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Armenia-Azerbaijan Fighting Rages as Macron Says Turkey Crossed 'Red Line'

Mavrik Grigoryan, 72, stands inside his house damaged by shelling during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, in the disputed region's city of Martuni. (AFP)
Mavrik Grigoryan, 72, stands inside his house damaged by shelling during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, in the disputed region's city of Martuni. (AFP)
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Armenia-Azerbaijan Fighting Rages as Macron Says Turkey Crossed 'Red Line'

Mavrik Grigoryan, 72, stands inside his house damaged by shelling during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, in the disputed region's city of Martuni. (AFP)
Mavrik Grigoryan, 72, stands inside his house damaged by shelling during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, in the disputed region's city of Martuni. (AFP)

Clashes raged between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on Friday despite calls for a ceasefire, as French President Emmanuel Macron warned Turkey against the alleged deployment of extremists to the war zone.

Macron said intelligence reports had established that 300 fighters from "extremist groups" in Syria had passed through Turkey en route to Azerbaijan, saying that "a red line has been crossed" and demanding an explanation.

Ankara is backing its longtime ally Baku in the fighting over Nagorny Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian province that broke away from Azerbaijan in a bitterly fought war in the 1990s.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the region and new fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades.

Nearly 200 people have been confirmed killed, including more than 30 civilians, and there are fears of the fighting expanding into an all-out, multi-front war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

As the clashes entered a sixth day on Friday, the defense ministry of Karabakh's separatist government reported the deaths of 54 more of its troops.

It said there was fighting all along the frontline after "a relatively calmer night".

Azerbaijan's defense ministry also said the fighting was ongoing, and both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev have rejected calls for talks.

Russia, US, France appeal for talks
Russia and Western countries have pressed for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations, while Turkey has been fierce in its support for Baku, accusing Armenia of occupying Azerbaijani lands.

Macron issued his warning to Ankara at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, urging "all NATO partners to face up to the behavior of a NATO member".

In a joint appeal on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving their longstanding territorial dispute.

Russia also suggested it was making progress in diplomatic efforts with Turkey.

It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu had confirmed they were ready for "close coordination" to stabilize the situation.

Yerevan is in a military alliance of ex-Soviet countries led by Moscow and has accused Turkey of directly supporting Azerbaijan in the fighting, by deploying aircraft in support of Baku and sending mercenaries from northern Syria to join the fighting.

Armenia has recorded the deaths of 158 soldiers and 13 civilians since Sunday. Azerbaijan has not reported any military casualties but said 19 civilians were killed after Armenian shelling.

Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives, but it is still not recognized as independent by any country, including Armenia.

Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilization Sunday, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

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World

China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
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China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song

China accused the US on Thursday of distorting its defense policy in an effort to thwart an improvement in China-India ties.

Foreign ministry ‌spokesperson Lin ‌Jian was ‌responding ⁠to a question ‌at a press briefing on whether China might exploit a recent easing of tensions with India over disputed border areas to keep ⁠ties between the United States ‌and India from ‍deepening.

China views ‍its ties with ‍India from a strategic and long-term perspective, Lin said, adding that the border issue was a matter between China and India and "we object to ⁠any country passing judgment about this issue".

The Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday that China "probably seeks to capitalize on decreased tension ... to stabilize bilateral relations and prevent the deepening of US-India ties".

World

UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
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UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP

Four United Nations rights experts on Wednesday condemned the US partial naval blockade of Venezuela, determining it illegal armed aggression and calling on the US Congress to intervene.

The United States has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and has recently intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions, AFP said.

"There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the UN experts said in a joint statement.

A blockade is a prohibited use of military force against another country under the UN Charter, they added.

"It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognized as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly's 1974 Definition of Aggression," they said.

"As such, it is an armed attack under article 51 of the Charter -- in principle giving the victim state a right of self-defense."

US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of using oil, the South American country's main resource, to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders, and kidnappings".

Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking. It says Washington is seeking to overthrow its president, Nicolas Maduro, in order to seize Venezuelan oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges, without showing evidence, were transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed.

Congress should 'intervene'

"These killings amount to violations of the right to life. They must be investigated and those responsible held accountable," said the experts.

"Meanwhile, the US Congress should intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they added.

They called on countries to take measures to stop the blockade and illegal killings, and bring perpetrators justice.

The four who signed the joint statement are: Ben Saul, special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism; George Katrougalos, the expert on promoting a democratic and equitable international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, who covers the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

UN experts are independent figures mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.

On Tuesday at the UN in New York, Venezuela, having requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council, accused Washington of "the greatest extortion known in our history".

World

North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
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North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a nuclear submarine factory and received a message from Russia's Vladimir Putin hailing the countries' "invincible friendship", Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.

North Korea and Russia have drawn closer since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, and Pyongyang has sent troops to fight for Russia, AFP said.

In return, Russia is sending North Korea financial aid, military technology and food and energy supplies, analysts say.

The "heroic" efforts of North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region "clearly proved the invincible friendship" between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in a message to Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Their work demonstrated the nations' "militant fraternity", Putin said in the message received by Pyongyang last week.

The provisions of the "historic treaty" the two leaders signed last year, which includes a mutual defense clause, had been fulfilled "thanks to our joint efforts", Putin wrote.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to Kursk, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Around 2,000 troops have been killed and thousands more have been wounded, according to South Korean estimates.

North Korea acknowledged this month that its troops in Kursk had been assigned to clear mines and that some had died on deployment.

KCNA reported Putin's letter on the same day that it published details of Kim's undated recent visit to a manufacturing base for nuclear-powered submarines.

There, the North Korean leader vowed to counter the "threat" of South Korea producing its own such vessels.

US President Donald Trump has given the green light for South Korea to build "nuclear-powered attack submarines", though key details of the project remain uncertain.

Photos published by KCNA showed Kim walking alongside a purportedly 8,700-tonne submarine at an indoor assembly site, surrounded by officials and his daughter Kim Ju Ae.

In another image, Kim Jong Un smiles during an official briefing as Kim Ju Ae stands beside him.

Pyongyang would view Seoul developing nuclear subs as "an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty", Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.

It was therefore "indispensable" to "accelerate the radical development of the modernization and nuclear weaponization of the naval force", he said.

Kim clarified a naval reorganization plan and learned about research into "new underwater secret weapons", KCNA said, without giving details.

Pyongyang's defense ministry said it would consider "countermeasures" against US "nuclear muscle flexing", a separate report said Thursday.

- Help from Russia? -

Only a handful of countries have nuclear-powered submarines, and the United States considers its technology among the most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.

In the North's first comments on the US-South Korea deal, a commentary piece by KCNA last month said the program was a "dangerous attempt at confrontation" that could lead to a "nuclear domino phenomenon".

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP the submarine photos raise "considerable speculation" over whether Russia helped North Korea assemble a nuclear-powered submarine "within such a short time frame".

Kim also reportedly oversaw the test launch on Wednesday of "new-type high-altitude long-range anti-air missiles" over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

The projectiles hit mock targets at an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles), KCNA said. That height, if correct, would be in space.

One photo showed a missile ascending into the sky in a trail of intense orange flame, while another showed Kim walking in front of what appeared to be a military vehicle equipped with a vertical missile launcher.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had been aware of the launch preparations and had braced for the firing in advance.

"South Korean and US intelligence authorities are currently closely analyzing the specifications," it said.