Russia & CIS

Russian diplomats who were expelled by order of U.S. President Barack Obama left Washington on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported.

News.Az reprints from APA the congratulatory address of Ilham Aliyev to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and New Year.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has offered condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the casualties after an armed attack on a nightclub in Istanbul.

A gunman shot his way into an Istanbul nightclub packed with New Year's revelers early on Sunday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 40 in what the provincial governor described as a terrorist attack, APA reports quoting Reuters.

An “Azerbaijanis” article highlighting the country`s achievements was included in “Turkish world” book. Author of book is professor of Tokyo University Akira Matsunaga.

Turkey's foreign minister said Friday that the recent diplomatic tension between Russia and the United States "will serve nothing but add to the existing problems", Anadolu reported.

“We call on the parties to continue adhering strictly to their obligations to maintain the ceasefire and immediately take all necessary steps to stabilize the situation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry told Moscow correspondent of APA.

Nakhchivan-Tabriz-Tehran-Mashhad passenger train has been launched, AzerTag reports.

William Salice, who helped create the hugely popular Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs for children, died in Italy on Thursday aged 83, his foundation said.

A logistics hub is planned to be created in the territory of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, according to the Strategic Road Map for the development of logistics and trade in Azerbaijan, published by the country’s official press.

Azerbaijan’s Parliament at a plenary session Dec. 30 passed the “Law on Regulation of Taxpayers’ Liabilities as of Jan. 1, 2017,” which provides for cancellation of the tax debts of the country’s citizens.

Azerbaijan is deeply concerned by Armenia’s recent military provocations aimed at undermining the outcomes of the talks held in Vienna and Saint Petersburg and efforts being taken towards a peaceful solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as well as expanding the scope of the conflict, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Dec. 30.

There is no need to launch new television channels in Azerbaijan, Nushiravan Maharramli, chairman of the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC), told APA on Friday.

The Crisis Management Centre of Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) on Friday received information that two fishermen were trapped in a sinking boat after engine failure in the sea 14 km from the coast in Goradil settlement of Absheron district.

According to the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority, 482 bank employees lost their jobs in September-November 2016.

On Thursday, December 30, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions against Russia in connection with alleged interference in the US presidential election. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that the new sanctions against Russia were an act of "anti-Russian agony of the United States

A lot has been said and written recently about the impending exhaustion of the Reserve Fund of Russia. One could hear such statements from officials representing the Ministry of Finance and the Accounting Chamber. Such statements create an environment that can hardly be called healthy. Liberal media contribute most to this environment

The year 2016 was also a year of apprehensions of the worst. There were apprehensions for the economic crisis to develop into a social crisis. Some feared that because of the complicated international situation, Russia would take the course to curtail democratic rights and freedoms and tighten the screws

The crash of the Tu-154 over the Black Sea has not left anyone indifferent. Against the background of condolences to those, who lost their loved ones in the terrible disaster, one can hear happy voices from Ukraine and Russian liberals. Pravda.Ru editor-in-chief Inna Novikova commented on the situation

As for hacker attacks, Putin said that no one knows who arranged cyber attacks on the US. The President noted that it was not important, because the losing party is just looking for excuses, he added. "The country where those hackers came from is not important. It is the information that they have exposed that is very important," he said