2 Hizbul militants killed; gunfight breaks out with security forces in J&K’s Kulgam

  • Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police said.      
  • Security forces started a cordon and search operation in Gopalpora village of Kulgam district after receiving reports about the presence of militants there.

ISRO launches radar imaging satellite RISAT-2B

  • In a pre-dawn launch on May 22, RISAT-2B, the country’s newest microwave Earth observation satellite, rode to its orbit 557 km above the ground.
  • The new satellite “will enhance India’s all-weather (space-based) capabilities in agriculture, forestry and disaster management”
  • Data that will come from the all-weather day-and-night satellite are considered to be vital for the Armed Forces as also agriculture forecasters and disaster relief agencies.

Iran President rejects talks with us amid heightening tensions

  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected talks with the United States on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said Iran would call and ask for negotiations “if and when they are ever ready”.
  • Tehran and Washington have escalated rhetoric against each other in recent weeks as the United States has tightened sanctions with what it says is the goal of pushing Iran to make concessions beyond the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal.