Oct 3 (Reuters) - A self-driving Tesla carrying a passenger for Uber rammed into an SUV at an intersection in suburban Las Vegas in April, an accident that sparked new concerns that a growing stable of self-styled "robotaxis" is exploiting a regulatory gray area in U.S. cities, putting lives at risk.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk aims to show off plans for a robotaxi, or self-driving car used for ride-hailing services, on Oct. 10, and he has long contemplated a Tesla-run taxi network of autonomous vehicles owned by individuals.

Do-it-yourself versions, however, are already proliferating, according to 11 ride-hail drivers who use Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. Many say the software, which costs $99 per month, has limitations, but that they use it because it helps reduce drivers' stress and therefore allows them to work longer hours and earn more money.

Yoon, who posts YouTube videos under the banner "Project Robotaxi," was in the driver's seat of his Tesla, hands off the wheel, when it entered the intersection in a suburban part of Las Vegas, according to footage from inside the car. The Tesla on FSD navigated the vehicle at 46 mph (74 kph) and did not initially register a sport-utility vehicle crossing the road in front of Yoon. At the last moment, Yoon took control and turned the car into a deflected hit, the footage shows.

"It's not perfect, it'll make mistakes, it will probably continue to make mistakes," Yoon said in a post-crash video. Yoon and his passenger suffered minor injuries and the car was totaled, he said.

Yoon discussed using FSD with Reuters before he publicly posted videos of the accident but did not respond to requests for comment afterward.

KYIV, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Russian forces launched a major drone attack overnight on 15 Ukrainian regions, causing damage to energy infrastructure and residential buildings, authorities said on Thursday.

The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 78 out of 105 Russian drones during the assault, with 23 more likely impacted by active electronic jamming.

The drones damaged power lines and substations' equipment in the Kyiv, Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's energy ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

The attacks caused temporary disruption of railway services in the southern Odesa region as well as power cuts for households, it said.

Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said power had been restored to more than 3,000 consumers in his region following the overnight attack, though a further 2,000 people remained without power.

Authorities said they had downed around 15 drones over Kyiv and its surroundings during an air alert that lasted over five hours. The central Ukrainian regions of Poltava, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad all reported minor damage to property.

Satellite images show the damage to the Israeli occupation's Nevatim air base in southern occupied Palestine, which is one of the most important and largest strategic air bases in "Israel", as a result of Iran's True Promise 2 operation.

Satellite images published by the Associated Press (AP) showed the damage to the Israeli occupation's Nevatim air base in southern occupied Palestine after it was targeted by a massive barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles as part of Operation True Promise 2.

Historically, the base was established in 1947 on the ruins of a runway built by the British occupation and used by the zionist Sherut Avir air force belonging to the Haganah terrorist organization which ethnically cleansed Palestine during the Nakba of 1948 alongside other zionist terror organizations, while the base was renovated in 1983 with funding from the United States.

Iran's Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that 90% of the missiles launched in the operation struck their targets, stressing that the attack was carried out within the framework of the right of legitimate defense and in accordance with international laws.

TOKYO (AP) — An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights, Japanese officials said.

No one was hurt, and there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan, Land and Transport Ministry officials said.

An investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed the explosion was caused by a 500-pound U.S. bomb and there was no further danger. Officials were determining what caused its sudden detonation.

Lebanon foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN that Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days before his death. The temporary ceasefire was called for by US President Joe Biden, France President Emmanuel Macron, and other allies on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month.

Habib said, "We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire but (after) consulting with Hezbollah. The (Lebanese House) Speaker Mr Nabih Berri consulted with Hezbollah and we informed the Americans and the French about what happened. And they told us that Mr Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both (US and French) presidents (Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron)...They told us that Mr Netanyahu agreed on this and so we also got the agreement of Hezbollah on that and you know what happened since then."

Following the Hezbollah leader’s death, Iranian authorities are thoroughly investigating possible infiltration within its ranks, including the Revolutionary Guards to senior security officials. They have focused on those who travel abroad or have relatives outside of Iran. As per reports, Tehran grew suspicious of certain members of the Guards who have been travelling to Lebanon. One of these members reportedly asked about Nasrallah’s whereabouts and how long he would remain in those particular locations.

Following Operation True Promise II on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Baqeri stated that Iran exercised self-restraint after the Israeli murder of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh but ran out of patience following its assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan.

Iran had targeted military infrastructure including the Mossad intelligence agency, the Nevatim Air Base, Hatzor Air Base, radar installations and groupings of Israeli tanks, despite having the option of launching a much broader attack, he added.

“We had the capability to attack the regime’s economic infrastructure, but we only targeted military bases,” the top general stressed.

“If the Zionist regime, which has reached madness, was not controlled by the United States and Europe, and sought to either continue its atrocities or take action against our territorial integrity and sovereignty, tonight’s operation would be repeated with multiple magnitude and all of their infrastructures would be struck,” he cautioned.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon reported that Hezbollah executed a well-planned ambush against a group of Israeli soldiers who were preparing to infiltrate from Odaisseh and Kfar Kila.

Our correspondent mentioned that dozens of elite Israeli soldiers were wounded, and their cries were heard throughout the area.

The Islamic Resistance fighters opened fire at the Israeli forces from point-blank range, leading to fierce confrontations, according to our correspondent in South Lebanon.

It extended the Kenyan-led policing mission, which is seeking to assist the Haitian National Police in taking back control of areas under gang control, until October 2, 2025.

Edgard Leblanc Fils, the head of a transitional council governing Haiti, told the UN General Assembly last week that he “would like to see a thought being given to transforming the security support mission into a peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the United Nations”.

Such a move would allow it to raise necessary funds, he said, echoing a recent US proposal.

But Washington’s push to transform the police deployment into a UN peacekeeping mission was dropped from Monday’s UN Security Council resolution due to opposition from Russia and China.

Many Haitians also remain wary of UN interventions, saying past deployments have brought more harm than good.

BYD has informed the Chinese regulator it is recalling nearly 97,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for a manufacturing fault involving a steering control unit that could lead to fire risks, the market regulator said on Sunday.

The Chinese automaker is recalling Dolphin and Yuan Plus EVs manufactured in China between November 2022 and December 2023, according to a statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

BYD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company would ask its dealers to install a physical fix in the recalled cars, the SAMR statement added.

The recall is a rare one by BYD of its pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars as the Chinese company grew rapidly to become the world's biggest seller of such vehicles.

It recalled a small batch of Tang plug-in hybrids in 2022 due to a defect in the battery pack that could cause fires.

The letter comes as polling within the Muslim American community shows a major departure from the Democratic Party over the Biden-Harris administration's unfettered support for Israel's war on Gaza, which they along with rights groups and legal experts view is a genocide against Palestinians.

The letter calls on Muslims to instead vote for any of the third-party candidates, including the Green Party's Jill Stein whose support has swelled among the Muslim American community in recent weeks.

"We want to be absolutely clear: don’t stay home and skip voting. This year, make a statement by voting third party for the presidential ticket," the letter said.

"Equally important, vote all the way down the ballot for candidates and policies that stand for truth and justice, ensuring your voice is heard at every level."

The letter, written and released in collaboration with the Abandon Harris campaign, was signed by more than three dozen religious leaders from all around the country, including Dawud Walid, Dr Shadee Elmasry, Imam Omar Suleiman, Dr Yasir Qadhi, and Imam Tom Facchine.

The imams who have signed the letter say the calls for Muslims to uncritically support Harris is fear-mongering.

"None of this is an endorsement of Donald Trump's vile, racist agenda, which includes advancing the apartheid and genocidal interests of a foreign state while falsely claiming to put America first," the letter said.

According to The Atlantic, Blinken enquired whether the Saudis could tolerate Israel periodically re-entering the territory to strike the besieged Gaza Strip.

“They can come back in six months, a year, but not on the back end of my signing something like this,” Mohammed bin Salman responded.

“Seventy percent of my population is younger than me,” the crown prince explained to Blinken.

“For most of them, they never really knew much about the Palestinian issue. And so they’re being introduced to it for the first time through this conflict. It’s a huge problem. Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful.”