Tube rolling works looks for old glory UK based Targol Investment Ltd. has been announced the winner of a tender for sales of shares in Azerboru tube rolling enterprise announced by the Ministry of Economic Development. The British company, especially noted for part in oil projects, is now to transfer 5bn manat to the state budget, including a deposit of 1bn already paid, and 4.88bn manat to Azerboru, as well as forward 240,000 state privatization vouchers and options to the Azeri Ministry's de...... полностью

Azpetrol wins int'l Quality Award Azeri oil company Azpetrol was conferred the international For Quality Award at the meeting of the 16th International Quality Convention at New York's Marriott Marquise Hotel. Azpetrol has also won the Quality Summit New York 2002 Golden Award. Switzerland imports Azeri oil The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan has exported the scheduled 135 million tons of oil for Clean Core in Switzerland through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline this month, according to SOCA...... полностью

President facilitates local businesses The Azeri President decreed Monday to slash the number of licensable businesses, simplify the allocation of licensing and transfer the prerogative to the Ministry of Economic Development. The decree is explained with the fact that the existing licensing process had been hampering the development of entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, being a lever of pressure and at times a source of bribery for government officials. Currently, license is required for 240 bu...... полностью

Ecological hot line at work The Ministry for Ecology and Natural Resources has set up a hot line in a move to expand environmental relations with the public and enterprises and acquire regular ecological updates. The round-the-clock service will be getting data on ecological irregularities and documenting them in a special book. The anonymity of those who will inform serious ecological breaches at 39-18-63 and 38-13-35 is guaranteed if necessary. Ecology workshop over The workshop "The en...... полностью

President to help education Azeri President Aliyev is expected to move proposals soon for construction of new schools and improvement of logistics, the President has said. He was speaking to a ceremony at school #175 in Suraxani district of Baku Monday to mark the beginning of a new school year. "The education vote is 22 percent of the state budget, with allocations from other financial sources in stock", the President has promised. Touching upon the wages of education workers, President Al...... полностью

Leader of the New Musavat party Hafiz Haciyev, known for his blistering criticism of the opposition, told a news conference Monday that "the US was interested in making a coup d'etat in Azerbaijan. He also alleged that the US National Democracy Institute had allocated a million dollars, the German Naumov Foundation 500,000 and Iran 234,000 dollars to the opposition on the 24 August referendum. Saying he had received the information from "reliable sources", Haciyev warned they would picket the ...... полностью

Major opposition parties have opted to unite in the common front against the authorities and hold a rally-march to protest the referendum results. The opposition will march from the 20 January underground station to the former Qabala cinema in Baku from 16:00 till 18:00 on 14 September in what observers predict will be a larger protest. “Apart from trying to have the results of the referendum voided, we will also work to achieve free and fair presidential elections”, Musavat leader Isa Qambar ...... полностью

A number of international organizations in Baku have voiced concerns over alleged ballot fraud in the 24 August referendum that eventually amended the Constitution. The accusations followed the recent US State Department statement pointing to “widespread irregularities” in the polling. Press Secretary of the US State Department Bureau for European Affairs Bill Capler has said the observations of the US embassy, law enforcement bodies, international organizations, and opposition parties show ser...... полностью

Last week’s presidential decree on state secrets has caused concerns in both local and international media, with many labeling the act as an endeavor to restrict the freedom of expression and disregard international norms. The leading international human rights group Article 19 has also opposed the decree. What disturbs journalists most in the decree “Regulations for prevention of spread of state secrets in media” dated 24 August is their waiting a week to confirm that the information is not of...... полностью

Indian embassy issues first cultural bulletin The Indian embassy in Azerbaijan has launched a new color bulletin, Indian Culture starting August, with a preface by the Indian ambassador in Baku Dinkar Khullar and news in Azeri and English. The first issue introduces arts and culture news from India, undertakings held by the embassy and its activities, the first visit of the renowned Indian film star and director Rajh Kapur to Baku in 1956, the festival of Indian films in Azerbaijan in 2001, as ...... полностью

SOCAR announces tender for oil pipes SOCAR has announced a three-lot tender for purchase of pipes for oil industry, as it intends to buy over 3,000 tons of protective pipes with external diameter of 140mm to 508mm, 3,360 tons of pumping compressor pipes with external diameter of 48.3mm to 114.3mm and 831 tons of drilling pipes with external diameter of 73mm to 140mm. The tender will prefer bids for better price, delivery time and payment that are to be submitted before 15 October. The bidders ...... полностью

Azeri factories for textile show Fourteen Azeri companies, including the sewing factory, Baku shoes factory and Atropaten commercial firm, are expected to take part in the 11th Baltic Textile international trade exhibition, due in Vilnius, Lithuania on 11-15 September. Sewing, weaving, shoes, leather products, raw materials and manufacturing equipment will be demonstrated in the show. A conference on marketing policy and workshops will also be held during the exhibition. New int'l tourist ...... полностью

Time works for Azerbaijan - German ambassador German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Claus Grevlich said in a meeting with Azeri Vice-Premier, chairman of the State Committee on Refugees Ali Hasanov that time works for Azerbaijan, which favoring a negotiated solution is backed by international organizations. The Azeri Vice-Premier thanked the ambassador for the assistance of German Diakoni and the German Technical Cooperation Organization, highly appreciating Germany's fair support for Azerbaijan. T...... полностью

Aliyev's son gets prosperous recognition General Director of Azmedia analytical information agency Fuzuli Qurbanli unveiled the outcomes of a public opinion poll "A new political leader in Azerbaijan and image making" among 300 respondents, 60 percent men and 40 percent women, in a news conference Friday. In the survey, Turkish Vice-Premier Devlet Bahcecli has polled 20.3 percent of the votes as a foreign policy maker and President Aliyev was recognized the best Azeri politician, while Musavat ...... полностью

Leaders of the Musavat party Isa Qambar, the Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan Etibar Mammadov, the Popular Front Party reformers Ali Karimov, and secretary general of the Democratic Party Sardar Calaloglu said in a news conference at the Hyatt Park Hotel Monday that "even 14 percent of the vote eligible hadn't been to the 24 August referendum". The politicians alleged that "voters were cracked down by both police and civilians, one person voted in many election precincts, observers...... полностью

The US State Department expressed concerns over "widespread irregularities" in the 24 August constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan Monday. In a daily news briefing, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said "we are very concerned that this referendum did very little to advance democratization or to lay the groundwork for presidential elections in the fall of 2003 that can meet international standards". "Based on what we've heard from the US Embassy and other international observers, as...... полностью

Onshore oil production down SOCAR'S all onshore oil and gas-producing units have reduced oil production in January-July by 6.5 percent to last year. However, the target was over-fulfilled, as Balaxanineft has increased output by 12.5 percent over the plan. The July plan was fulfilled by all onshore units. JVs up oil output Oil and gas producing joint ventures increased oil production over the past seven months to last year, while Qarasu JV decreased the output by 5.5 percent. 435,000 tons...... полностью

Baku-Ceyhan construction to start The ceremony to lay the foundation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline designed to take Caspian hydrocarbons to international markets is due on 18 September at the onshore Sangachal terminal 42km south of Baku. Attending the ceremony will be Azeri, Georgian and Turkish Presidents, as well as US special negotiator for Caspian diplomacy Steven Mann. Also participating will be executives of the BTC shareholders, Turkish Botas and Georgian GIOC. The ...... полностью

The Azeri President decreed in late June to announce a nationwide polling on 24 August to bring in 24 amendments to the Constitution on the state budget, elections, court of appeals, amnesty, etc. Key changes are transference of the President's powers to the Premier, but not the Speaker, in case he is unable or absent to rule, reduction in vote quorum for presidential elections and abolishment of the non-constituency election system. Azernews presents referendum update in this new section. ...... полностью

Presidents committed to ceasefire, private peace talks While Armenian defense chief turns out uncompromising Azeri and Armenian Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian met face-to-face in the Azeri enclave of Naxcivan last Wednesday following recent military clashes that led to human losses. The Presidents have agreed to stick to the ceasefire and continue peace talks in this format. They also expressed willingness to stimulate the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. The two met for four hours a...... полностью

Austrian culture days due Days of Austrian culture are due in Baku on 4-8 September, as cultural and arts figures, actors, artists, film reviewers, and cooks from Austria are expected to take part. Azeri cultural days were held in April in Austria with an Azeri delegation led by Minister for Culture Polad Bulbuloglu partaking. Cool weather in stock Few showers are expected in mountainous regions of the country Wednesday, with no rain Thursday, according to the Hydrometeorology Department o...... полностью

The racket newspapers have been announced during a two-day workshop in Nabran resort area, northeast Azerbaijan, on the problems of Azeri press. The workshop "Transition period in Azeri journalism: problems and prospects" was organized by Ruh journalistic protection committee with bp sponsorship. Attending the seminar were editors-in-chief of the nation's leading media, local and foreign experts and lawyers. Speaking on the racketeers, head of the Trade Union of Journalists Azer Hasrat said ...... полностью

Opposition parties, which have decided to actively boycott the 24 August referendum, marched Tuesday from the 20 January underground station to the former Qalaba cinema. Joining the protest action were several thousand people from 30 parties, chanting "We say no to referendum" and "Demands of Nardaran settlers should be met". Chairman of the Musavat Party Isa Qambar was not among the protesters. The petition was read in front of the cinema. There were no serious clashes during the march sancti...... полностью

The Azerbaijan International Operating Company operated by BP, the State Customs Committee and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic opened a new customs post at the Sahil settlement near Baku Tuesday. The post is the second facility of this kind, which Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee has opened in support of AIOC's operations. The opening of the post is aimed at facilitating delivery of AIOC's major projects as large quantities of supplies and materials will need to be import...... полностью

Turkey is not going to establish any commercial and economic relations with Armenia, the visiting Turkish State Minister for Turkic nations Rasad Dogru said in Baku Tuesday. He was in the Azeri capital on a four-day visit that started Saturday to eye bilateral cooperation. "Our conditions are unchangeable. Turkey will not cooperate with Armenia unless its armed forces withdraw from the occupied Azeri lands", he said. Commenting on Turkish business relations with Armenia through Georgia, Mr. D...... полностью

Tender for oils purchase Production-Technological Assembling Ltd. of Azerenergy JSC announced an open tender for procurement of oils at its own expense in accordance with the 2002 needs. It is anticipated that 580 tons of T-1500 brand transformer oil, 6 tons of K-19 compressor oil, 2.4 tons of M-12 diesel oil, 250 tons of T-22 and 50 tones of T-30 turbine oils will be purchased. Participating in the tender can be bidders world over, excluding Armenia and UN Security Council banned countries, ...... полностью

Northern oil pumping suspended again Oil pumping through Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was suspended Friday due to the repair by Russian pipelay company Transneft in the flooded regions this summer. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan told AssA-Irada Saturday that the suspension would not affect the Azeri oil export schedule. SOCAR has exported 125,000 tons of oil through the northern route in July. The pumping will be resumed with the same schedule after the refurbishment. Oil fund is 584m US...... полностью

UNDP, Labor Ministry sign for social protection By Azernews Staff Azeri Labor Minister Ali Nagiyev and the UNDP Representative in Baku, UN Resident Coordinator Marco Borsotti have signed a draft document for the Development of a National Social Protection System. The two-year project, prepared by the UNDP at the request of the Azeri Ministry of Labor and Social Security, aims to improve the social protection of the most vulnerable groups of population, including disabled, martyr families, war...... полностью

President calls on journalists to co-op President Aliyev has called on journalists to cooperate with the authorities for the sake of Azerbaijan's development and help detect occurrences that damage statehood. He advised not to follow sensations, but mirror the truth and disclose irregularities in all spheres, as he was congratulating journalists in a solemn reception on the occasion of the National Press Day. The President spoke of the great contributions of the founding father of Azeri press...... полностью

Hot weather still to survive Hot weather is expected to survive in Baku and on Abseron Peninsula with no showers on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Hydrometeorology Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. A south wind will blow at 8-13 meters a second Wednesday and will turn Thursday into a north wind blowing at 16-18 meters a second. Temperature in Baku is expected to be 35-38 degrees by the day and 25-30 degrees at night. Temperature of the water on Abseron beac...... полностью