Category: News

A Turkish delegation will participate in the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters.

“I know that there will be participation from Türkiye at the ministerial level. As of now, I have not yet received information confirming Azerbaijan’s participation,” Pashinyan said, responding to a question about whether delegations from Türkiye and Azerbaijan would attend COP17 in Yerevan.

Yerevan will host COP17 on October 19–30, bringing together delegations from countries around the world, representatives of international organizations, and civil society to assess progress in biodiversity conservation and discuss further joint action.

The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will be held in conjunction with the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12) and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (NP-MOP-6). COP17 will mark the first global review of collective progress toward implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

The peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is important for the South Caucasus, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis said in Yerevan.

“Switzerland welcomes the positive momentum in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has taken shape with the initialing of the peace agreement. Of course, challenges remain, particularly on humanitarian issues. Nevertheless, we can say that the establishment of sustainable peace has become realistic. I encourage the sides to continue their efforts to sign the peace agreement,” Cassis said at a joint press conference with Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan.

Cassis added that Switzerland is ready to support Armenia and Azerbaijan in signing the peace agreement and normalizing relations.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Armenia on October 16 to attend the Leaders’ Summit to be held in Yerevan as part of COP17, the Iranian IRNA news agency reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

According to the report, the Iranian president will hold meetings with the leaders of several countries participating in the summit.

The Leaders’ Summit will take place on October 16, ahead of COP17.

Yerevan will host COP17 on October 19–30, bringing together delegations from countries around the world, representatives of international organizations, and civil society to assess progress in biodiversity conservation and discuss further joint action.

The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will be held in conjunction with the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12) and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (NP-MOP-6). COP17 will mark the first global review of collective progress toward implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

Armenian Deputy Minister of Defense Karen Brutyan met with Mary Beth Morgan, Director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), during his visit to Washington.

According to Armenia’s Ministry of Defense, the officials discussed issues related to Armenia–U.S. cooperation in the defense sector.

Elon Musk has suggested that the US government may be behind restrictions on the speed at which some of Ukraine’s weapons can travel and stay connected to SpaceX’s Starlink internet network.

Starlink is a vital tool allowing Kyiv to guide drones to Russian targets and also protect its own skies, but on Tuesday night Ukraine said unexpected new speed limits were disrupting its battlefield missions, the BBC reported.

An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed the restrictions were not a coincidence and were related to the latest strains between Kyiv and Washington.

Musk said that Starshield, the military-grade sister service to Starlink, is controlled by the US government, and “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [the US president]”.

Musk – writing on X – had been responding to pleas from Ukrainian officials to restore connectivity, including from Zelensky who told UK media: “I hope that it’s a mistake, maybe [a] huge technical problem. I don’t know, but we are asking to… switch [it] on.”

Starlink, which is owned by Musk’s SpaceX, restricted speed limits on Tuesday night to 100mph (160km/h), meaning any weapons that travelled faster than that lost connectivity to the network.

It had been partially restored by Wednesday evening, Ukraine’s former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.

“Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense,” he wrote on X, thanking Elon Musk and asking for his “continued support”.

About an hour later, Musk replied to that post, defending his company’s involvement.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” he wrote.

Musk added that Starlink is for “civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company”.

Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski asked Elon Musk if he was “playing politics” with Starlink in Ukraine on Wednesday, after Kyiv said ‌SpaceX had introduced a limit on some services, disrupting combat drone missions, Reuters reported.

Poland has said that it pays for Kyiv’s Starlink subscription, which is vital for guiding longer-range drone strikes against Russia, according to Reuters. 

“Hey, Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?” Sikorski wrote in a post on X. “As your European customers, we are watching you.”

There was no immediate response to the post from Musk.

The “big man” jibe referred back to ‌an ⁠extraordinarily public dispute on social media between Sikorski, Musk and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2025, when the Tesla and SpaceX boss told Sikorski to “Be ⁠quiet, small man.”

That clash broke out when Musk said that Ukraine’s “entire front line would collapse if I turned it (Starlink) off”.

He later ⁠said that “no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn ⁠off its terminals … We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip.”

Pope Leo XIV has begun walking, eating regularly and performing breathing exercises a day after surgery to remove a malignant lung tumour, an adenocarcinoma.

The Associated Press reported this, citing a medical bulletin.

According to doctors, the Pope has undergone respiratory physiotherapy and begun walking around his hospital room. He has resumed normal eating, having breakfast and lunch. His recovery is progressing as planned, as confirmed by blood test and chest X-ray results.

The head of the Catholic Church will need further examinations following the operation performed on 13 October.

Leo XIV reportedly spent around three hours in the operating theatre, while the surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration ‌is getting ready to begin in Greenland.

Trump did not share details about the exploration plans in Greenland but said, “there are experts that are saying that the amount of easily ⁠available oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the world.”

The United States, Denmark and Greenland last month signed an agreement, aimed at ending tensions after Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the strategically located and mineral-rich island, Reuters reported.

“Any future attack on the ‌United ⁠States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even ⁠conceived,” Trump added in his post on Truth Social.

The deal signed between the US, Denmark and Greenland expands the US ⁠military’s role in Greenland, paving the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden ⁠Dome” missile defence system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

The UK will speed up deliveries of Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) to Ukraine, PM Andy Burnham’s Office said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in the UK this morning as the UK calls on international partners to step up sanctions on Russia and increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin to respect the United States’ calls for an energy ceasefire.

It comes as the UK doubles down on support for Ukraine, including delivering £45 million of surface-to-air missiles and standing by plans to fully implement a maritime services ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports – restricting Russia’s access to the UK’s world leading shipping and insurance services, the British PM’s Office said.

The UK will accelerate deliveries of British Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs), which have proven extremely effective against jet-powered drones that are being used to strike far beyond the front lines in Ukraine, including Kyiv and beyond, according to the statement.

The drones are faster and can fly far higher than propeller-driven Shaheds, making them harder to detect and destroy before they hit targets.

The UK has already committed £1.6 billion to deliver more than 5000 LMMs to Ukraine over the next four years and will accelerate £10 million of the £45m package of missiles announced today to meet Ukraine’s most urgent winter requirements. 

Ahead of the two leaders’ meeting today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

“Our rock-solid support to Ukraine is vital for keeping us safe here in the UK and ensuring those on the frontlines have the equipment they need to push back Russia. My message to the Ukrainian people could not be clearer, we are with you for as long as it takes, and we will go further and faster in our support to back your courageous fight for peace in Europe. It is not just the right thing to do, but it’s the necessary thing to do. Russia’s aggression cannot be allowed to succeed on our continent.”

The Prime Minister has also asked Cabinet ministers to draw up further sanctions, military aid, and fiscal packages to provide urgent support in the coming weeks.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases ‌in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 9,000, Reuters reported, citing government data.

The latest situation report from Congo’s public ⁠health institute put the number of cases at 9,066 and deaths at 4,381.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was declared in May and has become the largest and deadliest in Congo’s history, overtaking the 2018-2020 epidemic. The strain currently has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Globally it is ‌second ⁠only to the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which infected over 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World ⁠Health Organization.

The current outbreak has also affected other countries.

Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year ⁠but was declared Ebola-free in August.

Last week Kenya confirmed its first imported case, a Kenyan national who ⁠had travelled from Congo via Uganda and died in Nairobi.