Category: Azer News

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused what he described as the ‘deep state’ and a ‘global war party’ of seeking to weaken Georgia’s economy by discouraging Russian tourists from visiting the country and undermining economic ties between Tbilisi and Moscow, AzerNEWS reports.

Speaking at a briefing at the Georgian government administration on Wednesday, Kobakhidze claimed that the alleged campaign was ultimately aimed at drawing Georgia into a military confrontation with Russia.

According to the prime minister, the plan represents a continuation of what he described as earlier attempts to involve Georgia in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

He said that in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, domestic groups had allegedly called on the Georgian government to open a ‘second front’ against Russia and send volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

Kobakhidze argued that the alleged strategy has now shifted toward discouraging Russian citizens from travelling to Georgia.

‘If in 2022, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, on the instructions of the ‘deep state’, a local radical agency called on the government to open a second front and send volunteers to Ukraine, while at the same time foreign agents offered to ‘walk’ with military force in Georgia’s Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, according to the new plan of the ‘deep state’, their local agency should do everything to ensure that Russian tourists no longer come to Georgia,’ he said.

Kobakhidze claimed that such a campaign could eventually prompt Russia to suspend economic relations with Georgia.

‘The goal of all this, as well as the opening of a second front and joining the sanctions imposed on Russia, is to collapse the Georgian economy, incite hostility between nations, and lead the processes to a military conflict,’ he said.

The prime minister also accused unnamed foreign partners and domestic opposition groups of previously attempting to push Georgia toward joining Western sanctions against Russia and sending volunteers to Ukraine.

He said that after those efforts failed, the alleged campaign focused on Georgia’s relations with the European Union and what he called ‘Russophobic’ initiatives.

As examples, Kobakhidze referred to protests over the arrival of the Russian cruise ship Astoria Grande in Batumi in 2023, as well as opposition politician Elene Khoshtaria’s protest over a wedding involving Russian citizens at the Kvareli Lake resort.

The wedding was attended by Ekaterina Lavrova, daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and her husband, Aleksandr Vinokurov.

‘This campaign was directly directed against tourists. They portrayed Russian tourists as a threat,’ Kobakhidze said, arguing that such attitudes were incompatible with Georgian culture.

He stressed that Georgia should maintain ties between Georgian and Russian societies despite political disagreements, particularly given the existence of mixed families and Georgian and Russian diasporas in both countries.

‘No matter what the ‘deep state’ plan is, we should not allow political disagreements, political mistakes made in the past, or the plan of the global war party to involve Georgia in the war and open a second front with Russia to become the basis for hostility between peoples,’ he said.

2026 could become the hottest year in the history of meteorological observations, according to a forecast by Berkeley Earth, a US-based nonprofit organization specializing in climate research. The organization currently estimates a 69% chance that 2026 will set a new global temperature record, while the probability of it ranking second is around 30%, AzerNEWS reports.

According to Berkeley Earth, July 2026 was the second-hottest July ever recorded. Record-high monthly temperatures were observed across approximately 8.5% of the Earth’s surface, including parts of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, western Russia, Siberia and Central Asia. In total, new July temperature records were reported in 32 countries.

The extreme heat has been particularly noticeable in Europe. On August 10, reports said that the United Kingdom and France were preparing for a fifth heatwave of the year. The unusually hot conditions began affecting parts of Europe in late May and have persisted for months, putting pressure on both residents and critical infrastructure.

The consequences of the heat are going far beyond uncomfortable temperatures. Prolonged hot and dry conditions are increasing the risk of wildfires, putting additional pressure on electricity networks and reducing water supplies in some regions. In July, global sea-surface temperatures also reached a record high for that month, adding another warning sign for the climate system.

What makes the situation particularly striking is how consistently recent years have broken temperature records. Berkeley Earth says that 2025 was already the third-warmest year on record, behind only 2024 and 2023. Moreover, all 11 years from 2015 to 2025 rank among the 11 warmest years ever measured.

If 2026 does become the hottest year on record, it would be another indication that extreme heat is becoming an increasingly persistent feature of the global climate rather than an occasional anomaly.

Liverpool’s majority owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), has reached an agreement with 1892 Holdings to sell a 30% stake in the English football club. One of the company’s major investors is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

AzerNEWS reports that the agreement was announced by Liverpool’s official communications team.

The transaction values the 30% stake at £1.65 billion ($2.23 billion), while Liverpool’s overall valuation is estimated at more than $6 billion.

FSG acquired Liverpool in 2010 for approximately £300 million. The latest deal highlights the substantial increase in the club’s value over the past 16 years.

Bezos, who is among the world’s wealthiest individuals, ranks third on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, with an estimated fortune of $271.4 billion.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze received Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Georgia Faig Guliyev, AzerNEWS reports.

According to the Georgian Government Administration, the meeting highlighted the high level of strategic partnership between the two countries.

The sides discussed prospects for further deepening bilateral cooperation. In this context, they emphasized the strategic importance of the agreements signed during the Georgian prime minister’s official visit to Azerbaijan.

Sweden’s Parliament, the Riksdag, has approved a proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 for certain serious crimes. The measure is part of a broader package of tougher rules targeting juvenile crime and organized criminal networks. According to the government, the changes are aimed at responding to the growing involvement of increasingly younger people in serious criminal activity, AzerNEWS reports.

The decision follows several months of political debate. The government initially proposed lowering the age to 13, but that proposal failed to gain sufficient support. A revised proposal setting the minimum age at 14 was then introduced. The new rules are intended to apply for a five-year period, with most of the changes scheduled to enter into force on September 10, 2026.

Under the new legislation, 14-year-olds suspected of certain particularly serious offences could face criminal penalties, including imprisonment. The reform also includes tougher rules for young offenders, reduced sentence discounts for those under 18, and stricter forms of youth supervision.

Swedish authorities have been preparing for the possibility of younger offenders entering the criminal justice system. The government has also introduced measures allowing law enforcement to use additional investigative tools in cases involving children under 15, including searches and, in certain circumstances, the collection of biometric data.

The reform is particularly notable because Sweden has traditionally placed strong emphasis on rehabilitation rather than imprisonment for young offenders. The decision therefore represents a significant shift in the country’s approach to juvenile crime.

An important factor behind the change is the growing concern over criminal gangs recruiting minors to carry out serious offences. Swedish authorities have warned that young people are increasingly being drawn into organized crime, sometimes because their age makes them less likely to face traditional criminal penalties. The government hopes that tougher legislation will help address this trend, although the reform is also likely to fuel debate over how to balance public safety with the rights and rehabilitation of children.

Azerbaijan entered 2026 with a state budget built around an average oil price assumption of $65 per barrel. That figure, set below the $70 assumption used for 2025, reflects a prudent approach to a commodity market where prices can change sharply under the influence of global supply, demand and geopolitical developments. Yet the oil market has moved considerably above that budget benchmark, creating a favorable environment for Azerbaijan’s public finances.

The significance of the $65 assumption becomes particularly clear against the latest oil-market outlook. The U.S. Energy Information Administration now expects Brent crude to average around $85 per barrel in the third quarter of 2026, while its broader annual forecast has also been raised significantly. The EIA attributes the higher outlook to disruptions affecting oil production and shipments in the Middle East, including reduced flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

For Azerbaijan, this creates an important financial cushion. The state budget was designed on the basis of a considerably lower oil price, meaning that an extended period of prices above $65 provides a stronger external environment than the one assumed during budget planning. Azerbaijan’s 2026 budget materials projected state revenues at AZN 38.423 billion, equivalent to 28.6% of GDP, using the $65 oil-price assumption.

The difference between the budget assumption and current market expectations is therefore more than a statistical curiosity. It demonstrates the value of conservative fiscal planning in an oil-producing economy. When the budget is built around a moderate price assumption, a period of stronger oil prices can provide additional room for maintaining fiscal stability, supporting public investment and strengthening the country’s broader financial position.

At the same time, the current oil-price environment should be viewed in its proper context. Much of the recent increase is connected to disruptions in global oil supply and transportation. The EIA estimates that about 5.5 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern oil production was shut in during July, while constrained shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have further tightened the market. The agency expects global oil supply to remain below earlier expectations in 2026, while demand remains comparatively strong.

This is important for Azerbaijan because the country benefits not only from the price of oil but also from the volume it is able to produce and export. Azerbaijan’s oil and condensate production has been gradually declining, with the EIA forecasting liquid hydrocarbon production at about 550,000 barrels per day for 2026 and around 540,000 barrels per day in the third and fourth quarters.

Consequently, higher prices are particularly valuable because they can partly offset the effect of lower production volumes. In simple terms, when fewer barrels are produced, a stronger price environment helps preserve export revenues. This makes the current market situation favorable for Azerbaijan even though the country’s long-term energy strategy increasingly extends beyond crude oil.

Another important point is that Azerbaijan’s $65 budget assumption should not be interpreted as a forecast that oil will actually trade at $65 throughout the year. It is a planning benchmark. The government has effectively created a margin between the price used for fiscal planning and the price that the market may ultimately deliver. That margin can be especially useful in a volatile environment.

The outlook for 2027 also reinforces the importance of this approach. The EIA expects Brent prices to decline from elevated 2026 levels as global trade and Middle Eastern production gradually recover, although the agency now expects the decline to be less pronounced than previously forecast. Its latest outlook puts the 2027 Brent average at about $69.39 per barrel.

That forecast is remarkably close to Azerbaijan’s $65 budget benchmark. It suggests that the country’s fiscal planning is positioned around a price level that remains relatively resilient even if the extraordinary geopolitical premium in today’s oil market fades.

For Azerbaijan, this is ultimately a story about fiscal flexibility. The country is entering a period in which oil prices are providing a favorable external backdrop while the state budget remains anchored to a comparatively cautious price assumption. That combination gives Azerbaijan an opportunity to benefit from stronger energy revenues without relying entirely on the continuation of unusually high oil prices.

The broader lesson is equally important. In commodity-producing economies, the strongest position is not necessarily created by assuming the highest possible oil price. It is created by planning around a reasonable baseline and allowing favorable market conditions to provide additional financial space.

With its 2026 budget based on $65 oil, Azerbaijan has done precisely that. If oil prices remain above this level for a substantial part of the year, the country will enjoy a meaningful cushion. And if prices eventually normalize closer to the long-term range projected by international energy analysts, the underlying budget assumption will still provide a relatively stable foundation.

In an oil market defined by uncertainty, Azerbaijan’s $65 benchmark therefore stands out not as a limitation, but as a source of fiscal resilience.

The U.S. State Department has created a special unit to combat so-called ‘birth tourism’ – a practice in which foreign nationals travel to the United States primarily to give birth, allowing their children to obtain U.S. citizenship, AzerNEWS reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move on X, saying the new unit would monitor visa holders, investigate illegal birth-tourism networks, and crack down on what he described as abuse of U.S. immigration laws.

According to Rubio, the department has already revoked more than 600 visas worldwide in just one month as part of the crackdown.

The move follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump aimed at restricting travel to the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth and obtaining citizenship for a child. Under the measures, people suspected of being involved in birth tourism could face visa cancellation, denial of entry, removal from the country and restrictions on future travel to the United States.

Birth tourism has been a controversial issue in the U.S. for years. Some agencies have openly offered foreign clients assistance with accommodation, travel and medical services during pregnancy. Authorities are now expected to pay closer attention to these networks and the people facilitating such trips.

The issue is also legally sensitive. Birthright citizenship is linked to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has long been interpreted as providing citizenship to most people born on American soil. As a result, the government’s attempts to restrict birth tourism have sparked a wider debate over immigration policy and the constitutional limits of presidential power.

From October 28 to November 8, 2026, the capital of Azerbaijan will once again transform into the epicenter of the global art world, welcoming the Baku International Arts Festival, AzerNEWS reports.

This large-scale, multi-genre festival, held annually since 2025, will bring together key figures of the contemporary international scene, including artists, choreographers, dancers, musicians, acclaimed performers, and directors.

The festival’s theatrical program will open with the acclaimed production of The Seagull, directed by Lev Dodin and based on the play by Anton Chekhov. This recent premiere by the Maly Drama Theatre – Theatre of Europe (St. Petersburg, Russia), which has been honored with the prestigious Golden Sofit and Golden Mask awards, will be performed on October 29 and 30 on the stage of the Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theatre. The outstanding director has been associated with Chekhov’s dramaturgical legacy for many years, and this performance is a non-trivial, deep reading of the classics, where Chekhov’s reflections on art and life are woven into the fabric of the play. Truly magnificent is the ensemble of actors with whom Dodin creates another Chekhovian universe: Igor Chernevich as Trigorin, Elizaveta Boyarskaya – who created a complex, spectacular, and unusual image of Arkadina – Sergey Kuryshev as Sorin, Anna Zavtur as Zarechnaya, Evgeny Zayfrid as Treplev, Oleg Ryazantsev as Medvedenko, and Polina Sevastianikhina as Masha. The metaphorical scenography of one of the most significant artists of the contemporary scene, Alexander Borovsky – the image of the lake stage and swaying boats – embodies Chekhov’s sense of the fragility of human existence. In Dodin’s words, The Seagull is specifically dedicated to people of art and life in art: ‘Suddenly it became important that we are talking about artists – about those who feel life particularly acutely and react to it in their own way, but each time, I would say, fervently. This is to an even higher degree about ourselves, about our circle of reflections today, about our questions, our responsibility and irresponsibility.’

Immediately following The Seagull, the festival audience will experience another fresh interpretation of world literary classics on the very same stage. On November 1 and 2, the famous Gesher Theatre (Tel Aviv, Israel) will present a new production by Dmitry Krymov, one of the most influential directors of his generation. Krymov’s theatre thrives on the laws of imagination and play – a dangerous, wonderfully absurd kind of play that remains deeply grounded in reality. The production Bloody Mary, first performed in June 2026, is neither a stage adaptation nor an illustration of Friedrich Schiller’s famous drama Mary Stuart, which inspired it. Instead, it creates an entirely new artistic world constructed from the fragments of a tragic plot, from our shared memory of it, and contemporary realities, in which Mary Stuart becomes a springboard for serious reflection. The main characters, performed by Sasha Demidov (Queen Elizabeth) and Evgenia Dodina (Mary Stuart), are fictional, grotesque, almost circus-like. They are people-symbols who come to life and take on flesh and blood right before our eyes. The masks crack, clowning gives way to confession, and abstract images become living human bodies. In Krymov’s theatre, the comical constantly coexists with the tragic, in which play becomes both a form of existence and a means of navigating our tangled lives.

Equally compelling will be the productions presented on the stage of the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre. On November 5 and 6, world-renowned choreographer Shahar Binyamini, who emerged from the legendary Batsheva Dance Company and the school of Ohad Naharin, will combine two of his significant works – New Earth and Bolero X – into a single evening. New Earth is a hypnotic, almost primal experience in which the dancers’ crawling movements coalesce into organic, continuously disintegrating patterns. The piece premiered in 2025 at the Bregenzer Frhling festival in Austria. Bolero X is Binyamini’s reimagining of Ravel’s famous iconic score. Originally created in 2023 for Ballet BC (Ballet British Columbia) in Vancouver, it has evolved into a massive ensemble work, featuring up to 50 dancers moving simultaneously to explore the tension between individuality and collective power through Ravel’s relentless crescendo. Binyamini brings an impeccable global reputation to this staging, having created works for premier companies such as the Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Bordeaux National Ballet.

One of the core principles of this year’s BIAF is the close collaboration between world-class visionaries who shape the cultural agenda and the artists of Azerbaijan. As part of this initiative, Shahar Binyamini will personally select and mentor dancers from the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Baku Choreography Academy. Through intensive training sessions, he will directly integrate these young performers into the stagings at the Baku festival.

The second multi-genre Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF), held with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, will be memorable with more than 20 events of various genres across Baku’s finest venues. Among them are concerts, ballet and theatrical productions, film screenings, artist talks, and masterclasses. This grand celebration of the arts will unite artists and creative companies from Azerbaijan, Canada, France, Israel, Monaco, Russia, the UK, the USA, and other countries.

Kazakhstan’s national oil transportation company KazTransOil shipped 155,000 tons of Kazakh oil via the Port of Aktau toward the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in July 2026, marking an 11.5% increase compared with the same month last year.

AzerNEWS reports that the latest figures reflect Kazakhstan’s continued efforts to increase oil exports through the Trans-Caspian route and diversify its export infrastructure.

Kazakhstan has been steadily increasing shipments to the BTC system. In the first half of 2026, KazTransOil loaded 1.713 million tons of oil onto tankers at the Port of Aktau, including 704,000 tons destined for the BTC pipeline.

Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov previously said the country planned to transport 2.2 million tons of oil through the BTC system in 2026. He also said the annual volume could potentially reach 2.5-3 million tons, depending on year-end shipments.

Kazakhstan exported approximately 1.2 million tons of oil through the BTC pipeline in 2025, meaning the country is seeking to significantly increase volumes through the route this year.

The BTC pipeline, which connects Azerbaijan’s Caspian coast with Georgia and Trkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, has become an important component of Kazakhstan’s efforts to diversify oil export routes and expand shipments through the Caspian Sea.

The increase in Kazakh crude deliveries also strengthens Azerbaijan’s role as a key transit hub for Central Asian energy exports and supports the broader development of Trans-Caspian connectivity.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Digital Development and Transport is exploring cooperation with China’s CITIC Group on the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform planned for Baku, AzerNEWS reports.

Deputy Minister Samaddin Asadov met with a delegation from CITIC Group led by Benjamin Bao, the Chinese state-owned conglomerate’s vice president, to discuss potential areas of cooperation.

A key topic was the planned AI computing platform, which is expected to be developed in stages and have an initial capacity of up to 1 gigawatt (GW). The sides discussed the possibility of involving CITIC Group as a potential partner, including in financing and construction and installation works.

The meeting also covered potential cooperation between CITIC Group and AZCON Holding on projects in the transport and telecommunications sectors, as well as initiatives related to Azerbaijan’s National Artificial Intelligence Center.

The talks are part of Azerbaijan’s broader efforts to develop its digital economy and expand international strategic partnerships in advanced technologies and infrastructure.

CITIC Group is one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises and operates across five major business areas: financial services, industrial manufacturing, advanced materials, infrastructure and urban development. The group’s total assets are estimated at around $1.5 trillion.