A drone explodes during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Nov. 14. LONDON - Explosive weapons killed or injured children at record levels last year, as wars increasingly move into urban areas, Save the Children said in a report published Thursday. Nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured in conflict last year worldwide, said the U.K.-based charity, citing U.N. figures. This is the highest number since records began in 2006, and is 42% higher than the 2020 total. Previously, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease or failing health systems. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

This is a guest post. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent positions of IEEE Spectrum or the IEEE. Last week, the Dallas police killed a suspected gunman with a bomb-delivering robot. It was a desperate measure for desperate times: five law enforcement officers were killed and several more wounded before the shooter was finally cornered. Of course, the shooter needed to be stopped; preventing further murder and mayhem is always a priority. But the method, a robot bomb, was so unorthodox that it raises many ethical and policy questions, if not also legal ones.