A 22,000-strong multinational African Union force known as AMISOM has been helping to support Somalia's fragile central government after more than two decades as a failed state. Both it and the U.S. military are trying to prepare Somalia's armed forces to take over the country's security before AMISOM's planned departure by the end of 2020.

Covert footage shows Apple preparing for the launch of the iPhone 8. As well as releasing its most dramatic handset ever, the company is hosting the announcement event at the Steve Jobs theatre on its brand new Apple Park, some parts of which are not yet finished. And as has happened throughout the building of that campus, drone footage shows Apple running last-minute preparations for the major announcement. The launch is just days away and the Steve Jobs theatre appears to be entirely complete in advance of the event. The inside of that mysterious building, which extends underground, still hasn't been seen – but the footage shows Apple employees preparing on the outside.

Science fiction is full of robotic systems that can fly. Whether they're humanoid robots or robotic exoskeletons, all it seems to take to turn a walking robot into a flying robot is some thrusters attached to the hands and feet, and just like Iron Man, off you go. The reason that science fiction is full of this kind of thing is because it's tremendously fun to think about this kind of thing, and you can imagine all kinds of compelling applications for it, even beyond the obligatory punching of aliens and more generalized anti-antagonist-ing. In fact, some of these applications could be useful outside of science fiction, and researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) are working on making it a reality, by developing a system that can control an iCub humanoid robot with four jet engines attached to it. Getting an iCub to hover and fly by installing jet engines on its hands and feet sounds a bit far-fetched.

French President Emmanuel Macron has made fighting Islamist militants his primary foreign policy objective and the move to armed drones fits into a more aggressive policy at a time when it looks increasingly unlikely Paris will be able to withdraw from the region in the medium to long-term.

Drone enthusiasts in China are scrambling to secure licenses after the government unveiled strict regulations earlier this year amid incidents involving drones straying into the flight path of aircraft.

Florence Parly said Tuesday in a speech in the southeastern city of Toulon that "armed drones will have endurance, discretion, surveillance and strike capability at the right place and the right moment."

Metallica's European WorldWired tour, which opened to an ecstatic crowd of 15,000 in Copenhagen's sold-out Royal Arena this Saturday, features a swarm of micro drones flying above the band. Shortly after the band breaks into their hit single "Moth Into Flame", dozens of micro drones start emerging from the stage, forming a large rotating circle above the stage. As the music builds, more and more drones emerge and join the formation, creating increasingly complex patterns, culminating in a choreography of three interlocking rings that rotate in position. This show's debut marks the world's first autonomous drone swarm performance in a major touring act. Unlike previous drone shows, this performance features indoor drones, flying above performers and right next to throngs of concert viewers in a live event setting.

Self driving cars are only the beginning. Within a couple decades, most anything with wheels, wings, or rotors will be able to operate, not just on its own, but in concert with hundreds or thousands of similarly self-guided vehicles around it. This won't just revolutionize how current transportation systems operate, it will open up entirely new roles for unmanned vehicles -- especially aircraft. In fact, the roles of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in military applications is continually evolving. Originally developed just after WWII as self-flying targets, UAVs today perform a variety of roles, from intelligence gathering and reconnaissance to strike missions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday (Sept. AI development "raises colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now," Putin said in a lecture to students, warning that "it would be strongly undesirable if someone wins a monopolist position." Future wars will be fought by autonomous drones, Putin suggested, and "when one party's drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender." U.N. urged to address lethal autonomous weapons AI experts worldwide are also concerned. On August 20, 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies from 26 countries, including Elon Musk and Google DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman, signed an open letter asking the United Nations to "urgently address the challenge of lethal autonomous weapons (often called'killer robots') and ban their use internationally."

Japan Post Co. said Monday it is considering using drones to move packages between post offices, possibly from next year, due to an increasing shortage of delivery workers. The envisioned project by the mail and package delivery unit of state-owned Japan Post Holdings Co. comes in the wake of e-commerce operator Rakuten Inc. and major parcel delivery provider Yamato Holdings Co. testing drone deliveries, but safety concerns remain about the new delivery method. Japan Post is considering using drones in step with the government's pro-growth plan under which drone use is eyed for parcel delivery in mountainous regions in 2018 and in urban areas in the 2020s. "We are aiming to fly drones between post offices in mountainous areas and remote islands," Japan Post Executive Vice President Seiki Fukuda said at a news conference Monday. In order for drone delivery to be put to practical use, Fukuda said, "how far regulations will be loosened" will be important.