At least 17 Rohingya refugees were killed, and 30 remain missing after a boat headed for Malaysia capsized in bad weather in the Bay of Bengal earlier this week, aid workers in Myanmar said on Thursday. Eight people have reportedly been rescued from the boat thus far.
The UN Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Korea’s human rights situation since 2017 next week, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on Thursday.
Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande travelled to the UK on Wednesday, where he will review the 201st Sovereign’s Parade of Commissioning Course 223 at the prestigious Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. The COAS will also meet several defence officials in the UK to discuss matters of common interest, including defence cooperation, counter-terrorism efforts, and strategic planning. The visit aims to strengthen the cooperation and understanding between the two Armies in defence and security.
India and the US will hold the 19th edition of the joint exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ scheduled to take place in Alaska from 25 September to 8 October. Soldiers from the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army will participate in this 14-day-long exercise. The exercise will focus on peacekeeping, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, and the employment of an integrated battle group.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN said that Tehran and Washington had sealed an agreement on a “5 to 5” prisoner swap. According to the statement, a deal was made through the mediation of a third country, by which five Iranian individuals detained in the US would be released. The Iranian envoy also confirmed the release of five US citizens from Evin Prison in Tehran.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry reported that the country’s demining specialists will train Ukrainian sappers, citing Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Seymour Mardaliev. The Mardaliev-led delegation met with Deputy Interior Minister Bohdan Drapiatyi in Kyiv to discuss the organisation of such training on Azerbaijan territory.