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Poland and the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia want to withdraw from the international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines. The four NATO countries say it is necessary to be able to mount an optimal defence against the growing threat of Russian aggression.

A court in Georgia has handed a further prison sentence to the jailed former president, Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili was sentenced on Monday to four-and-a-half years behind bars for illegally crossing the border when returning to the country from exile in 2021, his lawyer said. He is already serving concurrent terms for embezzlement and abuse of power while in office, bringing his total sentence to more than 12 years.

The history of Iran's nuclear program coincides with the period of the Shah’s regime, when relations with the United States were significantly stronger than they are today. In 1957, during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Tehran signed a "civil nuclear cooperation agreement" with its ally, the United States. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and in the context of the events that followed, including the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, relations between Iran and the U.S. sharply deteriorated. These events also had a negative impact on the steps taken within the nuclear program.

The US has launched what it called a decisive and powerful wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Yemen's Houthi rebels say there have been fresh US strikes against them, with the number of dead rising to 53, including five children. Targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah areas were hit early on Monday, according to the rebel group, while the US Central Command said its forces had continued operations throughout the weekend. Washington says some key Houthi figures are among the dead, but the group has not confirmed this.

The news, released simultaneously in Baku and Yerevan, that Armenia and Azerbaijan had successfully concluded negotiations on a peace agreement is very welcome. Negotiations had been going on for a long time, sometimes in person and sometimes by email, sometimes with the participation of third-party mediators, but most of the time bilaterally without third parties. Armenia and Azerbaijan should be congratulated. The EU, US, Russia and France were amongst the first to praise the sides for their success.

The U.S. and Israel have approached officials of three East African governments to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for resettling Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan, American and Israeli officials told The Associated Press. The contacts with Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the U.S. and Israel to press ahead with a plan that has been widely condemned and raised serious legal and moral issues, according to the exclusive report.

The European Union has congratulated the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for finalising a peace deal and urged them to sign the treaty soon. The South Caucasus neighbours said on Thursday 13 March that they had concluded talks aimed at resolving their decades-old conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty. European Council chief Antonio Costa wrote on X that it was "a decisive step towards the full normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the opening of the region."

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the Global Baku Forum, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov unexpectedly announced that the text of the Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan had been finalised. Made up of 17 points, two of which had not until now been agreed, the news came like a bolt out of the blue. As was already known, those last points concerned withdrawing international court cases against each other and not deploying third country forces on their common border.

Speaking at the 12th Global Baku Forum, the former President of the European Council, Charles Michel warned that a potential trade war could stem from events originating in the White House but Europe must remain focused on further strengthening its economy. He also highlighted that the US plays an important role in Europe's security and that more investment should be made in institutional development. The Global Baku Forum is organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center under the patronage of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.