live Moscow and Kyiv exchange 10 prisoners of war each, Russian official says
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 10 prisoners of war each in Belarus, Moscow's Human Rights Commissio...
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.
Eldar Rasulov, Senior Manager for Content and Media Relations at the World Urban Forum 13, told AnewZ’s Nadia Gyane on Friday that Azerbaijan will showcase the progress it has made in reconstructing the liberated territories of Karabakh and East Zangezur at the U.N. urbanisation event.
“It’s now a really good time for Azerbaijan to show how urban development could actually look after post-conflict,” he said.
“We are showcasing the reconstruction process that we've made so far in a short period of time. [...] We want to show regional countries how we rebuilt, how we are still rebuilding those territories, and how smartly we are trying to do that,” he added.

As part of Azerbaijan’s Great Return Programme, large-scale restoration and construction work is being carried out in Karabakh and East Zangezur, with schools, hospitals, power plants and homes under construction, the country’s President, Ilham Aliyev, has previously said.
Rasulov said the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, had also undergone significant changes over the past decade, becoming greener and less car-focused.
“If you ask any citizen how Baku changed in a 10-year timeline, there are lots of things. When we're talking about green vehicles, scooter lanes, micromobility, and issues like that, the city is changing its look,” he said.
The tagline for this year’s conference is ‘Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities’.
At a time when major cities around the world are facing severe housing crises and three billion people globally face some form of housing insecurity, the theme could not be more relevant, Rasulov said.
“It’s becoming more and more an agenda on a number of governments' lists in relation to housing and just housing in general,” he said.
The World Urban Forum 13 will run from 17 May to 22 May at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following 13 transits a day earlier, as disruptions continue to restrict traffic through the key energy chokepoint.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 10 prisoners of war each in Belarus, Moscow's Human Rights Commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said.
The inaugural Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum brought together policymakers, investors and technology companies as Central Asia looks to build a more connected financial system and compete for a bigger share of global fintech investment.
The Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum will bring more than 6,000 policymakers, investors and technology leaders from 74 countries to Tashkent, as Central Asia seeks a bigger role in the global fintech landscape.
Kazakhstan is considering the Baku-Supsa pipeline as an alternative oil export route after Caspian Pipeline Consortium disruptions cost the country an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of oil, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.
Kuwait’s Al-Sayer Group plans to export fresh and dried Afghan fruit to Kuwait and other markets while exploring broader trade and investment opportunities in Afghanistan, according to Afghan government statements following talks in Kabul on Tuesday.
Central Asia’s fintech ambitions are in the spotlight as a major forum in Tashkent draws to a close, shifting attention from the region’s potential to the investment, infrastructure and global reach needed to turn that vision into growth.
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