(Vafa Zeynalova/OC Media)
The fight against plastic waste in Azerbaijan entered a new stage late last year after the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources announced the possible adoption of a law against plastic bags use. But while the Ministry of Environment sees the solution as being through private and public initiatives, the general public expects regulatory actions from the authorities. [Read more…]
A memorial to Elina Hajiyeva (1news.az)
A 14-year-old girl has been attacked in Baku after organising a commemoration ceremony for Elina Hajiyeva, a schoolgirl who committed suicide two weeks ago after being bullied at school.
Bayram Mammadov, who was widely recognised as a political prisoner before being released two weeks ago in a presidential amnesty, has been re-arrested in Azerbaijan.
(Kamran Mahmudov/OC Media)
Dozens of shopkeepers in Baku have called for compensation after a fire devastated the city’s Diglas Shopping Centre, destroying their goods. [Read more…]
(Fargana Novruzova)
Police in Baku dispersed a march for equality and against violence against women on 8 March, International Women’s Day. [Read more…]
Protest on 19 January, Baku. (Meydan TV)
The Baku City Executive Power has refused to authorise protest applications since thousands took to the streets on 19 January calling for the release of ‘political prisoners’. [Read more…]
Javid Agha is an Ankara-based writer and social media observer focusing on Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose writing has been featured across the web including on the BBC. He is editor of Azerbaijani art and culture platform, VarYox.
In Azerbaijan, as in Armenia, remembrance of the victims of past atrocities often takes on a one-sided nature. Despite attempts to twist and politicise such events to serve nationalist causes, a more compassionate approach is needed to move forward, and a remembrance that above all, innocent victims are always sacred.
(report.az)
Recent progress in e-governance in Azerbaijan has dramatically reduced petty corruption in many sectors. But for those visiting public hospitals, sending their children to kindergarten, or dealing with the traffic police — the problem of bribery can still be a part of daily life. [Read more…]
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Facebook)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has concluded a three-day long tour to the South Caucasus. During her trip Merkel faced questions about Georgia’s Western ambitions, her position on the region’s conflicts, and human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, and also suggested Georgians may soon be able to work in Germany. [Read more…]
Shanghai, Baku (Vafa Zeynalova /OC Media)
Shanghai, the nickname of a small district running alongside Baku’s main railway line, is set to be demolished, and the tracks fenced off in the houses’ place. While locals tell of the tragic deaths of children hit by trains in Shanghai, some say the compensation offered by the government for demolishing their homes is not enough to move elsewhere in the city.
