Azerbaijan

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Separatist Government Says It Will Dissolve Itself

More than half of Nagorno-Karabakh's population has fled to Armenia

(Newser) - The separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh announced Thursday that it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by the end of the year. Armenian officials said more than half of the population has already fled. Last week, Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive to reclaim full control...

'Nightmare' Exodus Begins Amid Fears of Ethnic Cleansing

Thousands of ethnic Armenians leave homes in disputed region now held by Azerbaijan

(Newser) - The Azerbaijan military offensive was quick and decisive . Now comes the mass migration amid fears of ethnic cleansing. Thousands of ethnic Armenians are leaving their longtime homes in a disputed region between their native country and Azerbaijan, after the Azerbaijan military easily reclaimed control in a 24-hour blitz, reports the...

Another War Is Brewing in the World
A Day Into Military Assault,
Victory Is Declared
updated

A Day Into Military Assault, Victory Is Declared

Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh agree to ceasefire after Azerbaijan's major gains: report

(Newser) - One day into its military assault on the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan has declared victory. The region's ethnic Armenian leadership agreed to a ceasefire early Wednesday after Azerbaijani forces "made major advances" in the region whose estimated 100,000 Armenian residents have long maintained autonomy from Azerbaijan,...

More Than 150 Dead in Armenia, Azerbaijan Clashes

Armenia says ceasefire was declared late Wednesday

(Newser) - Armenia and Azerbaijan have negotiated a ceasefire to end a flare-up of fighting that has killed 155 soldiers from both sides, a senior Armenian official said early Thursday. Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia's Security Council, announced the truce in televised remarks, saying it took effect hours earlier, at...

Cease-Fire Fails, Accusations Fly
Cease-Fire Fails,
Accusations Fly

Cease-Fire Fails, Accusations Fly

Armenia, Azerbaijan are fighting again

(Newser) - Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting Saturday, but immediately accused each other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter-century, the AP reports. The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce...

This Conflict Is 'One Step Away From a Large-Scale War'

Hundreds killed in fighting, shelling as Azerbaijan vows to retake Armenian enclave

(Newser) - Nagorno-Karabakh—an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan as big as Rhode Island and as populous as Syracuse, NY—has been the site of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Analysts fear it could trigger a wider regional war involving Turkey, Russia, and Iran. Since fighting erupted on Sept. 27, hundreds of...

Jailed Banker's Wife Could Be Forced to Join Him

Zamira Hajiyeva fighting extradition to Azerbaijan over embezzlement allegations

(Newser) - A woman from Azerbaijan whose fortune has been targeted by British authorities under anti-corruption laws was freed on bail Thursday while she battles extradition to her homeland over embezzlement allegations. Zamira Hajiyeva is the first person to be subject to an Unexplained Wealth Order, a measure introduced this year in...

Kim Kardashian in a Tiff With Azerbaijan

Ambassador doesn't think she should weigh in on Armenia conflict

(Newser) - Kim Kardashian has gotten herself into a series of spats lately, and the latest is with Azerbaijan. Kardashian, who has Armenian heritage , posted an image to Instagram this week showing military helicopters and tanks with the Armenian flag flying, along with the message, "Praying for everyone in Armenia and...

Caucasus Conflict Reignites After 22 Years

Azerbaijan says Armenia killed 12 soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh

(Newser) - Heavy fighting has broken out between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces along the front lines of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, reportedly killing at least one child in what one official called the worst clashes since 1994. Officials from each former Soviet republic blamed the other Saturday for the fighting that began...

Lawmakers' Trip Funded on Sly by Foreign Government
Lawmakers' Trip Funded on Sly by Foreign Government
investigation

Lawmakers' Trip Funded on Sly by Foreign Government

Post reveals travel by 10 members of Congress to Azerbaijan oil conference

(Newser) - The Washington Post obtained a confidential ethics report revealing that 10 members of Congress and 32 staffers attended a conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2013 on the dime of the state-owned oil company, SOCAR. The congressional members also received gifts such as rugs valued at up to $10,000. SOCAR...

Azerbaijan Announces Election Winner —Before the Election

Results sent out on smartphone app

(Newser) - Voting for the next president of Azerbaijan wasn't supposed to start until yesterday—but the day before, results were already amazingly posted on a Central Election Commission smartphone app. The app said incumbent president Ilham Aliyev was winning with 73% of the vote, continuing his family's decades-long reign...

Boxing Fix? Stunning Decision Alarms Critics

Azerbaijan boxer gets knocked down 6 times in one round, and wins

(Newser) - Something smells seriously fishy in the world of Olympic boxing. As Deadspin notes, knockdowns are rare things in the Games. So when Japan's Satoshi Shimuzu put Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulhamidov on the canvas six times in their third and final round, the outcome seemed clear-cut. Until, that is, the...

Iran-Linked Assassins Targeted US Officials

Investigators identify 13-month assassination effort

(Newser) - A string of assassination plots against diplomats across several countries amounted to a coordinated campaign, with each case linked to Iran. US officials were among those targeted, American and Middle Eastern authorities say: Would-be assassins linked to Iran plotted to kill diplomats at the US Embassy in Azerbaijan. Investigators have...

Azerbaijan Plans World's Tallest Building

Man-made islands hailed as 'new Venice'

(Newser) - Azerbaijan's got oil money to burn, and officials want to show off the country's modernity—so they're planning to construct the tallest building on the planet. The Azerbaijan Tower is set to rise nearly 3,450 feet over a collection of 41 artificial islands near the capital,...

2012 London Gold Medals 'Sold' for $10M: BBC

The money is just an 'investment,' say officials

(Newser) - A boxing official made arrangements to "sell" two 2012 Olympic gold medals to the Azerbaijani team for $10 million, according to an investigation by the BBC . Millions of dollars in secret payments have already been made to international boxing organization World Series Boxing, sources say. In exchange, the head...

Before Gulf, BP Had Azerbaijan Spill: WikiLeaks

Cables say PM accused firm of stealing billions

(Newser) - Eighteen months before the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company experienced a similar huge leak in Azerbaijan, WikiLeaks cables reveal. The firm was tight-lipped about the incident, angering its partners, the cables note, adding that BP was fortunate in getting its 212 workers to safety, the...

12 Killed in Azerbaijan School Shooting

13 wounded; gunman kills self

(Newser) - A gunman opened fire at Azerbaijan's prestigious oil industry academy today, killing 12 and wounding 13 before turning the gun on himself. The suspect, Georgian citizen Farda Gadyrov, entered the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in Baku and climbed five floors of the building, shooting everyone he met along the way,...

US to Expand Routes Into Afghanistan

Safer roads will depend on cooperation of Central Asian nations

(Newser) - More than four-fifths of the supplies for allied troops in Afghanistan travel via Pakistan along a treacherous route, prompting the US to plan new supply lines in the embattled region. The fragility of the current setup was laid bare after a Pakistani counter-militant offensive shut down the Khyber Pass yesterday,...

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia
 Cheney Set
 to Visit
 Georgia

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia

VP to shore up ties with embattled nation, emphasize 'common security interests'

(Newser) - Dick Cheney will visit Georgia next week to strengthen ties with the battered US ally, the AP reports. The vice president will also visit Azerbaijan and Ukraine to emphasize the US commitment to the former Soviet republics, a White House spokesman said today in announcing the trip, which is to...

Moscow Backs Down on Missile Shield

Putin's tough talk yields to unexpected compromise proposal

(Newser) - After weeks of exchanging sharp criticism with US officials, Vladimir Putin today suggested a truce over a controversial missile shield in Eastern Europe. In talks with President Bush at the G8 summit, the Russian president reversed course and said Moscow would support US plans for the shield if it is...

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