Michigan
DETROIT – Within five years, a majority of ride-hailing company Lyft’s rides will be in self-driving cars, the company's co-founder and president predicted on Sunday.
John Zimmer also said that personal car ownership will come to an end because autonomous rides will become a cheaper way to travel than owning an automobile. He made the predictions in an essay on the future of transportation in urban areas.
Technology, auto and ride-hailing companies are moving quickly toward self-driving vehicles. San Francisco-based Lyft is testing autonomous cars on the streets of San Francisco and Phoenix in partnership with General Motors. Its main competitor Uber is starting to carry passengers around Pittsburgh in autonomous cars with a human backup driver.
Syria
BEIRUT – Syria’s fragile cease-fire started to unravel on Sunday with the first aerial attacks on rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo and a southern village that killed at least eight people, violations that came as tensions between the American and Russian brokers of the deal worsened following a deadly U.S. strike on Syrian government forces.
The air raid by the U.S.-led coalition killed dozens of Syrian soldiers and led to a harsh verbal attack on Washington by Damascus and Moscow. The U.S. military says it may have unintentionally struck Syrian troops while carrying out a raid against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria on Saturday.
The seven-day cease-fire is supposed to end at midnight Sunday, according to a Syrian army statement issued last week. The U.S. and Russia have said that if it holds for seven days, it should be followed by the establishment of a Joint Implementation Center for both countries to coordinate the targeting of Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants.
Russia
Ruling party leads parliamentary vote
MOSCOW – Early results on Sunday showed Russia’s ruling United Russia party winning in the parliamentary election amid reports of election violations and visible voter apathy in the country's two largest cities.
With about 22 percent of ballots counted, United Russia was recording 50.3 percent for party-list seats, and it was far ahead in single-district contests.
The Liberal Democrats and Communists both received about 15 percent and A Just Russia had 6 percent. Neither of the two parties which openly oppose President Vladimir Putin was seen making it into the parliament.
Germany
BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party endured a second hit in a state election in two weeks on Sunday, as many voters turned to the left and right in Berlin, according to exit polls.
The Social Democrats and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party emerged from the Berlin state election as the strongest two parties, but both lost enough support that they won’t be able to continue a coalition government.
Associated Press
