Azerbaijan May Expand its Role in EU Global Gateway Strategy

Global health authorities have intensified monitoring of hantavirus infections following an outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, where several severe illnesses and deaths were reported among passengers and crew members.

State railway operator Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları (ADY) said construction of the strategic Horadiz-Aghband railway line, part of the planned Zangezur transport corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan exclave, has reached 72% completion as the country accelerates reconstruction and logistics integration in territories recaptured after the 2020 war.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has announced the finalists of its 2026 Literature Prize, highlighting growing international attention toward literature from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East amid rising interest in translated fiction.

On Friday, marking the 81st anniversary of the victory over fascism, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva laid a wreath at the monument to twice Hero of the Soviet Union Major General Hazi Aslanov in Baku’s Highland Park near the Alley of Martyrs.