Trending
Azerbaijan arrests the former head of separatist government
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- Azerbaijan said it arrested the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government as he tried to cross into Armenia on Wednesday along with tens of thousands of others who have fled following Azerbaijan's 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of the enclave. The arrest of Ruben Vardanyan was announced by Azerbaijan's border guard service. It appears to reflect Azerbaijan's intention to quickly and forcefully enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive that has prompted a rapid exodus of ethnic Armenians.
Iran says it has successfully launched an imaging satellite into orbit
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran claimed on Wednesday that it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, a move that could further ratchet up tensions with Western nations that fear its space technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran's Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 280 miles above the Earth's surface, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It was not clear when exactly the launch took place. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit.
Lebanese military court sentences an Islamic State group official to 160 years
BEIRUT (AP) -- A Lebanese military court has sentenced an official with the extremist Islamic State group to 160 years in prison for carrying out deadly attacks against security forces and planning others targeting government buildings and crowded civilian areas, judicial officials said Wednesday. The officials said Imad Yassin, a Palestinian in his 50s, confessed to all 11 charges against him, including joining a "terrorist organization," committing crimes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, shooting at Lebanese soldiers, and transporting weapons and munitions for militant groups.
Bahrain rights group says 13 convicted over prison sit-in
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Bahrain has sentenced 13 prisoners to an additional three years over a sit-in held in a detention facility in 2021 that prison authorities say was violent. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said Wednesday that the convictions issued the day before stemmed from a mass trial of 65 defendants, the rest of whom were acquitted. It alleged "severe due process violations, including the right to attend the trial, or meeting with the lawyer." It also publicized what it said were firsthand accounts given to the public prosecution in which the prisoners said they were beaten with metal objects and tear-gas cannisters.