Russia, China block UN from saying North Korea violated sanctions

  • Russia and China have blocked the UN Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea from declaring that Pyongyang breached the annual limit for importing refined petroleum products which are key for its economy, two U.N. diplomats said.
  • The United States and 25 other countries accused North Korea of violating U.N. sanctions by importing far more than the annual limit of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products.

Iran claims it shot down US ‘spy’ drone over its territory, America denies

  • Iran has shot down a US ‘spy’ drone over its territory after it violated Iranian airspace, its Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday.
  • As per reports, a US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by Iran Air Force in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan. Iran has identified the drone as an ‘RQ-4 Global Hawk’.
  • However, America has rejected the claims. “No US aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace today,” Navy Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US military’s Central Command said.

AN-32 crash: Six bodies, remains of seven crew members recovered, say reports

  • Six bodies and the remains of seven crew members of the Indian Air Force’s AN-32 transporter aircraft have been recovered from the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh, defence spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said in Shillong on Thursday.
  • The bodies and remains of the crew members were found 17 days after the transporter aircraft crashed soon after taking off from Assam.