Baku

After five years of fighting professionally and a perfect 18-0 record, Baltimore junior middleweight Emil Baku will make his first appearance as a feature attraction on national television tomorrow night when he battles Derrick Graham (11-6-1), of Newark, N.J., at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Miss. It is part of ESPN2's regular Friday night series. "I realize it's a big fight, but I'm trying to stay calm," said Baku, a native of Azerbaijan. "I'm treating it as the next step on the way to a championship fight."

MOSCOW -- Thousands of protesters in Azerbaijan shouting "Freedom!" and vowing to occupy downtown Baku were beaten back yesterday by riot police wielding truncheons and water cannons. Witnesses said hundreds of protesters were injured, along with at least 26 police officers. The demonstration, in which opposition leaders demanding new Parliament elections appeared to be staging an attempt to occupy the capital's Victory Square, ended when officers in helmets and riot shields broke apart the speaker's stand, ripped orange flags out of protesters' hands and began beating demonstrators and opposition leaders with batons, leaving several people lying injured in the square.

Emil Baku recently received certification as a masseur. He plans on giving his future clients' bodies tender love and care.But the 27-year-old native of Azerbaijan, who now makes Baltimore his home, takes a much different approach in his second vocation as a boxer. In the ring, he tries to systematically break down his opponent's body until he can no longer stand the punishment.This dichotomy is not lost on Baku, who has performed his job as a junior middleweight in a highly professional manner, winning all 14 of his fights, including 11 knockouts going into tonight's bout vs. Darryl Lattimore of Washington at Martin's West in Woodlawn.

WHEN POPE John Paul II left Baku, Azerbaijan, he left behind a dreamily decrepit city of illusion on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Baku boasts a dense core of medieval Persian vintage, surrounded by a once exuberant art nouveau metropolis - a falling-apart, century-old stage set of grand windows and curvaceous balconies supported by undraped statuary, all built by oilmen with names like Rothschild and Nobel. In Baku, young men sip tea with lime and shoot pool outdoors, under acacia trees by the seashore.

Unbeaten Baltimore junior middleweight Emil Baku passed his biggest measuring stick as a professional last night by stopping veteran Darryl Lattimore, of Washington, D.C., at 2.30 of the fourth round of their scheduled eight-round main event at Martin's West in Woodlawn.The majority in the sellout crowd of 1,500 thought referee Bill Holmes stopped the fight too quickly after Baku (15-0, 12 KOs) caught the left-handed Lattimore on the ropes and landed four hard, unanswered punches.But neither Lattimore (24-20)

The battling Baku brothers from Azerbaijan, now living in Pikesville, scored impressive victories in the boxing card at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie last night, but were later forced to wage an additional altercation outside the ring.After Rufat Baku scored a unanimous decision in an eight-round light-heavyweight bout with Roland Pelt of Temple Hills to complete the sweep for the brothers, a Pelt backer apparently took exception. As Rufat was being interviewed outside the ring for a future HTS telecast, his brother Emil was punched in the face.

WHEN POPE John Paul II left Baku, Azerbaijan, he left behind a dreamily decrepit city of illusion on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Baku boasts a dense core of medieval Persian vintage, surrounded by a once exuberant art nouveau metropolis - a falling-apart, century-old stage set of grand windows and curvaceous balconies supported by undraped statuary, all built by oilmen with names like Rothschild and Nobel. In Baku, young men sip tea with lime and shoot pool outdoors, under acacia trees by the seashore.

MOSCOW -- Thousands of protesters in Azerbaijan shouting "Freedom!" and vowing to occupy downtown Baku were beaten back yesterday by riot police wielding truncheons and water cannons. Witnesses said hundreds of protesters were injured, along with at least 26 police officers. The demonstration, in which opposition leaders demanding new Parliament elections appeared to be staging an attempt to occupy the capital's Victory Square, ended when officers in helmets and riot shields broke apart the speaker's stand, ripped orange flags out of protesters' hands and began beating demonstrators and opposition leaders with batons, leaving several people lying injured in the square.

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Armenian guerrillas attacked Azerbaijani settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday, with no signs of an end to the bloodletting after the reported slaughter of about 1,000 Azerbaijanis in the town of Hodjali on Wednesday.For the first time since Hodjali was captured, Azerbaijan television had a broadcast from Agdam, on the border of the enclave, showing truckloads of corpses and hundreds of refugees and wounded in scenes that are likely to spark violent public reaction in the capital.

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Baku high school student, an Asian and a Muslim, loves Nino Kipiani, a Westerner, a Georgian Christian - and the most beautiful girl in the world. So the story begins, with its themes of East and West, Islam and Christianity and two young people in love as war and wrenching change approach. It is the story of Ali and Nino, set in the Caucasus just before the Russian Revolution. The novel, written by Kurban Said, was first published in 1937 in German.

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Baku high school student, an Asian and a Muslim, loves Nino Kipiani, a Westerner, a Georgian Christian - and the most beautiful girl in the world. So the story begins, with its themes of East and West, Islam and Christianity and two young people in love as war and wrenching change approach. It is the story of Ali and Nino, set in the Caucasus just before the Russian Revolution. The novel, written by Kurban Said, was first published in 1937 in German.

PESHTATUK, Azerbaijan - Makhbuba Fatullayeva drops to the floor with all the flexibility of a 12-year-old, sits cross-legged on her mat and waits patiently for the inevitable question to emerge from the gaggle of relatives and strangers crowding around her with enormous bustle and confusion. These people - women from America, scientists from Baku, a reporter from nearby Lenkoran - are demanding one thing, loudly and urgently: How did Fatullayeva, born 103 years ago, manage to live so long?

After five years of fighting professionally and a perfect 18-0 record, Baltimore junior middleweight Emil Baku will make his first appearance as a feature attraction on national television tomorrow night when he battles Derrick Graham (11-6-1), of Newark, N.J., at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Miss. It is part of ESPN2's regular Friday night series. "I realize it's a big fight, but I'm trying to stay calm," said Baku, a native of Azerbaijan. "I'm treating it as the next step on the way to a championship fight."

Unbeaten Baltimore junior middleweight Emil Baku passed his biggest measuring stick as a professional last night by stopping veteran Darryl Lattimore, of Washington, D.C., at 2.30 of the fourth round of their scheduled eight-round main event at Martin's West in Woodlawn.The majority in the sellout crowd of 1,500 thought referee Bill Holmes stopped the fight too quickly after Baku (15-0, 12 KOs) caught the left-handed Lattimore on the ropes and landed four hard, unanswered punches.But neither Lattimore (24-20)

Emil Baku recently received certification as a masseur. He plans on giving his future clients' bodies tender love and care.But the 27-year-old native of Azerbaijan, who now makes Baltimore his home, takes a much different approach in his second vocation as a boxer. In the ring, he tries to systematically break down his opponent's body until he can no longer stand the punishment.This dichotomy is not lost on Baku, who has performed his job as a junior middleweight in a highly professional manner, winning all 14 of his fights, including 11 knockouts going into tonight's bout vs. Darryl Lattimore of Washington at Martin's West in Woodlawn.

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- The scent of oil hangs heavy over Baku, enticing politicians and business people from far-off America to a city rich with intrigue, adventure and fortunes to be made.This former Soviet republic of 7 million people lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, guardian of oil deposits so great that they could exceed those of oil-rich Kuwait.The oil is priceless, its ultimate value going far beyond dollar and profit calculations. Controlling it portends enormous political power -- particularly for the United States.

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- The scent of oil hangs heavy over Baku, enticing politicians and business people from far-off America to a city rich with intrigue, adventure and fortunes to be made.This former Soviet republic of 7 million people lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, guardian of oil deposits so great that they could exceed those of oil-rich Kuwait.The oil is priceless, its ultimate value going far beyond dollar and profit calculations. Controlling it portends enormous political power -- particularly for the United States.

The battling Baku brothers from Azerbaijan, now living in Pikesville, scored impressive victories in the boxing card at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie last night, but were later forced to wage an additional altercation outside the ring.After Rufat Baku scored a unanimous decision in an eight-round light-heavyweight bout with Roland Pelt of Temple Hills to complete the sweep for the brothers, a Pelt backer apparently took exception. As Rufat was being interviewed outside the ring for a future HTS telecast, his brother Emil was punched in the face.