A new dress-code dispute in Azerbaijan’s public schools has sparked protests by parents and students after reports that girls wearing hijabs, or Islamic headscarf, were turned away from classes. The protests come after a new ban on clothing deemed incompatible with the secular nature of education.

Azerbaijan’s new school-uniform rules have sparked protests after reports emerged of schools turning away girls wearing hijabs, renewing debate over religious freedom and secular education.

In mid-September, Belarus released 25 prisoners held in politically linked cases after the United States agreed to ease sanctions. Now three US senators are calling on President Donald Trump's administration to pursue a similar approach to free political detainees in Azerbaijan.

The Trump administration is trying to turn a US-brokered opening between Armenia and Azerbaijan into something more tangible: a transport corridor linking Central Asia and the South Caucasus with Western markets -- and an investment opportunity for American companies.

The United States is set to unveil the next stage of TRIPP, a planned transport corridor through southern Armenia that Washington says could open new trade routes linking the South Caucasus and Central Asia with Western markets.