Headline

North Korea Threatens To Down US Spy Planes Violating Its Airspace

Published

3 years ago

July 11, 2023

North Korea on Monday threatened to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemned Washington’s plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.

A spokesperson for the North’s Ministry of National Defence said the United States has “intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level”, with “provocative” flights made by US spy aircraft over eight straight days this month, and one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea “several times”.

“There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea,” the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The spokesperson cited past incidents when Pyongyang shot down US aircraft, and warned the United States would pay for its “frantically staged” air espionage.

Late on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said that a US spy aircraft had violated the country’s eastern airspace twice on Monday morning, according to a statement.

Kim Yo Jong said that the North would not respond directly to US reconnaissance activities outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone, but warned that it would take “decisive action” if the US military crosses its maritime military demarcation line.

In a separate statement carried by KCNA Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong warned that the US military would face “a very critical flight” in case of a new intrusion by a US aircraft.

The earlier KCNA statement also slammed the planned deployment of US strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula as “the most undisguised nuclear blackmail” against North Korea, saying it posed a grave threat to regional and global security.

“The present situation clearly proves that the situation of the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the threshold of nuclear conflict due to the US provocative military action,” it read.

Washington said in April that it would send a nuclear-armed ballistic submarine to make the first visit to a South Korean port in decades, without specifying the exact timing.

North Korea has conducted multiple sanctions-defying launches this year, including test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in May attempting to put a military spy satellite into orbit.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has ramped up defence cooperation with Washington in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and powerful US strategic assets.

Yoon is set to attend a NATO summit in Lithuania this week, seeking stronger cooperation with NATO members over North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats, his office said.

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.