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South Caucasus News

Sumgayit State Drama Theatre stages Moliere’s classical comedy


A premiere of “The Confounded Husband” has taken place at the Sumgayit State Drama Theatre, Azernews reports.

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South Caucasus News

Ukraine Appoints Ambassador to Georgia After Four Years of Vacancy


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Mykhailo Brodovych as Ukraine’s ambassador to Georgia, nearly four years after Kyiv recalled its diplomat amid tensions over Tbilisi’s stance on Russia’s full-scale invasion.

President Zelenskyy signed the relevant decree on January 26. According to Ukrainian media reports, Brodovych has worked at Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry since 1996. He has served as a consul at Ukraine’s Consulate General in Istanbul, consul general in Kraków, Poland, and as Ukraine’s ambassador to Slovenia from 2015 to 2022.

The ambassadorial post had been vacant for nearly four years after Kyiv recalled its previous envoy in March 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, Zelenskyy cited what he described as the “immoral position” of then–Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili’s government regarding sanctions against Russia, as well as its decision to bar Georgian volunteers from traveling to Ukraine.

Relations between Kyiv and Tbilisi have been strained for years, including over Tbilisi’s dissatisfaction with figures linked to the former United National Movement administration holding positions in the Ukrainian government. Tensions worsened following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Kyiv expressing concern over Tbilisi’s controversial stances, including statements by Georgian officials suggesting Kyiv’s responsibility for failing to prevent the war.

Georgian authorities have said they supported Ukraine in international forums and provided humanitarian aid, but refused to go further in demonstrating support for their erstwhile close ally.

Relations further deteriorated in June 2023, when Zelenskyy asked Georgian ambassador to Ukraine, Giorgi Zakarashvili, to leave within 48 hours for consultations over the treatment of former Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, who also holds Ukrainian citizenship.

In September 2024, Ukraine recalled its temporary chargé d’affaires in Georgia, Mykhailo Kharyshyn, with newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha citing his “complete lack of understanding of the realities of diplomacy in a wartime state.”

Since 2025, Roman Yakovenko has served as Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires ad interim in Georgia.

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South Caucasus News

President Ilham Aliyev lays foundation stone for polypropylene and laminated bag production facility in Sumgayit Industrial Park


On January 27, President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan laid the foundation stone for the “Nun” LLC polypropylene and laminated bag production facility in the Sumgayit Industrial Park, Azernews reports.

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South Caucasus News

Israel eyes new 10-year security deal with Trump administration, shifts focus from cash aid


Israel is preparing to open talks with the Trump administration on a new 10-year security agreement, aiming to secure continued US military support while gradually reducing reliance on direct American cash grants, Azernews reports via the Financial Times.

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South Caucasus News

azernews.az/oil_and_gas/25… #Armenia is considering the possibility of importing gas through #Azerbaijan as it faces growing difficulties with its traditional supply routes #GasImports #EnergySecurity #NaturalGas #RegionalEnergy #SouthCaucasus #EnergyTransit #Diversification



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South Caucasus News

Azerbaijan arrests three men for planning embassy attack at behest of Islamic State offshoot – timesofisrael.com


Azerbaijan arrests three men for planning embassy attack at behest of Islamic State offshoot  timesofisrael.com

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South Caucasus News

Italy Population (1950-2025) – Macrotrends


Total population for Italy in 2022 was 59,013,667, a 0.2% decline from 2021. Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

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South Caucasus News

TOP 12 praias paradisíacas no Brasil: destinos imperdíveis


Para este artigo, elaboramos uma lista com 12 praias paradisíacas para você visitar por aqui. Confesso que não foi uma tarefa fácil escolhê-las entre tantas praias incríveis do litoral brasileiro, com uma costa de 7 mil km repleta de paisagens exuberantes.

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South Caucasus News

Sokhumi Says It Expelled British Citizen on Suspicions of Working for ‘Foreign Intelligence’


De facto security services of Russia-occupied Abkhazia said they detained and “expelled” a UK citizen, Kuldip Singh, on suspicion of “involvement in the activities of a foreign intelligence service.”

According to Sokhumi’s de facto security service, “using his connections and contacts in Abkhazia,” the expelled person “was developing a project that would have allowed him to obtain data on the location of populated areas of Abkhazia, military facilities, and other infrastructure.”

The agency also released a video of the interrogation in which the detained man is heard identifying himself in Russian as Kuldip Singh, 42, a UK citizen. In response to questions, the video shows him saying he worked for 13.5 years in the “intelligence unit of the London police” before resigning due to corruption. He then states that he lived in Russia for 10 months before moving to Georgia, and that he later “arrived in Abkhazia” after learning about the territory online.

The man is heard in the video as saying that he had been teaching English at an “English school” in Abkhazia and running a billiards business, adding that his British passport had expired and that he had been unable to obtain “documents or a visa” to stay in Abkhazia.

According to Sokhumi, the individual was expelled via the Enguri checkpoint, apparently into territory controlled by Tbilisi.

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South Caucasus News

SOFAZ assets exceed $73.6bn as market rally lifts investment returns


Gold holdings provided an additional boost, as prices climbed to historic highs amid central bank purchases, geopolitical risks, and global uncertainty, generating significant extra-budgetary income for SOFAZ’s gold sub-portfolio. According to SOFAZ, budget revenues for last year amounted to 17.16 billion manats (about $10.1 billion), while expenditures stood at 14.63 billion manats (around $8.6 billion).