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Minister of Science and Education. In this capacity, Mammadov supervised projects of innovative cooperation with Israel in the field of science and education.

Mammadov is fluent in Russian, English and Turkish.

“I warmly congratulate my colleague Mukhtar Mammadov on being appointed as the first ambassador of Azerbaijan to Israel,” tweeted Mammad Talibov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Honduras. “I wish you the best and greatest success in your endeavors and in your new role.”

The announcement comes after Azerbaijan announced in November that it would open an embassy in Israel. Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Azerbaijan in October to discuss policy and foster defense cooperation.

Last April, Azerbaijan opened a tourism office in Israel for the first time and signed a cooperation agreement. The month also marked the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Both Israel and Azerbaijan see Iran as a threat. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Israel buys 40% of its oil from Azerbaijan and supplied 27% of Azerbaijan’s major arms imports from 2011 to 2020, including 69% from 2016 to 2020. (JNS)

Barbara Walters Dies

Journalist Barbara Walters, known for her interviewing prowess, died this weekend at the age of 93.

Walters began her national broadcast career in 1961 as a reporter, writer and panel member for NBC’s “Today” show before being promoted to cohost in 1974. In 1976, Walters joined ABC News as the first female anchor on an evening news program.

At that network, Walters launched “The Barbara Walters Specials” and “10 Most Fascinating People” before becoming a co-host and correspondent for ABC News’ “20/20” in 1984. Along the way, she interviewed every U.S. president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon.

For more than five decades, Walters was in Americans’ home, speaking through the TV screen with world leaders and celebrities. Most recently, she launched “The View,” a daytime talk show with a panel of women. She left “The View” in 2014.

“I knew it was time,” Walters told CNN’s Chris Cuomo at the time. “I like all the celebration, that’s great, but in my heart, I thought, ‘I want to walk away while I’m still doing good work.’ So I will.”

Looking upon the numerous women who had looked up to her throughout her career, Walters said they were her legacy.

“How do you say goodbye to something like 50 years in television?” she said in conclusion. “How proud when I see all the young women who are making and reporting the news. If I did anything to help make that happen, that is my legacy. From the bottom of my heart, to all of you with whom I have worked and who have watched and been by my side, I can say: ‘Thank you.’”

Walters was married four times; she had one daughter, Jackie, whom she adopted with her husband Lee Guber.

Walters was born in Boston. Her father was a nightclub owner and so Barbara had plenty of contact with celebrities and was not fazed by them. She earned She her college degree from Sarah Lawrence College.

Some of Walters’ most famous interviews included a historic 1977 joint sit-down with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin.

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Drink More Water

We’ve been told to drink eight cups of water to maintain optimal health. But now scientists are saying that drinking enough water is really important to stay healthy.

According to a National Institutes of Health study published this week in the journal eBioMedicene, drinking enough water is also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic diseases, a lower risk of dying early, or a lower risk of being biologically older than your chronological age.

“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” said study author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH.

Learning what preventive measures can slow down the aging process is “a major challenge of preventive medicine,” the authors said in the study. That’s because an epidemic of “age-dependent chronic diseases” is emerging as the world’s population rapidly ages. And extending a healthy life span can help improve quality of life and decrease health care costs more than just treating diseases can.

About half of people worldwide don’t meet recommendations for daily total water intake, according to several studies the authors of the new research cited.

“On the global level, this can have a big impact,” Dmitrieva noted. “Decreased body water content is the most common factor that increases serum sodium, which is why the results suggest that staying well hydrated may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic disease.”

Our serum sodium levels are influenced by liquid intake from water, other liquids, and fruits and vegetables with high water content.

More than 50% of your body is made of water, which is also needed for multiple functions, including digesting food, creating hormones and

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neurotransmitters, and delivering oxygen throughout your body.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine) recommends women consume 2.7 liters (91 ounces) of fluids daily, and that men have 3.7 liters (125 ounces) daily. This recommendation includes all fluids and water-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and soups. Since the average water intake ratio of fluids to foods is around 80:20, that amounts to a daily amount of 9 cups for women and 12 ½ cups for men.

New U.S. Citizens Hit High

Across the country, naturalization ceremonies are making a comeback after a long hiatus caused by Covid-19 lockdowns that suspended public gatherings, shuttered immigration offices, and put thousands of citizenship applications on hold.

Nearly 1 million immigrants became citizens in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the most in almost 15 years and the third-highest number ever, according to a recent Pew Research analysis, demonstrating the increasing effect of immigration on who lives and works in the United States — and who votes.

The total number of people seeking to become citizens is not reflected in the year-end data and is actually much higher because of the pileup of applications. Some 670,000 naturalizations are still pending.

The Biden administration has taken several steps to streamline the process, such as simplifying forms and redirecting interviewees from cities whose immigration offices are stretched to those that have capacity. That has helped reduce the backlog of pending applications from more than 1 million in December 2020.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles the applications, also announced recently that it would soon conduct a trial of a redesigned naturalization test intended to be more fair and consistent. For the oral assessment, candidates will be asked to describe three photographs of everyday activities, the weather or food. The goal is to test ordinary use of English, rather than to rely on complex questions whose answers may differ considerably based on immigrants’ personal histories and countries of origin.

The Biden administration initiatives are a reversal from those of the Trump administration, which increased scrutiny of applications and made the citizenship test more cumbersome and challenging

But that administration’s immigration posture backfired, awakening many longtime legal residents to the fact that a green card does not shield them from deportation. And many felt compelled to seek citizenship in order to cast a ballot.

Immigrants who demonstrate continuous permanent lawful residence in the United States for at least five years, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen, are eligible to apply for citizenship. They must pass background checks, submit a bevy of supporting documents and pass civics and English tests during an interview.

Newly minted voters could be crucial in states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona, whose large naturalized-citizen electorates have been influential. Many more permanent residents in such battleground states are likely to naturalize in coming years. (© The New York Times)

Kaptur is LongestServing Woman in Congress

Most of us have never heard of Rep. Marcy Kaptur, but on Tuesday she made history by being the longest-serving woman in congressional history.

The Ohio Democrat won her 21st term in office in November, after fighting off a challenge from Republican J.R. Majewski. The 76-yearold lawmaker first won election to Congress in 1982.

Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (DMd.) previously held the record as the country’s longest-serving woman in Congress. Mikulski retired in 2017 after serving in the House and Senate for a combined 40 years.

There were 23 women in Congress when Kaptur began her tenure in the House four decades ago. The 118th