Bakou - Azerbaijanis have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes extending President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power in a referendum denounced by opposition and rights groups as a ploy to cement the Aliyev family's dynastic rule.

Bakou - Azerbaijan on Wednesday released jailed prominent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was convicted of corruption charges last year, triggering an international uproar.

Bakou - Azerbaijani rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus travelled to the Netherlands Tuesday for medical treatment after authorities lifted a travel ban in place since they were released from prison last year.

Bakou - Two ethnic Armenian troops died in fighting with Azerbaijani forces Friday as the archfoes accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that halted the worst outbreak of violence in decades over a disputed breakaway region.

- Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on Wednesday said they were largely observing a truce that halted four days of clashes which claimed scores of lives in the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

Stepanakert - Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists in Nagorny Karabakh on Tuesday announced a ceasefire after four days of bloodshed, as international powers scrambled to end the worst violence in decades over the disputed region.

- Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces rumbled on Sunday, despite Baku announcing a ceasefire after the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region sparked international pressure to stop fighting.

Bakou - Azerbaijan on Friday sentenced five men to up to 13 years in prison for beating to death a journalist who had criticised an Azeri football team player on Facebook.

Bakou - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday freed 14 jailed rights activists and opposition politicians in an amnesty, a move welcomed by the European Union and rights activists.

Bakou - Azerbaijan has finally extinguished a blaze at an offshore oil rig in the Caspian Sea which caught fire nearly two weeks ago, averting "a major oil spill", officials said Thursday.

Bakou - Azerbaijan on Wednesday released top rights campaigner Leyla Yunus from prison because of her deteriorating health, less than a month after freeing her activist husband.

Bakou - Azerbaijan on Monday recovered the bodies of six more oil workers as hopes faded of finding more survivors following a storm which caused their offshore oil rig to catch fire in the Caspian Sea.

Bakou - Azerbaijan was on Sunday searching for 29 missing oil workers after a storm caused their offshore oil rig to catch fire, as the president ordered a day of mourning.

Bakou - One person was killed and 30 oil workers were missing Saturday after the rig they were working on in the Caspian Sea was engulfed by a fire, Azerbaijan's state energy firm SOCAR said.

Bakou - Two policemen and four alleged members of a radical Islamist group have been killed in a shootout during a raid in Azerbaijan, the interior ministry said Thursday.

Bakou - Azerbaijan on Thursday released from prison a prominent campaigner sentenced to a lengthy jail term but left his ailing wife, the country's top rights activist, behind bars.

Bakou - The ruling party of the oil-rich former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan won a majority in disputed parliamentary polls that cemented President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power, final results showed Monday.

Bakou - Azerbaijan's ruling party won an outright majority Sunday in parliamentary polls that were boycotted by the mainstream opposition, near-complete results showed, cementing strongman President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power.

Bakou - Azerbaijan voted Sunday in parliamentary polls expected to cement President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power and boycotted by the mainstream opposition as a sham.Polling stations closed at 7:00 pm time (1500 GMT).

Bakou - Armenian forces killed three Azerbaijani troops in fierce clashes overnight, Azerbaijan said Monday, as tensions spiral in the Caucasus neighbours' protracted conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.