Azerbaijan tightens rules on non-resident financial data exchange to boost transparency

The third day of the World Urban Forum WUF13 in Baku on May 19 demonstrated that the global urban agenda is gradually shifting away from abstract discussions about “cities of the future” toward debates over concrete crises — housing shortages, climate threats, the energy transition and the management of megacities through digital technologies.

The restoration of railway passenger transportation between Azerbaijan and Georgia is being viewed as a strategic development in terms of reactivating transport and economic integration across the South Caucasus region. According to a statement by the Georgian government, daily passenger train services between Baku and Tbilisi will resume starting from May 26. The service had been suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the second day of the World Urban Forum WUF13 in Baku, the discussion gradually moved beyond architecture, transportation, and construction. Behind presentations on climate initiatives, digital platforms, and infrastructure networks, a much deeper theme emerged: the growing competition between different visions of the future city.

The eastern Mediterranean is once again becoming the stage for a dangerous confrontation between Israel and Turkey — two regional powers that only recently had begun cautiously rebuilding diplomatic ties after years of mistrust. The interception of the Sumud flotilla, which was sailing from Turkey toward Gaza, has become far more than another episode in the long-running blockade of the enclave. It has reopened deeper geopolitical tensions involving Ankara’s regional ambitions, Israel’s security doctrine and the increasingly polarized politics of the Middle