Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (ⁱ/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan [ɑzærbɑjdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short border with Turkey in the northwest.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first Muslim-majority democratic and secular republic. It was also the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theaters and modern universities. The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, before the official dissolution of the USSR. In September 1991, the disputed Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region re-affirmed its willingness to create a separate state as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The region, effectively independent since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1991, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan until a final solution to its status is found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE.

Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Hava Yolları), also known as AZAL, is the flag carrier of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest airline. Based in Baku, adjacent to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the carrier operates a fleet of 30 aircraft to 57 destinations across Asia, the CIS, Europe and the USA. Azerbaijan Airlines is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

History

On 20 October 1910, a plane flew over Baku for the first time. After this introduction of aviation to Azerbaijan, it took only 13 years for the new mode of transportation to acquire an official status in the region: the Caucasus Joint Stock Company of Civil Aviation - ZAKAVIA - was established in 1923. It was founded by Mughan Melioration Construction, the Caspian Shipping Company, and AzNeft (Azerbaijan Oil Company). ZAKAVIA planes were intended to conduct aerial surveys, deliver emergency goods, and carry mail.

In 1926, regular flights began on the Mineralnye Vody–Grozny–Makhachkala–Baku–Yevlakh–Tbilisi route. Airports were opened in Baku, Yevlakh, and Shaki, where Dornier Komet III and Dornier Merkur planes were based. The successful completion of a flight largely depended on the skill of the pilots, as the aircraft had no navigation equipment at the time. Pilots used roads, railway lines, local terrain and other features as landmarks. Despite the imperfections, the international air-route Kharkiv-Baku-Bandar-e Pahlavi was opened in 1929, while in 1933, the first flight to Moscow over the Caucasus ridge was carried out, shortening the distance of the route by 1100 km. A regular air route between Baku and Moscow was opened in 1937; it was operated by local aircraft Kharkov KhAI-1 and Putilov Stal-3, which carried 15 passengers a day.

Economy of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has an economy that has completed its post-Soviet transition into a major oil based economy (with the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline), from one where the state played the major role. Azerbaijan's GDP grew 41.7% in the first quarter of 2007, possibly the highest of any nation worldwide. Such rates cannot be sustained, but despite reaching 26.4% in 2005 (second highest GDP growth in the world in 2005 only to Equatorial Guinea), and 2006 over 34.6% (world highest), in 2008 dropped to 10.8%, and dropped further to 9.3% in 2009. The real GDP growth rate for 2011 was expected at 3.7% but had dropped to .1%. Large oil reserves are a major contributor to the economy. The national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, was stable in 2000, depreciating 3.8% against the dollar. The budget deficit equaled 1.3% of GDP in 2000.

Progress on economic reform has generally lagged behind macroeconomic stabilization. The government has undertaken regulatory reforms in some areas, including substantial opening of trade policy, but inefficient public administration in which commercial and regulatory interests are co-mingled limit the impact of these reforms. The government has largely completed privatization of agricultural lands and small and medium-sized enterprises. In August 2000, the government launched a second-stage privatization program, in which many large state enterprises will be privatized. Since 2001, the economic activity in the country is regulated by the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Republic.

Money Talks

Money Talks is a 1997 American action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, starring Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen. This film is the first of four collaborations between Brett Ratner and Chris Tucker, with the other three being the Rush Hour Trilogy.

Plot

Franklin Maurice Hatchett (Chris Tucker) is a small-time car wash hustler and ticket scalper who owes money to a local gang leader named Carmine (Damian Chapa). He gets dimed out to the police by an investigating news reporter named James Russell (Charlie Sheen) after unintentionally thwarting Russell's attempts to have him confess his crimes on camera, and is taken to jail. When placed on a prison transport unit, he is handcuffed to a French criminal named Raymond Villard. The transport unit is attacked on a bridge, with mercenaries killing all the police officers and prisoners except for Franklin and Villard; the mercenaries are Villard's men, but since he is handcuffed to Hatchett he decides to bring him for the moment, and they escape on a helicopter with another French criminal named Dubray. While on the helicopter, Hatchett overhears the two discussing the location of a cache of stolen diamonds. Hatchett then jumps out of the helicopter after realizing that Villard and Dubray plan to kill him. While eating at a local diner, Franklin and Villard's mugshots are shown on the news as the two men who killed several police officers. Two other officers in the diner then recognize Franklin, and chase him into the street. He is able to elude them, and decides to call Russell after seeing his face on an advertisement.