Drones
RSF drone strike kills dozens in Sudan's war-ravaged el-Fasher: Activists
RSF drone strike kills dozens in Sudan's war-ravaged el-Fasher: Activists A deadly drone strike at a displacement centre and university grounds, where people had been seeking refuge, in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher in North Darfur state has been blamed on the Rapid Support Forces RSF), with the brutal civil war now in its third year. A local journalist told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that at least 12 people had been killed in the strike on a displacement shelter, while local activists said nearly 60 people were killed. The el-Fasher Resistance Committee said the RSF had carried out a "massacre." El-Fasher is the last major city held by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the vast western Darfur region, and has faced intensified attacks from the paramilitary RSF since the army recaptured the capital, Khartoum, in March this year. The RSF has been fighting SAF for control of the country since April 2023, after the two generals leading the forces fell out.
Major Russian strikes cut power across Kyiv
Overnight Russian missile and drone strikes have caused power cuts in large parts of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Nine people were injured while residents in eastern districts were plunged into darkness and faced disruption to water supplies, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, a seven-year-old child was killed in a separate Russian drone strike in the Zaporizhzhia area in the country's south-east, according to the Ukrainian regional head. Moscow has escalated attacks on energy facilities over recent weeks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of attempting to create chaos and apply psychological pressure. Ukraine's Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said Russia was inflicting a massive strike on facilities around the country overnight on Thursday, adding that repair crews were working to restore power.
Belgian police arrest three for plotting drone attack on prime minister
Belgian authorities say they have arrested three people in connection with a plot to attack Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other politicians using drone-mounted explosives. Federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced the arrests on Thursday and said the group were under investigation for an "attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group", according to Belgian public broadcaster RTBF. "There are also indications that the suspects aimed to construct a drone to which a payload could be attached," she added. Fransen did not name their intended targets, but social media posts from senior figures in De Wever's government indicate that he was on the list. "The news of a planned attack targeting Prime Minister Bart De Wever is deeply shocking," wrote Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot in a post on X. "I express my full support to the Prime Minister, his wife, and his family, as well as my gratitude to the security and justice services whose swift action prevented the worst."
The new AI arms race changing the war in Ukraine
This technology is our future threat, warns Serhiy Beskrestnov, who has just got his hands on a newly intercepted Russian drone. It was no ordinary drone either, he discovered. Assisted by artificial intelligence, this unmanned aerial vehicle can find and attack targets on its own. Beskrestnov has examined numerous drones in his role as Ukrainian defence forces consultant. Unlike other models, it didn't send or receive any signals, so could not be jammed.
Operation Porcupine: Ukraine Develops New Tactics for the Never-Ending War
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears uninterested in peace in Ukraine, and there is no end to the war in sight. Kyiv has increasingly reached the conclusion that the country must do all it can to guarantee its own security. The Russians have yet again shifted their tactics, says Sokil. Several months ago, they would send small units into battle, but now, it is often just single soldiers operating on their own. And they are no longer looking to fight, preferring instead to just sneak forward and wait for air support, says the Ukrainian major. Their FPV drones are everywhere," he says, using the common shorthand for first-person view." On a mild, late summer night, Sokil is resting at a farm on the western edge of the Donbas, taking a drag from his cigarette.