Milton Keynes / AFP Driverless vehicles carrying passengers took to Britain’s streets for the first time on Tuesday in a landmark trial which could pave the way for their introduction across the country. The compact two-seater cars trundled along a pedestrianised zone in Milton Keynes, north of London, in a trial by Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) which plans to …

  The Hague / AFP Dutch authorities said on Tuesday they have suspended plans to sue the US makers of Pokemon Go after the company deleted its virtual pets from a protected beach in The Hague. The so-called Pokestops and Pokegyms, which attract Pokemon and allow players to buy accessories to capture, treat and train the virtual monsters, “have been …

  Frankfurt / AFP Sentiment among investors in Germany sharply improved this month from its post-Brexit doldrums, data showed on Tuesday, but analysts warned against overconfidence. The ZEW economic institute’s headline investor confidence index hit 6.2 points in October, an increase of 5.7 points over September and beating the 4.0 points analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted. Sentiment had hovered …

  Geneva / AFP The UN health agency on Tuesday urged countries to start taxing sugary beverages as they fight against an obesity epidemic, pointing to evidence that price hikes can dramatically reduce consumption. The World Health Organization’s recommendations on sweetened beverages came as the world seeks to bring down whopping obesity rates, with one in three adults overweight. “There …

  The US government reiterated its request that construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota be paused, while authorities consider the impacts of its route on a Native American tribe. The Dakota Access Pipeline has been the subject of a months-long protest, in which Native Americans and their supporters have camped out in the state’s prairie lands to block …

  Aleppo / AFP Regime ally Russia carried out its heaviest strikes in days on Syria’s Aleppo on Tuesday, as at least five children were killed in rebel fire on a school in the war-torn country’s south. The raids in Aleppo killed at least 12 civilians, a monitor said, and caused massive damage in several residential areas of the city’s …

  ANKARA / AP Turkey can’t be excluded from a possible operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul, Turkey’s president said on Tuesday, telling Iraq’s leader to “know his place.” Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks were likely to add to tensions between the two neighbours, which are key US partners in the fight against the IS group. In a speech …

  Moscow / AFP Russia and Egypt will hold joint military drills involving airborne troops on Egyptian soil for the first time this month, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday. “The joint Russian-Egyptian drills will happen in mid-October 2016 on the territory of Egypt,” it said, without specifying their start date. The drills, called “Protectors of Friendship-2016”, will include 500 …

  Beijing / AFP China and Russia blasted Washington on Tuesday for its decision to deploy a missile defence system in South Korea in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. Speaking at the 7th annual Xiangshan regional defence forum in Beijing, top military officials from the countries said the move by Seoul and Washington represented a threat to regional stability and was …

  Lashkar Gah / AFP Afghanistan has deployed hundreds of commandos backed by NATO air strikes in Lashkar Gah to drive Taliban insurgents from the southern city after the militants killed 14 people in a coordinated attack, officials said on Tuesday. The assault Monday marked the insurgents’ latest attempt to seize the capital of Helmand province, underscoring unravelling security as …