Jimmy Causey is seen in this undated photo from authorities in Williamson County, Texas. Authorities said Friday, July 7, 2017, that Causey was on the run more than two days after using wire cutters that were probably dropped from a drone as part of an elaborate escape plan that also included cellphones smuggled into prison, guns and at least $47,000 in cash. Jimmy Causey is seen in this undated photo from authorities in Williamson County, Texas. Authorities said Friday, July 7, 2017, that Causey was on the run more than two days after using wire cutters that were probably dropped from a drone as part of an elaborate escape plan that also included cellphones smuggled into prison, guns and at least $47,000 in cash. This undated photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Jimmy Causey, who authorities continue to search for Thursday, July 6, 2017, after he escaped from Lieber Correctional Institution maximum-security prison in Ridgeville, S.C. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A South Carolina inmate broke out of a maximum-security prison using wire cutters that were apparently flown in by drone, officials said Friday, describing a new and devilishly hard-to-stop means of escape.

A drone flew in wire cutters that allowed a South Carolina inmate to escape from a maximum-security prison for the second time earlier this week. Jimmy Causey's elaborate escape also included cellphones smuggled into the prison, guns and $47,000 in cash. He was on the lam for more than two days after escaping Wednesday from Lieber Correctional Institution, about 90 miles southeast of Columbia. He was captured Friday hiding out in a Texas motel room. CAPTURED: Escaped inmate Jimmy Causey was apprehended this morning at 3:05 a.m. by Texas Department of Public Safety pic.twitter.com/SMNRAgJbs0

Remember when you had to register your drone, regardless of whether it was hulking thousand-dollar pro model, or some cheap toy off Amazon? Then, remember when the FAA then realised it violated its own rules? Well, that decision in the US Court of Appeals means that the ever-growing drone pilots of America can now apply for a refund if they had previously registered their flying'bot. There are rules, however: To qualify for the refund, owners need to reiterate that their drone is used only for recreation and in accordance with community safety guidelines -- of course. If you're ticking those boxes, you can find the rest of the application form here, so send that off and start imagining what you're going to do with that sweet fiver.

The military is constantly working on new drone technology. That includes new types of drones like autonomous boats and small swarming UAVs as well as ways to combat drones, like frying them with microwaves, guided bullets and hacking. Right now, the US Army is working on a small, lightweight drone that can take on a number of tasks depending on what's needed in a given situation. The drone, which you can see in action in the video below, looks a little bit like a flying squirrel. It's small, weighing just over half a pound, and its rotors can tilt themselves, giving the UAV plenty of flexibility in how it moves around. The design goal is to create a drone that can easily integrate with soldiers in the field and have multiple uses.

A South Carolina inmate used wire cutters that apparently were dropped from a drone as part of an elaborate escape plan that also included cellphones smuggled into prison, guns and at least $47,000 in cash, authorities said Friday after his capture. Jimmy Causey's second escape from prison lasted more than two days before a tip led Texas Rangers to a motel room in Austin, where he was found sleeping around 4 a.m. Friday, South Carolina state police said. Prison officials now are investigating how Causey's escape on Tuesday from Lieber Correctional Institution went unnoticed for 18 hours, South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said. "We believe a drone was used to fly in the tools that allowed him to escape," Stirling said, adding that investigators still were investigating to confirm whether a drone was used.

China's second-biggest e-commerce company, JD.com (Alibaba is first), is testing mobile robots to make deliveries to its customers, and imagining a future with fully unmanned logistics systems. On the last day of a two-week-long shopping bonanza that recorded sales of around $13 billion, some deliveries were made using mobile robots designed by JD. It's the first time that the company has used delivery robots in the field. The bots delivered packages to multiple Beijing university campuses such as Tsinghua University and Renmin University. JD has been testing delivery robots since November last year.

The winners of this year's aerial photography competition run by online site Dronestagram have been announced. There were thousand of entries taken using drone cameras and the winners were selected by the judges - National Geographic deputy director Patrick Witty and Emanuela Ascoli, photo editor of National Geographic France - and Dronestagram's team. Here we present the winning images from the four categories. This year there was a special category to recognise the creativity of the Dronestagram community.

While simply flying a drone is not a complicated process, operating them for surveying or disaster sites employ certain techniques that require training. In March, a drone pilot school in the city of Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture, operated by the Japan Aviation Academy, lowered the age eligible for entrance from 20 to 16. In addition to practical coaching, students at the school can learn about civil aviation and radio laws, as well as understanding sudden weather changes from the movement of clouds and wind direction. "The lessons are practical and I am learning a lot. I hope to use the skills for disaster prevention and helping people," said Tsurugi Hatano, a 16-year-old high school student in the city of Tsuru, Yamanashi.

On the day U.S.-backed forces made a major breakthrough in the battle for Islamic State group's (ISIS) operation capital Raqqa, reports said the terror group's poster girl Sally Jones, also known as Mrs. Terror, is desperate to return to the U.K. This was revealed by the wife of a former ISIS militant who is now living in a refugee camp in Syria, in an interview to Sky News. The woman, known as Aisha, said of Jones: "She was crying and wants to get back to Britain. She told me she wish [sic] to go to her country. Aisha said Umma Hussain al Britani, the name adopted by Jones, was distraught and crying as her plea had been denied by ISIS leaders on the basis she considered a military wife. READ: Who Is Sally Jones? Jones is originally from from Chatham, Kent, became the leading female recruitment officer for ISIS after moving to Raqqa and marrying a now-dead jihadist in 2004. She is now the most wanted woman in the world after climbing to the top of the CIA assassination list, the Sun reported. Jones, 47, has remained at large since her husband, ISIS recruit Junaid Hussain, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015. The couple are thought to have been behind at least a dozen murderous attacks both in the Middle East and abroad. On September 28, 2015, the United Nations sanctioned Jones as an agent operating on behalf of a terrorist organization, the Mirror reported. Jones is believed to have enticed scores of would-be European jihadis to join the self-declared caliphate through her influential recruitment network called the "Raqqa 12," the Sun reported. Jones has been attributed with the recruitment and training of young girls in Syria. The Express quoted a counter extremism website as saying Jones's activity online was in line with her role as leader of the secret "Anwar al-Awlaki" battalion's female wing. "In this role, Jones is responsible for training all European female recruits, or'muhajirat', in the use of weapons and tactics.

The number of near-misses between drones and aircraft has more than doubled, with more than one occurring each week. As ministers came under pressure from the Solicitor General to crack down on drones after a major scare at Gatwick Airport, industry figures reveal the growing threat posed to passengers by these devices. Pilots warn that a'disaster' is inevitable unless tougher laws are introduced. Latest statistics from the UK Airprox Board, which monitors the risk of mid-air collisions, show there were 33 near-misses between drones and planes or helicopters in the first five months of the year. It means 2017 is on course to become the worst year for close calls on record, despite desperate attempts by pilots to persuade the Government to take action.