Category: Azer News

A scientific article focusing on the application of artificial intelligence in anti-doping has been published in the journal “Law. Human. Environment”, which is indexed in the international Scopus database, AzerNEWS reports.

Published in Law. Human. Environment, a journal indexed in the Scopus international database, the article – “Artificial intelligence in the fight against doping: Between breakthrough and ethical and legal dilemma” was co-authored by Dr. Tahmina Taghi-zada, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan National Anti-Doping Agency (AMADA), and Dr. Rufat Efendiyev, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AMADA.

The new peer-reviewed article on the use of artificial intelligence in anti-doping advances a clear position: technological progress must be matched by robust safeguards ensuring transparency, protection of athlete rights, and procedural fairness.

The article examines the growing role of artificial intelligence in anti-doping systems and highlights its potential to improve anomaly detection, strengthen risk-based monitoring, support more targeted testing, and enhance the analysis of biological and performance-related data. At the same time, it makes clear that technological advancement alone is not sufficient.

Its central argument is that, for AI to play a legitimate role in anti-doping, its use must be firmly grounded in transparency, accountability, explainability, non-discrimination, data protection, and procedural fairness.

The publication analyses the legal and regulatory dimensions of this issue in the context of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025-2028, approved by Presidential Decree No. 530 of 19 March 2025, the World Anti-Doping Code and related International Standards, as well as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225), adopted in 2024.

According to the authors, one of the defining governance challenges in the years ahead will be ensuring that increasingly powerful analytical tools do not outpace the safeguards required to protect athlete rights.

The article also outlines several priorities for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in anti-doping. These include human-centered and hybrid decision-making models, multilateral governance and ethical auditing, and stronger safeguards for standardization and data integrity – all aimed at ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than weakens, legitimacy.

At the same time, the authors stress that significant risks remain unresolved. These include algorithmic bias, limited explainability, insufficient mechanisms for challenging AI-supported decisions, privacy concerns related to sensitive athlete data, and widening inequality in access to advanced technologies.

Commenting on the publication, Dr. Taghi-zada said: ‘Artificial intelligence creates powerful new opportunities to strengthen anti-doping, particularly by enhancing analytical capacity, improving risk assessment, and enabling more informed monitoring. However, its legitimacy will depend entirely on whether its use remains firmly anchored in ethical principles, legal safeguards, and full respect for the rights of athletes.’

Dr. Efendiyev added: ‘It is becoming increasingly clear that artificial intelligence will form part of the future architecture of anti-doping. As the global anti-doping system places greater strategic emphasis on anti-doping data and artificial intelligence, it becomes even more important to ensure that this transition is governed responsibly. Otherwise, the system’s capabilities may advance faster than the trust and legitimacy needed to sustain them.’

This publication contributes to the evolving international discourse at the intersection of anti-doping, sport integrity, digital governance, and human rights. It highlights a central challenge for the coming years: ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than undermines, trust, legitimacy, and fairness in sport.

US Vice President JD Vance set off for talks with Iranian representatives in Pakistan on Friday, telling reporters he was hoping for a “positive” outcome but warning Tehran not to try and “play” the US delegation, AzerNEWS reports.

“We’re going to try to have a positive negotiation,” he said before take-off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and opposed to the prospect of sending US troops into open-ended conflicts, has distanced himself from the US-Israeli war against Iran over the past month. But he’s returned to lead the US delegation in Islamabad this weekend.

He didn’t take any questions from reporters but said US President Donald Trump “gave us some pretty clear guidelines” on how talks should go, without elaborating.

Lebanon risks sliding into a severe food crisis as escalating tensions in the Middle East disrupt supply chains and strain already fragile markets, according to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP), AzerNEWS reports.

The WFP warned that ongoing military operations by the Israeli army against the militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon are significantly hindering the delivery of essential goods across the country.

‘What we are witnessing is no longer just a displacement crisis-it is rapidly evolving into a full-scale food security emergency,’ said WFP Lebanon Director Allison Oman.

Rising prices and the growing needs of displaced families are making basic food items increasingly unaffordable, Oman added, underscoring the compounding pressures on vulnerable communities.

Lebanon now finds itself grappling with a dual crisis. In the south, more than 80 percent of commercial establishments have ceased operations, effectively crippling local markets. Meanwhile, markets in the capital, Beirut, are coming under mounting pressure as demand surges and supply remains constrained.

Logistical challenges are further exacerbating the situation. A recent WFP convoy dispatched to southern Lebanon took more than 15 hours to reach its destination-an ordeal that would typically require only a few hours under normal conditions.

The deteriorating humanitarian landscape comes despite a broader regional development: on the night of April 8, 2026, Iran, the United States, and their allies agreed to a two-week ceasefire. However, Israel has continued strikes on Lebanon, arguing that the ceasefire does not apply to its operations there.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf later stated that a ceasefire in Lebanon had been a primary condition in the broader agreement between Tehran and Washington, highlighting the fragile and contested nature of the truce.

The next bilateral roundtable between Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of the ‘Peace Bridge’ initiative has officially begun in Azerbaijan, bringing together representatives of civil society from both countries, AzerNEWS reports.

The meeting is being held on April 10-12, 2026, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and direct engagement between Azerbaijani and Armenian participants.

The ‘Peace Bridge’ Initiative continues to foster dialogue and direct engagement between civil society representatives from Azerbaijan and Armenia. On this occasion, the Armenian delegation arrived in Azerbaijan via the land border, crossing through a formally delimited and demarcated section and undergoing all relevant border and passport control procedures.

The dialogue between civil society representatives is taking place within the framework of the agreed bilateral peace agenda endorsed at the trilateral summit of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the United States held in Washington, D.C. on 8 August 2025.

The meeting agenda includes discussions on the current state of the peace process; the activities undertaken by participants in the ‘Peace Bridge’ Initiative in their respective countries and the results of those efforts; as well as the situation in the region.

Separate sessions will also be devoted to efforts to advance peace at the societal level and to increase trust during the next stages of the peace process.

Participants from Azerbaijan:

1. Farhad Mammadov – Director of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus; Coordinator

2. Rusif Huseynov – Director of the Topchubashov Center

3. Ramil Isgandarli – Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum

4. Kamala Mammadova – Editor-in-Chief, First News Media (1news.az)

5. Fuad Abdullayev – Leading Adviser at the Center of Analysis of International Relations

6. Dilara Afandiyeva – Head of the Women’s Peace and Security Center at the Azerbaijan Women’s Rights Protection Society

7. Konul Badalova – Research Fellow at the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication

8. Zaur Shiriyev – Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

9. Rauf Aghamirzayev – Transport Expert and Member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport

10. Gulbaniz Ganbarova – Chairperson of the Azerbaijan Rural Women’s Association Public Union

11. Nazrin Aliyeva – Chairperson of the ‘Human Rights Support Center’ Public Association

12. Sanan Rzayev – Presenter, CBC Television

13. Emin Aliyev – Editor-in-Chief, Trend News Agency

14. Murad Muradov – Deputy Director of the Topchubashov Center

15. Aytan Gahraman – Adviser at the Baku International Multiculturalism Center

16. Ilyas Huseynov – Political Analyst

17. Gulshan Akhundova – Chairperson of the ‘Women, Development, Future’ Public Union

18. Orkhan Babayev – Staff Member of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus

19. Orkhan Amashov – Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Presenter, AnewZ

20. Yegana Hajiyeva – Member of the Board of the Press Council

Participants from Armenia:

1. Areg Kochinyan – President of the Armenian Council; Coordinator

2. Boris Navasardyan – Honorary President of the Yerevan Press Club

3. Naira Sultanyan – Director of the Democracy Development Foundation

4. Narek Minasyan – Associate Expert at the Armenian Council

5. Samvel Meliksetyan – Expert at the Armenian Council

6. Stepan Grigoryan – Chairman of the Board, Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation

7. Edgar Vardanyan – Associate Expert at the Armenian Council

8. Robert Ghevondyan – Expert at the Armenian Council

9. Lusine Kharatyan – Writer and Cultural Anthropologist

10. Nelli Minasyan – PhD in History, Associate Professor, and Turkologist

11. Davit Stepanyan – Political Commentator at 1in.am; Expert at the Armenian Institute of International Security and Relations

12. Ruben Babayan – Artistic Director of the Yerevan Puppet Theater

13. Eleonora Sargsyan – Peace and Gender Expert; Youth Worker

14. Naira Martikyan – Editor and Country Director of JAMnews (Armenia)

15. Vazgen Karapetyan – Associate Director, Eurasia Partnership Foundation

16. Tatev Danielyan – Editor-in-Chief of Political Programs and Host at Public Television of Armenia

17. Armen Petrosyan – Regional Policy Expert at the Orbeli Center

18. Alen Amirkhanyan – Director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment

19. Nelli Rafayelyan – Journalist at the Media Initiative Center

20. Operator, Public Television of Armenia

An event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of prominent film director and actor Jeyhun Mirzoyev has taken place at the Azerbaijan State Film Fund, AzerNEWS reports.

As part of the evening, a photo exhibition was opened, reflecting the life and creative path of the film director.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Director of the Azerbaijan State Film Fund, Honored Art Worker Jamil Guliyev, spoke about Mirzoyev’s life and career, recalling the numerous events organized by the Fund in honor of the distinguished filmmaker.

Jeyhun Mirzoyev was born on April 9, 1946, in the village of Abdal-Gulably in the Aghdam district. In 1969, he graduated from the directing faculty of the Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts.

He first appeared in a film at the age of nine in Tofig Taghizade’s “Meeting.” At the age of twelve, he portrayed the character Ismail in Habib Ismayilov’s film “Stepmother,” which remains beloved by millions of Azerbaijanis to this day. He also acted in such iconic films as “Signal from the Sea,” “The Groom Was Kidnapped,” “The Unyielding Battalion,” “In the Name of the Law,” and “The Unruly Kura,” among others.

In addition to acting, he worked as an assistant director. As a director, he co-directed “The Groom Was Kidnapped” with Vagif Mustafayev and also directed “Signal from the Sea.”

In total, he participated in the production of 86 films. He served as artistic director and stage director of the film magazine “Mozalan,” creating more than 60 segments.

A particularly significant achievement was his cult feature film “The Cry”, shot in 1993, based on a screenplay by Vagif Mustafayev. The film represents a major contribution to the history of Azerbaijani cinema.

The tragic events of that period had a severe impact on Mirzoyev’s health-he never lived to see the premiere of his film. It was shot during the height of the Karabakh war, amid the occupation of Azerbaijani cities and villages, just months after the Khojaly genocide.

These events deeply affected the director, who also played the leading role in the film. His heart could not withstand the strain. Jeyhun Mirzoyev passed away on March 5, 1993, at the age of just 46, without seeing the premiere of his final work.

The event featured speeches by People’s Artists Vagif Mustafayev, Haji Ismayilov, Khalida Guliyeva, Shamil Suleymanli, Honored Art Worker Javanshir Guliyev, Honored Artist Sugra Bagirzade, as well as Sevinj Akhundova, who had also acted in “Stepmother”as a child. They shared their memories of the filmmaker. A video address by Honored Art Worker Kenan Mammadov was also presented.

During the event, a video dedicated to Mirzoyev’s legacy was shown, along with Tofig Taghizade’s feature film “Matteo Falcone.”

Vahid Mustafayev, head of the National Digital Restoration Studio Balans, spoke about the restoration of “Matteo Falcone” (2019), originally filmed in 1960 with the participation of Jeyhun Mirzoyev, as well as the release of commemorative gifts in honor of the filmmaker.

These gifts were presented to cinema figures who had worked with him.

The Azerbaijan State Film Fund regularly hosts events dedicated to prominent figures of national cinema, preserving and promoting the country’s rich film heritage.

Established in 1993, the institution operates in accordance with international standards and the recommendations of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF).

In 1999, the Fund was elected a member of FIAF, marking an important step in its integration into the global archival community.

The fund houses an extensive archive of more than 64,000 film materials, around 20,000 photographic documents, and over 14,000 original archival items, including scripts, editing sheets, awards, and personal collections of filmmakers.

Its collection spans early cinema to contemporary works and includes rare footage tracing the origins of Azerbaijani filmmaking back to the late 19th century.

The institution operates across several key ???????????: restoration and preservation of films, collection and study of archival materials, promotion of national and world cinema, scientific research, and the development of international cooperation.

Equipped with modern laboratories, specialized storage facilities, and screening halls, the Fund ensures the safe conservation of fragile film formats, including historically significant nitrate films that require highly controlled conditions.

A museum also operates within the Fund, showcasing unique exhibits from the history of cinema, including early projection equipment, personal belongings of renowned filmmakers, and archival memorabilia.

At the recent G20 summit held in New Delhi in September 2023, when the leaders announced the formation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), they were very much aware that they were sending a message that this would be a geopolitical strategy for the West to counter China’s BRI. As six weeks have passed since the conflict in Gaza, and the IMEC project has lost all momentum, it felt like the entire concept just evaporated overnight. Now, with the Iran war, which has been going on for six weeks, and Tehran having control over part of the Strait of Hormuz and missiles raining down on Haifa, it has done the rest.

In the meantime, some 3,500 kilometers northward, another equally vital passageway is slowly being developed. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, commonly referred to as the Middle Corridor, connects China to Europe via Kazakhstan, through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, then Georgia, and finally Trkiye. In 2025, container traffic through this corridor amounted to 76,900 twenty-foot equivalent units, representing a 36 percent growth over 2024. Freight operators and insurance carriers who had begun diverting shipments from the Red Sea, now threatened by the ongoing Iran war that started in late February, have quickened this process even more. The corridor serves as an insurance policy against any additional disruption of the regular maritime routes.

The problems that IMEC faces are not accidental to the ongoing situation. They are inherent in the very design of the project. The first leg of the corridor from the west demands an operational port of Haifa as an entrance point in the Mediterranean Sea, which is currently under attack by Iranian missiles. The first leg of the corridor from the east demands Saudi-Israeli normalization for land transit through the Arabian Peninsula, a process that has been frozen since October 2023. The first leg of the corridor demands an open-door policy of Jordan, which has become politically impossible due to popular hostility towards Israel.

Not even the most hopeful planners of the corridor itself can deny that these are issues that will be resolved in the long term. According to Egypt’s foreign minister, present at meetings between India and the country in October 2025, the resolution of “the Palestinian issue” is “essential” to IMEC’s success – a requirement that, given the ongoing extension of the conflict into Lebanon, Syria, and now Iran, has become further away from reality than ever. In addition, the war with Iran has brought an extra element of danger to the equation, in the form of increased insurance costs for shipping goods across the Gulf, as well as the mobilization of the port facilities in Haifa to wartime status.

FactorIMECMiddle Corridor

Current operational

statusWestern leg non-operationalFully operational, accelerating

Conflict exposureDirect (Haifa, Hormuz, Houthis)Bypasses all active conflict zones

Regional peace

conditions

Saudi-Israel normalisation stalledArmenia-Azerbaijan peace agreed

Aug 2025

Infrastructure readinessEastern leg functional; western leg

paper-onlyBTK modernised 2025; Poti

terminal opened

Insurance environmentProhibitive in the Gulf/Red Sea/IsraelStable; Caspian/Black Sea route

unaffected

Political backing

US, EU, India committed;

implementation fragmented

US, EU, China, UK all invested;

joint venture operating

The distance between the Barents Sea to the north and the Arabian Sea to the south is around 5,000 kilometers. However, only 190 kilometers of the total distance – a land route called the Ganja Gap located in Azerbaijan – can accommodate transportation from one point to another without passing through either Russia or Iran. Azerbaijan plays a pivotal role in one of the world’s most significant but unknown logistic chokepoints.

Indeed, the security profile of this route corridor has significantly improved since last summer. Thanks to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement initialled in the White House back in August 2025, the only serious source of potential conflict for the South Caucasus has been eliminated. This is why Aliyev stressed in his recent Tbilisi speech that “the South Caucasus is becoming a region of peace, calmness, security and cooperation.” According to Kobakhidze, “global geopolitical changes have further strengthened the significance of the Middle Corridor” and made the Black Sea and South Caucasus “a strategically important space.” While the wars rage in Ukraine to the north and in Iran to the south, the territory that links China’s supply chains with Europe has been consciously protected from military interference. Indeed, wars continue to the north of Azerbaijan, as well as to its south. In this case, the international cargo carriers cannot help choosing the Middle Corridor, as it is their safest way of transportation.

The constraint within the corridor is currently on the supply side rather than on the demand side. The pressure is greatest on ports in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, where ferry capacity on the Caspian Sea has failed to keep up with booking requests due to the ongoing Iran war. KTZ Express plans to purchase six new ferries, while the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company is commissioning a new Ro-Pax ferry and considering two new container vessels. A new multimodal terminal was inaugurated in Poti, Georgia, in June 2025, with the capability of handling 120 wagons and 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent units per annum. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, a 826-kilometre route between Azerbaijan and Trkiye through Georgia, finished upgrading its Georgian segment in 2025, increasing its line capacity considerably. The World Bank and EBRD have concluded that investments worth pound 18.5 billion in infrastructure would be necessary in Central Asia alone to unlock the corridor’s full potential until 2030.

TRIPP Corridor (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity), which entails the construction of a railway line and oil/gas pipeline along the southern part of Armenia from mainland Azerbaijan, passing Nakhchivan to Trkiye, will create an additional layer to the capabilities of the Middle Corridor. Azerbaijan’s section will be almost complete soon, while Armenia’s part is scheduled to start in the latter half of 2026.

In operation, TRIPP would practically turn Armenia into a transit state in the very same corridor network that had never included it before, expanding the Middle Corridor and bringing in redundancy along the route. Azerbaijan has spent $21bn on OTS countries, including Trkiye, where work on the Kars-Igdir-Aralik-Dilucu railroad line, which runs 224km from the Turkish border down to the border of Nakhchivan, is underway. The Iran conflict has certainly delayed TRIPP, but it hasn’t changed the rationale behind it.

The fight between IMEC and the Middle Corridor has, over the last three years, been seen as a fight between two equally grand plans. It’s no longer as such. While one corridor cuts through active battlegrounds, relies on normalizing relationships that are not progressing, and moves cargo via a sea dominated by Iranian naval strategy, the other one avoids Russia and Iran altogether, has settled down its most serious regional conflict, and sees growth rates not seen before in its history.

US President Donald Trump said that the Iran must stop charging fees to tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded since the start of the war in Middle East, AzerNEWS reports.

“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait – They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

According to the Financial Times (FT) Iran will require shipping companies to pay a $1 per barrel duty in cryptocurrency for the passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has declared that the nation will escalate its control over the Strait of Hormuz and will demand compensation for damages incurred during military conflicts.

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.

Armenia will require international partners during the construction phase of the Trump Roadmap for Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, AzerNEWS reports.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna, Mirzoyan highlighted the next steps in the implementation of the initiative, which is being developed in cooperation with the United States.

‘We hope that soon we will move on to the next stage, the construction phase. At this stage, we will need partners from third countries,’ he said.

According to Mirzoyan, while the agreement itself will remain bilateral between Armenia and the United States, broader international involvement will be necessary during construction and potentially in the management of infrastructure systems.

The remarks follow a statement by the US State Department regarding Armenia’s cooperation with Washington and other international partners on the project.

Mirzoyan noted that work on the TRIPP initiative is progressing intensively and is currently at the stage of negotiating an intergovernmental agreement. He added that the project has attracted interest from a wide range of countries, spanning from the Middle East to Europe and Asia.

The development comes in the context of recent diplomatic progress between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On August 8, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration in Washington with the participation of US President Donald Trump.

The document provides for the commissioning of the Zangezur corridor, also referred to as the ‘Trump route,’ as part of broader efforts to restore regional connectivity. In addition, the foreign ministers of both countries initialed a draft Agreement on Peace and Interstate Relations.

A web resource belonging to a local organisation in Azerbaijan has been subjected to a cyber attack, according to the Electronic Security Service, AzerNEWS reports.

The agency noted that the scale of cyber attacks is increasing globally amid ongoing geopolitical developments. According to the statement, such attacks are not only directed at specific target countries but are also carried out through the information systems of other states, particularly via platforms that do not fully meet cybersecurity standards.

Details of the incident emerged during an investigation launched by the Electronic Security Service based on information provided by the National Cybersecurity Center of Hungary. Analysis of the relevant URLs and IP addresses allowed authorities to identify both the source and the nature of the attack.

The investigation revealed that attackers had placed malicious code and files on a local server, which was then used to conduct unauthorised interference in the information systems of other countries. The compromised infrastructure was also used to redirect users to fraudulent phishing websites.

Following operational measures, the malicious files were removed, identified vulnerabilities were addressed, and the system’s normal operation was restored.

Azerbaijan has strongly denied circulating claims that missiles were launched from its territory toward Gulf countries, describing the reports as unfounded and misleading, AzerNEWS reports.

In a statement, the Media Development Agency said that ‘completely unfounded and untrue information’ has recently spread across some social media platforms regarding alleged missile launches:

‘Against the backdrop of existing tensions in the region, the dissemination of unverified and inaccurate information on social networks serves to create false perceptions in public opinion and carries the nature of deliberate disinformation. We strongly condemn such attempts.

Such claims either have a provocative intent or are the result of a completely irresponsible and unfounded approach. Given modern technological capabilities, it is not difficult to determine the direction from which missiles or other aerial vehicles are launched.

The region and Gulf countries possess modern radar and monitoring systems, through which the origin and trajectory of objects can be clearly determined.

We state that the Republic of Azerbaijan remains committed to the principles of international law, the sovereignty of states, and the preservation of regional stability. We call on all parties to rely only on verified and reliable sources and to refrain from spreading unconfirmed information.

We urge media entities and social media users to demonstrate high professionalism and responsibility in disseminating information, to rely only on official and credible sources, and to avoid spreading suspicious and manipulative content,’ the statement said.