Category: Azer News

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, has conducted his 24th meeting with representatives of Azerbaijan’s sports federations, Azernews reports.

The event, held at the Azerbaijan State Physical Education and Sports Academy, provided a platform for discussing recent accomplishments and outlining upcoming priorities for the nation’s sporting community.

The agenda included the final report of the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games and preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics. Discussions also covered athlete registration and classification procedures, ensuring that Azerbaijan’s sports talent is fully ready for international competitions.

International experts, including Edward Kolar, Rado Pisot, Matej Tusak, and Tomaz Levak, shared their insights on artificial intelligence (AI), the Az?rfit project, and both physical and psychological training plans for athletes.

Their presentations highlighted innovative strategies aimed at elevating Azerbaijan’s competitive edge in sports.

The meeting also addressed coaching courses for various sports disciplines, activities of the Youth and Sports Development Centers (UGIMs) under the ministry, and upcoming events such as the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal this year.

Preparations for Baku-2026, designated the “World Sports Capital,” were also discussed, along with a report on federations’ social media engagement.

The United States has conducted repeated reconnaissance flights around Iran over the past two days, marking the second time such aerial activity has been observed since nationwide protests began in late December 2025, according to data from the Flightradar24 platform, Azernews reports.

Flightradar24, a widely used flight-tracking service that provides real-time information on aircraft positions, altitude, and speed, showed multiple US reconnaissance aircraft operating near Iranian airspace. The latest flights follow an earlier round of US surveillance flights conducted shortly after the onset of Iran’s largest anti-government protests in decades.

The renewed aerial operations come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s domestic situation and broader regional security concerns. Iran’s internal unrest, sparked by a sharp economic downturn and the collapse of the rial, has evolved into mass demonstrations against the government, drawing international attention and diplomatic pressure.

The previous reconnaissance took place five days ago, on January 19.

The surveillance flights coincide with other signs of escalating military readiness. Iran temporarily closed its airspace for several hours last week amid rising tensions with the US, forcing commercial carriers to cancel or reroute flights before reopening the skies once again. Aviation authorities in the EU have also urged airlines to avoid Iranian airspace, citing safety concerns as the risk of misidentification remains elevated due to increased military activity in the region.

Such reconnaissance missions are generally interpreted by analysts as efforts to gather intelligence on military deployments, air defenses, and other strategic indicators. In past decades, the US has frequently employed aerial reconnaissance near Iran-sometimes leading to high-profile incidents like the 2019 downing of a US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz-reflecting long-standing strategic rivalry.

More than 39 kilograms of heroin concealed using sophisticated methods have been discovered and seized in Nakhchivan, Azernews reports, citing local media outlets.

Officers of the Nakhchivan Main Customs Department uncovered and removed from illegal circulation a particularly large quantity of narcotic drugs during a customs inspection.

The seizure took place at the ‘Julfa’ customs post, where a vehicle transporting a cargo declared as ‘plastic cladding panels’ was stopped for inspection. The shipment was transiting the country en route from Iran to Poland.

During the inspection, customs officers found that the narcotics had been carefully hidden inside the plastic panels using techniques designed to hinder detection. A total of 780 tightly packed parcels containing heroin were discovered, with a net weight of 39 kilograms and 315.246 grams.

An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

China has developed a truck-mounted firefighting drone system designed to tackle large or hard-to-reach fires, including those in densely populated urban areas and industrial zones, Azernews reports.

The system is deployed from a mobile command vehicle that delivers multiple drones and all necessary support equipment directly to the scene. Acting as a control hub, the vehicle coordinates operations, monitors drone activity, and provides power, while the drones are launched as needed.

Each drone can carry firefighting equipment such as water hoses, tanks, or specialized extinguishing agents, allowing crews to attack flames from above while ground teams focus on containment, evacuation, and safety measures. This aerial approach enables rapid intervention in situations where traditional firefighting methods might be delayed or limited.

Recent drills in high-rise buildings, including exercises in Shenzhen, tested innovative cable-supported drone systems to extend flight time and maintain stable power and water supply from the ground. These trials demonstrated that drones can complement human crews in complex urban environments, reaching areas that would be otherwise inaccessible.

Importantly, these systems are not intended to replace firefighters. Instead, they are designed to enhance human capabilities, reduce risks, and improve response efficiency in emergencies where every second counts. Analysts note that such technology could become a standard tool in modern firefighting worldwide, particularly as cities grow taller and more densely populated.

Experts suggest that in the near future, these drones could be equipped with AI-driven sensors to detect hotspots, monitor air quality, and even assist in search-and-rescue operations, making them a versatile asset in disaster response.

In 2025, China’s imports hit a record value of 18.48 trillion yuan. For decades, the orthodox view of the Chinese economy focused almost exclusively on its export prowess. However, the granular breakdown of the 2025 data reveals that this operating model has been fundamentally superseded. The resilience of China’s imports now reflects a sophisticated industrial upgrading and a domestic market that has become indispensable to global growth.

Anatomy of Demand

To understand the significance of the 18.48 trillion yuan import figure, one must examine the industrial engine it feeds. The import record is inextricably linked to China’s manufacturing output. In 2025, exports of equipment manufacturing products reached 16.03 trillion yuan, a rise of 9.2% from the previous year, now accounting for 59.4% of total exports. This correlation is critical. The importation of vast quantities of energy, raw materials, and high-tech components is the necessary fuel for this 16.03 trillion yuan output. The data indicates a “processing trade” evolution: China is importing higher-value intermediate goods to produce increasingly sophisticated capital goods.

Structural data further clarifies this shift. Between January and October 2025, trade in intermediate goods grew by 9.7%, significantly outpacing other categories. This aligns with the long-term trend where the share of intermediate goods in China’s trade profile rose from 42% in 2015 to 46% by mid-2025. Conversely, the share of consumer goods dropped from 37% to 31%.

This creates a clear picture: China is not just buying finished products; it is integrating deeper into the global supply chain, importing the essential “industrial staples”-from semiconductors to specialized alloys-that drive the global manufacturing system.

Private Sector

A distinctive feature of the 2025 trade performance is the leading role played by private enterprises, which now shoulder the bulk of this import-export dynamism. No longer is the landscape dominated solely by state-owned giants; private firms have become the primary actors, displaying remarkable agility.

Geographically, the import map of 2025 confirms a decisive shift toward the Global South, driven by reciprocal supply chain integration. Trade data reveals that exports to, and implicitly, industrial integration with ASEAN rose by 14.6%, while trade with Africa surged by 26.3%.

This is not accidental; it is the dividend of capital flow. From January to November 2025, China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) reached 1.13 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%.

This “developmental trade” stands in stark contrast to extractive models. As Western markets fluctuated, China’s open door provided a crucial safety valve for the Global South.

The broader geopolitical context of early 2026 makes this import record even more salient. We stand at a juncture where the post-Cold War consensus on free trade is fraying. In such an environment, an economy that maintains a 6.1% overall export growth while simultaneously hitting record import values is performing a global public service.

———

Qaiser Nawab is Chairman of the Belt and Road Initiative for Sustainable Development (BRISD), an international platform focused on fostering cooperation and innovation across Asia, Africa, and Latin America

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has made a post on her social media accounts on the 36th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy.

According to Azernews, the post reads: ‘I respectfully commemorate the cherished memory of the innocent victims of the 20 January tragedy. May Allah have mercy on all our martyrs!’

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has published its next Global Risks Report (GRPS), assessing the most significant global threats in the short, medium, and long term.

According to Azernews, the report identifies geoeconomic conflict as the most serious global risk in the short term, placing it at the top of the 2026 risk outlook. Economic-related threats also recorded the sharpest rise across all risk categories.

Based on a global survey, the WEF compiled a list of 34 major risks expected to shape the period from 2026 to 2036. In the 2026 outlook, geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges dominate. Around one-third of respondents cited either geoeconomic conflict or armed conflicts between states as the primary global threat. Geoeconomic conflict ranked first, moving up two positions compared to last year, while interstate conflict dropped from first to second place. Extreme weather events ranked third.

Looking ahead to the medium term, the 2028 assessment shows geoeconomic conflict retaining its position as the leading global risk, while also demonstrating one of the steepest increases in perceived severity. For the first time since 2023, disinformation and false information rose to second place, followed by social polarization and extreme weather events. Armed conflicts between states fell to fifth place, reflecting a shift in global instability from military confrontation toward economic and technological pressures.

In the long-term outlook for 2036, the structure of global risks changes fundamentally. Extreme weather events are expected to become the dominant global threat, with environmental risks accounting for half of the top concerns. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse rank second, followed by critical changes in Earth systems.

The report highlights a clear evolution of global risks: geoeconomic and geopolitical dominance in 2026, a more complex and intertwined risk landscape by 2028, and a pronounced shift toward environmental and technological threats by 2036 amid accelerating structural changes in the global system.

The WEF also identified country-specific risks. For Azerbaijan, the main risks in 2026 include cybersecurity threats, environmental pollution, disinformation and false information, inflation, and non-weather-related natural disasters.

For Armenia, the key risks this year include insufficient public services and social protection, armed conflicts involving states, disinformation and false information, lack of economic opportunities or unemployment, and economic decline. These risks were identified based on a survey conducted by the CIVITTA Institutional Research Center and are believed to take into account Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections in June.

Georgia’s top risks include cybersecurity threats, lack of economic opportunities or unemployment, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, negative impacts of artificial intelligence technologies, and cyberwarfare.

The report is based on a global survey of more than eleven thousand respondents conducted between March and June 2025.

Leyla Aliyeva visited the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Azernews reports.

Leyla Aliyeva was welcomed by Fitsum Assefa Adela, Minister of Planning and Development of Ethiopia.

A traditional coffee ceremony highlighting Ethiopia’s ancient and rich culture was organized in honor of Leyla Aliyeva. During the ceremony, the guests were briefed on the details of this ancient ritual. Afterwards, the guests were served freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee, distinguished by its mysterious aroma and unique taste.

Then, Leyla Aliyeva visited the Ethiopian Science Museum, where she was welcomed by Alemtsehay Paulos, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Science Museum, spanning seven hectares, opened its doors to visitors in October 2022. The museum features two grand buildings surrounded by 80 percent greenery. The huge museum complex is designed to function as a scientific research center, preserve both ancient and modern technological advancements in various fields, passing them down to future generations.

The complex, an initiative of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, showcases modern interactive science and technology exhibits, incorporating sustainable design features like solar panels and a planetarium.

The museum fosters creative innovation and equips young people with vital digital expertise by serving as a premier venue for significant technological events and conferences.

Having attracted significant interest from younger audiences, the museum has welcomed 7 million children since its opening. The complex serves as a cornerstone of Ethiopia’s path toward digital transformation, successfully showcasing the synergy between cutting-edge technology and the country’s traditional heritage.

Iranian officials have accused the United States and Europe of seeking to impose new sanctions on Iran under the pretext of cooperation with Israel, which Tehran describes as a ‘notorious agent,’ Iranian diplomat Kazem Jalali said, Azernews reports.

‘In exchange for further services from this notorious agent, the United States and Europe are seeking to impose new sanctions against the Iranian people,’ Jalali stated, criticizing what he described as collective punishment and political pressure targeting ordinary Iranians.

Jalali recalled remarks made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during Israel’s military operation against Iran in June 2025, when Merz said that Israel was doing Europe’s ‘dirty work.’ According to the Iranian diplomat, these comments reveal the moral and political logic behind Western support for Israeli actions.

‘From a moral perspective, German Chancellor Merz’s words, describing the actions of the unilateralist coalition last summer, when the Israeli regime bombed homes and businesses in Iran, could prove quite instructive,’ Jalali emphasized.

The statements also drew a reaction from Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Chancellor Merz had made a number of remarks that, in Moscow’s view, constituted an ‘absolute manifestation of Nazism and racism,’ sharply condemning both the rhetoric and the broader Western approach to the conflict.

The exchange of accusations comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Western countries following Israel’s military actions and ongoing debates in Europe and the United States over additional sanctions and political pressure on Tehran.

The leadership and staff of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry, along with representatives from cultural institutions, agencies, and creative organizations, has visited the Martyrs’ Alley on the eve of January 20th – the National Mourning Day, Azernews reports.

Flowers were laid at the graves of the heroes who gave their lives in the struggle for the nation’s independence, and heartfelt tributes were paid to their immortal souls.

On the night of January 19, 1990, the Soviet army opened massive fires from all available weapons at civil protesters in Baku, who were calling for an end to the negative developments in Garabagh.

As a result of the crime, 147 people were killed, 800 people were wounded and five people went missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed and citizens suffered huge material losses along with psychological trauma.