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Mozambique and Georgia have held elections on the 9th of October and 26th of October 2024 respectively. Despite the high demand for change in the political status quo, the incumbent parties in both countries – the Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique (FREMILO) and the Georgian Dream – have been elected again pushing civil society organisation to call out flawed elections.  Both countries have been plunged into protests ever since.

A court in Georgia on Wednesday convicted imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on embezzlement charges and handed him another prison term of nine years. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president in 2004-13, is already serving a six-year prison term for abuse of power. He was convicted in absentia in 2018, and arrested in 2021 upon his return to Georgia.

Greenland's parliamentary elections were won in a surprise victory by the social-liberal opposition party Demokraatit, beating the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit party led by incumbent Prime Minister Múte Egede.

Upon visiting Karabakh in 1994, there were two possible routes for my return to Yerevan. The first was the same way I arrived by military helicopter, and the second was by road. With no highway in place at the time, that would take longer and prove more challenging. Even if the helicopter on the way to Karabakh had to perform an evasive manoeuvre when the pilot was informed of Azerbaijani activity in the area, it was by far the quickest and made the journey in under 45 minutes rather than an estimated 12 hours by road. I had spent less than three hours in Yerevan upon arrival from London and over a week in Karabakh. A few days would barely be enough for meetings with Vazgen Sargsyan in Yerevan and the Locum Tenens Catholicos in Etchmiadzin. I also had to meet Seta Melkonian, recently widowed wife of Monte, and two local journalists reporting on the conflict.

Between 12 and 18 March, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela will visit the five Central Asian countries to strengthen the EU-Central Asia partnership ahead of the EU-Central Asia Summit and scale up Global Gateway, the EU’s investment strategy to boost jobs and sustainable economic growth. 

Prominent Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofig Yagublu has been sentenced to nine years in prison by the Baku Serious Crimes Court on charges of “fraud resulting in substantial harm”. A member of the National Council of Democrat Forces and Musavat Party, he was arrested in December 2023 and was also charged with using forged documents. During the trial, Yagublu insisted his arrest was politically motivated. His co-defendant, Elnur Mamedov, who provided incriminating testimony, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Mali said it was suspending licenses for foreign artisanal gold mining companies after a series of fatal accidents in the West African country, one of Africa’s top three gold producers. Gen. Assimi Goita, president of Mali’s transitional government, ordered “the suspension of artisanal mining permits granted to foreigners,” according to a statement issued following a Council of Ministers meeting which was read out on the national television station ORTM.

Turkey, as one of the geopolitically significant countries, serves as a bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. In this context, Turkey seeks to maintain normal relations with both the West and the East. However, as a NATO member country, the characteristics of the Western world are more evident in Türkiye in various aspects. In this regard, Turkey collaborates with European countries within the framework of various strategic projects. Although Turkey is not an official member of the European Union, it maintains certain relations with the bloc. There have also been negative developments between Turkey and the European Union from time to time. Despite these developments, issues related to Turkey's accession to the European Union have recently been reignited.

An organised network operating from Georgia has scammed thousands of savers from the UK, Europe and Canada out of $35m after they fell for fake celebrity adverts on Facebook and Google. According to a report in The Guardian, Deepfake videos and fictional news reports featuring the money expert Martin Lewis, the radio DJ Zoe Ball and the adventurer Ben Fogle were used to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency and other investment schemes. The scammers are understood to have still been contacting victims in recent weeks.