Iran Continues to Arm its Air Defense Units with Missile-Equipped Drones

(FILES) This file handout picture provided by the Iranian Army on May 28, 2022, reportedly shows military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) at an underground base in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
(FILES) This file handout picture provided by the Iranian Army on May 28, 2022, reportedly shows military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) at an underground base in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
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Iran Continues to Arm its Air Defense Units with Missile-Equipped Drones

(FILES) This file handout picture provided by the Iranian Army on May 28, 2022, reportedly shows military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) at an underground base in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
(FILES) This file handout picture provided by the Iranian Army on May 28, 2022, reportedly shows military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) at an underground base in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)

Iran announced on Wednesday that it has reinforced its air defense forces in the east and southwest of the country with Karrar drones armed with Majid Air-to-Air Missiles.
Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted a commander of the air defense in the eastern region of Iran as saying that the success of the operational test of armed drones with air combat capabilities led to a significant improvement in the air defense capability, and had a direct impact on increasing the strength of deterrence.
The agency noted that the Majid air defense missile, a domestic product, is equipped with advanced thermal and optical seekers, greatly enhancing its tracking and interception capabilities.
It added that the Karrar drone “succeeded in its operational tests” during military exercises held in October.
For its part, Fars news agency reported that the drone was delivered to the southwestern air defense zone in the presence of a gathering of military commanders in the city of Mahshahr.
Last Sunday, Iran said it has reinforced its air defense capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal.
The drones, with an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), were exhibited during a televised ceremony organized at a military academy in Tehran in the presence of the commander-in-chief of Iran's army, General Abdolrahim Mousavi.
Fars said that the locally made Karrar drone, which has been equipped with the Majid thermal missile, can destroy enemy aircraft at a much lower cost than manned combat aircrafts.
The agency added that the drone has an ability to fly at an increased speed, to carry all types of missiles and to higher flight level.

 

 

 



Alleged Bondi Beach Gunman Charged with 19 More Offenses over Mass Shooting

Australia's national flag and the Aboriginal flag flutter at half mast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge during Australia's National Day of Mourning for the victims of the December 14, 2025, mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Australia's national flag and the Aboriginal flag flutter at half mast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge during Australia's National Day of Mourning for the victims of the December 14, 2025, mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Alleged Bondi Beach Gunman Charged with 19 More Offenses over Mass Shooting

Australia's national flag and the Aboriginal flag flutter at half mast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge during Australia's National Day of Mourning for the victims of the December 14, 2025, mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Australia's national flag and the Aboriginal flag flutter at half mast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge during Australia's National Day of Mourning for the victims of the December 14, 2025, mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)

A ‌man accused of committing one of Australia's worst mass shootings, at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach last December, has been charged with 19 additional offenses.

Police say the attack that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration was inspired by the ISIS. They initially charged Naveed Akram with 59 offenses in the ‌days following the shooting, ‌including 15 counts of ‌murder, ⁠40 counts of wounding ⁠with intent to murder and a terror offense.

Akram's lawyer, Leonie Gittani, told a court in Sydney on Wednesday that 19 additional charges had been filed, according to reports in ⁠local media.

Court records showed the ‌new charges ‌included 10 counts of shooting with intent to ‌murder, six counts of discharging ‌a firearm with intent to resist arrest and three counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

Akram, ‌24, has yet to enter a plea. His father, Sajid Akram, ⁠50, ⁠whom authorities also accused of carrying out the shooting, was shot dead by police at the scene.

The attack stunned a nation known for its strict gun laws, prompting renewed calls for tighter controls and more decisive action to combat antisemitism.

Australia has also launched a government-backed inquiry into antisemitism and social cohesion and the findings are due by December.


China, Taiwan Spar Over Legality of Coast Guard Patrols East of Island

 A Taiwanese Army M109A2 self-propelled howitzer fires during a live-fire training exercise in Taichung on June 9, 2026. (AFP)
A Taiwanese Army M109A2 self-propelled howitzer fires during a live-fire training exercise in Taichung on June 9, 2026. (AFP)
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China, Taiwan Spar Over Legality of Coast Guard Patrols East of Island

 A Taiwanese Army M109A2 self-propelled howitzer fires during a live-fire training exercise in Taichung on June 9, 2026. (AFP)
A Taiwanese Army M109A2 self-propelled howitzer fires during a live-fire training exercise in Taichung on June 9, 2026. (AFP)

China and Taiwan sparred on Wednesday over the legality of Chinese coast guard patrols to the east of the island, after the government in Taipei said merchant ships had been "harassed" close to its waters.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, was angered after Japan and the Philippines said last month they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, viewing that as involving waters off Taiwan.

Late on Saturday, ‌Chinese state ‌media reported ships had been sent to ‌carry ⁠out a "special maritime ⁠traffic law-enforcement operation" in the waters east of Taiwan in response to the Japanese and Philippine announcement.

Taiwan said those ships had in recent days been "harassing" commercial shipping by asking them for information about their point of origin and destination and claiming jurisdiction.

"The relevant mainland authorities' ⁠law-enforcement patrols in the relevant waters are a ‌just act to safeguard ‌national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," Zhang Han, a spokesperson ‌for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in Beijing.

The ‌Chinese coast guard is conducting "law-enforcement patrols" in the waters east of Taiwan in accordance with the law, and China will continue to strengthen its control over those waters, she said.

The patrols ‌have angered Taiwan's government, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese ⁠people can decide ⁠their future.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said China was "using so-called 'law enforcement' as a pretext to pursue expansion".

"The Chinese communists have no right to intervene in matters concerning the waters east of Taiwan, whether they involve Taiwan's sovereignty or jurisdiction," he said.

China is a "trouble-maker that is damaging the status quo," Lin said.

Beijing recognizes no claims of sovereignty by Taiwan's government and has rejected multiple offers of talks by President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a "separatist."


Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises to 46

 People sit outside their house on an earthquake-cracked street a day after the magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, southern Philippines, June 9, 2026. (Reuters)
People sit outside their house on an earthquake-cracked street a day after the magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, southern Philippines, June 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises to 46

 People sit outside their house on an earthquake-cracked street a day after the magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, southern Philippines, June 9, 2026. (Reuters)
People sit outside their house on an earthquake-cracked street a day after the magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, southern Philippines, June 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Rescuers in the southern Philippines pulled a body from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket on Wednesday, as the death toll from a major earthquake climbed to 46.

The 7.8-magnitude tremor just off the coast of Mindanao on Monday brought down buildings, triggered landslides and set off tsunami warnings across a swathe of the southern island.

Joey Deluvio, 39, was one of two employees at a supermarket in General Santos City that has been the focus of recovery efforts despite the constant threat of aftershocks.

Life-detecting equipment had traced a "weak pulse" earlier in the operation, local rescuer Michelle Chua told AFP on Wednesday, but "when they got to the body... there were no signs of life".

Deluvio's body was found pinned between two beams, Chua added.

The national disaster agency raised the death toll to 45 on Wednesday, while the number of people missing jumped dramatically from four to 17.

However, the figure for fatalities did not include Deluvio, the civil defense office confirmed.

Most of the additional dead were from Davao Occidental province, and most had been killed in landslides or collapsing buildings, civil defense official Rafaelito Alejandro said in a radio interview.