Category: Azer News

The ongoing unrest in Iran has not impacted rail freight transport between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic, Azernews reports, according to a statement from Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) in response to a Trend inquiry.

ADY confirmed that cargo shipments along the North-South Corridor towards Iran are continuing as usual.

“Last year, 665,000 tons of cargo were transported via the North-South Corridor. At the Astara Terminal, over 13,000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) containers were handled, marking an increase of approximately 65% compared to the same period in 2024,” the company added.

It is worth noting that since December 28, 2025, protests have erupted in Iran following a sharp depreciation of the national currency. The wave of protests has now been ongoing for over two weeks, gripping the country.

Acting on the instructions of the Speaker of the Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan), Sahiba Gafarova, Azerbaijani parliamentarian and Vice-President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Sevil Mikayilova, participated in the 298th session of the IPU Executive Committee.

As reported by Azernews, the event, organized by Qatar’s Advisory Council (parliament), took place in Doha on January 13-14.

During the session, participants discussed a wide range of issues on the agenda. The discussions focused primarily on assessing the implementation of the IPU’s current strategy and outlining the main directions for the new five-year strategy.

In addition, several organizational and parliamentary matters were reviewed, aimed at strengthening the IPU’s role and enhancing the efficiency of its mechanisms.

TotalEnergies and Bapco Energies are launching BxT Trading, an equally owned trading joint venture backed by flows from Bapco Energies’ Refinery. The signing ceremony was witnessed yesterday by His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of Bapco Energies, and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies in Abu Dhabi, Azernews reports.

As a competitive new player in the Middle East, BxT Trading will support Bahrain’s oil industry by leveraging its downstream portfolio for maximizing value and broadening its access to global markets. Through this joint venture, Bapco Energies will benefit from TotalEnergies’ global expertise in trading and will develop advanced trading, pricing, analysis, and risk management capabilities.

With BxT Trading, TotalEnergies is strengthening its trading position in the Middle East, where the Company already has trading activities, in addition to its international hubs in Houston, Geneva and Singapore. This new initiative enhances the trading teams’ responsiveness and agility, reinforcing their local footprint that enables them to better address regional specificities.

His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs and Chairman of Bapco Energies announced: ‘The launch of BxT Trading reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to forging long-term strategic partnerships with leading global energy companies. BxT Trading represents a strategic step forward for Bapco Energies and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Through this partnership with TotalEnergies, we are enhancing our global trading capabilities, strengthening our downstream value chain, and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a competitive and trusted player in the international energy markets.’

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, stated: ‘We are happy about this new partnership with Bahrain and Bapco Energies, which strengthens our presence in the Middle East. BxT Trading reflects our long-standing commitment to act as a trusted partner in the region, dedicated to innovation, operational excellence and value creation.’

The countdown to Eurovision 2026 is officially on. As fans across Europe eagerly anticipate the glittering spectacle in Austria, the mystery of the semi-final line-ups has finally been unveiled, Azernews reports.

And now, Azerbaijan’s spot on the grand Eurovision stage has been revealed, promising another thrilling performance in one of the contest’s most hotly anticipated shows.

During the draw held in Austria, the host country of this year’s competition, it was revealed that Azerbaijan’s representative will take the stage in the first half of the second semi-final.

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Vienna, Austria, in May 2026 after Austria’s victory at last year’s contest in Basel with JJ’s song “Wasted Love.”

Vienna is hosting Eurovision for the third time, having previously hosted in 1967 and 2015, and this year’s live shows will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle arena with the first semi-final on May 12, the second semi-final on May 14, and the grand final on May 16.

On January 12, 2026, the official semi-final allocation draw took place at Vienna’s City Hall.

This draw determined which semi-final each participating country will perform in, as well as whether it will appear in the first or second half of the show. In total, 35 broadcasters are expected to compete at Eurovision 2026.

As the contest approaches, each country will reveal its selected artist and song, and the final performance order, which often has a significant impact on viewer impressions, will be announced closer to the live shows.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan reached the Top 5 in five consecutive contests – 3rd in 2009, 5th in 2010, 1st in 2011, 4th in 2012, and 2nd in 2013.

Azerbaijan marked its debut in 2008 with the duo of Elnur and Samir, who managed to become eighth in the final with their song Day After Day.

The brilliant duet of Aysel and Arash, which represented Azerbaijan next year, took third place at the song contest, while Safura Alizada, who represented the country at the Eurovision 2010 in Oslo, came fifth.

On its fourth attempt with Ell and Nikki’s song Running Scared, the Land of Fire won the event, bringing the contest to Baku’s Crystal Hall in 2012. Ell and Nikki were the first mixed-gender duo to win the contest since 1963 and the first winners from Azerbaijan.

In 2018, Aysel Mammadova performed brilliantly at the Eurovision 2018 semi-final, but she couldn’t make it to the final. The singer represented Azerbaijan with the song X My Heart.

Azerbaijan’s Chingiz Mustafayev impressed all Eurovision fans with his stunning performance in 2019. The singer finished in eighth place in the song contest.

In 2020, the song contest was cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, fans of the music contest had a great chance to enjoy a spectacular show called Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, featuring 41 songs from that year’s entries.

During the show, Samira Efendi pleased Eurovision fans with the song Cleopatra about trusting your gut instinct, standing up for yourself, and being a “Queen” – even when things get tough and especially if someone betrays or hurts you.

Next year, Efendi thrilled the audience with her hit song Mata Hari, which features ethnic motives based on traditional Azerbaijani musical instruments, such as zurna (trumpet) and nagara (drum), as well as melodies from the Azerbaijani folk dance “Yalli”.

In 2022, Nadir Rustamli represented Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2022. The singer left Eurovision fans speechless with the song Fade To Black, co-written by Andreas Stone, Anders Rethov, Sebastian Schub, and Thomas Stengard. He came 16th, scoring 106 points.

In 2023, young talents Tural and Turan Bagmanovlar rocked the Eurovision stage in Liverpool with the song Tell Me More.

The year 2023 marked Azerbaijan’s 15th involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest since its debut in 2008.

Fahree (Fahri Ismayilov) and Ilkin Dovlatov represented Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2024 with the song? “Öznl? Apar”.

The song is co-written? by Fahree, Edgar Ravin, Hasan Haydar, Mila Miles, and Mado Salikh.

On 4 February 2025, ITV announced that Mamagama had been internally chosen to represent Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, with the song “Run with U”.

Mamagama performed in the first semifinal on 13 May 2025, where they failed to qualify for the grand final.

The United States has released footage showing Iranian police forces opening fire on protesters, Azernews reports.

The video was published on the US State Department’s Persian-language account on the social media platform X.

According to the post, the footage is presented as evidence of the use of force by Iranian security services against demonstrators amid ongoing unrest in the country.

The protests in Iran began in late December 2025, triggered by the devaluation of the Iranian rial. Initially focused on sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate and their impact on prices, the demonstrations escalated in several cities into riots and clashes with police. Slogans adopted a political tone, targeting Iran’s current political system, and included supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran.

Casualties were reported among both protesters and security forces, though the exact death toll remains unclear. Western media estimates range from 700 to 2,000. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accused the US and Israel of orchestrating the unrest, and the Foreign Ministry claimed it has irrefutable evidence of foreign interference.

US President Donald Trump openly encouraged protesters to seize government buildings, stating that ‘assistance to the protesters’ was already on the way.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Standard Chartered have jointly allocated $300 million (denominated in Swiss franc equivalent) to Kazakhstan’s national railway operator, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), to support the development of the Middle Corridor.

As reported by Azernews, the announcement was made by IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop in a social media post.

The funding will be used to construct a 130 km electrified railway bypass line around Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. The project is designed to reroute freight traffic away from the urban area, eliminate long-standing infrastructure bottlenecks, and significantly enhance the capacity and reliability of rail transport along the Middle Corridor connecting East Asia and Europe.

‘With the implementation of this project, congestion around Almaty will be reduced by more than 40%, while cargo delivery times will be cut by up to 24 hours,’ Diop noted.

The financing package includes up to $50 million in investment from IFC, a loan of up to $150 million from AIIB, and a loan of up to $100 million from Standard Chartered, backed by MIGA guarantees.

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy’s Chief Financial Officer Dair Kusherov said the Almaty railway bypass will become one of the most significant upgrades to the national rail network, easing congestion around the city and unlocking new capacity.

‘This project will enable KTZ to handle freight volumes more efficiently, strengthen the resilience of regional logistics, and enhance the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor as a reliable bridge between Asia and Europe,’ he said.

It is worth recalling that cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian Route increased by 62% in 2024, reaching 4.5 million tons. In 2025, freight volumes are expected to rise to 5.2 million tons, with 4.2 million tons transiting through the territories of the corridor’s participating countries. Of the total volume, 2.5 million tons will consist of dry cargo (96,000 TEU), while 1.7 million tons will account for oil shipments.

By 2027, the Middle Corridor’s annual capacity is projected to reach 10 million tons, further strengthening Azerbaijan’s transit potential and creating conditions for attracting new infrastructure investments. Looking ahead, the target freight volume for the Middle Corridor by 2030 is set at 11.4 million tons.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Alim Bayel, has met with Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration.

According to information provided by the Kazakh Embassy to Azernews, the sides reviewed the outcomes of bilateral cooperation over the past year and discussed plans for the near future.

Ambassador Bayel highlighted the high level of reciprocal visits as a key indicator of the intensity of bilateral relations. Over the past three years, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has visited Azerbaijan six times, while President Ilham Aliyev has paid five visits to Kazakhstan.

It was noted that on August 8, 2025, the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia came to an end with the signing of a historic Declaration on a peaceful settlement. Kazakhstan also contributed to the peace process by providing a platform for Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations in 2024. A fact of both symbolic and practical significance was emphasized: for the first time in 30 years, cargo transported from Azerbaijan to Armenia consisted of Kazakh wheat. The sides underscored the importance of further opening communications.

One of the notable developments of 2025 was Azerbaijan’s full-fledged participation in the format of Central Asian leaders’ summits. Kazakhstan provided comprehensive support for this process. In comments to the Azerbaijani media, President Tokayev said he would welcome Azerbaijan’s participation in the C5+US format.

The sides also stressed the need to strengthen economic and industrial cooperation through the effective use of the joint investment fund, as well as to further develop transport, logistics, and energy cooperation. In addition, they exchanged views on international and regional issues, noting the joint and active role of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in shaping a new geopolitical and geoeconomic architecture across the Eurasian space.

The Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation (AWF) continues to expand its infrastructure and strengthen its material and technical base across the regions, Azernews reports.

As part of this ongoing development plan, four new wrestling halls have recently been inaugurated.

The openings were attended by Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov, AWF Vice Presidents Namig Aliyev, Namig Abdullayev, Farid Mansurov, and the Federation’s Secretary General Parvin Piriyev.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the new facilities include wrestling halls at Qarabaggal Village Secondary School and Schools No. 1, 3, and 6 in Goychay city.

These halls, designed to train athletes in all wrestling disciplines, offer free training sessions and are fully equipped to accommodate over 600 athletes.

The AWF has emphasised that the expansion of wrestling infrastructure is an ongoing effort, with plans to open additional halls throughout the year, further supporting the growth of the sport nationwide.

Wrestling continues to be the most popular sport in Azerbaijan and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was founded in 1993.

The Rio Olympic Games marked a significant milestone in Azerbaijan’s wrestling history, as the country became one of only two nations to increase its medal count in five consecutive Olympics.

In 2020, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers secured third place in the overall medal standings at the Individual World Cup held in Serbia, winning two medals, a silver and a bronze, behind Russia, which led the table, and Turkiye.

In 2022, Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) claimed the World Championship title in Belgrade, defeating a Russian opponent in the final match.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Azerbaijan earned three bronze medals in wrestling: Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) in Greco-Roman, and Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg) in freestyle.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. former CEO, Warren Buffett, criticized how some CEOs handle investor relations, Azernews reports.

In an interview with CNBC, he said, “I think it’s very stupid for CEOs or anyone who represents the CEO to do investor relations if they conduct them in a certain way.” Buffett warned that emphasizing certain metrics can distort behavior and said that once a company starts down that path, the pressure continues for future CEOs. “Once you start playing with numbers, you don’t quit,” Buffett said.

He cited Wells Fargo and Co.’s past approach of highlighting the number of services customers signed up for, saying it “perverts the behavior of millions of people.”

The renowned investor said that, after stepping down, he never planned to run the company forever.

Buffett handed over the reins to Greg Abel at the start of this year and said he was not emotional about leaving his post. “From the moment I bought it, I knew I wasn’t going to run it to eternity,” Buffett said.

The billionaire investor likened his career to golf, saying, “If you played golf and every time you played you got a hole in one, it wouldn’t be fun,” and added he had enjoyed his time at the company.

Moreover, he wants the company to attract shareholders who understand business and hold meaningful stakes.

“I want Berkshire to attract people that are smart about business,” he said, stressing that he prefers investors with stakes that are “significant to them,” not necessarily the biggest in size.

Buffett added that Berkshire’s approach is not about mirroring other firms. Asked if he wanted the company to conform, he responded, “We do things differently to other companies,” while acknowledging that such choices did not always prove correct.

“Azerbaijani Culture – 2040” Cultural Concept of Azerbaijan has been approved, Azernews reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed the relevant decree.

The document was signed to create a modern cultural model that ensures the protection of national and spiritual values, and ensures systematic and sustainable development in the field of culture.

The Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan must:

coordinate the measures envisaged in the concept;

report to the president of Azerbaijan once a year on the implementation status of the measures envisaged in the concept;

resolve other issues arising from the decree.

Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the measures envisaged in the concept will be carried out by the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication on the order of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan must resolve issues arising from this decree.