Media Review October 26, 2018

Relations between Azerbaijan and the United States, impunity of officials, the inefficiency of municipalities, and the form of addressing other people in Azerbaijan are the leading themes of today's media.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about Azerbaijani-American relations, which are developing in an ascending way. In April-May of this year, Donald Trump sent three letters to Ilham Aliyev, and this is an indicator of good relations between the two countries.

A confirmation of this is also the visit of US Security Advisor to the President John Bolton to Baku. The latter said that relations between the two countries are strategic.

The newspaper Yeni Musavat writes about the campaign against illegal buildings in Baku. Officials should be punished for this. The author recalls the recent statement by the head of state that no building should be erected without the conclusion of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture. The author also notes that businessmen invest a lot of money in the construction of facilities, which can then be declared illegal, but no one is punished for it.

The website Modern.az talks on the topic of appeals to the males and females. Which is the right addressing: "bey" or "muallim"?

The author recalls that before the Soviet period there were many different addresses in the country - aga, efendi, gardash, khanim and others. In the Soviet period, everything was replaced by the addresses "comrade" and "muallim".

Only in the 90s the appeal "bey" returned to use. True, at the present time, the appeal "bey" is more used in opposition circles, and the appeal "muallim" is common in the pro-government ones.

The newspaper Novoye Vremya writes about the need for reform in the municipalities. Deputy Siyavush Novruzov recently proposed reducing the number of municipalities.

The government intends to spend AZN 53.9 million on the organization of the fourth election, which is 63 times more than during the first elections to the local government in 1999. The powers of the municipalities have been defined for a long time, but they are far from independent, because without the consent of higher authorities - the executive bodies - they cannot even solve everyday problems. -0-----