The name Ruben Vardanyan has become a focal point of international headlines following his high-profile arrest by Azerbaijani authorities in late 2023. He has many titles, billionaire, philanthropist, and formerly so-called State Minister of the unrecognised Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Several Armenian defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday (5 February) as the Baku Military Court began reading out verdicts in criminal cases under Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code.
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children in Gaza on Wednesday (4 February), health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire.
Another shipment of grain was sent to Armenia via transit through Azerbaijani territory on 4 February. The latest delivery consisted of eight wagons carrying 560 tonnes of grain dispatched from Azerbaijan to Armenia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia used a high-profile international platform in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to underline growing trade ties, expanding cooperation and what both leaders described as an irreversible turn towards peace after decades of conflict.
A landmark gathering of commercial and political minds has convened in the Kyrgyz capital, signalling a significant shift in Washington’s foreign policy approach towards the Eurasian heartland.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Abu Dhabi, February 4, reaffirming momentum in their peace process and highlighting growing trade, connectivity and confidence-building measures.
Afghan officials and international partners met in Kabul on Wednesday (4 February) for the fourth meeting of the Doha Process Working Group on Counter-Narcotics, with officials citing a reduction in poppy cultivation to “nearly zero” as efforts to curb drug production and trafficking were reviewed.
Uzbekistan is accelerating plans to expand uranium production and deepen international nuclear cooperation, positioning the sector as a pillar of long-term industrial growth and resource security.
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is visiting Pakistan as both countries seek to expand trade and unlock new transport routes linking Central Asia to the Indian Ocean, despite ongoing security and infrastructure challenges.
Syrian government security forces entered the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Tuesday (3 February), security sources and witnesses said.
A second group of Palestinians receiving medical treatment arrived in Egypt from Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday (3 February).
The most prominent son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, has been killed, sources close to the family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi and Libyan media said on Tuesday (3 February).
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday (5 February), even as they remained at odds over Washington's insistence that negotiations include Tehran's missile arsenal and Iran's vow to discuss only its nuclear programme.
Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health has launched the country’s first polio vaccination campaign of 2026, saying around 7.3 million children under the age of five are expected to receive oral drops during the round.
Türkiye’s defence and aerospace exports surged by 44 percent year on year in January 2026, hitting a record monthly high of more than $555 million as overseas demand for Turkish-built military technology continued to grow, the Turkish Defence Industries Secretariat said on Monday (2 February).
Kazakhstan has approved plans for a second nuclear power plant in a significant scaling up of the country's nuclear ambitions. It comes a year after a referendum, which suggested more than 71 per cent support for the project, but which was also accompanied by allegations of irregularities.
Kazakhstan sharply increased oil shipments to Europe in January, exporting 310,000 tonnes to Germany and sending a further 106,000 tonnes via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
Armed boats tried to intercept a vessel north of Oman on Tuesday in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, where heightened military activity and U.S.–Iran tensions are fuelling maritime security concerns.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has begun a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, seeking to deepen political and economic cooperation as regional tensions over Gaza, Iran and wider Middle East stability dominate the agenda.
