The CIA is reportedly expanding its armed drone programme in Africa and will start using a military base in the Nigerien desert to carry out raids on areas where ISIL and al-Qaeda are believed to operate. The New York Times reported on Monday that a secret military base in Dirkou, about 250km south of the Libyan border, will soon begin deploying armed drones in an apparent loosening of Obama-era limits on US raids outside conventional warzones. According to the Times, the Pentagon has already carried out five drone raids in Libya this year, including one two weeks ago. While the drones are currently being flown out of bases in Sicily and Niamey, Niger's capital, armed drones "would almost certainly" be deployed from Dirkou "in the near future". The Times added that one of its journalists said he saw "gray aircraft - about the size of Predator drones, which are 27 feet long - flying at least three times over six days in early August".

Tech went to Washington this week, and their biggest problems followed them. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg faced Congress, and though Google CEO Larry Paige was invited, he declined to make the trip--a move that didn't ingratiate him with Congressional watchdog Mark Warner. One uninvited guest did make an appearance at the hearings, however: Alex Jones. He heckled Dorsey and a CNN reporter, and was captured by a photographer's lens for what is one of the most perfect (and surreal) photos of 2018. Though Jones' DC antics were mild compared with his past bad behavior, being that physically close to his trolling seems to have finally woken up Dorsey; Twitter permanently banned Jones the next day.

People in the satellite industry are fond of automobile analogies. Like this one: Imagine that you buy a car and need it to run for 15 years, but you can't change the oil or replace the alternator, let alone refuel it. That, they say, is the state of satellites. Once they've slipped the surly bonds of Earth, satellites pretty much just have to work, from the time they unfurl from their rocket fairing to the day they shut down for good. But engineers now want to make satellites actually like cars: fixable, updatable, soup-up-able.

This eccentric inventor has found a way to avoid traffic jams - with his own flying drone. Kyxz Mendoza from Quezon City, Philippines, started work six years ago on his incredible flying car. Earlier this month he completed the first successful test flight - soaring some 25ft above the ground. Kyxz calles his flying car the'Ultralight Aircraft' and he now plans to mass produce it with a two-seater version added to to the range. Incredible footage shows Filipino inventor Kyxz Mendoza undertaking the car's first successful test flight earlier this month He said: 'We've been having bad weather so it took as a while after our deadline before we can finally show it to our followers.

A key opponent of high-tech, automated weapons known as'killer robots' is blaming countries like the U.S. and Russia for blocking consensus at a U.N.-backed conference, where most countries wanted to ensure that humans stay at the controls of lethal machines. Coordinator Mary Wareham of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots spoke Monday after experts from dozens of countries agreed before dawn Saturday at the U.N. in Geneva on 10 'possible guiding principles' about such'Lethal Automated Weapons Systems.' Point 2 said: 'Human responsibility for decisions on the use of weapons systems must be retained since accountability cannot be transferred to machines.' Killer robots must be banned to prevent unlawful killings, injuries and other violations of human rights'before it's too late', according to Amnesty International. Wareham said such language wasn't binding, adding that'it's time to start laying down some rules now.' Members of the LAWS conference will meet again in November. Last week Amnesty International said killer robots must be banned to prevent unlawful killings, injuries and other violations of human rights'before it's too late', as the talks kicked off.

Getting an extra pair of arms is now as easy as putting on a backpack. Researchers at the University of Tokyo and Keio University created a telepresence robotic system called'Fusion' that has a head and two arms that are controlled remotely. The remote person not only sees what the wearer sees, but they can also control the robot's arms, or even use the robot to manipulate the wearer's arms. A telepresence robot is a remote-controlled device that typically moves around using a set of wheels. They've been adapted for a variety of uses, from communications tools for consumers or even for use by businesses.

A robotic craft has made history as the first unmanned sailboat to cross the Atlantic after a 1,800-mile (3,000 km) journey from Newfoundland in Canada to Ireland. The boat's two-and-a-half-month journey saw it cross the churning North Atlantic as part of the Microtransat Challenge - a transatlantic race for autonomous boats. The SB Met, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, is the first vessel to complete the challenge after more than 20 attempts by various teams. It's a milestone that shows the technology for unmanned boats is robust enough to carry out extended missions that can dramatically cut costs for ocean research, border security, and surveillance in rough or remote waters. They're part of wider efforts to develop autonomous marine vessels such as robotic ferries and cargo ships that could be operating by the end of the decade.

A new startup is aiming to change the interview process as we know it - by using robots to find the best candidates. Canadian firm Knockri has built an AI that reads the facial expressions and eye movement of job seekers in videos they record during their applications. It uses these subtle tells to analyse whether you have the necessary skills and rates you on how well you fit the job - such as confidence or collaboration. With big firms like IBM already signed up for the service, Knockri claims its tool offers a more impartial judgement of job candidates than human recruiters. A new startup is aiming to change the interview process as we know it - by using robots to find the best candidates.

Robots are no strangers to the Japanese, but the sight of a motion-sensing dinosaur greeting you at the reception of a hotel is likely to startle even the most ardent automaton aficionado. It might be one the weirdest check-in experiences possible, but that's exactly the point at the Henn na chain - whose name means'weird' - which bills itself as offering the world's first hotels with mechanical staff. The first Henn na Hotel opened in Nagasaki in 2015, and was certified the following year by Guinness World Records as the world's first hotel with robots on its staff. The travel agency group that operates the chain now runs eight hotels across the country, all with robots on the staff, some of them dinosaurs, but others taking a more humanoid shape. Robots are no strangers to the Japanese, but the sight of a motion-sensing dinosaur (pictured) greeting you at the reception of a hotel is likely to startle even the most ardent automaton aficionado.

Nintendo has delayed a crucial video presentation around its Nintendo Switch and 3DS games consoles after a powerful earthquake hit Hokkaido, Japan. The major quake, which struck shortly before 3am local time this morning (7pm BST/ 2pm ET yesterday), left 5.3 million without electricity and at least eight people dead. More than 150 people have been injured in the natural disaster, which measured around 6.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. Nintendo had planned to reveal details around a slew of new video game titles coming to its Nintendo Switch and 3DS consoles in time for the holiday season. However, the video presentation, which is streamed live on the Japanese firm's website as well as YouTube, will be rescheduled.