Media Review - 23.02.21

The rise in prices for air tickets, the participation of a Russian priest in the march of Armenian separatists in Karabakh, the projects "smart village" and "smart city" and other topics in the center of attention of today's media

The website Moderator.az in the article "Sharply increased ticket prices: from 350 manats to 800 manats ..." examines the reasons for the rise in prices for air tickets.

The reason for the rise in prices across the board is the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past year, almost all airlines have raised their prices and now the cost of flights is 50-70% more expensive than last year.

Tourism expert Elgun Babayev also believes that the reason for the rise in prices is the losses of airlines due to the pandemic. Companies were forced to raise prices due to a sharp cut in flights, increased costs and additional costs, and a decrease in seats.

According to the expert, due to high losses of airlines, prices may not return to a pandemic level.

Yenisabah.az in an article entitled "This is the support of the Russian state to the Armenian separatists" draws attention to the participation of a Russian priest from the peacekeeping forces in the political action of the Armenian separatists in Khankendi.

“This is open support of the Armenian separatists not only from the Russian peacekeepers, but also from the Russian state. Because the priest did not come there himself - there are those who sent him there,” said the deputy of the Milli Mejlis from Khojaly Elman Mammadov.

Mammadov recalling the participation of the 366th Russian regiment in the Khojaly massacre on February 25-26, 1992, notes that "this line continues today."

The website Bizimyolinfo.az in the article "Smart Village" project: The government itself does not know what it means" assesses the prospects of the "smart village" and "smart city" projects in the liberated territories.

Expert Rashad Hasanov believes that if we go to extremes in the implementation of these projects, this can lead to high costs. Even in Baku, the implementation of smart projects is not entirely successful. Thus, an intelligent transport management mechanism was created in Baku. This system did not work normally, due to which the country suffered significant losses.

There are two main issues to consider when implementing a smart village project in the Liberated Lands. First, renovating existing infrastructure is costly and more expensive. But building from scratch in completely destroyed areas comes at a lower cost. Most likely, the government, when talking about "smart cities and villages" means this. “But I'm not sure that the government itself knows what a smart village, a city is. Most likely, this is just an idea, and its study in the coming years is one of the goals set,” Hasanov said. -0-