Azerbaijani MP Gudrat Hasanguliev took the initiative to create an exact replica of the Kaaba in Mecca in the Ashobi Kahf cave area in the city of Nakhchivan.

The new agreement stipulates the parties' obligations not to participate in any blocs or alliances directed against each other and to refrain from participating in any actions that, in the opinion of one of the parties, would harm the strategic partnership and allied relations between the two countries.

The highest level of threat has been declared in Israel due to forest fires that began on April 30.

The representative office of the Russia Today media group in Azerbaijan (Sputnik Azerbaijan) has ceased its activities. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizadeh said that the Russian company can only obtain accreditation for one correspondent in Azerbaijan. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on this.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called for a nationwide referendum on amending the country's current constitution, a move that could help pave the way for a peace deal with Armenia's arch-rival Azerbaijan, Reuters reported.

The Azerbaijani government has become the first Muslim country to include a positive portrayal of the Israeli occupation in school textbooks. Maps of occupied Palestine and references to Yasser Arafat have been removed from textbooks. Palestinian resistance movements have also been described as "terrorists."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter to the country's interim president, Ahmed al-Shar', regarding political changes in Syria.

The Azerbaijani government is preparing a lawsuit against Russia in an international court over the tragedy of the AZAL Embraer E190 plane that was shot down near Grozny. Baku is reportedly accusing Moscow of hiding the facts.

The ongoing tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan following the downing of a plane have been drawing much attention. President Ilham Aliyev's sharp and loud protests to Moscow, his toughening of visa requirements for Russian citizens, and his threatening statements about his intolerance towards Armenian fascism have led to speculation about whether they will cast a shadow over the Russian-Azerbaijani alliance. However, one cannot always agree with these views.

A number of countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, called on their citizens to leave Ukraine. Ukraine has started striking Russian territory with missiles provided by the West. Russia is preparing to respond to this.