Violence erupted in late 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory self-declared as the Republic of Artsakh by its majority Armenian population. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the region became a tinderbox waiting to erupt into conflict following the 1994 ceasefire.
Read MoreThe Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to escalate, with a new buildup of Russian troops and military hardware on the shared border of the two countries. Strains began Russo-Ukrainian relations after President Vladimir Putin annexed and seized control of Crimea in 2014, increasing Russian military presence in the area.
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The global effort against COVID-19 is intensifying as countries race to vaccinate their populations and use vaccine diplomacy to improve relations with foreign nations. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine now has emergency authorization in more than 30 countries and a peer-reviewed efficacy rate of 91.6 percent in Phase 3 trials, reports the New York Times Vaccine Tracker. Researchers are currently working on a single-dose version of Sputnik V, which would be called “Sputnik Light.”
Read MoreActivist Alexei Navalny, Russia’s main opposition leader, is known for exposing corruption in Russia and campaigning against the ruling United Russia Party. The spark that captured global attention was when Navalny found President Putin’s secret country house built with Russian citizens’ money. Pensions in Russia are reduced every year and the economy continues to suffer–the citizens were rightly furious.
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The government of Poland has instituted a near-total ban on abortions, spurring protests across the country. The ban suddenly took effect nearly three months after the country’s constitutional court ruled abortions of congenitally damaged fetuses unconstitutional.
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With only two days remaining before its expiry date, the Biden administration officially extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and the Russian Federation.
Read MoreMontenegro and Serbia engaged in a diplomatic dispute that led each country to dismiss their ambassador from the host country. The Serbian ambassador to Montenegro, Vladimir Bozovic, had supposedly made an inappropriate comment about Montenegro’s history.
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The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced the signing of an agreement between Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the Sudanese government to build Russia’s first naval base in Africa.
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On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a ceasefire agreement to end the recent fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
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The international community are raising concerns over the recent discovery of the use of cluster bomb weapons in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. On October 28, a strike over the Nagorno-Karabakh region was flagged by Azerbaijan, which accused Armenia of using cluster bombs in a civilian area. Wednesday’s attack killed 21 civilians and injured 70, The BBC estimates.
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