AssA-Irada New Agency Sample
[ Politics ]
[ Parliament news ]
[ Economics ]
[ Miscellaneous ]
Politics
Hajibala Abutalibov appointed Baku Mayor
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The President of Azerbaijan has decreed to appoint former vice-premier
Hajibala Abutalibov as Mayor of Baku. Before his career in the government,
H. Abutalibov was district mayor of the Surakhani district of Baku.*
Indian ambassador voices gratefulness for moral support
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
Receiving the Indian ambassador to Azerbaijan Dinkar Khullar, Foreign
Minister Vilayat Guliyev
offered his sympathy to the diplomat on the occasion of the devastating
earthquake in Indian state of
Gujarati that had led to heavy human loss.
Amb. Khullar voiced his gratitude for the condolences at such a difficult
moment for India. The
diplomat emphasized that he himself and other embassy employees can
feel overall support both on part of Azeri government officials and
ordinary Azeris, according to the MFA.*
Opposition marks birthday anniversary of Rasulzadeh
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
Representatives of the opposition visited the Novkhani village Wednesday,
the native village of an
outstanding statesman, founding father of Azerbaijan's national liberation
movement Mammad Amin
Rasulzadeh. Speakers talked at length of Rasulzadeh's role and place
in the history of the liberation
movement, while local schoolchildren read poems dedicated to their famous
compatriot. In conclusion, the ceremony participants laid flowers to
Rasulzadeh's monument, who is buried in Ankara.*
Journalists conduct sanctioned picket
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
On the initiative of the Union of Editors, around 60 newspaper journalists
conducted a picket in front of the State Customs Committee Wednesday
that had been sanctioned by the Mayor's office. Among key demands of
the journalists were "Down with those selling paper", "End
to paper monopolists" and "End to pressure on the press".
According to the chief editor of "Yeni Musavat" newspaper
Rauf Arifoglu, in 2000 Azerbaijan received around 3,000 tons of paper,
with current reserves of 1,002 tons. He stated that if the paper shortage
problem is not resolved in the near future, some 500-600 journalists
will be laid off.
The protesters adopted a resolution, demanding to abolish the double
Value Added Tax imposed on
paper introduced since January 1, 2001. The state customs committee
has been urged to take resolute measures against the monopoly of certain
government officials of the paper market.
After the picket, protesters visited with the Garabagh handicapped,
who have been on hunger strike
since January 21.*
Parliament news
Parliament to discuss "Armenian genocide" recognition issue
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The first meeting of the Milli Mejlis spring session is expected to
focus on recognition by France of the so-called Armenian genocide in
1915. Chairman of the commission for international relations Samad Seyidov
told the commission meeting Wednesday that the Milli Mejlis must adopt
an address to the French Senate.
Contrary to expectations, on January 30, French President Jacques Chirac
ratified the Senate decision on recognition of the genocide.
It is indicative that after the meeting with President Aliyev, Mr. Chirac
told journalists of the critical
attitude of his Azeri counterpart to the decision and pledged to take
his opinion into account.
On Tuesday, members of the PFPA conservative wing conducted a protest
action outside French
embassy in Baku and burnt French banner.
Chairman of the communist party of Azerbaijan MP Ramiz Ahmadov thinks
all Turkic countries must
adopt a document defying the so-called genocide.*
Parliament to ratify Caspian co-op statement
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The draft law "On ratification of a joint statement of the Azerbaijan
Republic and the Russian
Federation on principles of cooperation in the Caspian" was discussed
Wednesday by the MM permanent commission for legal policy and state
construction. The statement was signed by Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Russia during president Putin's visit to Baku.
The statement says that preparation of a new legal status of the Caspian
is the prerogative of Caspian
states proper. Given the existing disagreement among littoral states,
it is necessary to exercise a stage-by-stage approach.
Members of the MM commission regarded the statement as a document capable
of resolving potential disputes and decided to forward it to the Milli
Mejlis.*
People enjoying int'l immunity have right for special defense
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
Members of the MM permanent commission on legal policy and state construction
made a decision
Wednesday to forward a convention "On prevention of crimes (and
punishment for them) regarding people enjoying international immunity,
including diplomatic agents" to the Milli Mejlis. The convention
was adopted on December 14, 1973 by the UN General Assembly. Pursuant
to the document, such persons, as well as their families have a right
for special defense from all attacks on their personality, freedom and
dignity.*
Opposition MP opposes military personnel training in Russia
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The MM permanent commission on international relations and inter-parliamentary
contacts decided
Wednesday to submit to the parliament the agreement on training of the
Azerbaijan military personnel in Russia's military schools, that was
signed in December 2000 by Defense Ministers of the two countries.
During the discussion, a member of the commission representing the PFPA
reform wing Asim
Mollazadeh stated that people educated in Russia can pose a threat to
Azerbaijan. Chairman of the
commission Samad Seyidov said Azeri officers must know military systems
of all countries. The
commission also decided to forward for ratification the Baku Declaration
signed by Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Russia.*
Opposition MPs to set up democratic bloc
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
In a news briefing held after the Democratic Congress-2 meeting Wednesday,
chairman of the
"Takammul" party Teyyub Ganioglu told journalists that opposition
MPs would set up a democratic bloc in the parliament.
It is remembered that representing this Democratic Congress in the Milli
Mejlis will be 6 members of
the PFPA reform wing, 3 of the Civil Solidarity, and 1 of Yurddash.
Besides them, a member of the Civil Unity, 2 of Musavat, 1 of the PFPA
conservative wing, and 2 of PNIA are considered to be members of the
Milli Mejlis as well. The spring session of the MM is to start Thursday.*
Economics
Phase-1 gaining momentum
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The AIOC is reportedly going to embark on Phase-1 of the Full-Field
Development of Azeri, Chirag and Gunashli fields in 2001. The pre-qualification
tender has already been announced and attended by 13 companies.
Results of the tender will be drawn in a meeting of contenders with
the AIOC executives, while final
tender bids will be discussed on March 15. In the third quarter, contractors
will start Phase-1 operations.*
'Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan beyond a doubt', Shevardnadze says
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
According to the "Caucasus-press" news agency, Georgian president
E. Shevardnadze has told
journalists that implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export
Pipeline (MEP) is beyond a
doubt. He underscored that this determination was once again confirmed
in his meeting with the Turkish president Ahmed Necet Sezer during his
official visit to Turkey.
"The only thing left to do is to take shovels and get down to work",
Mr. Shevardnadze said.
According to him, during the meeting, the parties focused on concrete
issues relating to the
implementation of previously announced projects. He indicated with some
satisfaction that the gas pipeline construction talks had again been
given a boost.
"The Turkish president has confirmed his country's interest in
the gas transportation project from
Azerbaijan's Shah-Daniz field and I feel that the trans-Caspian gas
pipeline project has also been
revitalized", Mr. Shevardnadze stated.*
Scientist proposes to use purified water
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
According to the head of the organic fertilizer laboratory of the Institute
of Soil Studies under the
Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan Mr. Zamanov, when the population of
Baku was 1.5 million people (at present the figure is twice as big),
the capital was consuming over 600,000 cubic meters of water per day,
which was dumped into the aeration station in Hovsan with a subsequent
purification and release into the sea.
The scientist says it is time to think of the possibility of recovering
at least a portion of the water for a
repeated use. As an example, he referred to Cheliabinsk, Russia, which
has used this practice since the Soviet times.
After a complete purification, the water is fit for fully addressing
technical needs. It is also good for
irrigation purposes, as drain waters contain a lot of organic substances
and it is not at all difficult to
calculate the benefits of such water circulation on Absheron, which
has always been short of it.*
Property to be evaluated in accordance with new economic requirements
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
In March 2001, Baku will host an international scientific conference,
"Actual problems with property
evaluation in new economic requirements", to be organized by the
Society for Property Evaluation of
Azerbaijan, Ministry of State Property and the State Economic University.
To be considered at the conference is the current status of evaluation
activities in Azerbaijan, ways of
improving it, legal framework, and role of independent appraisers. The
conference will be attended by
representatives of evaluating entities from all over CIS.*
Conference underway in Almaty
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
A working group of the Interaction and Measures of Trust in Asia Conference
is currently in Almaty,
Kazakhstan, discussing draft documents to be signed during the organization's
summit. According to a
diplomatic source, the exact date of the summit is being set up. The
Conference, of which Azerbaijan is a member, includes 15 countries,
including Japan, Australia, USA, India, while UN and OSCE have the status
of observers.*
CIS and Baltic railway ministers to meet in Tallinn
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The 27th meeting of CIS and Baltic railway ministers is due in Tallinn,
Estonia, in late February-early
March, as the parties are expected to focus of mechanisms of interaction,
exchange of technical
information, establishment of a new container depot, expansion of renovation
operations, tariffs, etc.
The Azerbaijan railway committee chairman Ziya Mammadov will attend
the meeting as weel.*
$0.462 mln sold at Baku Interbank Currency Exchange (BICEX)
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
Opening price = 4,585 manats for 1 US dollar
Closing price = 4,584 manats for 1 US dollar
Trade volume = 462,000 dollars
8 commercial banks participated in the trade.*
Rate of Manat to Ruble and USD
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
National bank
1 Russian Ruble = 161 manats
1 USA dollar = 4,579 manats
International bank
1 Russian Ruble: buying = 145 manats
selling = 159 manats
1 USA dollar: buying = 4,570 manats
selling = 4,607 manats
Exchange stations:
1 USA dollar: buying = 4,590 manats
selling = 4,605 manats.*
Miscellaneous
Crime rate down
Baku, January 31, AssA-Irada
The number of crimes registered in 2000, as compared to 1999, declined
4.5%. According to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of premeditated murders and
murder attempts has declined 1.6%, bodily injuries 11.5%, while the
percentage of unraveled crimes made up 91.1%.
Last year, 1,055 gangs guilty of 1,670 crimes were rendered innocuous,
3,453 members of such gangs have been arraigned.
As a result of search for guns and munitions, 3,072 units of firearms
were impounded last year,
including 423 submachine guns, 484 hand guns, 7 machine guns, etc.
68.3% of wanted criminals have been arrested and held accountable.*
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