Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has held a series of high‑level meetings with world leaders and delegations on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Baku, with discussions focusing on energy, economic cooperation and international partnerships.
Baku is hosting the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), bringing together political leaders, urban planners, architects and development experts as cities worldwide face mounting pressure from climate change, rapid urbanisation and housing shortages.
Uzbekistan has launched a nationwide environmental initiative titled ‘Day Without Cars’, which will take place twice a month as part of efforts to improve air quality and reduce vehicle emissions.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is participating in the informal summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, on 15 May. The summit focuses on regional cooperation, digital development and transport connectivity.
Georgia is positioning itself as a future energy bridge between the Caspian and Europe, backed by major infrastructure plans and growing EU support. But behind the ambitious pitch lies a far more complicated political reality.
Thousands of displaced families in Gaza are facing growing infestations of rats and insects as worsening sanitation conditions and mounting waste deepen the humanitarian crisis across overcrowded camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven Palestinians in Gaza on Friday (15 May), including a child, as Israel said it had launched an operation targeting Hamas military commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum will open in Baku on Sunday, bringing together government representatives, city leaders, urban planners, international organisations, businesses and civil society to discuss the future of sustainable urban development.
Matiul Haq Khalis, Director General of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency, has travelled to Baku to attend the 13th World Urban Forum, where climate change and safer cities will be discussed.
Uzbekistan has launched a nationwide environmental initiative titled ‘Day Without Cars’, which will take place twice a month as part of efforts to improve air quality and reduce vehicle emissions.
Thousands of displaced families in Gaza are facing growing infestations of rats and insects as worsening sanitation conditions and mounting waste deepen the humanitarian crisis across overcrowded camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has held a series of high‑level meetings with world leaders and delegations on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Baku, with discussions focusing on energy, economic cooperation and international partnerships.
Bulgaria has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, taking victory in a final overshadowed by a boycott over Israel’s participation and the war in Gaza.
At least eight people were injured after a driver rammed a car into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena, authorities said on Saturday. Four of the victims were reported to be in serious condition.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington could destroy Iran’s infrastructure “in two days,” while Tehran warned the U.S. would face growing economic costs from the conflict. The remarks came as Hezbollah reported new attacks on Israeli forces despite an extended Lebanon ceasefire.
At least eight people have died and 32 others were injured after a freight train collided with a public bus at a railway crossing in Bangkok on Saturday (16 May), triggering a fire that quickly spread through the vehicle.
U.S. President Donald Trump says China's Xi Jinping agreed Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran prepares a new shipping mechanism. Tensions over the U.S. blockade and stalled nuclear talks continue to disrupt global oil supplies.
Children laughed, applauded and watched wide-eyed as animated characters lit up the screen at the opening of the ninth Animafilm International Animation Festival in Baku, where filmmakers and audiences from around the world gathered to celebrate the growing influence of animated cinema.
Uzbekistan’s Department for Combating Economic Crimes says it has uncovered a large-scale fraud and corruption scheme linked to labour migration to South Korea, with estimated damages reaching $90 million.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that the U.S. military blockade of Iran’s southern ports could trigger a new global financial crisis as the Tehran-Washington standoff around the strategic Strait of Hormuz persists.
Leaders of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) gathered in the Kazakh city of Turkistan for an informal summit focused on strengthening cooperation in trade, transport, energy and regional connectivity as the bloc seeks to expand its geopolitical and economic influence across Eurasia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for deeper solidarity among Turkic states amid rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change.
The 13th edition of the World Urban Forum, due to begin in Baku on Sunday (17 May), is an ideal opportunity for Azerbaijan to show the world what successful post-conflict urban development looks like, a representative for the conference has said.
Central Asia is entering a period of acute water stress as glacier melt accelerates and ageing infrastructure wastes up to 40% of water supplies, fuelling concerns over food security and regional stability.
Indian drivers face higher fuel costs after state-run fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by three rupees ($0.03) per litre, equivalent to more than 3%.
Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter on Thursday under heavy security, with some calling for the death of Arabs and for Palestinian villages to be burned during an annual march marking Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.
The United States cast Israel-Lebanon talks held in Washington on Thursday as "productive and positive" and a State Department official said more discussions aimed at ending their conflict will continue on Friday.
Every year on 15 May, Palestinians across the Middle East mark Nakba Day - a commemoration of the mass displacement that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Kazakhstan comes amid rising geopolitical uncertainty across Eurasia, as conflicts in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East reshape trade routes, security priorities, and regional cooperation.
