Category: South Caucasus News

Speaking to reporters, Leavitt said Washington was looking at potential candidates to lead Iran, a day after President Trump said the US must be involved in choosing ‌the next leader of Iran, News.Az reports, citing Aljazeera.
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“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won’t get any further on that,” she added.
Earlier we reported Trump saying there would be no deal struck with Iran ⁠except “unconditional surrender”.
“What the President means is ⁠that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of ‌America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realised, then Iran will essentially be in a place of ‌unconditional ‌surrender, whether they say it themselves or not,” Leavitt said.

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The two parties are reportedly also discussing a widebody aircraft sale involving approximately 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X jets. A deal for the twin-aisle aircraft would likely be announced at a later date and is not expected to be part of the upcoming summit, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
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Boeing’s aircraft are set to play a prominent role in a trade agreement between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and America’s Trump, who has in the past used the US planemaker to enhance agreements with other governments.
Trump plans to visit China from March 31 to April 2 for the meeting, with Xi expected to visit Washington later in the year.
The agreement, if finalized, would conclude years of negotiations between Boeing and Chinese airlines and end a prolonged order drought from the world’s second-largest aviation market. It would also highlight how the president’s trade agenda has frequently aligned with Boeing’s interests as the largest US exporter.
The two sides are still negotiating the specifics of the announcement, with the US reportedly seeking a firm contract rather than just a flashy dollar value. There remains a possibility that the talks could reach an impasse and a deal may not be completed, the report noted.

As of Feb. 27, Boeing had 134 unfilled aircraft orders from China. The company also held 875 orders from unidentified customers, a category that has sometimes concealed unannounced deals with Chinese customers.

Shares of the aviation gianr were trading over 2.5% higher following the report.

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The incident occurred in Miran Shah area of the tribal district of North Waziristan, where the attacker rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into the security forces’ check post, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
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The explosion took place around the time of breaking the fast, and there were fewer troops at the post. However, a large number of civilians, including women and children, were present in the nearby market area and were affected by the blast, the sources added.
The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital, where four of them, including two children, are reported to be in critical condition.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed the attack.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an investigation into the incident. 

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When joining NPC deputies from Henan Province in a group deliberation in the afternoon, Premier Li Qiang urged the province to take proactive steps in the new year to play a bigger role in driving development of the central region and the whole country, News.az reports, citing Telegraph.
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He also urged the province to forge new calling cards in promoting the integrated development of culture and tourism.
On Friday morning, the premier took part in a joint group meeting of political advisors from the sectors of economics and agriculture. He emphasized the need to continuously implement a more proactive fiscal policy and apply an appropriately accommodative monetary policy.
He also emphasized the importance of promoting the construction of major infrastructure networks and expanding effective investment to lay a solid foundation for long-term development.
Participating in a joint group meeting attended by political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, top legislator Zhao Leji asked them to actively fulfill their duties and responsibilities, strive to make new achievements, and contribute to opening up new prospects in advancing Chinese modernization.
Zhao, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also called on the political advisors to guide the people in their respective sectors to make contributions to achieving a good start for the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
In a joint group meeting of political advisors from the sectors of literature, the arts and sports, top political advisor Wang Huning stressed the efforts to implement the national strategy of promoting fitness for all and continuously improve people’s health.
Wang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, asked the political advisors to offer insights and suggestions on promoting the prosperity of socialist culture and advancing the coordinated development of mass sports and competitive sports.
Cai Qi, a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, participated in a joint group meeting of political advisors from the China Democratic League, the Communist Youth League of China, the All-China Youth Federation, and the All-China Women’s Federation.
He pointed out that political advisors should focus on the central tasks of the CPC and the country to contribute ideas and strength, thereby making new contributions to achieving a sound start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who attended a joint group meeting of political advisors from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, stressed that Hong Kong and Macao should seize the major opportunities presented by the 15th Five-Year Plan and take solid steps to promote high-quality economic development.
He also called for inspiring more people in Hong Kong and Macao to love both the country and their own regions, and promoting the regions’ integration into the overall development of the country.
Li Xi, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, attended a joint group meeting of political advisors from the CPC, and urged them to firmly establish and practice a correct understanding of governance performance, consciously delivering real, tangible outcomes for the people through solid work.
He stressed the need to maintain a tough stance against corruption tenaciously, so as to provide strong safeguards for achieving the targets and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period through new achievements in improving Party conduct, enforcing Party discipline, and fighting corruption.
Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. 

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SSPDF Spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said that they plan to launch operations to flush out the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) forces holed up in Akobo County, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
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Koang disclosed that the SSPDF Chief of Defense Forces, Paul Nang Majok, has ordered the closure and immediate withdrawal of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) forces from their temporary operating base in Akobo County within 72 hours.
“All UN agencies, NGOs and their staff are ordered to leave within the same window of opportunity. All civilians living in Akobo town and surrounding villages are hereby ordered to either relocate to the nearest SSPDF-controlled areas or leave for areas they deem safer,” Koang told journalists in Juba.
“The above orders are being issued in advance in order to avoid unnecessary collateral damage. We have given this order because we are done with recapturing bases that we had lost in December 2025 and early January 2026,” he said.
Tensions between the two forces escalated after an attack on the SSPDF base in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025 by the White Army, a militia that the government claimed is linked to the SPLA-IO.
Since then, the SSPDF and opposition forces have been fighting in Unity, Upper Nile, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria states. 

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Affected by the tensions in the Middle East, Brent oil price rose to around 91 dollars per barrel by 3 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), surging around 7 percent from the previous trading day, News.az reports, citing BBC.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States will accept no agreement with Iran short of “unconditional surrender,” one day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Iran is not requesting a ceasefire and does not see any reason to negotiate with Washington.
Qatar’s energy minister has said that oil prices would hit 150 dollars per barrel without a quick end to the conflict, according to a report by the Financial Times. 

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The figures do not include the many U.S. citizens who have relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States, the department said in a statement, News.az reports, citing Xinhua.
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Several flights have returned hundreds of U.S. citizens to the United States, with additional flights scheduled to take place over the coming days, as security conditions allow, said the statement.
Most of the 24,000 U.S. citizens were able to return on their own using commercial transportation, according to media reports.
The Trump administration has been criticized for not arranging timely evacuations for U.S. citizens amid the escalating conflict.
On social media, many stranded U.S. citizens said they encountered closed airports, canceled flights and what they called troubling or unclear guidance from the U.S. government as they tried to find ways to leave the region. 

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