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January 17th, 2009

Central Asia & Caucasus

Eternal Remont comments on recent reports in the Azerbaijani media that 126 year-old Kableyinovruzali Aslanova is the oldest living resident in the country. Born in 1882, Aslanova has over 200 children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren. However, the blog also notes that while Aslanova is reportedly 12 years older than the officially recognized oldest person in the world, the U.S.-based Gerontology Research Group appears to favor verifying super centenarians in countries which “do not have a history of revolutions, civil unrest, fur hats, comet strikes, and Gulags.”

January 16th, 2009

Azerbaijan: Civil Society, Opposition Groups Unite as Referendum Approaches

Ali S. Novruzov · 00:25 · Central Asia & Caucasus

lingua → it · zht · zhs

Better known for their bitter divisions and rivalries, civil society and opposition groups in Azerbaijan are slowly uniting as a national referendum aimed at removing the presidential two-term limit approaches. Perceived by many as a threat to democratization in the former Soviet republic and accompanied by a ban on foreign broadcasting in the country, blogs and social networking sites are being used to protest the impending vote. 4 comments · read »

January 4th, 2009

Azerbaijan: Foreign Broadcasts Banned Ahead of Constitutional Referendum

Ali S. Novruzov · 11:15 · Central Asia & Caucasus

lingua → es · zht · zhs

As the country prepared to see in the New Year, Azerbaijan's National Council for Television and Radio banned international radio stations from broadcasting on national frequencies. The decision was effective from 1 January 2009 and affected three radio stations broadcasting on the FM frequency. In a region where tight government control defines the media, the ban was seen by some as an attack on the last remnants of free speech in Azerbaijan. 14 comments · read »