AFP USA

A federal judge, in a setback for the Trump administration, has said she plans to order the release of a wrongly deported Salvadoran migrant while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges.Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, 29, was summarily deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador in March and brought back to the United States this month.His case has become a key test of President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policies.Abrego Garcia was immediately arrested on his return and charged in Nashville, Tennessee, with smuggling undocumented migrants around the United States between 2016 and 2025.Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the charges and a federal magistrate judge said in a ruling on Sunday that prosecutors had not made a convincing argument that he should be detained pending trial.”The government alleges that Abrego is a long-time, well-known member of MS-13,” the notorious Salvadoran gang, Judge Barbara Holmes said in her 51-page ruling.”But Abrego has no reported criminal history of any kind… and his reputed gang membership is contradicted by the government’s own evidence.””Overall,” the judge said, “the strength of the factors weighing in favor of release outweighs all other factors in favor of detention.”Holmes acknowledged, however, that even if she orders Abrego Garcia’s release at a hearing on Wednesday he would likely be immediately taken into custody by federal immigration agents to face potential removal proceedings.”That suggests the Court’s determination of the detention issues is little more than an academic exercise,” she said. “That suggestion is understandable. But the foundation of the administration of our criminal law depends on the bedrock of due process.”Abrego Garcia was living in the eastern state of Maryland until he became one of more than 200 people sent to the CECOT prison in El Salvador as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.Most of the migrants who were summarily deported were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has declared a foreign terrorist organization.Justice Department lawyers later admitted that Abrego Garcia — who is married to a US citizen — was wrongly deported due to an “administrative error.”Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country.

Sales of existing homes in the United States were tepid in May, according to industry data released Monday, as high mortgage rates weighed on the market.Sales of previously-owned homes ticked up 0.8 percent in May from the prior month, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).”The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.”Lower interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market,” he added in a statement.While the uptick exceeded analysts’ expectations, experts anticipate continued weakness in sales as mortgage rates remain elevated and the job market softens as President Donald Trump’s tariffs impact inflation and economic growth.From a year ago, existing home sales were down 0.7 percent.Yun told reporters that the 4.03 million pace meant the market is running at 75 percent of what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, even though the United States has added jobs over the period.This is primarily due to affordability challenges, he said.The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was close to 6.9 percent as of the end of May, according to Freddie Mac, slightly above the 6.8 percent in late April.The higher mortgage rates come as the US Federal Reserve has held the benchmark lending rate steady this year, keeping interest rates unchanged for a fourth straight policy meeting this month.Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, said a rise in the supply of homes on the market could help cushion risks for sales, especially if price hikes ease.But for now, the median sales price was up 1.3 percent from a year ago at $422,800, a record high for the month of May, the NAR said.”It’s a nearly impossible housing market for first-time buyers,” said Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long in a statement.She also warned that “Americans are watching what happens in the Middle East and paying close attention to rising prices at the gas pump.”The United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend and Tehran has vowed to retaliate.This sent jitters across the oil market as traders gauged the possibility of whether Iran might close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of a devout Rastafarian whose knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly shorn while he was in prison in the southern state of Louisiana.Damon Landor is seeking permission to sue individual officials of the Louisiana Department of Corrections for monetary damages for violating his religious rights.Landor, who had been growing his hair for nearly two decades, was serving the final three weeks of a five-month sentence for drug possession in 2020 when his hair was cut.Landor presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs.A prison guard threw the document away and Landor was handcuffed to a chair and had his head shaved, according to court records.An appeals court condemned Landor’s “egregious” treatment but ruled that he is not eligible to sue individual prison officials for damages.Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court, acknowledged that the treatment of Landor by prison guards was “antithetical to religious freedom.””The State has amended its prison grooming policy to ensure that nothing like Petitioner’s alleged experience can occur,” Murrill said.But federal law does not permit “money damages against a state official sued in his individual capacity,” she added.The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case during its next term, which begins in October.Rastafarians let their hair grow, typically in dreadlocks, as part of their beliefs in the religion which originated in Jamaica and was popularized by the late reggae singer Bob Marley.

Breathtaking, swirling, multicolored galaxies and star-forming regions were revealed Monday in the first images of deep space captured by the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos.One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops.The image reveals these stellar nurseries within our Milky Way in unprecedented detail, with previously faint or invisible features now clearly visible.Another image offers a sweeping view of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.The team also released a video dubbed the “cosmic treasure chest,” which begins with a close-up of two galaxies before zooming out to reveal approximately 10 million more.”The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.It features an advanced 8.4-meter telescope and the largest digital camera ever built, supported by a powerful data-processing system.Roughly the size of a car and weighing 2.8 tons, the camera captures 3,200-megapixel images — more than three times the resolution of the next most powerful instrument, Japan’s Hyper Suprime-Cam, which records at 870 megapixels.- 10-year flagship project -Later this year, the observatory will begin its flagship project, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Over the next decade, it will scan the night sky nightly, capturing even the subtlest visible changes with unmatched precision.The observatory, which cost roughly $800 million, is named after pioneering American astronomer Vera C. Rubin, whose research provided the first conclusive evidence for the existence of dark matter — a mysterious substance that does not emit light but exerts gravitational influence on galaxies.Dark energy refers to the equally mysterious and immensely powerful force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Together, dark matter and dark energy are thought to make up 95 percent of the cosmos, yet their true nature remains unknown.The observatory, a joint initiative of the US National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, has also been hailed as one of the most powerful tools ever built for tracking asteroids.In just 10 hours of observations, the Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 previously undetected asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth objects — all of which pose no threat.For comparison, all other ground- and space-based observatories combined discover about 20,000 new asteroids per year.Rubin is also set to be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar system.More images from the observatory were expected to be released later Monday.- Chilean pride -Chile hosts telescopes from more than 30 countries, including some of the world’s most powerful astronomical instruments — among them the ALMA Observatory, the most advanced radio telescope on Earth.The upcoming Extremely Large Telescope, slated to begin operations in 2027, will enable observations of previously unreachable cosmic distances.Northern Chile’s deserts, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, offer the clearest skies on the planet, thanks to minimal cloud cover and an arid climate.The Cerro Tololo Observatory has been the site of major discoveries, including the universe’s accelerated expansion — a breakthrough that earned Americans Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess, along with Australian Brian Schmidt, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

US rapper Kanye West, who released a song in May glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, will perform at a rap festival in Bratislava in July, the organisers said on Monday.Calling West’s appearance a “global sensation”, the organisers said it was his only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.West, the winner of 24 Grammys over the course of his career, has become notorious in recent years for his erratic behaviour and increasingly anti-Semitic and hate-filled rhetoric. The 48-year-old, who has legally changed his name to Ye, released “Heil Hitler” on May 8, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.”Hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius YE will perform July 20, 2025 exclusively at the Rubicon Festival in Bratislava,” the organisers said on the event’s website.More than 3,000 people have signed a petition against West’s performance in the Slovak capital.The rapper — a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump — is “repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history”, two groups behind the petition said.”Kanye West’s concert in our city and our country is an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime,” the petition reads.In the “Heil Hitler” clip, dozens of Black men — wearing animal pelts and masks, and standing in a block formation — chant the title of the song, as West raps about being misunderstood and about his custody battle with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.The song ends with an extract of a speech by the Nazi dictator.West has also publicly endorsed fellow rapper and music mogul Sean Combs, who is on trial for alleged sex trafficking and racketeering. The line-up of the Rubicon festival, scheduled for July 18-20, also includes American rappers Ken Carson, Offset and Sheck Wes.

With its influence discredited and its budget in tatters, the United Nations is weathering a firestorm of criticism as it celebrates its 80th anniversary — and tries to convince a polarized and conflict-wracked world it is more vital than ever.The UN’s 193 member states will mark Thursday the signing of the organization’s foundational treaty, the UN Charter, on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco. After ratification, the United Nations came into being on October 24.The anniversary comes as the world body faces a multi-faceted crisis that has raised questions about its future.”Since the end of the Cold War, we have seen the organization struggle in cases from the Rwandan genocide to the Iraq war,” Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.”When each big crisis comes, commentators announce that the UN is finished. And yet it still survives,” he added.”That said, this is an especially bad moment,” Gowan acknowledged, pointing to numerous countries that are “deeply frustrated” by the UN Security Council’s failure to act on major conflicts like those in Ukraine and Gaza.That inaction is largely due to the veto power of the council’s five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — which have competing interests.”The UN system as a whole has a credibility crisis, and it is not clear that the organization’s members have the resources or political energy to rescue it,” Gowan told AFP.For Romuald Sciora, a research fellow at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, the credibility issue can only result in the virtual disappearance of an organization that is already a political “dwarf” on the world stage.”I’m not sure the UN will cease to exist, even by its 100th anniversary,” Sciora told AFP. “I see a slow vanishing, and the UN becoming a bit of a ghost,” like “these old organizations whose names we have forgotten.”But experts say while the UN desperately needs to enact tough reforms, not all of its problems come from within, and it has become an easy scapegoat for its divided membership.- ‘Worse’ without UN -Gissou Nia of the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank says she fears that “the approach of might is right… is what is taking hold, and it brings us further and further away from the ideals” that led to the UN’s founding as World War II ended.Nia, a human rights lawyer, says she hopes enough people will remain committed to the set of ideals and values “that will keep the UN alive,” but still worries about the constant questioning of those values, notably from US ally Israel.”The constant berating from some very loud voices about the UN either being anti-Semitic, or the UN being a waste of funding, or the UN propping up dictators, actually has an impact,” Nia told AFP.In a world devastated by the largest number of ongoing conflicts since 1945, and ravaged by major humanitarian crises, “the United Nations has never been more needed,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said recently.”Our values have never been more relevant. And the needs have never been greater.”Funding has nevertheless grown scarce as donors — especially the United States under President Donald Trump — pull back.Given the financial constraints, Guterres launched the UN80 initiative in a bid to streamline operations. Those changes could include thousands of positions being cut.For Gowan, “the UN is a very big organization, and of course it suffers from a variety of bureaucratic problems, just as almost all big organizations do. (…) So of course it deserves scrutiny and criticism.”But, he added, “I think we have gotten a bit too accustomed to having this system at our service, and tend to spend too much time grumbling about its flaws and not enough time acknowledging its successes.”The United Nations remains a place where arch-rivals and enemies still sit at the same table to air grievances, and where the smallest member state can have its voice heard.The UN also does important work on the ground, from the World Food Programme bringing needed supplies to more than 100 million people in 120 countries last year, to the thousands of peacekeepers protecting civilians in conflict zones.”The UN was a magnificent tool,” Sciora said. “Obviously, it would be worse if it were to disappear from one day to the next.”

Aerial assaults raged between Iran and Israel early Monday, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites. US President Donald Trump insisted the attack had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to determine how significantly Tehran’s nuclear programme had been impacted.As the world awaited Iran’s reply, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 “a big mistake”.”The Zionist enemy… is being punished right now,” Khamenei wrote on social media.Sirens sounded across Israel and Iran early Monday as the arch enemies exchanged their latest round of fire.The Israeli army said it was intercepting missiles from Iran, while Iranian state media Fars said the air defence system was working to counter a drone attack. In a sign of possible nervousness about the conflict spilling into a wider regional war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent in early trading on Monday.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. With Iran threatening US bases in the Middle East, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.”The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad,” the department’s security alert said. It made no mention of the US strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.- ‘Regime change’ -In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks.In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was “truly shocked” by the strikes.”Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I’m very concerned for the people who live near,” she said.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was “behind” Israel’s campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response.After the Pentagon stressed that the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes.”Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. “The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” he added.At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be “way too early” for him to determine the level of destruction, “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.”Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country’s bombardments will “finish” once the stated objectives of destroying Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved.”We are very, very close to completing them,” he told reporters.- ‘Grave consequences’ -In response to the US attack, which used over a dozen massive “bunker buster” bombs, Iran’s armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded.Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was struck.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.He added that “armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked.”The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran “not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.”North Korea, which is also at odds with Washington over its own nuclear weapons, condemned the US strikes as a violation of the United Nations charter.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of deciding to “blow up” nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war.He headed to Moscow on Sunday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Iran.burs-lb/fox

Iran on Sunday threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington said had destroyed Tehran’s nuclear program, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was unclear.With aerial assaults between Iran and Israel raging — including fresh strikes by Israel on what it said were military targets in Iran — the US State Department issued a worldwide caution alert for its citizens traveling or living abroad.International concern focused on fears that the unprecedented US attacks would deepen conflict in the volatile region after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran earlier this month.Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation.”Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces,” he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency.”America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences.”In a sign of possible nervousness about a wider war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent at one point in early trading in Asia.President Donald Trump urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.”We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)” he said on social media.And while the US president did not directly advocate regime change in the Islamic republic, he openly played with the idea — even after his aides stressed that was not a goal of American intervention.”It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing earlier that Iran’s nuclear program had been “devastated,” adding the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be “way too early” for him to determine the level of destruction, “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said his country’s military strikes will “finish” once the stated objectives of destroying Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved.”We are very, very close to completing them,” he told reporters.- Tehran protests -As Iran’s leaders struck defiant tones, President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the United States would “receive a response” to the attacks.People gathered Sunday in central Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans.In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was “truly shocked” by the strikes.”Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I’m very concerned for the people who live near,” she said.In an address to the nation hours after the attack, Trump claimed success for the operation, and Vice President JD Vance followed up Sunday morning.”We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night,” Vance told ABC.But he also suggested Iran still had its highly enriched uranium.”We’re going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel,” he said. “They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium.”Another Khamenei advisor, Ali Shamkhani, said in a post on X that “even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn’t over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain.”Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but no one had been able to assess the underground damage.- Retaliation risk -The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 18 hours from the American mainland to Iran.In response to the attack, which used over a dozen massive “bunker buster” bombs, Iran’s armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded.Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was also struck.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people so far, Iran’s health ministry said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran “not to take any further action that could destabilize the region.”Late Sunday the US State Department issued a “worldwide caution” for Americans, saying the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk.”There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad,” the security alert said. “The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.”burs-wd/mlm/bjt

Tesla began offering robotaxi services Sunday in the US city of Austin, Texas, an initial step that Elon Musk’s backers believe could lead to the company’s next growth wave.”Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!” Musk posted on the X platform that he owns. “Culmination of a decade of hard work.”The kickoff — which comes as Musk refocuses on his business ventures following a contentious stint in Donald Trump’s administration — will employ the Model Y sport utility vehicle rather than Tesla’s much-touted Cybercab, which is still under development.The long-awaited launch follows the dramatic meltdown earlier this month in relations between the US president and the world’s richest person, which saw a cascade of bitter attacks from both men.Since then, Musk has publicly expressed regret for some of his statements, while his company’s Texas operation has readied the Austin push — part of a major drive on autonomous technology and artificial intelligence that Tesla believes will yield huge profits.Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said autonomous technology could be a catalyst for potentially $1 trillion or more in additional market value.”There are countless skeptics of the Tesla robotaxi vision with many bears thinking this day would never come,” said Ives, who predicted Trump’s administration would clear roadblocks for Tesla and pivot from the recent “soap opera.”- Business-friendly Texas -One of the robotaxi’s self-described first users was Tesla fan Herbert Ong, who livestreamed his ride Sunday in a red vehicle that included a person in the passenger seat monitoring the trip for operational safety.The unveiling in the Texas state capital comes amid questions about how Tesla will try to overcome criticism of Musk’s activities for Trump. Tesla saw profits plunge 71 percent in the first quarter following poor sales in several markets.In picking Austin for the debut of the autonomous vehicle (AV) service, Musk is opting for a US state known for its business-friendly approach to regulation.”Texas law allows for AV testing and operations on Texas roadways as long as they meet the same safety and insurance requirements as every other vehicle on the road,” the Texas Department of Transportation told AFP.The Texas legislature this year passed a bill requiring prior authorization from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles before companies can operate on a public street without human drivers, a group of Democratic lawmakers said in a June 18 letter to Tesla.Citing the enhanced system, the lawmakers asked Tesla to delay testing until after the law takes effect on September 1.The lawmakers asked for “detailed information demonstrating that Tesla will be compliant with the new law” should the company choose to proceed.- Starting slow -Musk had initially planned the launch for June 12, before pushing back, saying he was being “super paranoid” about safety.”We want to deliberately take it slow,” Musk said May 20 on CNBC, telling the network that Tesla would probably only operate 10 autonomous vehicles the first week.But that number will rise to perhaps 1,000 “within a few months,” Musk added. “And then we will expand to other cities… San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Antonio.”The service will be offered from 6:00 am until midnight and will be available to “early access” users on an invitation-only basis in a geofenced area, Sawyer Merritt, who owns a Tesla, said Friday on X.He added that the company had given him permission to release the information.Musk last fall unveiled the Cybercab, which has no steering wheel or pedals. Its production is not expected to begin until 2026.Tesla’s robotaxi launch comes well after Waymo’s offering of commercial robotaxi service.The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in October 2024 opened a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software after receiving four reports of crashes.Last month the agency asked Tesla for additional information on its technology in light of the Austin launch.But the NHTSA told AFP it does not “pre-approve” new technologies.”Rather, manufacturers certify that each vehicle meets NHTSA’s rigorous safety standards,” it said.

Iran on Sunday threatened military bases used by US forces to launch attacks on the country’s nuclear sites, saying such facilities would be considered legitimate targets.The United States has thousands of troops deployed on bases across the Middle East.Below, AFP examines countries with major concentrations of US forces in the Middle East, which falls under the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM).- Bahrain -The tiny Gulf kingdom hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based.Bahrain’s deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base in the country since 1948, when the facility was operated by Britain’s Royal Navy.Several US ships have their home port in Bahrain, including four anti-mine vessels and two logistical support ships. The US Coast Guard also has vessels in the country, including six fast response cutters.- Iraq -The United States has troops at various installations in Iraq, including Al-Asad and Arbil air bases. The Iraqi government is a close ally of Iran, but also a strategic partner of Tehran’s arch-foe the United States.There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group. Baghdad and Washington have agreed on a timetable for the gradual withdrawal of the coalition’s forces from the country.US forces in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militants following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, but responded with heavy strikes on Tehran-linked targets, and the attacks largely subsided.- Kuwait -Kuwait has several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, the location of the forward headquarters for the US Army component of CENTCOM. The US Army also has stocks of prepositioned materiel in the country.Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military describes as the “primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces” in the region. Additionally, the United States has drones including MQ-9 Reapers in Kuwait.- Qatar -Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar includes the forward components of CENTCOM, as well as of its air forces and special operation forces in the region. It also hosts rotating combat aircraft, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military says includes “airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets.”- Syria -The United States has for years maintained troop presences at a series of installations in Syria as part of international efforts against the Islamic State group, which rose out of the country’s civil war to overrun large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq.The Pentagon announced in April that it would roughly halve the number of its forces in the country to less than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a “consolidation” of US troops in the country.- United Arab Emirates -Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a force that is composed of 10 squadrons of aircraft and also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers.Combat aircraft have rotated through Al Dhafra, which also hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center for air and missile defense training.