WUF13 opens in Baku with focus on housing, resilience and global urban reform
The 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) opened in Baku with ministers, UN officials and urban policy leaders. Participants call for ...
Preliminary results from Georgia’s Central Election Commission show the ruling Georgian Dream party leading in the 4 October municipal elections, including in the Tbilisi mayoral race.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), Georgian Dream has received 80.78% of the nationwide proportional vote, while the main opposition parties, Lelo/Strong Georgia and Gakharia – For Georgia, have secured 6.78% and 3.87% respectively. Smaller parties, including Girchi and Conservatives for Georgia, remain below 4%.
The results are based on data from 2,279 of 3,061 precincts where votes were counted electronically. Overall, 12 parties participated in the 2025 municipal elections, compared to 43 in 2021. Only two major opposition groups took part, as others boycotted the vote, citing the arrests of several political leaders.
The CEC reported that voter turnout reached 40.93%, lower than in 2021 (51.92%) and 2017 (45.65%). The lowest participation was recorded in Tbilisi at 31.08%.
In the capital, Georgian Dream candidate Kakha Kaladze holds a strong lead in the mayoral race with 71.56% of the vote, followed by Irakli Kacharava with 12.46% and Irakli Chikhladze with 7.53%.
The elections were held amid a tense political climate and large-scale protests in Tbilisi. Thousands gathered on Liberty Square, calling for political change and questioning the fairness of the process. Later in the evening, police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters attempting to move toward the presidential palace. The Interior Ministry urged demonstrators to comply with police instructions, while government officials said voting proceeded according to regulations.
Traffic restrictions remain in parts of central Tbilisi following the overnight unrest.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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