffs by 10% following the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, which pushed global energy prices higher. As a result, demand for residential solar systems has surged, with the Philippines emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for rooftop solar installations.

The average Filipino household now spends around 12% of its monthly income on electricity bills. Unlike many other Southeast Asian nations, the Philippines provides limited government subsidies for electricity, leaving consumers to pay some of the highest power prices in the region.

Homeowners say the falling cost of solar panels, combined with steadily rising electricity rates, has made investing in rooftop solar systems more financially attractive than ever. Many families expect to recover their installation costs within just a few years through lower monthly utility bills.

The Philippines receives abundant sunshine throughout the year, averaging 4.5 to 5.5 peak sun hours per day. This makes rooftop solar one of the country’s most effective renewable energy solutions, allowing many households to significantly reduce their dependence on the national power grid while lowering long-term energy costs.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that Iran and Oman have convened the inaugural meeting of their joint committee on the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat, AzerNEWS reports.

During his visit to Muscat, Gharibabadi met with Omani Minister Counselor for Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Al-Hinai. The two sides discussed current issues related to the strategic waterway and exchanged views on its future management.

“We discussed ongoing issues related to the strait and exchanged views on its future governance within the framework of paragraph 5 of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and the sovereign rights of coastal states,” Gharibabadi said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow maritime passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, holding significant strategic importance as approximately 20% of global oil supplies and around 25% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports pass through it. Essentially, it serves as an energy artery for countries in Asia, Europe, and even the United States.

The strait separates Iran from Oman, and in some areas, the width of the shipping channel is only two miles on each side. Given its critical role in global energy supply chains, ensuring the safety and security of this vital waterway is paramount for international trade and economic stability.

Only 124 cargo vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz over a four-day period, according to data analyzed by maritime intelligence firm Kpler, AzerNEWS reports.

The company said that the number of ships currently passing through the strategic waterway is roughly the same as it was before the Iran conflict.

Kpler tracked the movements of cargo-carrying vessels, including oil tankers, bulk carriers, and ships transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Container ships were not included in the statistics.

Earlier reports had suggested that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could take months to return to pre-conflict levels due to the need for extensive mine-clearing operations.

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, handles a significant share of global oil and gas shipments, making any disruption to traffic through the waterway a major concern for international energy markets and global trade.