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Azerbaijan Says It Is Evacuating Its Diplomats from Iran for Their Own Safety

This image shows damages of a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP)
This image shows damages of a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP)
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Azerbaijan Says It Is Evacuating Its Diplomats from Iran for Their Own Safety

This image shows damages of a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP)
This image shows damages of a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP)

Azerbaijan said on Friday it was withdrawing diplomatic staff from neighboring Iran, a day after Iranian drones targeted an airport and a school in an Azerbaijani border region. 

The border incident sparked fears of the Middle East war spilling over into the Caucasus region, with Tehran blaming Israel -- Azerbaijan's ally -- of staging a provocation. 

Thursday's attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhchivan bordering Iran. 

One hit the airport and another exploded near a school, Baku said. Four people were wounded. 

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of "terrorism" and threatened retaliation. 

The general staff of Iran's armed forces said it had not carried out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel. 

"Azerbaijan is evacuating its diplomatic personnel from Iran. The process applies to both the embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Tabriz," Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on Friday. 

"Work to this effect is currently underway," he added. 

"Yesterday, during a phone call with Iran's foreign minister (Abbas Araghchi), we discussed this issue seriously. 

"The Iranian side promised to thoroughly investigate the incident and we expect results," he added. 

Iran has long expressed concern that Israel -- a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier -- could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks. 

In June 2025, Azerbaijan reassured Tehran that it would not allow such use of its territory after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets. 

Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran's 83 million citizens. 

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World

Türkiye Condemns Closing of 8 Turkish Schools in Greece

View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Condemns Closing of 8 Turkish Schools in Greece

View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Türkiye's foreign ministry on Sunday condemned a decision by Greece to close eight schools catering to the country's Turkish-speaking minority, accusing its neighbor of discrimination.

In a communique, the ministry condemned "systematic practices aimed at undermining the right to education of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace".

"We once again call on Greece to act in accordance with its contractual obligations regarding minority rights and fundamental rights," it added.

The number of Turkish-language schools left in the north-east region of Thrace -- near the border between the two countries -- is now 76.

Greek authorities have said they were closing schools, and not solely in Turkish-speaking areas, because of declining numbers of pupils.

According to 2021 statistics, some 120,000 Muslims of Turkish origin live in Thrace, where they enjoy specific rights in regards to religion and education under the Treaty of Lausanne, signed after the First World War.

World

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Peru’s Andes Region, Killing at Least 5 People

This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
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5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Peru’s Andes Region, Killing at Least 5 People

This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Andes region of Peru, killing at least five people, local authorities said on Sunday.

More than 20 people were injured, and 300 have been displaced so far.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake struck on Saturday at 9:24 p.m. local time, with its epicenter located 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) west-southwest of the city of Sicaya, in Huancayo province. The incident took place at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles).

Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said in a statement the total number of people missing is still unknown.

Several buildings collapsed or suffered structural damage, including the local church and convent.

Images broadcast by local media captured the anguish of victims’ relatives in one of the hardest-hit areas, the agricultural region of Chongo Bajo, where residents huddled under blankets outside severely damaged homes. Animals were also seen under the rubble.

In 2007, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the province of Pisco in the Ica region, leaving nearly 600 people dead.

Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, as the country is located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

World

UN Watchdog Calls for Restraint as Iran Says US Attacked Unfinished

Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Watchdog Calls for Restraint as Iran Says US Attacked Unfinished

Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)

The UN's nuclear watchdog called for restraint on Sunday after Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said the United States had attacked an under-construction nuclear power plant in the country's southwest.

The US and Iran have been trading escalating attacks for days, and Washington carried out fresh airstrikes on Sunday to "punish" Iran for the deaths of two US service members in Jordan on Friday -- its first reported losses since the return to open hostilities in the Middle East war.

Tehran's Atomic Energy Organization said US forces "in an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law, attacked the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant... with a number of projectiles on Sunday", according to a statement carried by state TV.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it was looking into the reports, noting the plant "is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA".

While the incident "is not believed to pose any radiological risk", IAEA director Rafael Grossi reiterated his "call for military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites", the agency said, in a post on X.

Iran's nuclear program has long been a major point of contention between it and the West, including in negotiations aimed at ending the current war.

While foreign powers including the US and Israel suspect it of seeking a bomb, Tehran has always maintained its program is peaceful, though it insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.