Armenia's asymmetric dependence on Russia has cost it dearly, especially during the recent Karabakh war, argues Alexander Petrosyan in this commentary for commonspace.eu. Two projects – the Iran-Armenia railway, and the Iran-Armenia-Georgia gas pipeline – can help restore the balance, he contends.

Azerbaijan plans to spend up to $59 billion over the next ten years to rehabilitate the territories it has recently taken back after being for decades under Armenian control. It is a huge sum even for an oil rich country, but for President Ilham Aliyev developing the new territories now has become the primary mission of his presidency.

Bahrain expects a quick return to pre-pandemic levels in tourist arrivals when the Gulf island nation reopens the King Fahd Causeway which links it to Saudi Arabia. The causeway was scheduled to open on 31 March, but that has now been delayed to 17 May. The causeway has been closed since 8 March of last year. 

The northern Iraqi city of Erbil, in the country's autonomous Kurdish region, faced a tense night after rockets struck the area between Erbil international airport and the nearby base hosting US troops on late Monday. The attack killed one contractor working with the US coalition and wounded at least eight other people, according to Iraqi and coalition officials. 

The leader of the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia has gone to Moscow amid a simmering political crisis in the territory, which seceded from Georgia. South Ossetia is currently gripped in a political crisis following the death in police detention of a young Ossetian, which sparked public protests and a boycott of parliament by some MPs.

Russia tripled its gold exports in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic had made oil and gas revenues plummet, the Russian newspaper Izvestia writes. However this year is not expected to be so good for gold producers. According to economists at Morgan Stanley weak inflation, coupled with an improving economic outlook, will continue to weigh on gold prices.

Libya's newly appointed prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, confirmed on Saturday that he has started work on forming a new government of national unity. The new prime minister said in his selection he will prioritise efficiency, whilst taking into account the need to include members from across Libya's diverse the political spectrum