Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan charges exiled critics with ‘coup calls’
The Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice recently rejected an Azerbaijani request to extradite blogger Manaf Jalilzada.
News Stories
Yesterday, 17 November 2025
Yesterday, 17 November 2025
Georgia
Recent controversies spark concern in Georgia’s booming surrogacy industry
In recent years, Georgia has emerged as a major global fertility hub — yet there is no proper regulatory framework, leaving surrogates at risk.
Armenia
Armenia’s regulator moves to strip Karapetyan’s firm of power grid licence
Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission discussed the decision for three days.
Chechnya
Chechnya warn against use of ‘masculine elements’ in women’s clothing
The prohibition seems to have specifically focused on the use of gazyrs in women's clothing.
Armenia
Pashinyan’s Civil Contract wins by a landslide in Etchmiadzin council vote
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan saw the elections as part of his competition with the Church leadership.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan becomes full-fledged member of Central Asian consultative meetings format
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had previously been invited to partake in the last two meetings in an unofficial capacity.
Azerbaijan’s Media Crackdown
Imprisoned Abzas Media editor-in-chief awarded RSF Press Freedom Award
Sevinj Vagifgizi was sentenced to nine years in prison in June on charges of smuggling foreign currency as a group and money laundering.
Georgia’s EU U-turn
Georgian Dream abolishes voting from abroad citing fears of ‘external pressure’
The ruling party said that the decision would ‘increases the stability of elections’.
Georgia’s EU U-turn
Erasmus+ suspends funding to Georgian authorities
The ban on funding will not affect independent educational institutions, including within the Erasmus+ mobility and cooperation activities.
Azerbaijan–Russia Relations
Azerbaijan summons Russian Ambassador over missile strike on embassy in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi separately held a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following the strike.
Georgia
Georgia confirms dissolution of Anti-Corruption Bureau
The bureau’s functions will now be carried out by the State Audit Office.
Daily Brief
Monday, 17 November 2025
Regional * Tajik citizen and ethnic Ossetian Alan Gatsoev has reportedly been spending the last five months living in no-man’s land between Russia and Georgia after being denied entry to both countries. North Ossetia’s Interior Ministry has claimed he was working illegally in Russia, but that the decision to deny entry was temporary. Armenia * US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker arrived in Armenia on Monday for talks aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s
Friday, 14 November 2025
Azerbaijan
Talysh activist reportedly detained in Turkey and taken to Azerbaijan by State Security Service
Kamal Isayev had travelled to Turkey via Georgia by train, but was stopped at Istanbul airport on his way home.
Armenia
Pashinyan says ‘no country’ except Russia wanted to sell weapons to Armenia before 2022
Pashinyan said that much of the $8 billion debt was taken on because Armenia urgently needed weapons.
Armenia
Pashinyan participates in Armenia’s first national ‘prayer breakfast’
The event has been criticised by opponents of Pashinyan as a ‘reputation laundering breakfast’ amidst his clash with the Church.
Armenia–Azerbaijan Conflict
Azerbaijani prosecution demands lengthy sentences for 15 Nagorno-Karabakh leaders
Among them are three former presidents.
Chechnya
Chechen woman who fled to Georgia reportedly killed after returning home in suspicious circumstances
Aliya Ozdamirova, aged 33, reportedly fled home after being threatened by her family.
Trump Route
Armenia proposes 49 or 99-year lease for Trump Route infrastructure
There are still a number of outstanding details about the project that have yet to be clarified.
Georgia
Former Georgian PM Gakharia ordered into pre-trial detention in absentia
Giorgi Gakharia, who is currently abroad, said he is being politically persecuted.
Daily Brief
Friday, 14 November 2025
Regional * Aliya Ozdamirova, a 33-year-old woman who escaped from Chechnya, was deceived or forcibly taken from Georgia to Russia and was then likely killed in Chechnya, according to human rights defenders from the NC SOS Crisis Group. Ozdamirova was buried on Wednesday. * The Russian government has simplified procedures for obtaining or renewing a passport for individuals from Abkhazia or South Ossetia who have dual citizenship with Russia. Under the new rules, there is no need to travel bac
Azerbaijan
A generation under pressure — the future of activism in Azerbaijan
Despite the risks, a new generation of activists are continuing to raise their voices, from advocating for peace to protecting women’s rights.
Mikheil Saakashvili
Saakashvili appeals to Zelenskyi after transfer back to prison
Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili requested he be included in the list of civilian prisoners of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reviews
Review | The Literature Express — misogyny dressed up as literary satire
Lasha Bugadze’s 2009 novel critiquing the art of literature, particularly the ‘Georgian author’, falls flat in its obsession with sex and sexism.
Thursday, 13 November 2025
Azerbaijan
Aliyev chides local authorities, warning of the consequences of corruption
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted that he had ensured the implementation of personnel reforms in government agencies.
North Ossetia–Alania
Russian singer Aleksandr Marshal publicly apologises for remarks about Ossetian–Ingush conflict
Residents of North Ossetia had earlier called for the cancellation of Marshal’s upcoming concert.
Georgia
After 344 days, Georgian police succeed at shutting down road-blocking as a form of protest
As the daily anti-government protests inch closer to their one-year anniversary, protesters are coming up with new ways to continue protesting.
Armenia
Armenian opposition podcast hosts detained after criminal complaint by parliamentary speaker
Alen Simonyan blames them for insulting him during one of the latest episodes.
Daghestan
College director detained in Daghestan on suspicion of attempting to bribe FSB officer
Prior to this, a dismissed teacher accused him of corruption offences, harassment, and rape.
Azerbaijani Popular Front Party
Local Azerbaijani opposition leader believed to be arrested after ‘disappearance’
Faig Nagiyev, the local district leader of the opposition Popular Front Party, has been missing since Wednesday.
Azerbaijan
Delegation of US Mormons meet with Aliyev as first church opens in Baku
Azerbaijan’s presidential administration said the meeting highlighted the country’s history of religious tolerance.
