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How uncrewed narco subs could transform the Colombian drug trade

MIT Technology Review

Fast, stealthy, and cheap--autonomous, semisubmersible drone boats carrying tons of cocaine could be international law enforcement's nightmare scenario. A big one just came ashore. Colombian military officials intercepted this 40-foot-long uncrewed fiberglass "narco sub" in the ocean just off Tayrona National Park. On a bright morning last April, a surveillance plane operated by the Colombian military spotted a 40-foot-long shark-like silhouette idling in the ocean just off Tayrona National Park. It was, unmistakably, a "narco sub," a stealthy fiberglass vessel that sails with its hull almost entirely underwater, used by drug cartels to move cocaine north. The plane's crew radioed it in, and eventually nearby coast guard boats got the order, routine but urgent: Intercept. In Cartagena, about 150 miles from the action, Captain Jaime González Zamudio, commander of the regional coast guard group, sat down at his desk to watch what happened next.


Aid reaches Sudan's Kordofan as over 30 countries alarmed by drone attacks

Al Jazeera

Aid reaches Sudan's Kordofan as over 30 countries alarmed by drone attacks United Nations aid trucks have reached an area in Sudan that has been cut off from relief efforts amid warnings that deadly drone strikes are making the hunger crisis in that part of the country worse. The UN said on Wednesday that its aid trucks had reached Dilling and Kadugli, in central Sudan's Kordofan region, with "life-saving" humanitarian supplies. "Dilling and the nearby city of Kadugli have been largely cut off from aid for more than two years, leaving communities with severe shortages of humanitarian assistance," the UN said. The aid delivery came as more than 30 countries issued a statement on Wednesday expressing "grave concern" at a recent "severe escalation" in drone attacks amid "heavy fighting" in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The 28 European Union countries, plus Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, warned that "intentional attacks" against aid workers and "wilfully impeding" relief supplies, "may amount to war crimes".







World's smallest possum may be hiding in South Australia

Popular Science

Environment Animals Wildlife World's smallest possum may be hiding in South Australia The tiny mammal weighs less than one pound. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Weighing less than one pound, the little pygmy possum () is one of the smallest mammals in Australia. These miniscule mammals feed on nectar, pollen, and insects, and differ from opossums . Opossums live in the United States and parts of Canada and have a bare tail instead of a furry tail.