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Stories related to the internal politics of states and various domestic issues. 

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OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu in Georgia for official talks

OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu in Georgia for official talks

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu is in Tbilisi this week, in his first visit since the October parliamentary elections widely seen as flawed. The OSCE/ODIHR’s own observer mission had criticised the government’s handling of the October 2024 elections. On Wednesday, Sinirlioğlu met with the Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

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Ruben Vardanyan, filed lawsuit in Baku for torture and lack of speedy trial

Ruben Vardanyan, filed lawsuit in Baku for torture and lack of speedy trial

Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian ex-official of the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh administration, was arrested and imprisoned along with other top Karabakh officials during Baku's recapture of Nagorno Karabakh in September 2023. On Thursday (3 October), Vardanyan's lawyers filed a lawsuit in Baku for alleged torture and denial of a speedy trial. 
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Tavush Movement resumes protests against border delimitation in Yerevan 

Tavush Movement resumes protests against border delimitation in Yerevan 

On Wednesday (3 October), the Tavush movement, under the new name of the Holy Struggle, held a political rally in Yerevan's Republic Square. The movement was formed to protest against border delimitation with Azerbaijan, but also to demand the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The newly chosen name, 'Holy Struggle', is a strategic way of attracting support, particularly by exploiting its Christian overtones. 
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Rutte visits Ukraine on first working trip as NATO chief

Rutte visits Ukraine on first working trip as NATO chief

NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Thursday (3 October). It is Rutte's first working trip since officially taking office earlier this week. Earlier, Rutte announced that Ukraine's NATO membership would be one of the spearheads of his policy.
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Armenia to increase military spending 

Armenia to increase military spending 

The Armenian government plans to increase military spending by about 20 per cent, equivalent to 110 billion drams (about $286 million). According to the proposed state budget for 2025, the Ministry of Defence will receive 664.6 billion drams (about $1.7 billion). Military expert Leonid Nersisyan, a researcher at the Armenian analytical centre APRI, describes this defence spending as unprecedented. However, he points out that despite the increased budget, Yerevan still lags far behind Baku in terms of military spending. Military spending remains lower than social spending in the state budget. Although the gap in military spending between Armenia and Azerbaijan is narrowing, with Armenia now trailing by a factor of two instead of five or six as it did in 2013, the difference remains significant.
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DR Congo faces severe shortages as Mpox spreads

DR Congo faces severe shortages as Mpox spreads

Several patients in a makeshift Mpox isolation ward in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are in urgent need of proper medical care as hospital staff struggle with drug shortages and overcrowding. These patients have been diagnosed with Mpox, a virus that was declared a global public health emergency three weeks ago. Reports over the past two weeks suggest that vaccines against the new strain of the virus are expected to arrive soon. In response to the outbreak, Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has approved a $10 million fund to support containment efforts. However, until these measures are implemented, health workers in parts of the DRC continue to struggle to provide adequate care for patients.
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Environmentalists take the European Commission to court

Environmentalists take the European Commission to court

Environmental campaigners announced on Tuesday (27 August) that they have taken the European Commission to court over its 2030 emissions rules. They are seeking a ruling from Europe's second highest court that would force the EU bloc to strengthen its climate policies. The case, filed at the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, is being led by the non-profit organisations Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN). 
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Thousands of migrants try to enter Spanish enclave of Ceuta 

Thousands of migrants try to enter Spanish enclave of Ceuta 

Thousands of migrants have tried to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in recent days, Spanish authorities said on Monday (26 August). Among these migrants, hundreds of young people have attempted to swim around border controls. Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government's representative in Ceuta, told reporters on Monday (26 August) that since Thursday (22 August) an average of 700 people a day had tried to breach the border, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday (25 August). While Pérez did not specify how many migrants had successfully reached Ceuta, she noted that authorities were returning 150 to 200 people a day to Morocco under Spanish laws that allow for 'border rejections'. She thanked the Moroccan authorities for their "loyal cooperation".
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Boat sinks off the coast of Yemen, killing at least 13 people

Boat sinks off the coast of Yemen, killing at least 13 people

The UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported on Sunday (25 August) that at least 13 people have died and 14 others are missing after a boat sank off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday (20 August). The dead include 11 men and two women, while a search is underway for the missing, including the Yemeni captain and his assistant, the IOM said. The cause of the shipwreck remains unknown.