Day: December 2, 2025

The first snow of this season has arrived, and school districts are already deciding if they’ll be in the buildings Tuesday.

Azerbaijan’s central bank has taken a notable step in expanding its international financial partnerships, with the Bank’s Governor leading a delegation to Beijing for talks with the People’s Bank of China. The meeting, which centred on monetary policy, financial stability, payment systems, and digital currency regulation, signals a strategic effort by Baku to align itself with one of the world’s most influential financial ecosystems. For Azerbaijan, the potential upside of such cooperation is significant, ranging from technological modernisation to enhanced resilience in the face of global economic volatility.

Honoured Artist Ayyub Guliyev has been appointed as the new conductor of the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev, Azernews reports.

Stephen Doughty, the UK’s Minister of State for Europe, North America, and the UK Overseas Territories, spoke with Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on October 16 and with Georgian Dream First Deputy Foreign Minister Giorgi Zurabashvili on October 21.

Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not report the exchanges, which became known through written correspondence after House of Lords member Simon Murray raised the issue of Georgia with UK Minister of State for International Development Jenny Chapman.

In her answer dated December 1, Chapman said the UK remains “severely concerned by democratic backsliding in Georgia, including restrictions on free speech and policing of protests,” adding that the issues were raised during the exchanges with Botchorishvili and Zurabashvili. She notably referred to them as the Georgian Dream foreign minister and the Georgian Dream deputy foreign minister.

“The UK is also supporting efforts in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe to press Georgia to adhere to democratic norms,” she added.

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on December 2, when asked by journalists, that the exchanges took place by phone, without providing further details.

UK-Georgia relations remain strained. Since December 2024, the UK has sanctioned several senior GD officials, including now-former Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, as well as other senior Interior Ministry officials, judges, former Prosecutors General Giorgi Gabitashvili, and Otar Partskhaladze.

Also Read:

• 11/11/2025 – GD Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili Meets British Ambassador Gareth Ward
• 25/09/2025 – Georgian Foreign Ministry Summons British Ambassador Gareth Ward
• 26/06/2025 – Sanctions Cast Shadow on Friendship, Botchorishvili Tells British Ambassador in Meeting
• 18/06/2025 – British Embassy Rejects GD’s Accusations of Funding ‘Propaganda and Extremism,’ Urges Invitation of ODIHR Observers

During the ceremony, memoranda of understanding were signed between ASAN AI Hub and Apolitical, Breakthrough Social Enterprise, and GenAI Works, reinforcing the center’s integration into the international innovation ecosystem.

An open public viewing has taken place at Shaki State Drama Theater for the play of the same name based on the work “The Rich Woman” by Honored Art Worker, writer, and playwright Ali Amirli, Azernews reports.