Sister-City & Cultural Links: Baia Mare (Romania) and Khankandi (Azerbaijan) signed a protocol to kick off twinning ties, with plans for trade, investment, and cultural/education/tourism cooperation. Diplomatic & Consular Cooperation: Azerbaijan and Estonia held second-round consular talks, focusing on consular assistance, digitalisation, and cooperation across migration, justice, education, and social affairs. Turkic World Integration: President Ilham Aliyev hosted OTS security council secretaries and other officials, framing Baku as a key platform for Turkic coordination across security, multiculturalism, trade, transport, and humanitarian work. Heritage Protection & Tolerance: Culture Minister Adil Karimli and others discussed preserving religious and historical monuments, citing climate change, urbanisation, and conflict as threats, and highlighting restoration efforts in liberated areas. Arts Education in Liberated Territories: Khankandi is set to get a new city art school, with demand-mapping via MyCulture and initial capacity for up to 100 students. NGO Crackdown: Hafiz Hasanov received an eight-year prison sentence (suspended probation), marking the 15th case in Azerbaijan’s ongoing NGO crackdown. Religious Meetings Enforcement: Forum 18 reports 51 administrative cases in 2026 for unapproved religious meetings, with fines and court findings under Article 515.0.2. Regional Culture & Travel: Azerbaijan Airlines launched its first flight to Aktobe, adding a new Central Asia route that supports business and tourism links. Women’s Education Spotlight: Bir’s “Arzumuz var!” scholarship program placed six more young women into university. Arts in the Diaspora: New York-based artist Adam Torcomian exhibited his “Julfa” series, reflecting on diaspora, erasure, and Armenian heritage loss.