1. North Korea’s president recently oversaw the test of several domestically produced military drones, including one that hit a target that appeared to resemble South Korea’s main battle tank, the state-run Korean News Agency reported. Kim Jong Un and several senior government officials watched as the drones took to the air at a preset altitude at an undisclosed location on Saturday and identified and destroyed targets, KCNA reported on Monday. North Korea needs to produce more “suicide drones of various types” and deploy them in infantry and special forces units, Kim said during the demonstration.
2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday condemned Russia’s overnight and early morning shelling of his country as “heinous,” saying it included over 100 missiles of various types and about 100 “Shahed” drones. The Ukrainian president said there were deaths and dozens of injuries and the attack caused major damage to Ukraine’s energy sector. “Like most previous Russian attacks, this one was just as heinous and targeted critical civilian infrastructure. Most of our regions – from Kharkiv region and Kyiv to Odessa and our western regions,” Zelensky said.
3. Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Sunday, ostensibly a preemptive strike to avert a major Hezbollah attack. The militant group responded by saying it had fired hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month. Both sides then appeared to be moving toward a retreat, signaling there would be no immediate further escalation, but the situation remained tense. The exchange came as Egypt hosted high-level talks on a ceasefire in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that diplomats hope will ease regional tensions.
4. The third annual 13 Souls Memorial Run/Walk/Ride was held in Simi Valley on Saturday to honor the soldiers killed in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan three years ago. The explosion at the Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, killed 11 U.S. Marines, a sailor and a soldier who were screening the thousands of Afghans desperately trying to get on one of the overcrowded flights leaving the country after the Taliban took power. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
5. Deep in the outback, Australia and the US are embarking on a wave of construction to transform this once-quiet military facility into a potential launching pad in the event of a conflict with China. Runways are being extended and reinforced to accommodate the Allies’ largest aircraft, including American B-52 bombers. Two massive fuel depots are being built side by side to supply American and Australian fighter jets. And two earth-covered bunkers have been built to hold US munitions.
