Digital Skills Boost: An EU-funded “Digital Marketing Essentials” course is helping Azerbaijani professionals learn digital-first tools for PR, branding, and growth—free and in Azerbaijani. Cultural Diplomacy: Azerbaijan’s Culture Minister Adil Karimli met Italy’s culture leadership in Rome to expand cooperation in heritage, museums, creative industries, cinema, music, and performing arts. Music & Heritage: A Baku conference marked the 140th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibayli, spotlighting his students who became the first women composers in the East. Education Policy: Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis discussed adding national identity and secularism as key principles in general education law. International Development in Baku: The IsDB Group Annual Meetings opened under President Ilham Aliyev, with major financing agreements signed across transport, energy, education, agriculture, and rural livelihoods. Human Rights & Tech Scrutiny: Human Rights Watch renewed concerns after leaked Bulgarian export licenses linked surveillance tech exports to repression-risk countries, including Azerbaijan. Regional Politics: A Baku court kept human rights activist Namizad Safarov in custody, rejecting a transfer to house arrest. Diaspora/Identity Tension: Azerbaijan’s “Western Azerbaijan” messaging continued via a festival-conference in Nakhchivan, framing return as a state policy and historical mission.