JULY 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan pumped 675, 000 tonnes of oil to Russia in the first half of 2015, up from 508,000 tonnes in 2014, media reported quoting state energy company SOCAR. Azerbaijan had planned to halt oil shipments through the Baku- Novorossiisk pipeline to Russia but instead, seemingly as relations with Russia have improved, increased exports.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Sixteen US senators have written to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev calling on him to improve human rights in the country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Mr Aliyev has previously accused the West of mounting a smear campaign against Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev said he would welcome Italian infrastructure company Snam taking a stake in the planned Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which will pump gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s defence minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, visited Lithuania for meetings with his Lithuanian counterpart Juozas Olekas and PM Algirdas Butkevicius. This is important because it shows how Azerbaijan is trying to boost its connections in Europe and with NATO members.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq, one of the only independent newspapers in the country, is on the brink of closing because of its worsening financial situation, media lobby groups said. The authorities in Azerbaijan have been clamping down on opposition media. Lobby groups said Azadliq has received arbitrary fines.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Moodys, the ratings agency, downgraded Azerbaijan’s banking sector to negative from stable, reflecting the country’s tough economic outlook.
Azerbaijan devalued its currency by a third earlier this year, undermining the
banks, Moodys said.
“We believe that banks’ asset quality will deteriorate following the local-currency devaluation, as most foreign-currency loans in Azerbaijan are to borrowers that do not have foreign-currency revenues,” Moodys said in a report.
Stubbornly high consumer spending and inflation is also pressuring Azerbaijan’s econ- omy.
“We believe that banks’ asset quality will deteriorate following the local-currency devaluation, as most foreign-currency loans in Azerbaijan are to borrowers that do not have foreign-currency revenues,” Moodys’ press release said, quoting analyst Maria Malyukova.
Based on an average price of a barrel of oil of around $55, Moodys said that Azerbaijan’s economy would grow by 1% this year, one of the slowest growth rates in the developing world.
Oil production dominates Azerbaijan’s economy. Moodys estimated that the hydrocarbon sector contributed around 37% of Azerbaijan’s GDP last years.
Azerbaijan said that is is trying to boost gas sales to Europe but this is not due to come on-stream for several years.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan brought the inaugural European Games to a close with another lavish ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Baku.
Opinion was divided on whether the Games had been a success.
Attendance of both crowds and top athletes was low, espe- cially in the perceived blue ribbon athletics events although Azerbaijan’s new sta- diums were highly praised.
For Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, the Games were an intrinsic part of his strategy to promote the country through sport.
Azerbaijan has sponsored football teams and plans to host a Formula 1 race next year. It will probably also bid to host the Olympics in 2024.
No expense was spared on the European Games, which featured Lady Gaga singing at the opening ceremony.
But complaints over Azerbaijan’s human rights record and a bus crash in the Olympic village which injured members of the Austrian swimming team overshadowed part the Games.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Azerbaijan convicted 9 men of fighting for the extremist group IS in Syria and sent them to prison for up to 15 years, media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan lodged a complaint to the British foreign ministry after Bako Sahakyan, leader of the Armenian-backed group governing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, said he was due to flew to London for meetings with independent policy analysts. Azerbaijan fought a war with Armenia in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Olympic Committee striped Chaltu Beji, an 18- year-old Ethiopia-born athlete competing for Azerbaijan, of victory in the 3,000m steeple-chase at the European Games after she failed a drugs test. The failed drugs test will embarrass Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)