Azerbaijan is strengthening its position as a key Eurasian transport hub amidst shifts in global logistics. This conclusion was reached by authors at *Responsible Statecraft* while analyzing the consequences of the conflict involving Iran and the restructuring of international trade routes.

Rescuers have been searching for over two weeks for a Moscow resident who went missing while rafting on the Uchkulan mountain river in Karachay-Cherkessia.

The Tbilisi City Court found former Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia guilty of publicly calling for the violent alteration of the constitutional order and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.

"Today, the regional branch of the United Russia party unanimously nominated me as a candidate for the post of head of the Chechen Republic," Ramzan Kadyrov announced on his Telegram channel.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who arrived in Yekaterinburg to participate in the Innoprom-2026 international industrial exhibition, met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. During the talks, the two sides exchanged emphatically positive statements about the prospects for bilateral relations, despite the sharp deterioration that accompanied the parliamentary elections in Armenia.

A major modernization of Grozny Airport is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. By then, authorities intend to commission a new runway and open a new terminal complex.

An international conference, "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: Lessons of History, Contemporary Challenges," was held in Shusha, Azerbaijan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Russia for a working visit. In Yekaterinburg, he will participate in the "Innoprom-2026" international industrial exhibition and hold talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court has ordered the arrest of Magomet Mutsolgov, a 56-year-old native of Ingushetia whom investigators identify as a member of a criminal group involved in Moscow real estate fraud. According to law enforcement, members of the scheme kidnapped apartment owners and coerced them into transferring property rights; some of the victims subsequently died.

Russia is attempting to reinforce the occupation regime it established in the Tskhinvali region and move closer to the de facto annexation of Georgian territories. Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee and an MP from the "Georgian Dream" party, made this statement at the 33rd annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's General Committee on Political Affairs and Security.