Azerbaijan as well as the 2016 FORMULA 1

Two of the most talented members of the Red Bull Skydive team – Marco Waltenspiel and George Lattner - came to Baku yesterday and showcased their incredible aerial acrobatics skills to the city’s residents, proving that that dream of man flying is indeed a reality now. Despite the strong winds and changing weather conditions, they performed breath-taking wing-suit flying and base jumps. As part of the show, Marco and George raised the national flag of Azerbaijan as well as the 2016 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE flag to vertiginous heights where they decorated the fascinating Baku bay scenery from above. Marco Waltenspiel and George Lattner are Austrian skydivers, specializing in wingsuit-flying and base-jumping. Marco started skydiving in 2001, but he already completed his first tandem-jump when he was 11. After his sky-high heroics, he commented: “The wind was quite strong in certain areas but overall the Baku sky is great for skydiving. I feel privileged for getting the chance to jump with the Azerbaijani flag and happy provide such inspirational moments and memories for the people of Baku”. George did his first tandem jump in Salzburg when he was 12 and wanted to start doing aero-sport professionally ever since, a dream he has most certainly realized in adult life! After his jump, he said: “My favourite discipline is wing-suit flying and I truly enjoyed it in Baku. It was definitively a battle with the wind today but it was still a lot of fun. Flying above the city and walking around it, I could see that Baku looks ready for the Grand Prix of Europe – both from the sky and on the ground”.

İyun 4, 2016 4:19

Champions League final…

Real Madrid produced a gritty display of football to beat city rivals Atletico Madrid 5-3 on penalties in the Champions League final. Securing a record 11th European Cup in Milan's San Siro stadium on Saturday, the opener came after 15 minutes with defender Sergio Ramos putting Real 1-0 up. Atletico struggled to break through Real's defences in a rather dull first half, with 32-year-old striker Fernando Torres failing to complete a single pass. And things continued to worsen early on in the second when Antoine Griezmann became the first player to miss a penalty in the Champions League final since Arjen Robben in 2012, after striking the crossbar. But in the 79th minute, Belgian Yannick Carrasco scored a goal from close range to put Atletico back in the game after a delightful cross from Juanfran. Neither side was able to score again in either the 90 minutes or the 30 minutes of extra-time, and the match went to penalties. After successful spot-kicks for Real by Lucas Vazquez, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos; and for Atletico by Antoine Griezmann, Gabi and Saul, Juanfran's penalty was saved by Navas before Ronaldo scored the decisive penalty giving them a 5-3 shoot-out victory. Real coach Zinedine Zidane and Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone had kept to the script with no real surprises in their respective line-ups for the final. Zidane, who won the trophy as a player with Real in 2002, won his first major trophy on Saturday in what is the Frenchman's first season in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

May 30, 2016 2:33

“Metsamor NPP has to be immediately stopped”…

“The Metsamor nuclear power plant (NPP) functioning in Armenia is a source of serious danger first of all to life of the Armenian people and the population of neighboring states. Therefore, Armenia should address more progressive means of obtaining energy and to immediately stop operation of this nuclear power plant”. This was stated by the prominent writer and public figure, one of the activists of the anti-nuclear movement on a global scale Olzhas Suleymenov. He has noted that considering serious threat to own population and neighboring countries, Armenia has to stop immediately the outdated nuclear power plant with the expired operation term. Olzhas Suleymenov emphasized that now there are more modern and progressive means of obtaining alternative and safe energy. "Methods of obtaining energy in so menacing form already remained in the past. We have already faced bitter experience. We know that all Europe was threatened by such danger. And Japan has understood that nuclear power plants threaten the future of this country. From 57 nuclear power plants functioning in Japan today are functioning only 2 or 3. Nuclear stations at the same time pose threat to the whole world. Such stations, certainly, have to be closed as the station in Armenia has become strongly outdated, having turned into a source of serious danger first of all to the population of this country. Of course, concern of neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan, is possible to understand", he underlined. Speaking of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, O. Suleymenov expressed regret in connection with the continuation of conflict, noting that serious responsibility for it lays down on the international organizations led by the UN: "In spite of the fact that the UN in several resolutions has stated that Nagorno-Karabakh is a component of Azerbaijan, and the occupant has to leave the territory of Azerbaijan, nevertheless, Armenia ignores these resolutions. And it, naturally, causes release of territories by force of arms and leads as we were convinced, to undesirable consequences. The April events have once again shown that the international organizations, including the UN, have to approach more seriously these resolutions". Olzhas Suleymenov stated that despite difficulties and a state of war which Azerbaijan meets throughout all history, nevertheless, it has strengthened its independence and achieved dynamic development, it demonstrates that the country is on the right way: "Having for the first time visited Azerbaijan, I have met Heydar Aliyev. I consider him my teacher. He has made a lot of things for Azerbaijan both in the Soviet period, and in the 1990s of last century. I am glad that President Ilham Aliyev continues his policy. Baku became even more beautiful. Though the world endures crisis, and Azerbaijan is at war, nevertheless, the country more and more develops. I wish the Azerbaijani people success on this way".

May 24, 2016 8:10

Full-hour program on Azerbaijan’s music, culture, history and literature

LA Talk LIVE radio has aired a full-hour program on Azerbaijan's music, culture, history and literature. Hosted by famous musicians Ruslan Biryukov (Founder of the Glendale Philarmonic Orchestra) and Frank Fetta (Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra), the program was attended by Azerbaijan's Consul General in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev. During the program, Consul General Aghayev informed the audience about Azerbaijan's traditional and classical music. He noted that the first opera (Leyli and Majnun, 1908), operetta (Cloth Peddler, 1913) and ballet (Maiden Tower, 1940) of the Muslim world were all composed and staged in Azerbaijan. Speaking of great Azerbaijani composers as Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Qara Qarayev and Fikret Amirov, the diplomat highlighted the significance of their works for the world's cultural heritage. Stressing the importance attached by the Consulate General to making the Azerbaijani music more known in the U.S., the Consul General spoke of the U.S. premieres of Hajibeyli's 'Cloth Peddler' operetta in Los Angeles in 2013 and Qara Qarayev's 'Seven Beauties' ballet in San Diego in 2014 - to the crowds of thousands of American spectators. Highlighting Azerbaijan's traditional music genre Mugham, which has been recognized by UNESCO as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Aghayev mentioned that as a sign of tremendous musical value of this genre, NASA decided to make Azerbaijani Mugham a part of an exclusive collection of only 27 songs representing the world's musical heritage to be sent to space on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. Speaking of Azerbaijan's jazz music, the Consul General informed the listeners about Vagif Mustafazade, who was one of the most renowned jazz musicians of Azerbaijan. Aghayev also spoke about Azerbaijan's long-standing traditions of multifaith harmony and multiculturalism, its ancient region of Karabakh, - which has produced so many famous Azerbaijani musicians, poets, writers and others, - as well as about Azerbaijan's literature and its greatest representative Nizami Ganjavi, whose poem was used by Eric Clapton for his Grammy-winning song 'Layla'. The interview was accompanied by fragments of the works from the aforementioned musicians, as well as the legendary singers as Rashid Behbudov and Muslim Magomayev. The full versions of the compositions will be aired on May 26.

May 24, 2016 7:53

“Yerevan conducts destructive policy”…

"After the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries in Vienna on 16 May, Armenia’s leadership and foreign minister are playing a word game without the elementary diplomatic ethics aiming to distort the essence of the meeting, " the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said. According to him, Azerbaijan in the meeting in Vienna, responded positively to the ceasefire proposal with the aim of laying the foundations for a serious and constructive negotiations: "The international community, including the OSCE Minsk Group believe that the status quo should be changed, Armenian troops should be withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. There is an impression that the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs either did not understand the essence of the Vienna talks, or pretends. It is not coincidence that the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry after a meeting in Vienna, speaking with unsubstantial statements aimed at internal demands, made no mention of a comprehensive peace process, which was the main purpose of the meeting in Vienna. The official Yerevan carries out destructive policy to stop the beginning of an inclusive political process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in June. The Armenian leadership rather than to prepare people to the peace, reinforces the rhetoric of hatred and chauvinism. " Hikmat Hajiyev noted that after the meeting in Vienna, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov commenting on the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The talks in Vienna on a phased approach to the settlement of the conflict create the opportunity to start substantive negotiations. These negotiations should begin as soon as possible, the results expected by the people of the region and the international community should be achieved”.

May 24, 2016 7:48