GENEVA (AFP) - The United Nations rights chief called Monday for countries and “frontier” artificial intelligence companies to act urgently to rein in a technology he warned posed “unprecedented risks”. In a letter sent to countries and AI developers and shared with the media, Volker Turk cautioned that the world was “on the cusp of irreversible change, affecting not just us but generations of humanity to come”. “The current race towards ever more powerful AI is a step change towards greater existential risks to every aspect of our lives.”

 

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LONDON (Xinhua) – The remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on the unification of Ireland and Britain’s Northern Ireland have sparked strong opposition from Britain. During a two-day visit to Ireland, Trump said he would “love to see” the unification of Ireland and Northern Ireland. “I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin. He said he believed unification would “happen eventually” and “may as well happen now”. Trump later acknowledged that the issue was controversial, saying there was “no good answer” to the question of Irish unification.

 

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Paris (AFP) - Marine Le Pen, presidential candidate of France’s right-wing National Rally (RN), remains the clear frontrunner for the country’s spring 2027 election, according to a new poll published Monday. A Toluna Harris Interactive survey showed Le Pen getting between 33% and 36% of first-round voting intentions, depending on the scenario tested, broadcaster BFMTV reported. Despite maintaining a substantial lead over her rivals, Le Pen’s support slipped by 1 to 2 percentage points compared to a similar Aug. 24 poll. The main contest now is over who will qualify for a likely second round of presidential elections alongside Le Pen.

 

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LOS ANGELES (Xinhua) -- Powerful surf generated by the remnants of former Hurricane Marie battered Southern California’s coast, stripping sand from beaches, damaging homes and walkways, and exposing once again the vulnerability of oceanfront communities. “With global warming, superstorms and ocean current shifts, I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse,” former Malibu resident S.A. Baker told Xinhua. “Las Vegas might be beachfront property one day if this keeps up.” The worst damage was reported along the Alamitos Peninsula in Long Beach, where days of large breaking waves overwhelmed sand berms and pounded a seawall protecting homes packed tightly between the Pacific Ocean and narrow streets.

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Two opinion polls released on Monday showed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro statistically tied in a potential second-round runoff ahead of next month’s election. Lula regained a narrow lead over the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro in a BTG Pactual/Nexus survey, while a separate Quaest poll commissioned by Globo showed the lawmaker numerically ahead for the first time. Bolsonaro’s strong showing in recent polls helped Brazilian assets rally last week as the senator is considered more market-friendly. If no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes in the October 4 first round, the two frontrunners advance to a runoff on October 25.