Armenia and Azerbaijan, two ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus, are locked in a decades-long territorial dispute. Deadly fighting erupted on Sunday, killing as many as 100 soldiers on both sides, with Armenia saying that it had lost 49 soldiers and Azerbaijan saying 50 had died.
It is the worst flare up of violence since September 2021 — when nearly 8,000 people died in a short but bloody war. At the heart of the stand-off between Yerevan and Baku is the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The new fighting has left Moscow — which has good relations with both sides — scrambling to mediate for a truce.
Where is Nagorno-Karabakh?
The mountainous, landlocked area lies in the Karabakh mountains — its name literally means "mountainous Karabakh". Its greatest expanse covered about 8,000 square kilometres. The multi-ethnic former Oblast, or region of the Russian Empire, is about 100 kilometres east of Armenia's border.
Russian Empire collapse
The Soviet authorities merged the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory with Azerbaijan in 1921.
After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenian separatists seized it in a move supported by Yerevan.
An ensuing war killed 30,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Despite a ceasefire mediated in 1994 by Russia, the US and France, peace negotiations struggle to move forward and fighting erupts frequently.
The latest clashes on Sunday involved Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists accusing each other of igniting the fighting that left both sides with casualties, including civilians.
It followed a flare-up along the border in July, which claimed the lives of 17 soldiers from both sides.
In April 2016, some 110 people were killed in the most serious fighting in years.
Armenia, a Christian country since the 4th century, has been rocked by political and economic instability since it gained independence from the former USSR.
The country's post-Soviet leadership was largely beholden to the interests of Russia and accused of blocking opposition to its rule and tampering with election results.
In the spring of 2018, mass street protests brought current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power. He has since clamped down on corruption and introduced popular judicial reforms.
Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea, has been under the authoritarian grip of a single family since 1993.
Heydar Aliyev, a former officer of the Soviet security services, the KGB, ruled the country with an iron fist until October 2003. He handed over power to his son, Ilham, weeks before his death.
Like his father, Ilham has quashed all opposition to his rule and in 2017 made his wife, Mehriban, the country's first vice president.
Turkey, with ambitions to be a regional power broker in the Caucasus, has thrown its weight behind oil-rich and Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan.
Their alliance is fuelled by a mutual mistrust of Armenia, and Ankara routinely issues strongly worded statements in support of Baku's ambitions to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh.
Yerevan harbours hostility towards Turkey over the massacres of some 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey under the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
More than 30 countries have recognised the killings as genocide, though Ankara fiercely disputes the term.
Russia, which maintains close ties with Armenia, is the major power broker in the region. It leads the Collective Security Treaty Organisation military alliance of ex-Soviet countries that includes Armenia.
Yerevan relies on Russian support and military guarantees because its defence budget is overshadowed by Azerbaijan's spending on arms.
Azerbaijan has recently begun leveraging oil revenue as part of an attempt to overhaul its image in the West.
Baku has invested in massive sponsorship deals including with the Euro 2020 football championship.
Four matches were held in the capital last year, after the tournament was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Azerbaijan has held Formula One grand prix races since 2016.
It has also tried to pitch itself to European countries as an alternative energy supplier to Russia.
On the international stage, Armenia has a vast and influential diaspora that fled during the Ottoman-era repressions.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, the late singer Charles Aznavour, and pop star and actress Cher all trace their roots to Armenia.
Some have appointed themselves unofficial ambassadors, like Kardashian who has been outspoken on the issue of the Armenian genocide.
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New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
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Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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