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A senior North Korean official has demanded that the Republic of Korea clarify the drone incident, according to KCNA.

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Pyongyang, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Kim Yo-jong, deputy department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, called on the Republic of Korea (ROK) to provide a "detailed explanation" about the drone that entered North Korean airspace, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.

In a press release published the day before, she assessed the ROK Ministry of Defense's official position that it had no intention of provoking or irritating North Korea as a wise choice to prolong her life, the agency said.

"They must give a detailed explanation about the drone that invaded the southern border of our Republic," KCNA quoted Kim Yo Jong as saying.

She further criticized the ROK, which called the incident a "civilian matter," for trying to downplay its significance, and emphasized that the main question is not whether the latest drone incident was linked to military or civilian sources.

Kim Yo-jong noted that the video data collected by the drone concerned sensitive sites, including a uranium mine and its tailings pond, the former Kaesong Industrial Complex, and North Korean border posts.

“I want to clarify that no matter who committed it—whether it’s a civil organization or a private individual—the authorities, the so-called state security entity, cannot escape responsibility for the incident,” Kim Yo-jong said.

According to KCNA, the incident occurred on January 4. In response, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation, tasking military and police task forces to verify the details.

The ROK Ministry of Defense denies any involvement in the incident, stating that military drones were not used on the date indicated by North Korea and that the drone in question does not match any model used by the ROK Armed Forces. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Chinese scientists have developed “smart eyes” for a robotic cattle breeder.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese scientists have successfully developed a lightweight model for recognizing the behavior of beef cattle in pastures from videos captured by a four-legged robot, improving the efficiency of feeding and herd management.

The lightweight MASM-YOLO model was developed by the Institute of Agricultural Information of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the related research was published in the journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture.

Accurate and rapid identification of typical cattle behaviour is fundamental for disease diagnosis, rut monitoring, calving prediction and health assessment.

MASM-YOLO enables accurate detection of various behaviors in complex environments, making it suitable for real-time operation on board a mobile robot.

By integrating a multi-dimensional focusing and extraction network, adaptive metering, and other technologies, MASM-YOLO solves key problems such as strong illumination changes, motion blur, and lens occlusion.

MASM-YOLO provides rapid recognition of six typical beef cattle behaviors, including feeding, resting, and moving, and achieves an optimal balance between recognition accuracy and computational efficiency.

This model provides key technical support for the full-scale development of livestock herding robots. -0-

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Urumqi Airport has seen a significant increase in tourist traffic between China and Russia.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Beijing, January 11 (Xinhua) — From December 1, 2025, when Russia introduced a visa-free regime for Chinese citizens, to January 8, 2026, 39 passenger flights were recorded between Tianshan International Airport in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Russia, with tourist flow amounting to 4,635 people.

According to the airport's customs service, the two indicators increased by 95 percent and 114 percent year-on-year, respectively, indicating the growing activity of human exchanges between the two countries following the introduction of a mutual visa-free regime.

As a reminder, China has introduced a trial visa-free regime for Russian citizens holding regular passports from September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026.

In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on December 1, according to which, based on the principle of reciprocity, Chinese citizens will be able to enter the Russian Federation visa-free for tourism and business trips of up to 30 days until September 14, 2026.

To accommodate rapidly growing passenger traffic, customs officials at Tianshan Airport have upgraded eight intelligent screening channels, reducing the time required for each passenger to clear customs control to approximately 6 seconds.

Additionally, airport customs offers multilingual policy consultations at passenger screening points equipped with translation devices. They also coordinate with border control, tax authorities, and airport administration to optimize VAT refunds for international tourists departing the country.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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The Chinese-developed Tianma-1000 unmanned transport aircraft completed its maiden flight.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — China's self-developed unmanned transport aircraft Tianma-1000 (Skyhorse-1000) successfully completed its first flight test on Sunday, showing good flight performance, according to China North Industries Group Corporation Limited.

This aircraft performs functions such as logistics transportation, emergency rescue operations, and material delivery. It is the first low-cost transport platform that operates at medium altitudes and offers adaptability to challenging high-altitude terrain, ultra-short takeoffs and landings, and rapid mode switching between cargo transportation and airdrop.

According to the report, the aircraft's maximum flight altitude is up to 8,000 meters, the takeoff and landing run is less than 200 meters, the maximum flight range is 1,800 kilometers, and the maximum payload is 1 ton.

When performing missions such as supplying remote areas, conducting emergency rescue operations, and urgently delivering supplies, the Tianma-1000 can transport essential cargo, including food, medicine, and equipment, in a single trip, in quantities sufficient for several days. This has provided a solution to the problem of transporting material resources to areas with special conditions.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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A dragon boat race on ice brought together young people from Cambridge and Oxford with their Chinese peers.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

HARBIN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — The chill air over the frozen Songhua River in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province filled with cheers on Saturday as students from elite Chinese and British universities took part in the first-of-its-kind ice dragon boat race.

The first international ice dragon boat friendship race, the HPU-Cambridge-Oxford Cup, was held in Harbin, the provincial capital and known as China's "Ice City." Fourteen teams participated, including those from Oxford, Cambridge, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), and universities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Macao.

"It was a fantastic experience. We really enjoyed it," said Edward Townsend, a Cambridge University student, adding that it was their first time trying dragon boat racing on ice and that battling the icy cold was a real challenge.

"It was really hard for us to adapt. But I think we did it," added E. Townsend. His team took first place in the race.

Unlike traditional dragon boating, ice dragon boating requires athletes to use ice axes to propel the boat forward across solid ice.

Daniel Foran, a team member from Oxford University, described the technical problem.

"It requires a lot of upper-body strength, whereas regular rowing primarily uses the legs and lower body," said D. Foran. He found the technical differences "very interesting to explore" and thanked the KhPU coach for his generous advice and coaching.

In addition to the competition, participants also enjoyed several cultural events, visiting the Big World of Ice and Snow theme park, feeding the park's Amur tigers, and sampling local cuisine.

The aim of the race is to build a "boat" for mutual education among young people, combining the rowing traditions of Oxford and Cambridge with those of HIT, said Chen Jie, secretary of the Party Committee of Harbin Institute of Technology, which initiated the event.

As noted in the guidelines for the development of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China will expand high-level opening-up in the education sector.

Yang Dan, an official from the Chinese Ministry of Education, said in a video address at the opening ceremony that the "Friendship Race" is a sporting event that combines Harbin's ice and snow features, tradition and innovation, education and sports.

"I hope that the ice meeting will serve as a positive start for youth exchanges between China and the UK, as well as an important link for universities to expand cooperation and jointly cultivate talent," said Yang Dan.

E. Townsend hopes to continue his collaboration with HPU and to meet HPU students again in the future.

“Perhaps in the future we will be able to hold boat races with Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, where friends from HPU can come,” he said. -0-

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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The fact-finding mission calls on Iran to stop violence against protesters and restore internet access.

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Source: United Nations – United Nations –

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January 10, 2026 Human rights

The UN-mandated Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran has called on the country's authorities to immediately restore internet access and end the brutal crackdown on ongoing protests across the country.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it was alarmed by credible reports that security forces had been ordered to "decisively" and without restraint suppress the protests, which are now in their third week.

On the evening of January 8, internet and mobile phone service were shut down in Iran, severely limiting public access to information amid escalating violence. Protests began on December 28 following the collapse of the Iranian currency and have since spread to at least 46 cities across the country.

As of January 7, more than 40 people, including at least five children, were reported killed in several provinces, including Qom, Yasuj, Kermanshah, Ilam, and Lorestan. Iran's parliament also reported security personnel fatalities.

Respect for fundamental human rights

"The fact-finding mission reiterates that Iranian women, men and children deserve the right to live in safety, dignity and with full respect for their rights, including the right to peaceful protest, free from oppressive violence, intimidation or state reprisals," the statement said.

“It also emphasizes that threats or acts of unilateral military intervention by third states are contrary to international law,” the document notes.

The mission called on the Iranian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, and to release without preconditions all persons arbitrarily detained for exercising their legitimate rights.

The mission is reportedly reviewing videos and photographs showing security forces opening fire on protesters. Other video footage shows buildings and vehicles being set on fire in the streets.

The mission also expressed concern about the use of force in ethnic minority areas, where the response was reportedly particularly brutal. In one incident, security forces allegedly raided a hospital in Ilam, using tear gas and beating patients and medical staff.

It is noted that the current crackdown is repeating patterns documented during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests that erupted in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman detained for violating mandatory hijab regulations. Those protests were accompanied by accusations of gross human rights violations and systemic impunity.

Fact-finding mission

The fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 is mandated to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that began in September 2022, particularly affecting women and children.

In April 2025, her mandate was extended for another year to examine allegations of recent and ongoing serious human rights violations.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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80 years ago, the very first session of the UN General Assembly began in London.

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Source: United Nations – United Nations –

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January 10, 2026 UN

Exactly 80 years ago, on January 10, 1946, the very first session of the United Nations General Assembly, the main deliberative body of the new international structure created after World War II to prevent future conflicts, opened in London.

The first meeting did more than formally launch the work of the UN. It became a symbol of hope, an attempt by humanity to rethink its own mistakes and create mechanisms for collective security.

The choice of London for the session was deeply symbolic: the British capital suffered severely from air raids during the war. In contrast to the optimistic atmosphere of San Francisco, where the UN Charter was signed, London served as a stark reminder of the need to maintain peace.

Delegations from 51 states that signed the UN Charter gathered in a hall in the Palace of Westminster. It was an international diplomatic forum of unprecedented scale. Belgian Paul-Henri Spaak, a distinguished diplomat and later one of the architects of European integration, was elected President of the historic session of the General Assembly.

The General Assembly had important matters to deal with: forming the main organs of the UN, deciding on the budget of the Organization and the location of its headquarters, and electing the UN Secretary-General.

Just two days after the opening of the session, the UN's principal body, the Security Council, was established, and on February 1, the Secretary-General was elected. He was Norwegian Foreign Minister Trygve Lie.

Photo by UN

On October 24, 1949, the cornerstone of the UN Headquarters building was laid at a special public meeting of the General Assembly in New York.

Initially, the Soviet Union supported the Norwegian diplomat's candidacy. But as disagreements between the West and the socialist bloc intensified, trust among UN member states began to decline. Eventually, the USSR accused the Secretary-General of aiding the United States during the Korean War. Unable to withstand the pressure, Trygve Lie resigned in 1952.

The first session consisted of two parts: on October 23, the General Assembly moved from London to Flushing Meadows, New York. This began the tradition of holding meetings in the United States, where the iconic UN headquarters building was later built.

The General Assembly is the sole universal body responsible for maintaining global peace and security, human development, eradicating poverty and infectious diseases, disarmament, ensuring human rights, and protecting the environment. Currently, 193 states participate in the General Assembly.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Mate: A drink that prolongs the life of the forest

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Source: United Nations – United Nations –

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January 10, 2026

© FAO/L. Olmedo

Local residents actively care for the araucaria forests. The Paraguayan holly grows among native trees and plants, and this environment promotes biodiversity, protects the soil, and regulates the hydrological cycle.

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D. Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to "protect Venezuelan oil revenues held by the U.S. Treasury Department" — White House

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

New York, January 10 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday declaring a national emergency to "protect Venezuelan oil revenues held in U.S. Treasury Department accounts from seizure or garnishment," thereby ensuring the funds are preserved "to advance the foreign policy objectives of the United States," according to a White House statement.

The executive order blocks any seizure, judgment, order, lien, enforcement, lien, or other legal process against funds in deposit with foreign governments, which refers to Venezuelan oil and cuttings revenues held in U.S. Treasury Department accounts, the White House said.

The order also prohibits any transfers or transactions involving these funds, except as specifically authorized, and repeals any previous orders that might have blocked or regulated them.

“The possibility of seizure or judicial proceedings against funds in deposit with foreign governments constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States that originates wholly or substantially outside the United States,” the statement said.

Funds held by foreign governments are the sovereign property of Venezuela, held by the United States for national and diplomatic purposes and not subject to private appropriation, the White House says.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on January 7 that the United States would not only sell Venezuela's oil reserves but would also permanently control sales of the country's oil production.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Two skiers died in an avalanche in southeastern France, media reports.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Paris, January 10 (Xinhua) — Two French skiers died on Saturday after being caught in an avalanche while off-piste in Val d'Isère, a commune in the French department of Savoie, local media reported.

According to the French newspaper Le Figaro, citing a statement from the Val d'Isère tourist information center, two victims were buried under 2.5 meters of snow, but rescuers were unable to revive them after they were discovered.

The report notes that both skiers did not have avalanche transceivers with them, and their location could only be determined by mobile phone signals, so rescuers had to comb the snow cover over an area measuring 10 meters by 15 meters.

As the publication adds, the victims suffered cardiac arrest, and the skiers could not be revived despite the best efforts of rescuers. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.