Waymo is planning to have a self-driving taxi service on the road by the end of the year in Arizona. GM’s Cruise has its sights on an autonomous taxi hitting San Francisco streets in 2019. In Dubai, a self-driving taxi service is already in testing.

Now, Intel’s Mobileye autonomous vehicle tech division plans to roll out a similar autonomous car service in Israel early next year.

Announced Monday, Intel is building out an electric vehicle fleet with Champion Motors and the Volkswagen Group that will use Mobileye’s self-driving software to autonomously shuttle passengers around Israel.

The service will start in early 2019 and eventually grow into a fully operational service in 2022 with a few dozen cars at first and then hundreds of the self-driving EVs. That’s the plan, anyway.

Intel’s service could kick off with Level 4 autonomy cars, meaning human drivers aren’t necessary for the car to drive in nearly any scenario. It’s the same autonomy level Waymo’s been testing in suburban Phoenix. If these kick off, it’ll be the first commercial use of Mobileye’s AV Kit. 

The new venture, known as “New Mobility in Israel,” is somewhat different to other programs around the globe in how accepting the Israeli government is of the service. It’s not a pilot program, but a full-blown commercial car service run by machines. Intel said Israel has offered regulatory support and will provide access to infrastructure as needed, along with traffic and other data.

The U.S. government is somewhat dubious of self-driving cars, but not resistant to the tech. Nevertheless, certain states like California, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and others are moving ahead of federal programming and testing.

Even if the Intel self-driving car service is only happening in Israel, it shows that this tech isn’t an anomaly. What Cruise, Waymo and other startups are trying to do isn’t a one-off. The self-driving taxis are coming.

New York City – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent talk of “preparing for war and combat” is just the latest example of feisty language that has stoked fears of a military flare-up with the United States over two potential flashpoints: Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Last week, Xi told his military commanders in Guangdong province to “concentrate preparations for fighting a war”, in comments distributed by government-run media following a four-day visit to the south.

Meanwhile, retired US Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges said it was likely the US would be at war with China within 15 years thanks to a “tense relationship and increasing competition” between the world’s two greatest economies.

With sabre-rattling on both sides, two long-standing issues between Beijing, Washington, and others have come to the fore as potential flashpoints – the disputed South China Sea and Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province.

Al Jazeera spoke with US-China experts who said while all-out conflict was possible, there remained chances to negotiate, compromise, and manage a competitive relationship between Washington and Beijing that did not need turn ugly.

“They’re both preparing for it, but it would take an incredibly stupid leadership in both countries to end up in a war between the US and China,” Bonnie Glaser, a former Pentagon consultant, told Al Jazeera.

“Smart policies can take us in a more positive direction.”

Sharpening approach

Washington’s efforts to manage and accommodate China’s growing economic and military clout have shifted under US President Donald Trump, who has slapped tariffs on Chinese imports and accused Beijing of trading unfairly and stealing intellectual property.

This month, Vice President Mike Pence spoke at a conservative think-tank about cyber-attacks, Taiwan, freedom of the seas and human rights, in a policy address that highlighted a sharpening US approach to China beyond the bitter trade war.

Pence said China was waging a sophisticated effort to sway the elections against Trump’s Republicans in retaliation for the White House’s trade policies. He vowed to continue exposing Beijing’s “malign influence and interference”.

China was deploying anti-ship and anti-air missiles on artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, Pence said.

He also accused Beijing of bullying smaller countries and destabilising Taiwan by pressuring three Latin American countries to cut ties with Taipei.

There have already been real-world consequences.

Last month, the USS Decatur was sailing near Gaven Reef in the South China Sea, when a Chinese destroyer approached within 45 metres and forced the US vessel to manoeuvre to avoid a collision, the Americans said.

Washington sends warships on so-called “freedom of navigation exercises” through the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait to show they are international waters and counter Chinese claims, as well as bolster US allies in the region.

The Trump administration has struck two arms deals to Taiwan worth more than a $1.7bn combined.

In September, Washington slapped sanctions on China’s military for buying fighter jets and missile systems from Russia.

China has responded by calling off high-level military-to-military talks; cancelling US Secretary of Defence James Mattis’ visit to Beijing; and conducting live-fire drills with bombers and fighter jets in the South China Sea.

While China’s economic growth has been slowed by the trade war, it is still expanding at more than twice as fast as the US’, while the state is pouring money into new technologies, such as quantum computing, biotech and artificial intelligence.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, China has launched more submarines, warships and other vessels since 2014 than the number of ships currently serving in the combined navies of Germany, India, Spain, Taiwan and Britain.

South China Sea dispute

Analysts recall past political crises between the US and China. In 2001, a US spy plane was forced to land on Hainan after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet. In 1996, then-US president Bill Clinton dispatched aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait over Chinese missile tests.

“There’s a whole basket of issues that could lead to a US-China conflict,” Gregory Poling, an Asia and maritime law expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Al Jazeera.

“The South China Sea is the thorniest. It gets right at the heart of US primacy in the region, the international order that Washington built up since World War II and China’s willingness to bully neighbours and challenge that rules-based order.”

The sea covers some 1.7 million square kilometres and contains more than 200 mostly uninhabitable small islands, rocks and reefs.

It is the shortest route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam are involved in a complex set of historically based territorial disputes there.

China’s claims, the broadest, cover all of the Spratly and Paracel Islands – and most of the South China Sea.

The dispute has intensified political and military rivalry across the region between the rising power of China, which has been projecting its growing naval reach, and the long-dominant player, the United States, which is deepening its ties with Japan, the Philippines and others.

“Washington needs to wake up and realise that while the South China Sea is quiet right now, we are losing. Every day the Chinese position gets stronger, the positions of the other claimants gets weaker, and they have to question the credibility of the US more every day,” Poling said.

They’re both preparing for it, but it would take an incredibly stupid leadership in both countries to end up in a war between the US and China.

Bonnie Glaser, a former Pentagon consultant

There are also signs of progress, added Poling. This year, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China started formal talks on a legally binding code of conduct to ease tensions over the strategic waterway.

“There’s a lot of cynicism because talks have gone nowhere for the past 20 years,” said Poling.

“But there’s nothing fundamental that makes this impossible. There’s nothing in the legal positions of China, the other claimants, and international law that can’t allow for a negotiated settlement. This stuff is doable.”

Taiwan is also spoken about as a powder keg.

Last week, China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe vowed any effort to “to separate Taiwan from China” would result in China’s armed forces taking “action at any price”.

China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan through its “one China” policy since 1949 and vows to bring it under Beijing’s rule – by force if necessary.

The US is obliged to help Taiwan with the means to defend itself under the US Congress 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

Despite military build-ups, the intensifying trade war, and heated rhetoric, Glaser said cool heads will likely prevail in Beijing and Washington – even when warships skirt past each other and “hot-rod pilots” undertake daredevil fly-bys.

“Over the next 20-25 years, I wouldn’t necessarily expect a hot war or even something like the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, but a prolonged, intense, strategic competition between China and the US that won’t end with the Trump administration,” said Glaser.

Follow James Reinl on Twitter: @jamesreinl

Cardi B is fed up with Nicki Minaj. About what, you may ask? Literally everything.

On Monday (October 29), the rappers’ beef came to a head (again) when Cardi took to Instagram to speak her piece in a series of candid videos. Her comments came after Nicki used the tenth episode of her Queen Radio show to offer $100,000 for footage of her and Cardi’s NYFW altercation (the one where Cardi left with a noticeable welt on her head after getting into a scuffle with Nicki’s crew). Hours after that episode aired, Cardi switched on selfie mode to go on a rant in which she accused Nicki of “playing the victim,” among other things.

“You need to pick a side, do you want to be the victim or do you want to be the gangster? You lie so much you can’t even keep up with your fucking lies,” Cardi said.

Among Cardi’s other grievances? For one, she didn’t like Nicki’s “Motorsport” lyric that implied Nicki was her “coach.” The Invasion of Privacy rapper also vehemently shot down Nicki’s accusation that she used payola to rise to the top, saying, “You don’t understand why I am so fucking successful. … Why is it that when people want to listen to me, you cannot believe it? That I got to be cheating for that?”

As for Nicki’s claim that Cardi never showed her “genuine love,” the “Money” MC had this to say: “That’s crazy because when you pull up on my videos you see that I’m always showing you respect because you’re somebody I listened to ever since I was in high school. … The difference between me and a lot of these bitches? I don’t suck your dick. That’s the difference. What you need to do is stop focusing on other people, focus on yourself, and focus on your craft because you’re out here fucking up your legacy looking like a fucking hater.”

For what it’s worth, Minaj said during Monday’s Queen Radio episode that she wants to “move past” the Cardi drama, and ultimately, her rival claims to want the same thing. She finished her multi-video rant by saying, “I’m tired of talking about it too. … We could talk about it or we could fight it out. I’m with whatever. But I’m sick of that back and forth shit. I’m not doing it.”

Buckle in and see all of Cardi’s videos below.

Are you ready to get spooked? 

A Redditor’s daughter wanted a carved pumpkin shaped like her favorite animal, so u/Zmannum2 created this incredible anglerfish. 

The anglerfish doesn’t look like much in the daylight, but when the lights are off, its teeth and eyes eerily glow in the dark. 

It’s mildly terrifying, but mostly super cool. Trick or treaters will have a blast running into this carving. 

The OP plans on revamping it to add a glowing lure, just like real anglerfish. 

A week out from the US midterm elections, the Pentagon said on Monday it is sending 5,200 troops, some armed, to the Southwest border to respond to a caravan of mostly Honduran migrants and refugees, prompting sharp rebuke from immigrant and human rights groups.

The move comes amid President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against the caravan, including cutting off aid to Central American countries and Mexico if they do not block the refugees and migrants.

“Sending active military forces to our southern border is not only a huge waste of taxpayer money, but an unnecessary course of action that will further terrorise and militarise our border communities,” said Shaw Drake of the American Civil Liberties Union’s border rights centre at El Paso, Texas.

Now around 1,200km from the US border, the initial wave of about refugees and migrants left Honduras more than two weeks ago. Estimates vary, but anywhere from 3,500 to more than 7,000 people are now part of the first group heading north through Mexico. Smaller groups have since left Honduras and El Salvador and hundreds of migrants and refugees crossed the Suchiate River between Guatemala and Mexico on foot Monday after being pushed back by Mexican authorites the day before.

Many of the participants told Al Jazeera they are fleeing violence and economic instability, including unemployment. 

Critics say the Trump administration has drummed up fear around the caravan in order to rally voters behind his anti-immigration agenda ahead of the November 6 midterm elections.

“The migrant caravan is full of women and children fleeing violence, poverty and government repression,” tweeted Democratic Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts. “Sending thousands of troops to turn them away as if they are foreign invaders reflects the profound paranoia, fear and hate fueling this administration’s immigration policies.”

‘Operation Faithful Patriot’

Trump has called the caravan an “invasion” and without evidence, said “Middle Easterners” and “gang members” are among its participants. 

On Monday, Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the Northern Command leader, told reporters that that 800 troops were already on their way to southern Texas. Explaining that the number will reach 5,200 by the end of the week, he said “Operation Faithful Patriot” will focus on Texas first, then Arizona and California.

There are already about 2,000 National Guardsmen on the US’s southern border, but now advanced helicopters will enable border protection agents to swoop down on migrants, O’Shaughnessy said. The military troops are intended to assist the border patrol, not engage directly with migrants, he added.

The caravan’s goal is to seek asylum at an official port of entry, however. 

Migrants are entitled under both US and international law to apply for asylum, but it may take while to make a claim.

Caravans coming from Central America have made their way to the US border for years without much fanfare. Migrants and refugees often leave in groups for safety purposes. This month’s caravan is unusual for its large size, however, and those travelling north seem to be so far undeterred by the president’s threats.

In April, a caravan that had about 1,500 people at its peak also caught Trump’s ire. Many of its participants attempted to stay in Mexico and only a few hundred people continued to the US border, seeking asylum at an official port of entry, rights groups said.

According to the New York Times, about 400 were referred to the US for “credible fear” interviews. Many who passed that step are still awaiting further immigration hearings.

‘There is no crisis at the border’

Rights groups also argue that there is little evidence to suggest that increasing border restrictions has an effect on individuals decision to flee their country.

“In many cases we are talking about people who have no choice but to leave their homes, and people who will continue to keep trying to find a safe place to live, despite the policies of Mexico, the USA, or any other country that may be safer than theirs,” Amnesty said in a statement last week.

“The hardline border controls used by a series of US governments over the last 30 years have been shown to be ineffective at reducing migration and only condemn people to more precarious and dangerous routes that put human lives at risk and fuel smuggling network,” the international rights organisation added.

Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications of the Migration Policy Institute, said “there is no crisis at the border”.

“We believe that the US is capable of dealing with the caravan without such extraordinary measures, and that is well within the capacity of the government to determine among those arriving at the border who has a legitimate protection claim and who does not,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that overall activity at the border is a “mere fraction” of what it was in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The White House is also weighing additional border security measures, including blocking those travelling in the caravan from seeking legal asylum and keeping them from entering the US.

Crackdown continues

The escalating rhetoric and expected deployments come as the president has been trying to turn the caravan into a key election issue with just days to go before the midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress.  

“This will be the election of the caravans, the Kavanaughs, law and order, tax cuts, and you know what else? It’s going to be the election of common sense,” Trump said at a rally in Illinois on Saturday night.

Trump, attempting to fulfill a number of campaign promises to crackdown on immigration, has implemented a “zero tolerance” policy at the border, drawing strong criticism from rights groups. Earlier this year, Trump was forced to end his administration’s practice of separating children from their families at the border after public outcry. Hundreds of families remain separated. 

The president’s dark description of the caravan belied the fact that any migrants who complete the long trek to the southern US border already face major hurdles, both physical and bureaucratic, to being allowed into the United States.

The Mexican, Guatemalan and Honduran governments also fortified their respective borders and increased security, attempting to turn back the migrants and refugees or keep them within from moving further north.

Rights groups said the responses may violate international law.

On Sunday, a Honduran man was killed when Mexico federal police used rubber bullets and tear gas on a large group of migrants and refugees attempting to force their way across the Guatemala’s border with Mexico. Mexican officials denied using rubber bullets, but refugees and migrants, as well as the media, including Al Jazeera witnessed federal police shooting rubber bullets during Sunday’s confrontation.

Additional reporting by Sandra Cuffe in Tapachula, Mexico.

The spirit of Glee is still alive on the LM/DC tour! During their Las Vegas tour stop on Friday (October 26), Lea Michele and Darren Criss hit the stage with their rendition of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born hit, “Shallow,” and the cover felt just like old times.

Criss brought Michele onstage for the surprise duet while echoing sentiments he’s already enthusiastically expressed on Instagram. “I’m obsessed with the remake of A Star Is Born,” he said, also noting that this was the first time they were tackling the song together. “We literally sang this — never,” Michele reiterated.

Of course, there were no audible first-time jitters. Criss’s smooth strumming and pitch-perfect tone set the emotion, while Michele’s powerful voice was a natural fit for Gaga’s now-legendary wails.

And the duo appreciated covering the song as much as we all appreciated hearing it. “Singing ‘Shallow’ tonight was a dream. Thank you, Vegas,” Michele wrote on Instagram later that night.

LM and DC still have a few more U.S. stops before flying across the pond for shows in the U.K. and Ireland, so be prepared for more excellent covers to come!

Former England and Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle has been “overwhelmed” by the support shown for him since falling ill on Saturday, his family have said.

Hoddle, 61, was left in a “serious condition” in hospital after suffering a heart attack.

The ex-Tottenham player was later said to be responding well to treatment.

“Glenn and his family are overwhelmed by the best wishes sent since he was taken ill on Saturday,” said a family statement.

Tottenham supporters and officials were singled out for special praise.

Earlier on Monday, there were reports Hoddle was out of intensive care, though neither the family nor his spokesperson have confirmed this.

Hoddle collapsed after appearing on BT Sport on his 61st birthday.

Sound supervisor Simon Daniels has been praised for giving Hoddle emergency first aid at the BT Sport studio.

Daniels, who is also a special constable, told BBC Sport his first-aid training “kicked in” – but insisted he is “no hero”.

Hoddle is considered to have been one of the best players of his generation, winning the FA Cup twice and the Uefa Cup with Tottenham and also having spells with Monaco, Swindon and Chelsea. He was capped 53 times by England.

He was a player-manager at Swindon and Chelsea before becoming England manager in 1996. He also managed at Southampton, Tottenham and Wolves.

Image: Elaine Thompson/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Amazon’s facial recognition technology, Rekognition, continues to cause controversy.

In documents recently obtained by , we now have a behind-the-scenes look at how Orlando police have been using the technology. After the city let the original pilot program expire after public outcry, Orlando started a second pilot program with an “increased” number of face-scanning cameras. 

Amazon’s Rekognition is described broadly as a visual analysis tool. But, deployed by law enforcement, it can scan faces caught on camera and match them against faces in criminal databases. The ACLU called the technology “primed for abuse in the hands of governments” and warned that it “poses a grave threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants.”

In addition, the documents show that Amazon provided Orlando police with tens of thousands of dollars of equipment needed for the Rekognition program at zero cost. Documents also reveal a “mutual nondisclosure agreement” in order to keep information about the program away from the public.

Orlando police haven’t had an easy time working with Amazon’s face-scanning technology, documents show. They reported a number of flaws with the simplest of mechanics, such as even getting a facial recognition stream to work. The documents also show that Amazon provided little help when it came to teaching police how to set up and operate the Rekognition system.

As of now, Orlando is operating three Rekognition IRIS cameras, which are only scanning for matches of current test volunteers from the Orlando police department.

These documents demonstrate just how poorly Amazon’s facial recognition technology seems to work at this point. In July, the ACLU released a report that claimed Rekognition had misidentified 28 members of Congress as suspected criminals. As we , even though people of color made up only around 20 percent of Congress, they accounted for more than 40 percent of the false positives.

Perhaps Amazon should further evaluate its Rekognition technology before pitching its tech to police departments and government agencies like ICE. 

Halsey has said that her most recent single, the angst-ridden break-up ballad “Without Me,” is her most personal one yet — in fact, it’s the first she’s written under her real name, Ashley. As such, she’s ditched her knack for high-concept, Shakespeare-inspired videos and given the new song an intimate vid that portrays destructive relationships she’s witnessed.

Released on Monday (October 29), the video stars a pink-haired Halsey and a guy who couldn’t possibly look any more like G-Eazy without being the rapper himself (it is, in fact, an actor named Will Brandt). Director Colin Tilley captures the pair through cycles of drinking, partying, and fighting, as Halsey laments taking on her partner’s demons and receiving nothing in return. In the end, the G-Eazy doppelgänger is taken away in a cop car (perhaps an allusion to a real-life event?) as Haley is left alone, seemingly stronger than ever.

Taking to Twitter after the video’s release, Halsey called it “a really amazing and emotional process.” She wrote, “The story is a reflection of a combination of relationships I’ve been in, or watched the people I love go through. It’s a reminder that you deserve more. And it’s okay to not want to be taken advantage of. By your partners, your friends, your family. You deserve happiness. Don’t be afraid of going and finding it.”

It’s no secret that Halsey has had a tumultuous relationship with G-Eazy — they’ve been repeatedly on and off, and reportedly broke up again earlier this month. The singer admitted in a recent interview with Zach Sang that writing “Without Me” ultimately led to their breakup because it allowed her some perspective on how the relationship had affected her life.

“I listened to what I wrote and went, ‘Oh my god, is that how I feel? If that’s how I feel I need to put the pause on this thing right now,’” she said. “I’m obviously talking about my relationship. So the song happened first. And it was just like, this moment of sincerity.”

“Without Me” marks Halsey’s first new solo track since 2017’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, and could be a sign that the singer’s next album is on the way. If the new song is any indication of what’s in store for album number three, expect to see more sides of Ashley than ever before.

Christian Wade says England’s obsession with size contributed to him making just one international appearance during his rugby union career.

One of the Premiership’s greatest wingers, Wade has retired at 27 to pursue a career in American football.

The ex-Wasps player’s sole England cap came on a tour of Argentina in 2013.

“I have had it all through my career that maybe I was too small to play for England,” Wade told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

In an in-depth interview, he said: “Even from when I was young I have felt English rugby has always been about size.

“When I was 16 I didn’t get picked in the main team because I was too small and they wanted big wingers – and it’s always been like that.

“I felt I have always had to prove myself, and I think [my size] gave me the stigma about not being able to defend and not being a good defender, because if you look at my stats they were up there all of the time.”

Despite admitting he had a “love-hate relationship” with the sport, Wade – who is third in the all-time Premiership try-scorers list with 82 – reflected fondly on his nine-year career as he embarks on a new challenge in the United States.

“Although I didn’t get any more caps, I can always look back and say I gave it everything,” he said.

“The rest is down to whoever was in charge.”

As well as making his England debut in 2013, Wade was also called up to the British and Irish Lions tour that summer, playing against the Brumbies.

“I am definitely very proud of those moments,” he added.

“You would have hoped it would have lasted a bit longer, but those sort of things are out of your hands.

“Although I didn’t get any more caps and go on any more Lions tours, I was able to do a few bits in Wasps colours that I can be proud of as well.”

Wade has had no contact from current England boss Eddie Jones, and says he was resigned to not playing for his country again after missing out on Stuart Lancaster’s extended World Cup training squad in 2015.

“That hurt me quite a lot, and from that point on I stopped aspiring to play for England as such,” he said.

“It became all about me as an athlete and Wasps. I feel my career then took another lift, and that was my journey from that point onwards.”

Wade now starts his training in earnest as part of the NFL Player Pathway, before flying to America in the new year.

He is not ruling out a return to rugby union if his NFL dream does not materialise – but he is determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“In January I will be flying to Florida, when they have a 12-week extensive camp,” he said.

“Then in March or April I will be doing one of the Pro Days, and all 32 teams will send their scouts down to have a look at us and let us know if they are interested.

“If I don’t get picked up it is back to the drawing board. I understand how hard it is to get in and it will be like trying to climb Mount Everest.

“But I just can’t pass up on this opportunity.”