Recip Tayip Erdogan was sworn in as president of Turkey for a second term on Monday (9 July). In an inauguration speech Erdogan promised a new era marked by reforms and renovation.

The Brussels meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers scheduled for Wednesday (11 July) is an opportunity to re-energise the Karabakh peace process. It should not be missed!

In the annual festival of water, people of whatever social class drench each other with water

EP rapporteur, Norica Nicolai, stated, "The EU is Azerbaijan's top trading partner and Azerbaijan is a strategic energy partner for the EU - it is high time to update the framework for our relations with a comprehensive agreement".

An explosion at Azerbaijan's main electricity power plant on Tuesday caused an outage throughout the whole electricity grid plunging Baku and other parts of the country in darkness

A terse statement by the Azerbaijan presidential administration assured the population that the Government was in control of the situation and was able to provide for the safety of the population and a quick return to normal life.

Power was restored to Baku Airport and most strategic installations within a few hours but problems persist. The Ministry of Energy in a statement said that the outrage resuklted from an exceptionally high demand in electricity as the result of high temperatures in the country over the last days

The Armenian side reports continued incidents near the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan

Millions of visitors are expected in the region this year, giving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia a truly cosmopolitan air. Tourism is good for the region in many ways, but there is a cost too, and governments should not be complacent, writes Dennis Sammut in this commentary.

Turkey's strategic alliance with Azerbaijan, trilateral co-operation including Georgia, and efforts to transform itself into a regional energy hub, will continue to be the main features of the Erdogan government policy in the South Caucasus, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed