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Russian Defense Ministry to Set Up Drone Development Center

An undated handout image of a Orlan 10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) published by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
An undated handout image of a Orlan 10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) published by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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Russian Defense Ministry to Set Up Drone Development Center

An undated handout image of a Orlan 10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) published by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
An undated handout image of a Orlan 10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) published by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russia's defense ministry will set up a science and production center for drones and "robotic complexes", Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Saturday, according to the ministry.
Shoigu was inspecting a testing range for firearms and drones in the Moscow military district, the defense ministry said.
The conflict in Ukraine has been characterized by drone deployment of unprecedented scale, with thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles used to track enemy forces, guide artillery and bomb targets, Reuters said.
The tiny, inexpensive FPV (first-person view) drone has proved to be one of the most potent weapons in this war, where conventional warplanes are relatively rare because of a dense concentration of anti-aircraft systems near front lines.
At the testing range, Shoigu was shown firearms for tackling such drones as well as a combat quadcopter designed to set up mines.

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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.