Press Review 01/09/2017

The international sporting events held in Baku, the SOCAR activities, the increase in the number of suicides, and the situation in the gold market are the leading topics of today's press.

The paper Azerbaijan has published an article entitled New Sports Capital of Eurasia. The article says that in Azerbaijan 52 international competitions were held during the year 2016, the most significant of which was the Formula-1. Around the world, the author notes, the competitions were followed by more than 500 million people.

The website Azadliq.info writes about SOCAR’s disorderly activity from the viewpoint of PFPA chairman Ali Karimli. The article reports about the 120 million manat spent by SOCAR on its own advertising during the European Football Championship, the rise in energy prices, the death of oilmen in work accidents, the mass reduction of staff, the large-scale theft by government officials, and the pompous receptions arranged for oil magnates and Congressmen.

Novoye Vremya has published an article entitled Suicide Becoming Serious Social Problem. The week after the New Year broke the sad record for the number of suicides in the country. The statistics of suicides in a few days of 2017 are horrifying. Suicides caused by loan debts have turned into the root cause of most suicides in the country. The reluctance of the authorities and the bankers to solve the problem of unpaid loans only exacerbates the situation. The number of bad loans is growing, thus increasing the number of people who commit suicide.

The paper Yeni Musavat writes about the situation in the gold market, noting the price of gold is rising along with the value of the dollar. Sellers in jewelry stores also claim that the price of gold is skyrocketing. Currently, the price of 1 gram of gold fluctuates between 60 and 90 manat. One gram of Turkish gold is worth 65 manat, and one gram of Italian gold is 90 manat. The cheapest set of gold is now worth 2,000 manat and more, while earlier it was worth 1,000 manat. -0-