'Happy' Afghan girls compete at robotics meet after US visa woes Video provided by AFP Newslook Lida Azizi, right, and other members of the Afghanistan team make a repair to their robot after their first round competing in the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge, July 17, 2017, in Washington. But the Afghan girls competing Monday in an international robotics competition in Washington were clearly excited to be representing their nation. The teams play in alliances of three nations, with two alliances competing head to head in 2 ½ minute games. Afghan girls robotics team can finally compete in D.C.

Rachel Whetstone, the former top public relations executive at Uber, is joining Facebook as vice-president of communications for Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Whetstone, a British public relations guru who worked for some of the UK's most powerful Conservative politicians, stepped down as head of public policy and communications at Uber in April following a string of corporate scandals. Before Uber, Whetstone worked at Google as the head of communications and public policy. "It's a real privilege to be joining the Facebook family," Whetstone said in a statement. "Products like WhatsApp have become an important part of my life – making it so much easier to stay in touch with my own family and friends."

A recent interview shed some light on how the president feels about Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon. Kushner walks with Steve Bannon at Indianapolis International Airport on Dec. 1, 2016. Before Steve Bannon oversaw the conservative Breitbart News Network and, subsequently, joined then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign, the chief political strategist became a player in Hollywood and ... World of Warcraft. Bannon's migration from banker at Goldman Sachs to his current post in Trump's inner circle is chronicled in the new book Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency, out Tuesday, by Joshua Green, a reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek. "You can activate that army. They come in through Gamergate or whatever and then get turned onto politics and Trump."

The maker of the world's most deadly firearm has unveiled plans for a radical AI controlled gun for the Russian military. Kalashnikov, best known for its AK-47 rifle, is building'a range of products based on neural networks,' including a'fully automated combat module' that can identify and shoot at its targets. The new products were revealed in an interview with Kalashnikov spokeswoman Sofiya Ivanova by TASS, a Russian government information agency. The Kalashnikov'combat module' will consist of a gun connected to a console that constantly analyses image data to identify targets. According to Kalashnikov it will be able to'make decisions' on whether to shoot.

US Navy officers are currently testing the world's first drone-killing laser capable of blasting targets with 30kW of power. The $40 million (£30 million) super laser moves at the speed of light and is'more precise than a bullet', according to naval officers. Live-tests of the new super laser have now begun in the Persian Gulf, and officials have predicted that it will be used in combat by 2020. While laser weapons have been a staple in science fiction films for decades, the US military is inching closer to making these a reality. US Navy officers are currently testing the world's first drone-killing laser capable of blasting targets with 30kW of power (pictured) The LaWS, which stands for Laser Weapons System, is currently being tested on board the USS Ponce amphibious transport ship.

If you live in a big city, you've probably experienced the frustration of rushing to the subway only to realize--eventually--that it's delayed and you would have been better off walking or taking the bus. What if there were digital screens mounted on street corners that warned you the subway was running late and directed you to other forms of transportation? And what if those screens also notified you of community events, listed daily pollution levels, and solicited your opinion on local government initiatives? Such a scenario may soon be reality in London and New York. Both cities are replacing outdated phone booths with Wi-Fi kiosks that have embedded computing tablets, USB charging ports, keypads for making phone calls, and large screens that display relevant information to passersby.

STEVE INSKEEP: Republicans promised for years to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. In fact, they said they'd replace it with something better. President Trump says he would now rather just repeal. Trump said that last night after a Senate bill to replace Obamacare collapsed. Two more Republican senators objected to it. And since they were trying to pass it with GOP votes alone, it was assured of failure.

Artificial intelligence poses an existential risk to human civilization, Elon Musk (right) told the National Governors Association meeting Saturday in Providence, R.I. Stephan Savoia/AP hide caption Artificial intelligence poses an existential risk to human civilization, Elon Musk (right) told the National Governors Association meeting Saturday in Providence, R.I. Elon Musk is warning that artificial intelligence is a "fundamental existential risk for human civilization," and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is looking into how states can respond. Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, made the remarks over the weekend at the National Governors Association meeting in Rhode Island. He has long warned of the threats he believes artificial intelligence will pose, from automation to apocalypse. Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and others have also sounded warnings over AI. "Of all the things that I heard over this weekend with the National Governors Association, this was the one that I've spent more time thinking about," says Hickenlooper, a Democrat. Not everyone at the NGA meeting received Musk's comments as warmly as Hickenlooper.

Militaries regularly set up fueling stations at forward bases so that helicopters can get back to the fight as quickly as possible. However, requiring fuel crews creates huge risks and logistical headaches: you're sending people to a dangerous, isolated section of the battlefield for a fairly mundane role. Thankfully, the US Army might not need to take that risk for much longer. It's testing an unmanned station, the Autonomous & Robotic Remote Refueling Point (AR3P for short), that can top up a helicopter with no human involvement. Much like Tesla's robotic charger, it would use self-aligning, articulated arms to hook a fuel line to a helicopter all by itself.

A team of Afghan girls whose plight resounded with the world won a silver medal for "courageous achievement" at an international robotics contest in the United States, with judges praising the group's "can-do attitude". The First Global Challenge event in Washington ended on Tuesday, having attracted teams of teenagers from more than 150 nations. But all eyes were on the squad of girls from Afghanistan, who had twice travelled 800 kilometres to the American embassy in Kabul, only to have their visa applications turned down. They were finally granted entry with just one week to go until the event began after their story had gone viral. In an interview with Al Jazeera, before US officials decided to allow them in the country, team member Rodaba Noori said: "We wanted to show our talents to the world so they would know that we do have skills."