South Korea’s military has apologised for failing to shoot down five drones that North Korea flew across their mutual border on Monday. Seoul fired warning shots and sent jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the aircraft, one of which flew close to the capital. Despite a five-hour pursuit, the drones reportedly all returned to North Korea. South Korea’s President has said that the incident showed the military’s readiness was “greatly lacking”. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, which represents the major branches of its armed services, acknowledged in a statement on Tuesday that while the military can counter “attack drones that pose a real threat”, it is limited in its ability to detect and strike smaller spy drones. “Our military’s lack of preparedness has caused a lot of concern to the people,” said a senior official, Kang Shin-chul. He added that the military would “actively employ detection devices to spot the enemy’s drone from an early stage and aggressively deploy strike assets”.(BBC)…[+]

Emergency services in Spain have confirmed a seventh death after a bus plunged from a bridge into a river on Christmas Eve (Saturday). Rescuers retrieved the body of a woman from the Lérez river in the north-western Galicia region on Monday. Two people, including the driver, were hurt after the bus travelling from Lugo to Vigo fell from a height of about 30m (98ft) into the fast-flowing river. Officials say bad weather may have caused the crash. They say the bus driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs.(BBC)…[+]

A sister of the alleged ringleader of a failed coup attempt in The Gambia has called for his release, saying he was not involved in any plot to topple President Adama Barrow’s government. Lance Corporal Sanna Fadera was arrested a week ago after the government accused him of masterminding an attempted coup. Two more officers were detained over the weekend, the government said. This brings to seven the number of arrests over the alleged plot. None of the accused has as yet been charged in court. In a BBC interview, Alia Fadera, the eldest sister of the lance-corporal, said he could not have plotted a coup, as he was only a medic in the navy with no access to weapons or influence in the military. “Since my brother’s arrest, we have not heard from him and we are worried,” she added. Mrs Fadera said the military had detained her brother at his workplace in the capital, Banjul, before bringing him to their village in Kiang Nema, 155km (96 miles) away.(BBC)…[+]