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The report came after questions were raised earlier in the day when the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, did not mention his mother’s death in his first statement, News.az reports.
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In the days following Khamenei’s killing, several state media outlets had reported that his wife had also been killed.
The post Khamenei’s wife is alive, IRGC outlet says, denying official reports appeared first on azeritimes.com.
According to a notice from the FBI obtained by ABC News, Iranian operatives may attempt to launch drones from a vessel located off the U.S. West Coast, targeting unspecified sites in California if the United States conducts military strikes against Iran, News.az reports, citing ABC News.
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The warning reportedly circulated among police departments in late February, around the time when the United States and Israel began conducting strikes against Iranian targets. The alert indicated that intelligence suggested Iran had considered a scenario in which unmanned aerial vehicles could be deployed from an unidentified ship positioned near American shores.
However, U.S. officials noted that the FBI currently has no additional information regarding the timing, method, or specific targets of the possible attack. The notice also did not clarify how a vessel carrying drones could approach close enough to the United States to carry out such a strike.
Authorities emphasized that the warning was issued out of caution as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise and security agencies monitor potential threats beyond the region.
The development comes amid an increasingly volatile confrontation involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, raising concerns that the conflict could spill over far beyond the Middle East.
The post Is Iran preparing to attack California with drone? appeared first on azeritimes.com.
OSCE Moscow Mechanism demands to Georgia
In a joint statement, 24 OSCE member states urged the Georgian government to fully implement the ‘Moscow Mechanism’ recommendations. The statement said: “The Rapporteur’s central finding is unambiguous. As the report states: “In the period covered by the mandate, a marked democratic backsliding has taken place in Georgia.”
On January 29, 2026, 24 OSCE member states launched a special investigation into Georgia under the so-called “Moscow Mechanism,” a tool used when there are suspicions of a serious deterioration of human rights in a country.
On March 12, following the investigation, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) published a report confirming a worsening situation regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms in Georgia.
The nearly 217-page report provides detailed information covering the period from the beginning of 2024 to the present, including:
The OSCE has activated this mechanism only 16 times in its history. The three previous cases before Georgia examined the situations in Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Chechnya (Russian Federation).
The Georgian authorities criticized the report, saying it does not reflect the full picture of the country’s political and legal reality. Georgia’s permanent representative to the OSCE, Alexander Maisuradze, stated that the report contains factual inaccuracies, selective interpretations, and politically biased conclusions, calling its reliability into question.
The countries that signed the statement call on the Georgian authorities to continue engagement and to treat the rapporteur’s findings as a basis for constructive dialogue and reforms. The statement says:
“We urge Georgia to address democratic backsliding and implement in full the Moscow Mechanism recommendations. Today, we wish to highlight the following steps in particular:
First, the Georgian authorities should ensure that law enforcement acts in line with international standards, and conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of torture and ill‑treatment, holding those responsible to account.
Second, Georgia should repeal or fundamentally revise legislation that is incompatible with its international human rights obligations and commitments, including laws on transparency of foreign influence, foreign agents registration, and related amendments affecting grants, broadcasting and political participation.
As the Rapporteur notes, these laws are not capable of being brought into compliance through minor amendments alone.
In doing so, we encourage the Georgian authorities to reestablish their cooperation with ODIHR and the Venice Commission and implement their recommendations in full.
Third, the authorities should refrain from arbitrary detention and prosecution of political opponents, journalists and other participants of public debate, withdraw arbitrarily brought charges, and release all persons detained for political reasons.
Fourth, Georgia should halt efforts to ban opposition parties, withdraw pending applications in this regard, and ensure that political pluralism is fully respected.
Finally, the report underscores the need to restore trust in the judiciary by strengthening judicial independence, ensuring fair trial guarantees, and reforming institutions such as the High Council of Justice in line with long‑standing OSCE and Venice Commission recommendations.
The Moscow Mechanism exists to support participating States in upholding their shared commitments in the human dimension. We, as invoking States, stand ready to support meaningful follow‑up, including through continued discussion in the Permanent Council and engagement with Georgian authorities and civil society as well as by seriously considering the Report’s recommendations to the OSCE Participating States and to the International Community.”
The joint statement was signed by the United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, and Poland.
News in Georgia
OSCE Moscow Mechanism demands to Georgia
No official details were immediately available, but aerial news footage from over the synagogue showed plumes of smoke rising from the roof of the building, with police and fire department vehicles nearby, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
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Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said on CNN: “Nobody at the moment has been confirmed to be hurt except potentially the shooter.”
Temple Israel runs an early childhood center that provides childcare and education to children as young as 6 weeks old, according to its website.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X: “FBI personnel are on the scene with partners in Michigan and responding to the apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation out of Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit posted a message on its Facebook page saying its affiliated agencies were “currently in precautionary lockdown” in response to the Temple Israel incident.
Jewish organizations throughout the United States have been operating under heightened security since U.S. and Israeli warplanes initiated massive air strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking an intensifying war across the Middle East.
The post Shooting incident reported at Michigan synagogue, authorities confirm appeared first on azeritimes.com.
The investigation, called Venezuela II by the court, was referred to the court by Venezuela’s government in 2020, alleging that sanctions against the country had caused suffering and hardship, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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The referral from now-deposed President Nicolas Maduro alleges the suffering of Venezuelans from “the application of unlawful coercive measures adopted unilaterally by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela, at least since the year 2014.”
Venezuela alleged that “murder, extermination, deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts constituting crimes against humanity” were committed, the OTP said.
The ICC prosecutor determined that the “evidential requirements of causation and intent are not met.”
The evidence “must provide a reasonable basis to believe that sanctions by the United States of America led to murder, displacement or other alleged crimes,” the OTP said.
The decision is unrelated to the January 2026 events in Venezuela, the prosecutor noted.
In January, the United States invaded Venezuela, arrested Maduro and his wife and took them to Manhattan, where they await trial on drug trafficking charges.
The ICC prosecutor said it is still investigating “Venezuela I,” a case that doesn’t involve the United States.
The post ICC prosecutor clears U.S. over sanctions in Venezuela case appeared first on azeritimes.com.
The Israeli military said its defence systems were operating to intercept the threat, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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Israel’s Home Front Command said a missile hit an open area in central Israel.
The post Iran launches fresh missile strikes on Israel appeared first on azeritimes.com.
