Day: January 26, 2026

The Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) took part in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Ski Flying World Championships held in Oberstdorf, Germany, from January 22 to 25.
Visitors were introduced to Azerbaijan’s rich cultural heritage, unique tourism offerings, and winter sports potential, News.Az reports, citing local media.
A key objective of the cooperation with FIS is to promote Azerbaijan as a destination for world-class professional winter sports competitions and to implement a large-scale international marketing and promotional campaign for the country’s tourism brand and products.

The post Azerbaijan promotes winter tourism in Germany appeared first on azeritimes.com.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has toured sculptures and artwork being created for a memorial museum dedicated to the country’s soldiers who died in Russia’s war against Ukraine, stating that the works will highlight the soldiers’ “legendary feats and glorious life.”
Kim visited the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang the previous day and inspected a number of sculptures and artwork that will be erected at the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations, including a tower and decorative engravings for an outer wall, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
In October, North Korea launched the construction of the museum honoring the country’s young soldiers who were killed while fighting on Russia’s side in the war with Ukraine, marking the first memorial in the North to commemorate soldiers killed in overseas action.
Earlier this month, Kim visited its construction site in Pyongyang and dug the first shovelful of earth for the museum’s tree planting.
North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war efforts, with thousands believed to have been killed in action.
Kim lauded the sculptures as being created in a way that they will convey forever “the legendary feats and glorious life of admirable sons of the DPRK, the defenders of honor,” the KCNA said.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.
“Our army proved before the times the law of strength, the immutable truth that the strong in spirit always emerge victorious,” the KCNA also quoted Kim as saying.
The KCNA added that Kim also underscored the “need to ensure high artistic portrayal and delicate perfection in all details” so museum visitors can “feel the faith in certain victory cherished by the heroic soldiers” and always remember them.
Released KCNA photos show the sculptures depict combat scenes or soldiers in full gear at two to three times life-size.
The Mansudae Art Studio is a leading state-run art studio responsible for creating major artworks for the regime’s propaganda activities.

The post North Korea reveals sculptures honoring soldiers killed in Ukraine appeared first on azeritimes.com.

The UN expressed concern on Monday about reports that the United States is sending a carrier strike group to the Middle East and increasing its military presence in the region.

Asked about the reports, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference: “We obviously are seeing these reports of heightened military tensions, which are very concerning indeed,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Addressing reports of the alleged use of force by Iranian security forces against protesters, Dujarric said: “Let me just say, we’ve seen various reports of an extremely high number of people killed by the security forces, of protesters being killed by the security forces.”

“The numbers vary, but even without having an exact number, it’s clear that the situation on the ground is just horrendous in terms of these killings,” he added.

Dujarric said the UN is also alarmed by the broader regional implications of recent developments, stating: “At the same time, we are very concerned about increased military activities and rhetoric, which we think goes counter to the stability of the region.”

Tens of thousands have rallied across Iranian cities over economic grievances and the depreciation of the rial, prompting US President Donald Trump to warn of a US “rescue” if protesters are killed, saying forces are “locked and loaded.”

Trump has said he is weighing a “tough response,” threatening action if mass executions proceed. He later softened his rhetoric, suggesting Tehran had stopped killing protesters following his warning.

Iranian officials have warned that any US attack would trigger a “swift and comprehensive” response.

The Federal Aviation Administration reports that seven people were killed and one person seriously injured when a private jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in Bangor, Maine.

The ‌crash of ​the twin-engine turbo-fan jet Bombardier Challenger 600 ‍at Bangor International Airport happened about 7.45pm on Sunday, the FAA said on Monday, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the ​crash, which occurred in ‌snowy weather and in low visibility conditions.

Bombardier referred questions ​to the NTSB.

The NTSB said it has no role in the release of information about victims and that such information is handled by local authorities.

But airport director Jose Saavedra declined to comment, saying at a news conference on Monday that he was “awaiting guidance and support from federal partners”.

An audio recording of air traffic controllers includes someone saying “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down,” about 45 seconds after a plane was cleared for takeoff.

First responders arrived less than a minute later, Saavedra said.

The Bangor airport remained ‍closed on Monday morning.

The plane had arrived in Maine from Texas, the government official ​said. ​

The company ​listed as its registered ​owner shares a Houston address with Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury law firm.

FAA records show the plane went into service in April 2020.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Monday that some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats should be seen as prepositioning in preparation for negotiations to renew the free trade agreement between the two major trading partners.

Carney noted they are entering a review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement this year and said he expects a “robust review,” News.Az reports, citing ABC news.

“The president is a strong negotiator, and some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that,” Carney said.

Trump threatened this past weekend to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if America’s northern neighbor went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing, something Carney said Canada has no interest in.

Carney has said his recent agreement with China merely cuts tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with tariffs.

In 2024, Canada mirrored the United States by putting a 100% tariff on electric vehicles from Beijing and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. China had responded by imposing 100% import taxes on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood.

Breaking with the United States this month during a visit to Beijing, Carney cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on those Canadian products.

“Last week’s new strategic partnership with China will make available tens of thousands affordable electric vehicles in Canada,” Carney said Monday.

Carney has said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1%, growing to about 70,000 over five years.

He also has said the initial cap on Chinese EV imports was about 3% of the 1.8 million vehicles sold in Canada annually and that, in exchange, China is expected to begin investing in the Canadian auto industry within three years.

Trump’s tariff threat came amid an escalating war of words with Carney as the Republican president’s push to acquire Greenland strained the NATO alliance.

Carney has emerged as a spokesman for a movement for countries to find ways to link up and counter the U.S. under Trump. Speaking in Davos before Trump, Carney said, “Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” The prime minister received widespread praise and attention for his remarks, upstaging Trump at the World Economic Forum.

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland has come after he has repeatedly needled Canada over its sovereignty and suggested it also be absorbed into the United States as a 51st state. He posted an altered image on social media last week showing a map of the United States that included Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba as part of its territory.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, heightening concerns that President Donald Trump might consider ordering airstrikes on Iran in response to its crackdown on protesters.
The carrier, along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability,” U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The strike group was in the Indian Ocean, Central Command said, and not in the Arabian Sea, which borders Iran. It will bring thousands of additional service members to the region, which has not had a U.S. aircraft carrier since the USS Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump told reporters last week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case.” “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.
Trump earlier had threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December. At least 5,973 people have been killed and more than 41,800 detained, according to activists. The official Iranian death toll is far lower, at 3,117 dead.
More recently, Trump appeared to have backed away from possible action, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”
However, Trump appears to be keeping his options open. On Thursday aboard Air Force One, he said his threatened military action would make last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.
In addition to the aircraft carrier, the U.S. military said the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet now has a presence in the region.
Analysts who follow flight-tracking data have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes also heading to the region.
The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.

Michael Saylor’s strategy, through MicroStrategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, revealed new BTC purchases as prices dipped amid a broader market sell-off.
Strategy acquired 2,932 Bitcoin for $264.1 million last week, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The acquisitions were made at an average price of $90,061 per BTC, with Bitcoin starting the week above $93,000 and briefly tumbling below $87,000, according to CoinGecko.
The purchase brought Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings to 712,647 BTC, purchased for about $54.19 billion at an average price of $76,037 per coin.

On Monday, Sargis Khandanyan, the chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the Armenian National Assembly, met with a U.S. delegation led by Lance Kokonos, a member of the U.S. Congressional Staff.
Welcoming the guests, Khandanyan lauded the development of the Armenia-US strategic partnership, News.Az reports, citing Armenian media.
The interlocutors spoke about the importance of implementing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project and to exchange views on the work to be done in that regard in the near future.
Also, the chair of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations touched upon the recent developments in the processes of normalization of Armenia’s relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the return of the remains of the last Israeli hostage from the besieged Gaza Strip, commending his officials for their role in facilitating the release.
“Just recovered the last hostage body in Gaza. Thus, got back all 20 of the living hostages, and all of the dead! Amazing job! Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do. Congratulations to my great team of champions!!!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The Israeli military announced earlier Monday that it had located and recovered the body of its last captive in the Gaza Strip. A military statement said that the body of Sgt. 1st Class Ran Gvili was identified and would be returned for burial.
“With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip,” it added.
The announcement came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after the return of Gvili’s body.