Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 8 October 2026. These are the top five stories from the region.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and other regional leaders have arrived in the Tukrmen city of Turkmenbashi for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit.
Aliyev began his visit by attending the 8th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where he noted that Azerbaijan’s trade with regional countries had risen by more than 50 per cent.
The CIS Heads of State meeting takes place on Friday in the resort town of Awaza. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to make his CIS debut, after being invited for the first-time.
Georgia's security service has detained a man who allegedly planned to sell uranium-238 to a foreign national for $700,000. Footage released by the service shows armed officers arresting him and agents checking two small containers in his car boot with a radiation detector.
The incident is the latest in a series concerning the illegal trafficking of uranium in Georgia. In February, two foreign nationals were arrested in the Georgian city of Kutaisi for allegedly trying to buy uranium. Three Chinese citizens were arrested in Tbilisi in late 2025 over an alleged plan to buy some too.
Baku’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov called for deeper infrastructure integration between regional countries at a meeting of Central Asian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in the Turkmen resort town of Awaza on Wednesday.
He said that digitalising transit would help to maximise cargo flows along the Middle Corridor. He was speaking at a meeting of Central Asian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Awaza on Wednesday. A World Bank report published last week estimated the corridor could add $1.3 billion to Azerbaijan's GDP.
Georgia’s ruling party’s parliamentary leader, Irakli Kirtskhalia, shrugged off the country’s absence from a European Union (EU) enlargement roadmap adopted by the European Commission on Tuesday. Kirtskhalia said that joining the bloc could not come “at any cost and at the expense of Georgia’s interests.”
Georgia was left out of the EU’s indicative roadmaps presented for Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Georgia remained a candidate country “only on paper.” Georgia won EU candidate status in December 2023, but its accession process stalled within months over disputes between Brussels and Tbilisi’s government.
Lukoil is looking to amplify its presence in Uzbekistan, with possible areas of expansion including geological exploration, hydrocarbon development and retail fuel sales. The plans were discussed at a meeting between Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov.
The company has said it has invested more than $10 billion in the country and produces gas at 13 fields with Uzbekistan's state-owned gas firm, Uzbekneftegaz. Its operations have faced uncertainty since U.S. sanctions were imposed in October 2025.
Kyrgyzstan has unveiled plans to significantly expand its protected natural areas, bringing more high-altitude glaciers, mountain landscapes and st...
U.S. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky...
At least 35 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Wednesday, in the second deadly rail disaster in less tha...
Despite losing his bloc's majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset in a hotly contested election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to remain in the lead after 70 per cent of votes were tallied on Wednesday. Figures are subject to change as counting continues.
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Nearly two years after the 20 October 2024 parliamentary elections, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region remains without a cabinet. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 39 of 100 seats and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 23, leaving neither able to govern alone.
Russian strikes hit several parts of Ukraine overnight, injuring at least six people and targeting energy and port infrastructure, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said U.S. warnings about imminent Russian ballistic missile attacks had resumed.
The Pentagon is prepared to launch potentially major military operations against Iran within 96 hours of receiving an order from U.S. President Donald Trump, with sufficient forces already deployed in the Middle East, according to a CNN report.
Kyrgyzstan has unveiled plans to significantly expand its protected natural areas, bringing more high-altitude glaciers, mountain landscapes and state-owned forests under environmental protection as part of a draft strategy for 2026–2035.
Uzbekistan has launched Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing customers at several local banks to make contactless payments using their smartphones and other compatible devices.
Iran says a “new and positive atmosphere” has emerged following rare security talks in Tehran with senior officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, as regional tensions continue to escalate.
The first day of the seventh World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue wrapped up in Baku on Tuesday (27 October), with President Ilham Aliyev highlighting Azerbaijan’s role in promoting peace and multiculturalism as global leaders explored the impact of AI and cultural cooperation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dismissed European criticism of a maritime agreement between Türkiye and Libya, arguing that objections to the deal have no legal basis.
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