On March 14 Tajikistan’s parliament finally passed legislation updating the country’s “Law on Combating Terrorism.” According to Rano Qayumova, a member of the Assembly of Representatives, the legal reform was designed to comply with recent changes to the structure of central state bodies tasked with... MORE

On February 13, the government of Azerbaijan organized a major conference on the implementation of the “State Program on Regional Socioeconomic Development.” The program was adopted in 2004, immediately following the election of President Ilham Aliyev, and 2007 marks the third year of its implementation.... MORE

The start of 2007 has brought new opportunities for Azerbaijan’s opposition parties to revive their activism. The decision of the State Tariff Council to increase prices for gasoline, electricity, and other utilities in January has sparked dissatisfaction from large segments of the population, creating an... MORE

Thanks in large measure to Azerbaijan’s rapidly growing economic strength, the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku (KATB) railroad-building project can soon become a reality. The project had stalled for more than a decade, due to a lack of funding for the Georgian stretch of the line. Now Azerbaijan is... MORE

On Wednesday, December 6, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupryanov confirmed recent press reports that Gazprom will abruptly slash gas supplies to Azerbaijan to 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2007, down from 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2006, and that it would raise the price as of... MORE

At its regularly scheduled November 24 meeting, the National Radio and Television Council (NRTC) of Azerbaijan decided to suspend the broadcast license of ANS TV, the first private television station in the country, and its radio station ANS-CM. Council chairman Nushiravan Maharramli stated that the... MORE

Azerbaijani-Russian relations, increasingly warm in the past five years, are about to enter a difficult phase that could turn both countries into regional rivals. There are three reasons for the shift: Azerbaijan’s increasing gas production, Russia’s fight against illegal migration, and the recent visit by... MORE

Azerbaijani opposition activists and journalists have launched a hunger strike to protest the recent pressure on the media and opposition parties from the State Committee for the Management of State Properties. The Committee is demanding that a building located in the heart of Baku, at... MORE

Last week the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan broke up a transnational network funneling illegal drugs from Iran toward Europe via Azerbaijan. Two citizens of Azerbaijan were arrested in relation to this case, and authorities confiscated 19 kilograms of hashish from them. They had... MORE