Day: May 16, 2026

SOCAR’s STAR refinery in Türkiye recorded a notable shift in its production structure in March 2026, increasing output of jet fuel, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) while reducing diesel production on an annual basis, AzerNEWS reports.

Armenian Deputy FM stresses democratic reforms, election integrity, and regional stability at CoE meeting  Armenpress

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that one of the leaders of the terrorist group Islamic State operating in Africa has been killed in a joint military operation, AzerNEWS reports.

The federal court in Brooklyn, United States, has sentenced Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 22-year-old Georgian national and a Neo-Nazi leader who allegedly inspired a series of extremist attacks and plotted more hate crimes, including poisoning children with candies, to 15 years in jail.

Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Commander Butcher,” who led “Maniac Murder Cult”, an international extremist organization, was convicted “for soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions to make bombs and ricin,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 13.

“Chkhikvishvili, a leader of the ‘Maniacs Murder Cult,’ repeatedly called for the murder of innocent civilians, including children, and schemed to attack and terrorize Jewish communities and racial minorities in the United States,” DOJ press release cited Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Chkhikvishvili, for example, tried to recruit a supposed associate to dress up as Santa Claus and pass out poisoned candy to minority children.”

Chkhikvishvili had pleaded guilty in November.

According to the DOJ, since 2021, Chkhikvishvili distributed a “Hater’s Handbook” manifesto to group members, encouraging them to commit “acts of mass violence,” including school shootings. The investigation involved an undercover FBI employee, whom, from late 2023, Chkhikvishvili solicited the UC to “commit violent crimes, such as bombings and arsons” against racial minorities, including Jewish individuals, the U.S. authorities said.

That, according to the Department of Justice, involved a plot of a New Year’s Eve mass casualty attack in New York, targeting the Jewish community, with the scheme involving having “an individual dress up as Santa Claus and hand out candy laced with poison.”

The U.S. authorities also alleged that Chkhikvishvili had inspired violent hate-motivated crimes before, including a January 2025 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, resulting in one injured and two killed, including the perpetrator, and an August 2024 stabbing attack outside a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey.

Chkhikvishvili was extradited from New York in May 2025 to Moldova, where he was arrested in July 2024.

Also Read:

• 30/03/2026 – MIA: 13 Supporters of ‘Neo-Nazi Groups and Fascist Ideology,’ Including Seven Minors, Arrested
• 16/01/2026 – MIA: 16 Members of ‘Radical Fascist Groups,’ Including 10 Minors, Arrested
• 27/06/2025 – U.S. Border Patrol Detains Georgian, Says He Is ‘Serious Public Threat’

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister of the Punjab Province of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, arrived in Azerbaijan on Saturday to participate in the 13th session of the UN World Urban Forum (WUF13), AzerNEWS reports.