AFP USA

Hurricane Erin strengthened rapidly to a Category 3 storm early Saturday as it churned towards the Caribbean, with a warning issued that flash floods and landslides were possible.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 120 miles (193 kilometers) per hour by 0900 GMT, making it a major hurricane.Erin, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season this year, was located about 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of Anguilla in the northern Leeward Islands, an area that includes the US and British Virgin Islands.”Continued rapid strengthening is expected, and Erin is forecast to become a Category 4 hurricane later today,” the NHC said in its latest bulletin on Saturday.Tropical storm watches remained in effect for St. Martin, St. Barthelmy and Sint Maarten, with tropical storm conditions possible within 12 hours.The NHC discontinued a tropical storm watch for Anguilla as the storm moved away from the island.The hurricane’s center is expected to move over the weekend just north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.The storm could drench the islands with as much as six inches (15 centimeters) of rain in isolated areas, the NHC said.It also warned of “locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides”. Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend. Those swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the US East Coast early next week, creating “life-threatening surf and rip currents,” the NHC said.The hurricane is forecast to turn northward by late Sunday. While meteorologists have expressed confidence that Erin will remain well off the US coastline, they said the storm could still cause dangerous waves and erosion in places such as North Carolina.The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June until late November, is expected to be more intense than normal, US meteorologists predict.Several powerful storms wreaked havoc in the region last year, including Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people in the southeastern United States.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — which operates the NHC — has been subject to budget cuts and layoffs as part of President Donald Trump’s plans to greatly reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, leading to fears of lapses in storm forecasting.Climate change — namely, rising sea temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels — has increased both the possibility of the development of more intense storms, and their more rapid intensification, scientists say.

US President Donald Trump failed to secure a Ukraine war ceasefire at a high-stakes summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin but insisted on Saturday that he would now target a full peace agreement to end the conflict.Three hours of talks between the White House and Kremlin leaders at an Alaska air base produced no breakthrough but Trump and European leaders said they wanted a new summit that includes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.Zelensky said he will now go to Washington on Monday while European leaders said they were ready to instensify sanctions against Russia after Trump briefed them on the summit and they held their own protracted talks.Trump remained upbeat about meeting Putin in a post on his Truth Social platform. “A great and very successful day in Alaska!,” he proclaimed, adding that European leaders backed his plan for a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelensky.”It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he added confirming his meeting with Zelensky on Monday.”If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved.”  After the summit, Trump spoke first with Zelensky, the White House said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later joined the call, officials said.The European leaders, who had been wary of being left out of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks on Saturday and said they supported the proposed three-way summit.”We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelensky towards a trilateral summit with European support,” they said in a joint statement that added that pressure must be maintained on Russia.”As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.Russia could not have a “veto” on Ukraine joining the European Union or NATO, they added.The war, that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of Ukraine, went on despite the summit. Ukraine announced that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Russia said it had taken two more villages in Ukraine. Zelensky said Trump had laid out the “main points” of the summit and that he would go to the White House on Monday “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war”. Trump and Putin emerged from their talks at a Cold War era air base to offer warm words at a press briefing but took no questions from reporters.”We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.”There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.- ‘Next time in Moscow’ -Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation at the joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.”We hope that the understanding we have reached will… pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow”.The former KGB agent tried to flatter Trump, who has voiced admiration for the Russian leader in the past.Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire. But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now”.- Putin warns Western allies -Trump, whose tone with Zelensky has changed since he berated the Ukrainian president at the White House in February, told Fox that “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done”.Trump could not get Russian agreement to get Zelensky into Friday’s talks. But Zelensky, who has rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up territory, said Saturday that he supported the American efforts.”It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues”.- Battlefield gains -Russia in recent days has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations.Although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages, Russia’s army on Saturday claimed the capture of Kolodyazi in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Vorone in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. 

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin made no breakthrough on Ukraine at their high-stakes summit on Friday, pointing to areas of agreement and rekindling a friendship but offering no news on a ceasefire.After an abrupt ending to three hours of talks with aides, Trump and Putin offered warm words but took no questions from reporters — highly unusual for the media-savvy US president.”We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, although he did not offer specifics.”There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation in a joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.”We hope that the understanding we have reached will… pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow.”The former KGB agent quickly tried to flatter Trump, who has voiced admiration for the Russian leader in the past.Putin told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war, which Putin ordered, would not have happened if Trump were president instead of Joe Biden.Trump for his part again complained of a “hoax” that Russia intervened to help him the 2016 election — a finding backed by US intelligence.Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire. But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now.”- Putin warns Western allies -The friendly reception contrasted with Trump’s berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he met him at the White House in February.Trump earlier said he sought a three-way meeting with Zelensky but did not announce one at the summit.Trump said he would now consult Zelensky as well as NATO leaders, who have voiced unease about the US leader’s outreach to Putin.”Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump said in the Fox News interview after the summit.Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues.”Trump invited Putin just a week ago and ensured there was some carefully choreographed drama for their first in-person meeting since 2019.The two leaders arrived in their respective presidential jets and descended on the tarmac of an air base, with Trump clapping as Putin appeared.US military might was on display with a B-2 stealth bomber flying overhead, as a reporter shouted audibly to Putin, “Will you stop killing civilians?”Putin, undaunted, grinned widely as Trump took the unusual step of escorting him into “The Beast,” the secure US presidential limousine, before a meeting in a room before a screen that said — in English only — “Pursuing Peace.”Putin smiled and joked with Russian reporters on the visit, a landmark for a leader who is facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court related to the Ukraine war, which has killed tens of thousands of people.- Battlefield gains -Russia in recent days has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations, although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages.Trump had insisted he would be firm with Putin, after coming under heated criticism for appearing cowed during a 2018 summit in Helsinki.While he was traveling to Alaska, the White House announced that Trump had scrapped a plan to see Putin alone and he instead held the talks alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his roving envoy Steve Witkoff. Zelensky was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.”It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” Zelensky said in a social media post.

A narrow majority of Americans now believe even moderate consumption of alcohol negatively affects health, as US drinking levels continue to decline, according to a recent survey.Pollster Gallup found the number of Americans who said they drink alcohol to be at an all-time low since the poll was first conducted in 1939 — a few years after the United States ended its prohibition of alcohol.The survey found 54 percent of Americans reported they drank alcohol either occasionally or regularly in 2025, down from at least 60 percent recorded between 1997 and 2023.Those who did say they drank alcohol reported it was in smaller amounts, with the average number of drinks consumed in the last week being 2.8, “the lowest figure Gallup has recorded since 1996,” the pollster said on its website.Attitudes toward alcohol, which Gallup has been tracking since 2001, saw the most significant difference in the poll published this week.The number of people who consider moderate consumption of alcohol — up to one or two drinks per day — to be bad for personal health rose to 53 percent in 2025. For comparison, the figure was 27 percent in the early 2000s.”Americans’ drinking habits are shifting amid the medical world’s reappraisal of alcohol’s health effects,” the pollster noted.In January, then-US surgeon general Vivek Murthy called for alcohol to be sold with a cancer warning label on its packaging.”Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer, responsible for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States,” he said in a statement.”Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” he added, underscoring the urgent need for public education.

Hurricane Erin gained strength Friday as it churned in the Atlantic Ocean and bore down on the Caribbean, where it could bring heavy rain to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that as of 0000 GMT, the storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour, and was located about 310 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, an area that includes the US and British Virgin Islands.Erin, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season this year, is expected to produce heavy rain from late Friday into Sunday for those areas, the center said, warning of possible isolated and local “considerable flash and urban flooding,” along with landslides or mudslides.A tropical storm watch was in effect for Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barthelmy and other islands.”Steady to rapid strengthening is expected over the next few days, and Erin is forecast to become a major hurricane during the weekend,” the NHC said, with Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas on the southern edge of its projected path.The storm could drench the islands with as much as six inches (15 centimeters) of rain in isolated areas, it added.Swells fueled by Erin are expected to affect parts of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and “are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” according to the NHC.The hurricane is forecast to turn northward by late Sunday. While meteorologists have expressed confidence that Erin will remain well off the US coastline, they said the storm may still cause dangerous waves and erosion in places like North Carolina.The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June until late November, is expected to be more intense than normal, US meteorologists predict.Last year, several powerful storms wreaked havoc in the region, including Hurricane Helene, which left more than 200 people dead in the southeastern United States.As part of President Donald Trump’s plans to greatly reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — which operates the NHC — has been subject to budget cuts and layoffs, leading to fears of lapses in storm forecasting.Climate change — namely, rising sea temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels — has increased both the possibility of the development of more intense storms, and their more rapid intensification, scientists say.

The US state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit accusing Roblox of facilitating the exploitation of children, prompting the online game platform to reject the claim as “untrue” on Friday.A lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill contends that Silicon Valley-based Roblox facilitates distribution of child sexual abuse material and the exploitation of minors.”Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety,” Murrill maintained in a release.The lawsuit charges Roblox with “knowingly and intentionally” failing to implement basic safety controls to protect children.Nearly 82 million people use Roblox daily, with more than half of them being younger than 18 years of age, according to the suit.”Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue,” the company said Friday in a posted response to the filing.”No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection,” the company added, stressing that it works “continuously” to promote a safe online environment on the platform.The Roblox online gaming and creation platform was founded in 2004 and allows users to play, create and share virtual experiences.Roblox is one of the most popular online platforms for children, “offering a vibrant world of interactive games, imaginative play, and creative self-expression,” according to the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI).A FOSI guide available at its website “walks parents through the basics of Roblox, the ways children commonly engage with it, and how to use built-in features like content filters, chat settings, and screen time controls” for safety.Roblox announced major safety upgrades late last year, introducing remote parental controls and restricting communication features for users under 13.US-based FOSI endorsed the changes at the time, its chief saying Roblox was taking “significant steps toward building a safer digital environment.”

Stepping foot on Western soil for the first time since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin basked in choreographed pageantry courtesy of Donald Trump — but was also confronted by signs of US power.In made-for-television images, Putin and Trump each flew in their presidential planes to Elmendorf Air Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska that played a key role in monitoring the Soviet Union.Trump waited in Air Force One until Putin landed and then stepped down to the tarmac, clapping as he saw the Russian leader for the first time since 2019, this time under a frigid slate-gray sky.They then walked toward each other, smiled and shook hands before posing together on a stage that read “Alaska 2025.”In a highly unusual move, Putin stepped in “The Beast,” the ultra-secure US presidential limousine, alongside Trump before they headed into talks that were set to focus on Ukraine.Putin grinned widely and appeared to joke to reporters as the two met in a room which the American hosts emblazoned with the words — written only in English — “Pursuing Peace.”Putin sought to flatter Trump, speaking to him of how he wanted a positive relationship and — seizing on one of the US leader’s favorite themes — agreeing that he would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump and not Joe Biden were president in 2022.When Trump told Putin of how he hoped to meet again, the Russian leader broke out rare words of English: “Next time in Moscow.”The reception was a striking contrast to a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him and accused him of ingratitude.Zelensky was long hailed across the Western world. Putin by contrast has curtailed his travel sharply since he sent troops to invade Ukraine, and he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court related to the war.- Pressing their power -Putin was quickly confronted on the war as a reporter repeatedly and loudly shouted out to him, “When will you stop killing civilians?”Putin did not react. Both sides sought to press their message, sometimes in unsubtle ways.As Putin walked in, a B-2 stealth bomber — an ultimate symbol of US military power — flew overhead.Sergei Lavrov, the veteran Russian foreign minister rarely seen out of a jacket and tie, was photographed arriving ahead of Putin in Alaska in a sweatshirt emblazoned with “CCCP” — the USSR — in a reminder of the superpower status that Putin has been striving to recreate. Senior Russian officials were temporarily relieved from severe US sanctions in place since the Ukraine invasion, allowing them not just to arrive in the United States but to carry out day-to-day transactions such as withdrawing money from cash machines.Putin and Trump did not step off the base, but activists held out hope of at least a fleeting protest by posting blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags on roofs that could be spotted if either leader looked out of his plane’s windows.With just a week to prepare since Trump announced the summit, Anchorage was strained to capacity with hotels full of tourists on fishing expeditions and coastal cruises who had no warning that their summer destination would become the focus of global diplomacy.Russian journalists, unable to secure accommodation, posted disapproving pictures of staying inside a sports  arena, where they slept on cots partitioned off from one another by black curtains.The US hosts served the Russian journalists a selection of familiar foods — shashlik meat skewers, grilled fish and, in a common dish for Russians that suddenly could take on another meaning, chicken Kiev.

The Justice Department reached an agreement on Friday with Washington authorities over control of the US capital’s police department after President Donald Trump placed it under federal government control to tackle violent crime.The deal was hammered out at a federal court hearing held after the District’s attorney general sued the Trump administration over what he called a “hostile takeover” of the city’s police force.Trump placed Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control on Monday and ordered the deployment of 800 National Guard troops onto the streets of the capital. Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, then issued an order on Thursday to install a hand-picked official — Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Terry Cole — as “emergency” police commissioner.Brian Schwalb, the attorney general for Washington, responded with a lawsuit arguing that federal law governing the capital “does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District’s authority.”At the court hearing on Friday, District Judge Ana Reyes urged the two sides to work out a solution, and they agreed that Cole, rather than assuming direct control of the MPD, would give directives through the mayor’s office.”Mr. Cole is not going to be able to direct police department individuals to do anything,” Reyes said. “He’s going to have to go through the mayor.”Schwalb welcomed the agreement at a press conference following the court hearing.”My expectation is that the key issue with respect to control and command of our MPD has been resolved today, and that it is clear as a matter of law that it is under the chief of police appointed by the mayor,” he said.”We don’t need a hostile takeover from the federal government to do what we do every day,” he said.- Special status -Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city’s budget.The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.But data from Washington police show significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.Bowser said earlier this week that violent crime was “at its lowest level in 30 years.”Trump has also said he wants to tackle homeless encampments, and move those sleeping in public “FAR from the Capital.”Washington is ranked 15th on a list of major US cities by homeless population, according to government statistics from last year. On his Truth Social platform, Trump this week described Washington as “under siege from thugs and killers,” with higher crime rates than “many of the most violent Third World Countries.”But residents rejected that depiction.”It’s totally false, and obviously promulgated on his media to justify an unwarranted exercise of federal power,” 81-year-old Larry Janezich told AFP on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump wrapped up talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday at a high-stakes summit in Alaska that could shape the future of the Ukraine war.The three-on-three meeting between the two presidents and senior aides lasted around three hours. It was not immediately clear if there would be further discussions as journalists were seated for a scheduled news conference.In choreographed drama, the two leaders arrived in their respective presidential jets and descended on the tarmac of an air base, with Trump clapping as Putin stepped on Western soil for the first time since ordering the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.US military might was on display with a B-2 stealth bomber flying overhead, as a reporter shouted audibly to Putin, “Will you stop killing civilians?”Putin, undaunted, grinned widely as Trump took the unusual step of escorting him into “The Beast,” the secure US presidential limousine, before a meeting in a room before a screen that said — in English only — “Pursuing Peace.”Putin smiled and joked with Russian reporters on the visit, a breakthrough for a leader who is facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court related to the Ukraine war, which has killed tens of thousands of people.- ‘Good respect level’ -Russia in recent days has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations, although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Anchorage, Trump sounded a positive note. “There’s a good respect level on both sides and I think something’s going to come out of it,” he said.Trump has insisted he will be firm with Putin, after coming under heated criticism for appearing cowed during a 2018 summit in Helsinki.The White House on Friday abruptly announced that Trump was scrapping a plan to see Putin alone and he instead entered the talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his roving envoy Steve Witkoff. The White House planned a working lunch with a larger entourage.Every word and gesture was being closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.”It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” Zelensky said in a social media post.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not forecast the outcome of the meeting.”We never make any predictions ahead of time,” Lavrov told Russian state television after he reached Alaska, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with “USSR” written across it in Cyrillic script.Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Putin and the Ukrainian president to “divvy up” territory.- ‘Severe’ consequences -Trump has boasted of his relationship with Putin, blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the war, and vowed before his return to the White House in January that he would be able to bring peace within 24 hours.But despite repeated calls to Putin, and a February 28 White House meeting in which Trump publicly berated Zelensky, the Russian leader has shown no signs of compromise.Saying he “would walk” from the table if the meeting didn’t go well, Trump told reporters he “wouldn’t be happy” if a ceasefire could not be secured immediately.The talks were taking place at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska and a Cold War facility for surveillance of the former Soviet Union.Adding to the historical significance, the United States bought Alaska in 1867 from Russia — a deal Moscow has cited to show the legitimacy of land swaps.Neither leader is expected to step off the base into Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, where protesters have put up signs of solidarity with Ukraine.The summit marks a sharp change in approach from Western European leaders and Biden, who vowed not to hold discussions with Russia on Ukraine unless Kyiv was also involved.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced Friday that its Starship megarocket is scheduled to blast off on a new test flight next weekend after recent attempts have ended in fiery explosions.The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle in history is planned to return Americans to the Moon — and is central to the dreams of colonizing Mars envisioned by Musk, the world’s richest person.But repeated explosions that sent debris raining down over Caribbean islands and disrupted flights have piled pressure onto SpaceX to pull off a smoother trial run.The rocket’s 10th test flight is set to launch as soon as August 24 from the company’s Starbase facility in Texas, SpaceX said on its website.During two test flights earlier this year, the rocket’s upper stage — which is the spacecraft intended to carry crew and cargo — erupted in fiery cascades not long after launch.Starship managed to make it to space during the last test in late May, however it then blew up when a fuel leak caused it to lose control.The rocket’s propulsion system was also supposed to execute a planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico — but it disintegrated before reaching the water.Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, the black-and-white behemoth is designed to eventually be fully reusable and launch at relatively low cost.SpaceX has been betting that its “fail fast, learn fast” ethos — which helped it dominate commercial spaceflight — will once again pay off.But the latest string of setbacks, which also includes an explosion during a routine ground test in June, has raised serious questions about Starship’s progress.Musk — who is known for making extremely ambitious proposals — maintains that the rocket will launch its first uncrewed missions to Mars next year.SpaceX has also been sharply criticized over the impact its launches have on people and the environment near where its rockets blast off. In June, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threatened to sue SpaceX over falling debris and contamination from its launches.More Starship tests are expected in the coming months, however, after the US aviation regulator approved the number of its annual launches increasing from five to 25.