Azerbaijan and Trafficking

Azerbaijan is a transit country for people who are trafficked to Turkey, Russia and the UAE. These are the states that use men, women and children the most. Usually women and some children are trafficked for sexual exploitation, and the men and boys are trafficked for forced labor. Other countries that have victims being trafficked are Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Moldova. Unfortunately Azerbaijan has not shown any recent efforts in finding or punishing the people responsible for the trafficking, and apparently does not treat the victims very nicely.

Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html

Azerbaijan and the Military

Azerbaijan entered into the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe or the CFE in July of 1992. This places limits on their military equipment and provides the destruction of the equipment that falls outside of these guidelines. Azerbaijan openly allows inspections of the military forces in the region. The country approved the CFE flank agreement in May of 1997, and also a part of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has been deemed a non-nuclear weapons state. Azerbaijan is an active member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Partnership for Peace, and has a 90 troop presence in Afghanistan. Also, Azerbaijan kept peacekeeping deployment in Iraq until November of 2008.

Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm

Roadside bomb in Afghanistan kills 4 NATO troops

A roadside bomb killed four NATO service members Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, the coalition said. Elsewhere in the east, a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives near a coalition convoy, wounding three Afghan guards.

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/04/MNBH1JPPE8.DTL#ixzz1OXjhVG92

Afghanistan's History

Darius I and Alexander the Great were the first to use Afghanistan as the gateway to India. Islamic conquerors arrived in the 7th century, and Genghis Khan and Tamerlane followed in the 13th and 14th centuries.

In the 19th century, Afghanistan became a battleground in the rivalry between imperial Britain and czarist Russia for control of Central Asia. Three Anglo-Afghan wars (1839–1842, 1878–1880, and 1919) ended inconclusively. In 1893 Britain established an unofficial border, the Durand Line, separating Afghanistan from British India, and London granted full independence in 1919. Emir Amanullah founded an Afghan monarchy in 1926.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107264.html

Housing in Afghanistan

Houses in Afghanistan are traditionally made from mud and include a series of rooms located around a private rectangular courtyard where women and children play, cook and socialize. Married sons share the same house as their parents, although they have separate quarters. Some Afghan houses contain a special room where men socialize with each other. In the cities many Afghans live in apartments. There are many new modern designed houses available in all the major cities of the country.


http://afghanembassy.in/em/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98:culture-of-afghanistan&catid=46:afghanistan-info&Itemid=88

Art Exhibition Opens In Kabul

http://bakhtarnews.com.af/en/index.php?news=5348

Armenia's foreign trade woes

In 1988, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, voted to secede and join Armenia. This eventually developed into a full-scale armed conflict. Armenian support for the separatists led to an economic embargo by Azerbaijan, which has crippled Armenia's foreign trade and restricted its imports of food and fuel, three-quarters of which transited Azerbaijan under Soviet rule.

armenia most peaceful in region

ARMENIA IS THE MOST PEACEFUL COUNTRY FROM BOSPORUS TO THE CASPIAN SEA
Australia's Institute for Economics and Peace jointly with the British "The Economist" magazine published the rating list of the world peace coefficient.

To define peaceful countries, the experts use a number of factors, such as the number of armed forces, the national military budget, conflicts with neighbors, the number of deaths from internal conflicts, the number of police officers compared to the population, citizens' educational qualification and the attitude towards human rights.

Ancient City in Azerbaijan

Here is the link to an article I found about an ancient city that was discovered in Azerbaijan.

http://www.today.az/news/society/86453.html

Foreign Policy Priorities for Azerbaijan

Here are some of the foreign policy subjects that the country of Azerbaijan is focusing on:

-Promotion of the establishment of pluralistic democracy based on market economy and the rule of law.

-Conduct of an independent foreign policy aimed at the soonest restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan over its territory.

-Elimination of threats and risks to the security, political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

-Peaceful settlement of the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan through negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of the principles of the OSCE Lisbon Summit.

-Liquidation of the consequences of military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

-Development of good-neighbourly and mutually advantageous relations with neighbouring countries.

-Promotion of security and stability in the region.

-Prevention of illegal arms and other transfers in the region.

-Adherence to existing global non-proliferation regimes and establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Southern Caucasus.

-Demilitarization of the Caspian Sea Basin.

-Integration into European and Transatlantic security and cooperation structures, including NATO, EU, WEU, CE.

-Facilitation of the development of various sectors of the country's economy with due consideration of Azerbaijan's crucial geostrategic location at the crossroads between the East and West.

-Development of the Eurasian Transport Corridor of which Azerbaijan is a part.

Retrieved from http://www.azembassy.us/new/pages.php?name=FPP

Afghanistan's natural resources

Afghanistan's natural resources include: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, uranium, gold, silver, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.
Geography of Afghanistan

Suicide bombers invade government building

Four gunmen equipped with explosive vests stormed a government building in the eastern province of Khost this morning, which triggered several hours of clashes with security forces. Two suicide bombers were able to detonate their explosives and the two others were shot dead during the fight. Three police soldiers were killed and five others were injured.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/22/2229263/suicide-bombers-invade-afghan.html

Religious Conflicts in Armenia

Jehovah’s Witnesses members accused of attacking a priest deny being the guilty party, while claiming it was rather the Armenian Apostolic Church servant who behaved aggressively in their respect.

Earlier this week media quoted Holy Trinity Church priest Ter Yesayi Artenyan as claiming that on Sunday, May 15, he asked two young people preaching near his church in Yerevan to leave the territory but in response they attacked him, hurled obscenities and threats “to bite his head off”. A criminal case had been instituted in connection with the incident on the hallmarks of “beating, threats and arbitrariness.”

Armenia in Biblical Times

One of the world's oldest civilizations, Armenia once included Mount Ararat, which biblical tradition identifies as the mountain that Noah's ark rested on after the flood. It was the first country in the world to officially embrace Christianity as its religion (c. A.D. 300).

Inflation and Oil in Azerbaijan

I found one article that talks about how inflation in Azerbaijan has actually dropped over the last few months. I thought that it was interesting that the prices on goods are getting cheaper, but the prices of oil are increasing. I have attached both articles.

Inflation- http://www.today.az/news/business/86161.html
Increase on oil prices- http://www.today.az/news/business/86289.html

Azerbaijan and The United States

Ever since Azerbaijan was no longer a part of the Soviet Union, the United States has had contact with the country. For example, there are companies from the U.S. who are involved in the offshore oil development, and in return the U.S. is helping the country out in other areas such as telecommunication.

The United States is helping Azerbaijan transition into a democracy as well as helping to form an open market economy. In October of 1992, there was The Freedom Support Act which has provided about $22 million dollars for humanitarian, democracy and economic reform assistance. In 1995, there was a bilateral trade agreement that was signed which listed Azerbaijan as a "most favored nation". Then in 2008, there was a bilateral investment treaty signed between the U.S. and Azerbaijan, in which Azerbaijan was listed as a beneficiary under the Generalized System of Preferences program.

Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm

Bomb Kills 1, and Injures 7 in Khost

On Thursday, one person was killed, while seven were injured from a bomb explosion in Khost. The seven people were admitted to the provincial capital hospital. The injured people were "all civilians and and sustained wounds in a bomb blast in Khost city, some 150 km southeast of the Afghan capital Kabul." The possible target of the bomb was Afghan security forces, according to eyewitnesses.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/12/c_13871390.htm

Government of Afghanistan

The Afghan government consists of an elected President, two Vice Presidents, and a National Assembly consisting of two Houses: the House of People (Wolesi Jirga), and the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). There is also an independent Judiciary branch consisting of the Supreme Court (Stera Mahkama), High Courts and Appeal Courts. The President appoints the members of the Supreme Court with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga.

http://www.afghan-web.com/facts.html

Marrigage registrations

Thursday, Parliament of Armenia adopted the changes and amendments in the law “On acts of civil registration” discussing the dates of marriage registration.

Presenting the amendments, Armenian Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan said that the changes suggest to reduce the dates of marriage registration in Armenia from one month to seven days. Today it is 30 days for Armenian citizens (from the moment of submitting application for registration of marriage) and three months – for foreign citizens.

Byzantine Empire

In 591, the Byzantine Emperor Maurice defeated the Persians and recovered much of the remaining territory of Armenia into the empire. The conquest was completed by the Emperor Heraclius, himself ethnically Armenian, in 629.

Azerbaijan's Environmental Issues

The soil throughout the region of Azerbaijan is highly contaminated with DDT and toxic defoliants that were used during cotton production during the Soviet era. Petroleum and petrochemicals have contributed to the current water and air pollution problems. There are not many funds that have been able to go towards the environmental clean-up efforts. Another problem rests with the over-fishing of Caspian sturgeon, which is where most of the world's supply of caviar comes from.

Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa.ei/bgn/2909.htm

Azerbaijan: Extra-Curricular Acitivities

Azerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), NATO's Partnership for Peace (and maintains a 90-troop presence in Afghanistan), the Euro-Atlantic Partnership, the World Health Organization, GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Council of Europe, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the World Bank. Azerbaijan is also an observer at the Community of Democracies.

Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm

Armenian laguage newspaper

The Takvim-i Vekayi, which was first published in 1831, was known as the first Ottoman newspaper, was also published in five languages other than Ottoman Turkish. These five other languages were Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French and Greek. This original Ottoman newspaper carried both official as well as other announcements and continued on in a slightly different capacity later.

Armenia past war celebration

For 19 years already the Armenian people celebrate May 9 not only as the day of victory the Great Patriotic War but also as the day of liberation of Shushi, one of the crucial episodes in history of Armenian people. Liberation of Shushi had become the turning point in the Karabakh war, marking the way for future achievements.

Provines of Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, there are currently 34 provinces; two of which (Panjshir and Daykundi)
were added in 2004. Each province is divided into districts.

http://sites.google.com/site/worldfactsinc/the-provinces-of-afghanistan

Flash Flood Kills 12 in Afghanistan

A flash flood in Afghanistan has killed 12 people. On Saturday heavy rains, which have also caused some property damage has caused twelve people to die along with five people that are missing. Of those that died, five of them are from the same family.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178772.html

U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan Not Closing

In the aftermath of the death of Osama Bin Laden, there has been an increased worry about retaliation. This means that some of the U.S. Embassy's in other countries could be targeted. This idea has gone so far that many of the Embassy's have decided to temporarily close in order to avoid an attack. The Embassy in Azerbaijan though has decided that they will not close and will resume work as normal. The link to the article is listed below.

http://www.today.az/news/politics/85434.html

What Does Azerbaijan's Flag Stand For?

I thought it would be interesting to post something about the national symbol for the country. The crescent moon in the middle of the flag and the eight pointed star represents the eight branches of the Turkic people. The blue stripe stands for the Turks and the green stripe stands for Islam. The red stripe in the middle stands for the adherence to freedom, democracy, and human rights.

Retrieved from:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/azerbaijani-flag.html
http://www.sabunchucourt.gov.az/eng/index-1.html#2

Religion of Afghanistan

Islam is the main religion of Afghanistan, with over 99% being Muslim. Of the Muslim population, 84% are Sunnites and 15% are Shiites. There are small groups of Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jews that are scattered in the towns.

Struggle Against Drug Trafficking

The executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday that the United Nations is planning to launch a program aimed at stopping drug trafficking in Afghanistan by the end of 2011. Central Asia states have been a hub for drug trafficking, and new programs are being developed to put an end to it. The United Nations is planning on spending $3 million. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin that is consumed in Russia is smuggled from Afghanistan; 30,000 Russians die from heroin abuse each year.

Armenia and Christanity

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church that still exists independently of both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity. From around 1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had close ties to European Crusader states, flourished in southeastern Asia Minor until conquered by Muslim states.

oldest shoe

A perfectly preserved shoe, 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the UK, has been found in a cave in Armenia. The 5,500 year old shoe, the oldest leather shoe in the world, was discovered by a team of international archaeologists and their findings.

Azerbaijan's Youth

I found an interesting article about how the government of Azerbaijan is taking steps to try and improve social and economic problems for their youth. I have listed the link to the article here.

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/35081

Food of Southern Azerbaijan

Southern Azerbaijan has traditional foods that have been around for quite a while. One of the most traditional foods is Dolma which basically means "stuffed". This includes stuffed peppers, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage leaves, apple, tomato, pepper, quince, onion, eggplant, and a type of vegetable called a evelik.

Another traditional food is kebabs. The different types of kebabs include berg kebab, soltani kebab, Juje (or dwarf chick) kebab, liver kebab, tomato kebab, Bonab kebab (named after a city in Azerbaijan), tail kebab, kebab in pan and Kubide kebab.

Another dish that is eaten primarily in the winter is soup. These are made mostly in the winter because the soups are thought to have healing powers. Some of the soups include yoghurt, ayran (derived from yoghurt), noodle, sour soup, semolina soup, scarlet soup, boiled sheep's head soup, fruit soup, and tomato soup.

Lastly, another traditional food is meatballs. The Tabriz and the Rize meatballs are the most common ones. Meatballs are often stuffed with fried onions, dried apricots, cooked eggs, walnuts and other flavors. Some of the staple spices that are used in traditional dishes include saffron, cumin, turmeric, thyme, red and black pepper, ginger, mint and dried roses.

Retrieved from http://www.oursouthazerbaijan.com/English_cuisine.htm

Afghanistan landscape

Afghanistan is a country that is landlocked on all sides with no coastline. It is on the Iranian Plateau surrounded by the Hindu Kush mountains. It is the 41st largest country in the world and covers 250,001 sq miles. Afghanistan is about the size of Texas, and most of the land is rugged, inhospitable mountainous landscape.

Kabul Bank to be split

The Afghan Central Bank has only recouped $47 million of the over $900 million in loans that were issued by Kabul Bank. The Afghan Central Bank said yesterday, that the Kabul Bank will be broken into two parts, to isolate bad loans, and create a new bank that will be able to guarantee customer's deposits. Last year, there was a near collapse of Kabul Bank, which is the nation's largest financial institution; and there was a government takeover. The bank will be privatized and renamed New Kabul Bank. The Afghan government is going to try and recoup the rest of the loans, and if someone doesn't cooperate, their property will be seized by court order.

Russia Used to Occupy Armenia

Between 1915 and 1917, Russia occupied virtually the entire Armenian part of the Ottoman Empire. Then in October 1917, the Bolshevik victory in Russia ended that country's involvement in World War I, and Russian troops left the Caucasus

Armenian Genocide Victims Honored

Turkish Zaman newspaper reports that “Armenians who lost their lives in the Armenian displacement that took place in 1915, during the final days of the Ottoman Empire, will be commemorated through a variety of events for a second time this year. Armenians all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24 because it was on that day in 1915 when many Armenians who were deported by the Ottoman Empire perished.

Azerbaijan and the Arts

I found this article about how Azerbaijan is becoming more widely recognized for their culture and arts. I found this interesting, especially since the first art museum in Azerbaijan opened in Baku in 2009.

Here is the link for the article

http://hmcurrentevents.com/articles/issues_in_world_geography/russia_and_the_republics_azerb.php

Government in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, there is a president, and the government is divided into three branches. The president is in charge of the legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch includes the president and his administration as well as a prime minister and the cabinet of ministers. The legislative branch of the government consists of 125 parliament members who are also known as Milli Majlis. These members, once elected serve 5 year terms for the government.

Some government officials are as follows:

President- Llham Aliyev
Prime Minister- Artur Rasizade
Foreign Minister- Elmar Mammadyarov
Ambassador to the U.S.- Yashar Aliyev
Ambassador to the UN- Agshin Mehdiyev

Retrieved from
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm#gov

Uzbekistan... who knew

       Uzbekistan is one of the world's biggest producers of cotton and is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas and gold. Uzbekistans economic reform has been slow; poverty and unemployment are widespread. Uzbekistan has the largest armed forces in Central Asia. Uzbekistan allowed the United states to set up base there after Sept. 11 happened.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1238242.stm

Current news in Armenia has the Armenian Minister of Defence Seyran Ohanyan meeting with the newly-appointed Georgian Ambassador to Armenia Tengiz Sharmanashvili. Congratulating the Ambassador on his appointment, the Minister expressed hope for the official to contribute to the development of Armenia-Georgia military cooperation.

Afghanistan's Independence from Britain

In May 1919, Amir Amanullah Khan led a surprise attack against British forces in India, which sparked the Third Anglo-Afghan War.The British signed the Treaty of Rawalpindi on August 8th of that year, which gave Afghanistan full control over its foreign affairs. Afghanistan was never officially a part of the British Empire, but Afghanistan fought three wars against Britain. The First Anglo-Afghan War 1839–1842, the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878–80, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.

Natural arch found in Afghanistan

One of the world's largest natural stone arches was discovered in a remote corner of Afghanistan. It measures more than 210 feet in width and is more than 10,000 feet above sea level. This is the 12th largest natural bridge in the world. The arch includes rock from the Jurassic period, and the Eocene Epoch. The stone was discovered in late 2010, but wasn't until recently that the stone was measured, and it was determined to be the 12th largest.

Azerbaijan Supplying Oil to Belarus for Venezuela

I thought that this was an interesting current event for Azerbaijan, even though Venezuela and Belarus are included. It was posted in December of last year.

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/93650/#ixzz19KlItRAx

A Little Bit of History About Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan was the first democratic republic in the Muslim world after it gained independence in 1918. Women were actually given the right to vote in 1919. I thought this was an interesting fact. Azerbaijan became a member of the Soviet Union in 1936, and in the 1980's there were violent confrontations. An example was when Soviet troops killed 190 nationalist demonstrators in Baku. Following that incident, Azerbaijan declared independence from the soviet union in August of 1991.

Retrieved from The U.S. Department of State www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm#history

Some historical information about the country of Armenia is that the ethnic groups in Armenia include Armenians (98%), Kurds, Russians, Greeks, and others. More than 90% of the population is nominally affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is considered to be the national church of Armenia. Languages are Armenian (96%), Russian, and others.