Wildlife populations have declined by more than 70% over the past 50 years, and governments are moving too slowly to stop the damage, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International President Adil Najam warned Friday at the COP17 Biodiversity Leaders Summit in Armenia. Addressing the international gathering in Yerevan, Najam said environmental destruction is already putting pressure on food supplies, water resources and economies, with communities around the world facing growi

A former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service has been placed in pretrial detention in an espionage case involving thousands of sensitive documents, as German media report investigators are examining a possible connection to Azerbaijan. August Hanning, 80, who led the Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, from 1998 to 2005, was arrested. Germany’s Federal Court of Justice issued a formal arrest warrant Wednesday, allowing authorities to keep him in custody as the in

INTERVIEWS: Thousands of Russian citizens turned out to vote in Armenia on Sunday in Russia’s parliamentary election, forming a long line outside the Russian Embassy in Yerevan as anti-war protesters gathered nearby with signs opposing President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. The Armenian Report was at the embassy as Russians living in Armenia waited to cast their ballots in the first State Duma election since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February

Azerbaijan has taken CNN to court in the United States over a report alleging that Israeli military and intelligence teams operated from Azerbaijani territory during the June war with Iran, escalating a dispute over Baku’s role in the conflict. The lawsuit follows months of denials from Azerbaijani officials, who say the country has not allowed its territory to be used for military operations against neighboring Iran. Azerbaijan’s pro-government Report news agency said Tuesda

Thirty-one-year-old Azerbaijani researcher and peace advocate Bahruz Samadov is suffering from serious vision problems that are worsening in the maximum-security prison where he is serving a 15-year sentence on treason charges after criticizing President Ilham Aliyev’s government and advocating for peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to his lawyer. Samadov, a researcher and contributor to OC Media who had publicly advocated for peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Internationally acclaimed author and risk analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb says he has turned down an invitation to speak in Azerbaijan, saying he will not travel to the country while Armenian prisoner Ruben Vardanyan remains behind bars. Taleb disclosed his decision in a post on X, revealing that organizers increased their financial offer after his initial refusal. He said the higher speaking fee did nothing to change his position. "I was invited to Azerbaijan to give a lecture

An Azerbaijani appeals court has upheld the 10-year prison sentence of French citizen Martin Ryan, rejecting his bid to overturn a conviction that has become one of the most contentious legal cases in the diplomatic standoff between Baku and Paris since the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh in 2023. Ryan, a French businessman who managed the Azerbaijan-based company Merkorama LLC, was arrested by Azerbaijan's State Security Service on Dec. 4, 2023, alongside Azerb

An iconic seascape by Hovhannes Ayvazian, the Armenian artist known around the world as Ivan Aivazovsky, is expected to draw significant attention at a major art auction in Moscow on July 26, reflecting the enduring international demand for the legendary painter’s work. According to Interfax, Ayvazian's Off the Coast of Yalta carries an estimated value of about $420,000, placing it among the most expensive works in the Moscow Auction House sale. Born to an Armenian family in

Azerbaijan has drawn fresh international scrutiny after the jailed researcher sentenced to 18 years in prison for communicating with an Armenian historian reportedly told a court he was tortured in detention, according to reporting by OC Media and statements from his family. Igbal Abilov, a Talysh researcher convicted on treason charges after Azerbaijani authorities accused him of collaborating with Armenian intelligence, alleges he was beaten while held in solitary confineme

Iraq has nominated Krikor Der-Hagopian, a veteran Armenian Christian diplomat and senior adviser to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, as the country’s next ambassador to the United States — a potentially historic shift in Baghdad’s diplomatic outreach and engagement with Washington. Regional diplomats confirmed the nomination, describing it as part of Iraq’s broader effort to strengthen relations with the United States and expand cooperation beyond traditional security concerns. I

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a major escalation in tensions with Iran, warning that the United States would strike the country “very hard tonight” and suggesting Washington could seek control over strategic Iranian oil infrastructure, including the critical Kharg Island export terminal. Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday, come during a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the Middle East following two days of military exchanges between the United St

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly angrily confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to resume airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to a report published by [Axios]. “What the fuck are you doing?” Trump reportedly shouted during the Monday phone call, according to Axios, which cited a U.S. official familiar with the conversation. The report also cited the official as summarizing Trump’s remarks to Netanyahu: “You’re fucking c

An Iranian citizen living in Armenia says the Iranian government revoked his passport while he was attempting to leave the country through Zvartnots International Airport, following his participation in anti-Iranian government protests in Yerevan earlier this year. Seyedmasoud Taheri told The Armenian Report in an interview that he discovered his passport had been invalidated on May 8 while trying to board a flight to Barcelona with his wife, Mina Samadi. According to Taheri,

A criminal case has been opened in Turkey against filmmaker Rojhilat Aksoy after she organized a screening of the film “Aurora’s Sunrise,” which tells the story of Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian. Authorities accuse the filmmaker of insulting the Turkish nation, a charge that has been brought under the country’s controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code. The case was launched by the regional prosecutor’s office in the southeastern Turkish city of Di