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The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, is in Aden where he met with prime minister Maeen Abdulmalik to discuss ways to salvage the Riyadh agreement between the recognised Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). Grundburg stressed the need to implement the Riyadh agreement noting its economic, social and political benefits. 

Qatar has concluded its first-ever elections for the Shura Council – a consultative assembly that helps the Emir draft legislature, monitor the ministerial performance and approve the national budget. Qataris voted for 30 members out of the 45 seat council. The other 15 members will be chosen directly by the Emir. 

For 30 years, Iran has adopted a cautious approach to developments in the South Caucasus, wary of the risk of encirclement. Iran's current massive military drills on the border with Azerbaijan are meant to send a signal that Tehran has its red lines too, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed for commonspace.eu

Results are coming in from local elections held in Georgia on Saturday, 2 October and it appears that the country is split in half between those supporting the ruling Georgian Dream party and others supporting opposition parties. Elections will have to go to a second round because none of the contestants secured the necessary 50% in the Mayoral elections five self-governing major cities: Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Poti and Rustavi.

Georgians are voting on Saturday (2 October) in local elections to elect 64 mayors and city councils, including the capital, Tbilisi. There are 3,513,884 voters. The vote is being seen as an expression of confidence or otherwise in the ruling Georgian Dream (GD)government that has been in power in Georgia since 2012.

A regional seminar with the theme “Regional Co-operation as a step towards peace in the South Caucasus” was held in Kachreti in Eastern Georgia on Friday 1 October 2021. Experts and officials from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan attended the event which was hosted by LINKS Europe and the Levan Mikeladze Diplomatic Training and Research Institute of the Georgian Foreign Ministry.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (30 September) told seven senior UN officials to leave the country within the next 72 hours accusing them of 'meddling in internal affairs. The decision to expel came two days after the UN Humanitarian Chief, Martin Griffiths, warned of a government man-made blockade of aid that would likely lead to a famine.