World

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is mainly populated by Armenians but internationally recognised as lying within Azerbaijan's borders. A particularly bloody conflict in 2020 enabled Baku to recover a large part of the territory. Both countries have been accused of committing war crimes over the years.

This week, five US citizens freed from prison in Iran were able to embrace their loved ones back home. Under the deal brokered by Qatar, five Iranians detained in the United States were also released. The agreement included the unfreezing of nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets. So is the deal a sign of warming ties between Washington and Tehran? We put the question to David Smith, Washington bureau chief for the Guardian.

The five-day negotiations in Riyadh marked the latest hopeful sign since Yemen's devastating war began in 2014.

Baku's Defense Ministry earlier blamed six deaths in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region on Armenian separatists. It comes three years after a war with neighboring Armenia over the region.

Germany's president is in Italy amid tensions between Rome and Berlin over migration. He and his Italian counterpart appealed for a peace deal in flood-hit and wartorn Libya, one of the key launching points in Africa.

Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region has been cut off from much-needed supplies since December, when Azerbaijan closed the one road connecting the region to ally Armenia, saying it was an arms smuggling route.

At least 17 Japanese nationals have been accused of spying under sweeping "espionage" regulations introduced by Beijing in July, leaving companies reluctant to send their staff to China and imperiling local production.

Israel complained about the presence of German Ambassador Steffen Seibert at a meeting in Israel's Supreme Court. Reform of that institution, sought by the government, is a contetious domestic issue in Israel.

China has sharply rejected statements made by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the United States about Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Germany has wanted reform of the UN Security Council for years. But its bids to join the exclusive circle of permanent members have always failed.

During a visit to the island of Lampedusa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President announced plans to address the surge in migrant arrivals.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italy's premier Giorgia Meloni have visited a migrant center on Italy's southernmost island after a surge in the number of migrants arriving there.