Robots could create jobs says WEF
The World Economic Forum has released a report suggesting that the rise of technology and artificial intelligence could create some 133 million jobs by 2025 compared with 75 million that could be displaced. However, WEF chairman Klaus Schwab said this would require significant investment in training and education. According to The Guardian, in the report Schwab says: “[This] is a call to action to governments, businesses, educators and individuals alike to take advantage of a rapidly closing window to create a new future of good work for all.”
Merkel and Kurz agree on migration
German chancellor Angela Merkel and Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz have agreed to collaborate with several African nations to stem migration flows to the European Union. At a meeting in Berlin on Sunday, ahead of an informal EU summit in Vienna on Thursday, Kurz announced that he plans to host an EU-Africa summit in December. The summit will aim at improving economic ties between the two continents in a bid to tackle one of the drivers of migration to Europe, Deutsche Welle reports. The two leaders also said they welcomed EC president Jean-Claude Juncker’s plan to strengthen the EU's external borders, by expanding the border agency Frontex to 10,000 troops by 2020.
More Brexit unclarity
Pronouncements by senior British politicians at the weekend did little to clarify the UK’s Brexit status. London mayor Sadiq Khan called for a second referendum on the UK leaving the EU, saying it was required so the public could “take back control from politicians who have failed.” Meanwhile environment secretary Michael Gove, in what the FT calls “an apparent attempt to stop Eurosceptics from rebelling against the prime minister” said that any future prime minister could “choose to alter the relationship between Britain and the European Union” no matter the deal, or no-deal, under which the UK leaves the EU next March.
Florence claims 14 lives; more floods expected
Hurricane Florence had claimed 14 lives across North and South Carolina by late Saturday, NPR reports. The death toll is expected to rise as the two states and parts of Virginia prepare for flooding following heavy rain from the storm.
Typhoon Mangkhut hits China
Following the loss of dozens of lives in the Philippines, Typhoon Mangkhut hit southern China on Sunday leaving some 200 people injured in Hong Kong. More than 2.5 million people have been evacuated in Guangdong and on Hainan island, says the BBC, which has dramatic video of the storm.
Australian strawberry sabotage spreads
Several supermarkets in Australia have pulled strawberries from their shelves after reports that copycats may have contaminated the fruit with needles and pins, The Guardian reports. At the weekend, Queensland offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the saboteurs.
Kavanaugh accuser comes forward
The woman who claims supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the 1980s has revealed her identity. In an interview with The Washington Post, Christine Blasey Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist, said that during the incident Kavanaugh “was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
World sports roundup
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the F1 drivers’ championship to 40 points by winning the Singapore Grand Prix. Simon Yates won the Vuelta a España, completing a unique 2018 treble for British riders after Chris Froome won the Giro d’Italia and Geraint Thomas’s victory in the Tour de France says Road CC magazine. And Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge took nearly one minute 20 seconds off the marathon world record when he won the Berlin marathon in a time of two hours one minute 39 seconds, the BBC reports.
Today's breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts