Category: Azer News

Regular use of artificial intelligence can have negative effects on certain groups of people, especially those who are already prone to anxiety, depression, or social isolation.

Experts warn that AI can sometimes become an easy substitute for real human communication. It can support a user’s reasoning, agree with their opinions, and respond almost instantly, but there is an important difference: there is no real person on the other side of the conversation.

If someone chooses to communicate with AI because it is predictable, convenient, and does not require them to deal with the complexity of real relationships, they may gradually become less interested in live communication. Over time, this can strengthen social avoidance and increase feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Another possible problem is excessive discussion of personal difficulties with AI. Instead of helping a person find a solution, repeatedly analyzing the same problems may encourage them to focus on negative thoughts and emotions even more. This can create a cycle in which a person keeps thinking about their problems without taking real-world steps to change the situation.

At the same time, AI itself is not necessarily harmful. It can be a useful tool for learning, brainstorming, organizing thoughts, or finding information. The key is how it is used. AI should complement human relationships rather than replace them.

Interestingly, one of the biggest differences between AI and human communication is that AI is designed to be available whenever we need it. Real relationships, on the other hand, require patience, compromise, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations. Although this makes them more difficult, these challenges are also an important part of developing emotional intelligence and social skills.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that he will resign at the end of September and will prepare for the snap parliamentary elections as an ordinary candidate.

“Immediately after returning from New York, on September 25 or 26, I will resign, and after that I will join the election campaign as an ordinary citizen,” he said.

Vucic has signed decrees dissolving parliament and scheduling parliamentary elections for October 25.

At the end of June, Vucic said he would resign soon and call early presidential and parliamentary elections. He thanked his fellow citizens for their support and trust, saying that without them, he would not have been able to accomplish everything he had achieved over the years.

Aleksandar Vucic previously served as prime minister from April 2014 to May 2017. He was subsequently elected president twice, with his current term officially set to expire in mid-2027. The Serbian president is elected for a five-year term, and no person can serve more than two terms as head of state.

Over the past two years, Serbia has periodically witnessed anti-government protests, driven largely by young people. However, Vucic himself remains confident about his party’s chances of winning the October elections.

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Magdalena Grono has joined representatives of the diplomatic corps on a visit to Karabakh and East Zangezur, marking her first trip to Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.

The visit marks a notable step in the EU’s engagement with the region, following a period of limited European diplomatic presence in the territories, especially as the EU’s previously cautious and, at times, distinctly cold diplomatic posture towards Azerbaijan’s liberated territories is beginning to soften. For much of the post-conflict period, European engagement was heavily shaped by the unresolved political legacy of Karabakh, making direct diplomatic presence in the territories particularly sensitive. The emerging peace settlement has changed that context. As the political dispute moves towards normalisation based on sovereignty and territorial integrity, Brussels has greater room to engage with the realities on the ground rather than treating the liberated territories solely through the prism of the previous conflict.

Grono’s visit is also significant because it comes amid increasingly intensive Azerbaijan-EU contacts. In 2026, she has held repeated discussions with Azerbaijani officials on the peace process, transport, energy and wider bilateral cooperation. Azerbaijani and EU officials have also highlighted the importance of high-level visits and intensified contacts in advancing the relationship.

As reported, a two-day visit by representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan to Karabakh and East Zangezur began on September 11, accompanied by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration.

The visit involves a 150-member delegation representing 58 countries and nine international organizations.

During the visit, diplomatic representatives will tour Khankendi and Shusha cities, as well as the Aghdara and Kalbajar districts, to observe large-scale reconstruction, development and infrastructure projects being implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

The delegation will also examine social and economic infrastructure projects, as well as the current condition of historical and cultural heritage sites and measures being taken to preserve and restore them.

This is the 22nd visit by representatives of the diplomatic corps to Azerbaijan’s territories liberated from occupation since 2020.

The fourth extraordinary session of the General Conference of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has been held online.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture and Chair of the National Commission for ICESCO, Adil Karimli, was among those attending the session.

The session discussed ICESCO’s current financial situation, measures to ensure the sustainability of the organization’s activities, as well as urgent financial and administrative measures.

A report by the Directorate General noted that a number of member states had not paid their membership fees for 2025-2026, while outstanding debts from previous periods had also affected the organization’s financial capacity.

The meeting also reviewed an emergency plan aimed at ensuring the sustainability of ICESCO’s activities through the payment of membership fees and the settlement of outstanding debts. The document identified the implementation of the Strategic Plan for 2026-2029, increasing revenues, strengthening the stability of financial flows, and establishing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms as key priorities.

During the discussions, participants stressed the importance of member states fulfilling their financial obligations on time, ensuring the continued implementation of the organization’s programmes and projects, and maintaining ICESCO’s institutional sustainability.

Under the emergency plan, member states are expected to pay their current membership fees by October 31, 2026, while outstanding debts from previous periods are to be settled according to an agreed schedule by December 31, 2028.

At the end of the session, participants exchanged views on strengthening ICESCO’s financial stability and ensuring the continuity of its activities.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) since 1991, maintaining close cooperation with the organization in education, science and culture. Over the years, the partnership has expanded to include the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, intercultural dialogue, youth development and joint cultural initiatives.

Azerbaijan has also supported ICESCO programmes aimed at safeguarding the tangible and intangible heritage of the Islamic world and promoting cultural diversity, tolerance and dialogue among civilizations. In 2022, Azerbaijan and ICESCO signed a joint action plan covering cultural heritage protection, youth programmes and intercultural dialogue.

The partnership gained another institutional dimension with the establishment of ICESCO’s regional office in Baku in 2022. The office is intended to support the organization’s programmes and strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan and neighboring countries in the fields of education, science and culture.

Azerbaijan has also hosted a number of major events linked to the Islamic world’s cultural and educational agenda. Shusha was designated the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for 2024, with a year-long programme organized in cooperation with ICESCO.

The partnership has continued through initiatives focused on cultural heritage, peace, coexistence and intercultural dialogue.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar stressed on Thursday that Budapest wants to see “strong Member States, a strong Central Europe and a European Union stronger than it is today.”

In a post on X, Magyar argued that “Europe has reached a turning point” and that “European leaders must decide whether the European Union simply wants to survive the next decade or emerge as one of its winners.” He noted that strengthening the bloc requires “honest dialogue and a return to discussing the issues that shape people’s lives, rather than divisive ideological questions.”

“Hungary is ready. Quo vadis, Europe?” Magyar asked.

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia yesterday for “urgent” meetings over the situation in the Middle East, Axios reported on Friday.

He and Saudi officials allegedly discussed coordination following the Houthis’ rapid advances in Yemen.

Earlier today, the news website also reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked US President Donald Trump to strike the Houthis, but that Trump declined, preferring not to engage the militant group directly.

Houthis’ military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated on Friday that the militant group successfully completed its military operation aiming to expel the Saudi-backed forces from several districts on western Yemeni coast.

The Yemeni militant group claimed that it removed Saudi buildups and troops from six districts in the Taiz and Hodeidah governorates, targeted seven Saudi military divisions that consisted of 38 brigades, and liberated a number of prisoners while intercepting Saudi warplanes and downing nine aircraft.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi ships, which were previously announced as banned, and that it continues to establish the equation of siege with siege, striking the Saudi enemy’s mobilizations, and escalation with escalation; until the cessation of aggression and the lifting of the siege on our dear people,” Saree said.

A logistics centre operated by Russian online marketplace Ozon was damaged in a reported drone attack in Saratov, Russia, with no casualties reported, according to local authorities and Russian independent media.

The Russian independent outlet ASTRA reported that a fire broke out at the Ozon facility after authorities issued a drone threat warning in the city.

Saratov Region Governor Roman Busargin said civilian infrastructure had been damaged in the attack.

‘As a result of the UAV attack, civilian infrastructure in Saratov was damaged. All emergency services are working at the scene. There are no casualties reported at this stage,’ Busargin said.

Ozon said its employees were evacuated from the facility following the incident.

The company added that its operations in the region would be partially restricted in the near future.

The circumstances surrounding the reported attack, including the cause of the fire, have not been independently verified.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became capable of transporting an additional 1.2 billion cubic metres of gas per year as of January 1 this year. This has sent an important signal to the market. Azerbaijan will be able to increase its gas exports to Europe, where demand for new sources of gas remains strong. The additional capacity of TAP also opens the door to expanding the geography of supplies. At the beginning of the year, Azerbaijani gas started flowing to Austria and Germany, marking another step in strengthening the country’s position on the European market. However, this is not the pipeline’s final potential. TAP is designed for a phased increase in capacity to as much as 20 billion cubic metres per year. The current expansion can therefore be seen as another stage in Azerbaijan’s broader plans to increase gas supplies to Europe. This is particularly important amid growing interest among European countries in alternative suppliers.

Through this pipeline, natural gas produced at the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan’s sector of the Caspian Sea is transported to Europe. Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border, TAP runs through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before reaching the coast of southern Italy.

Against this backdrop, Albania is of particular interest. The country’s government, together with US energy company Argent LNG, will assess the possibility of constructing a large-scale LNG storage and regasification terminal on the Albanian coast. The facility is expected to be connected to TAP.

Argent LNG, which is developing an LNG terminal with a capacity of 25 million tonnes per year at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Albanian government to jointly assess the project. According to the company, the plan is to connect the terminal to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) and the Fier-Vlora gas corridor. This would allow LNG to be received on the Albanian coast, stored and subsequently supplied to several regional markets.

“This infrastructure will create an additional source of natural gas supply that is not linked to Russia and will provide the region with greater flexibility to respond to changing energy needs,” the company reported.

The proposed terminal is expected to have regasification capacity of up to around 5 million tonnes of LNG per year, as well as significant storage capacity. The project is being considered as a strategic regional energy hub that would help strengthen security of supply in the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, particularly during periods of peak demand, supply disruptions or high market volatility.

In March this year, Albania’s Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Erlind Sulo said that the country is well positioned to receive natural gas through TAP.

“This creates an opportunity to meet domestic natural gas needs, reduce dependence on electricity as the sole source of energy, and make energy resources more accessible to households, businesses and industry. We have decided to work on two parallel projects in this direction. The first is the revival of the Vlora thermal power plant project as part of an integrated project connected to the TAP exit point and a floating LNG terminal. The second is the gasification of Korçë, one of Albania’s largest cities,” he noted.

TAP is the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor and transports natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to European markets. The pipeline is 878 kilometres long. It runs from the Greek-Turkish border through Greece and Albania, crosses the Adriatic Sea and reaches the southern coast of Italy. TAP’s initial capacity is 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year, with the possibility of increasing it to 20 billion cubic metres. Following the TAP market test conducted in 2021, the pipeline made an additional 1.2 billion cubic metres per year of capacity available from January 2026.

It is no coincidence that we mentioned Shah Deniz at the beginning. bp also plays a key role in this chain as the operator of the Shah Deniz development, from which gas is supplied for export through the Southern Gas Corridor. It is the increase in production and export capacity at Shah Deniz that provides the foundation for further growth in supplies through the pipelines.

Unlike oil, which can be stored in tanks, natural gas requires a steady base of buyers. Azerbaijan therefore needs clear commitments on how much gas European customers are prepared to purchase. Based on these commitments, Azerbaijan can increase its export capacity. If Europe decides to raise the volume of gas it imports from Azerbaijan in the future, this could create additional advantages for the country. Such an increase would also require further investment in infrastructure, including compressor stations and pipelines, allowing Azerbaijan to expand its capacity and respond to growing European demand.

It should be noted that TAP right now is effectively the only major non-Russian pipeline route into Southeast Europe. And the fact that it carries an expansion option up to 20 bcm creates a real corridor of opportunity.

Albania isn’t the only player at the table. Croatia’s FSRU on Krk island has been operational for over three years (2.9 bcm regas capacity) and even though it’s running well below nameplate, it’s already taken a bite out of the regional niche. Greece is pushing the Alexandroupolis FSRU forward. Slovenia and Albania are effectively fishing in the same demand pool. This is happening because, since 2022, the EU lives by the mantra “any gas but Russian”, and Albania, as an EU candidate, reads the room perfectly. Building a gas hub tied to TAP is squarely in line with REPowerEU and Brussels’ broader diversification push.

The next step is turning that existing advantage into greater capacity. If Europe is ready to provide the demand, Azerbaijan has both the incentive and the infrastructure base to bring more gas to the market. In that sense, TAP may prove to be not the end of the Southern Gas Corridor, but the point from which its next chapter begins.

Iran has reportedly resumed producing ballistic missiles at underground facilities despite earlier strikes by the United States and Israel against missile-related sites on Iranian territory.

‘According to U.S. and Middle Eastern officials, Iran has restarted the production of ballistic missiles using components that had been stored at underground facilities,’ the publication reports.

According to sources cited by the newspaper, activity has been detected at several underground facilities, including a site in Khojir, east of Tehran. Iranian specialists are reportedly assembling different types of missiles, including rockets that require fuel before launch as well as models that can be prepared for combat more quickly. At the same time, Iranian authorities are working to develop additional underground production facilities.

U.S. and regional officials say that Iran is currently relying mainly on components that were stockpiled before the beginning of the conflict in February. One U.S. official suggested that production resumed on a limited scale after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17. According to his assessment, Iran had enough stored components to assemble at least 200 missiles.

The reported activity is significant because underground facilities are much harder to detect and destroy than conventional factories. Such complexes can also help a country maintain production even after airstrikes damage above-ground infrastructure.

The situation is likely to remain closely monitored by the United States, Israel, and other countries in the region, as Iran’s ballistic missile program is considered an important factor in the broader security situation in the Middle East. The development also raises concerns about a possible new arms race in the region and the stability of the ceasefire or diplomatic agreements between the parties.