From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted Wednesday to impose a new round of targeted economic sanctions against North Korea. The sanctions are being imposed because of the North's September 9 nuclear test.

They are aimed at reducing the North's ability to raise funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They could cost more than $800 million a year.

United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien urged nations with influence to do everything within its power to protect civilians in eastern Aleppo.

O'Brien told an emergency Security Council meeting Wednesday that the city was in danger of becoming one giant graveyard. He said up to 25,000 people have been displaced from rebel-held districts in eastern Aleppo since Saturday.

A draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council is calling for a 10-day truce in Aleppo and for a cessation of hostilities.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power supports the resolution and called on Russia to stop blocking it.

"... unfortunate fact that the Security Council does not come together to answer the cries of the civilians that we have heard about again today, because Russia - a permanent member - doesn't want to." :Samantha Power.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed Wednesday to cut production in an effort to boost the price of petroleum.

Iran's oil minister said the cartel will cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day, the first time it has curbed oil output since 2008.

The United Nations announced Wednesday that the conflict in Afghanistan has internally displaced more than half a million people this year. That's the highest yearly number on record.

The figure surpasses last year's record by 15 percent.

This is VOA news.

A leaked recording of transmissions from the pilot of a plane that crashed Monday near Medellin, Colombia, indicated that the doomed plane had perhaps run out of fuel.

The plane had been carrying a Brazilian soccer club when it went down.

In a four-minute audio obtained by the Colombian media, the pilot can be heard repeatedly asking for permission to land due to "total electric failure" and lack of fuel.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he is completely removing himself from his global business empire to avoid conflicts of interest when he takes office in January.

Trump said in a series of Twitter comments Wednesday that he would relinquish control over his business.

Trump [did not] is not required by U.S. law to divest his holdings, but says he feels "it's visually important" to avoid any conflict of interest.

Trump continues to fill his domestic policy team. He has nominated former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary.

"Our first priority is going to be the tax plan and the tax plan has both the corporate aspects to it, lowering corporate taxes so we make U.S. companies the most competitive in the world, making sure we repatriate trillions of dollars back to the United States, and the personal income taxes where we're going to have the most significant middle income tax cut since Reagan."

Wilbur Ross was appointed to lead the Commerce Department.

The death toll from wildfires in the southern U.S. state of Tennessee rose to seven Wednesday when three more bodies were found.

Officials say the fires have burned 700 houses and businesses, most of them in and around the popular tourist town of Gatlinburg.

A team of prosecutors has ruled unanimously that no charges should be filed against the police officer who shot and killed a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina, last September.

District Attorney of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Andrew Murray said Wednesday he believes officer Brentley Vinson acted lawfully.

The case involves an altercation police officers had with the black suspect, Keith Lamont Scott. Scott's death triggered protests as well as two days of riots, which resulted in the death of one person and dozens of injuries and arrests.

The latest peace agreement between the Colombian government and the rebel group known as the FARC is just one step from approval after the country's Senate voted in favor of the agreement on Tuesday.

A Chinese state institution warned this week that the government is ready to set up an air defense identification zone over the contested South China Sea. That would give the Chinese the authority to screen foreign aircraft.

The measure would follow a series of steps to control movement of foreign ships in the same sea. It highlights China's intent to hold on to its vast maritime claims.

In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.