外媒每日新闻 Ceasefire Overture & School Under Fire Edition

With the end of France's summer vacation season, the election campaign to replace Emmanuel Macron as president next May is bursting to life. An unusually large and broad field of candidates is forming to lead the EU's largest country, its second-largest economy and only nuclear-armed power. Socialist leader Olivier Faure became the latest to declare his candidacy this weekend, joining more than two dozen others. After decades of trying, Marine Le Pen's fourth campaign is already shaping up as the strongest opportunity for her nationalist, anti-immigration National Rally party to take power. Polls have for months suggested Le Pen is the front-runner and could possibly sail into the winner-takes-all runoff as the first-round vote leader — a first for her. She got another boost in July when a Paris appeals court cleared her path for another presidential campaign by shortening a ban on seeking elected office. Behind Le Pen, the battle for the other runoff spot is fierce: veteran far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, two former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, conservative Bruno Retailleau, and Green leader Marine Tondelier, campaigning before the expected birth within weeks of her second child. The Iran war has hit France's stagnating economy with higher energy costs, and Trump's presidency is rattling French faith in the trans-Atlantic alliance.^[4]

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House said Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration. No official reason was given, but tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported. Driscoll, a friend of Vice President JD Vance, is the latest in a series of shakeups of military leadership. In a separate development, the Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Trump to continue construction of a grand 90,000-square-foot ballroom and military complex at the White House. In a 5-4 decision, the conservative-dominated court rejected a challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, saying the trust lacks legal standing. Chief Justice John Roberts notably joined the court's three liberals in dissent. Trump celebrated on Truth Social: "We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C." The project is slated to cost at least $400 million. However, a conservative justice slammed the project as "unlawful" in a separate opinion, noting the court did not rule on the project's legality — only on the plaintiffs' standing to sue.^[5]

Employers posted slightly more job openings in July, but the American labor market remained sturdy in the face of higher costs squeezing household budgets. U.S. job openings ticked up to 7.27 million in July from a revised 7.18 million in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The JOLTS report also showed layoffs fell, but so did the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of declining confidence in their prospects. Gross hiring dipped to 5.1 million from 5.3 million. So far this year, U.S. employers have added an average of 61,000 net jobs a month — unimpressive, but an improvement on 2025's below-10,000 average, which was the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. The unemployment rate remains at a low 4.1%, and jobless claims have come in low week after week. "The labor market is back in the 'low fire, low hire' mode," said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. "Companies are growing cautious as the war in Iran drags on and borrowing costs have spiked." Friday's August jobs report is expected to show employers added 65,000 jobs with the jobless rate ticking up to 4.2%.^[9]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, along with 22 state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Monday, alleging the e-commerce giant systematically concealed unfair charges in its digital advertising auction pricing. The complaint alleges that Amazon traditionally used a "second-price" auction mechanism — telling advertisers they only needed to pay the minimum bid to win — but in 2019, without notification, modified its auction rules and added an undisclosed surcharge called a "soft reserve price," driving up advertising costs. The FTC says Amazon made the hidden adjustment because it was "dissatisfied with the revenue" from ad auctions, and that over seven years the company has overcharged more than 1.2 million brands and sellers — including over 500,000 small businesses — potentially extracting tens of billions in extra revenue. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal battles between Amazon and the FTC. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. New York's attorney general led the coalition of states. The FTC is seeking monetary relief and a permanent injunction against the alleged practices.^[10]

A specialist team equipped to search deep waters was due to arrive from Turkey on Tuesday as emergency crews pressed on with efforts to find 20 people missing after a ferry capsized off northern Cyprus. At least eight people died when the passenger ferry sailing between Kyrenia and Tasucu, Turkey, capsized Sunday afternoon. Among those unaccounted for were siblings Miray Bicer, 12, and Mehmet Asaf Bicer, 6, who had been visiting Cyprus with their family. Their mother, Ayten Bicer, 35, described the struggle to hold onto her daughter as the vessel overturned: "She was saying, 'Don't let go.' And I didn't let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn't let her go." But the suitcase fell and her daughter slipped from her grasp. Survivor Serkan Kunduraci said he escaped by hauling himself through a broken window, seeing children and others drowning in the sea. A deep-sea team from Turkey was dispatched to assist in the search. The cause of the capsizing remains under investigation, though rough seas and overloading are among the factors being examined.^[13]

Air conditioning saves thousands of lives during heat waves but comes at the cost of worsening global warming, according to a new study by the Yale School of Public Health. "Everyone knows air conditioning works, but air conditioning from a climate change perspective is not an ideal," said epidemiology professor Kai Chen, the study's senior author. "It leads to more carbon emissions, then it accelerates the climate warming problem." The study found that while cooling centers and AC prevent heat-related deaths, the surge in electricity demand — often met by fossil fuels — creates a vicious cycle. This summer, extreme heat has battered communities worldwide, from Athens operating cooling centers during heat waves to record-breaking temperatures across the American Southwest. Meanwhile, scientists warn that 2026 could become the hottest year on record, eclipsing 2024, due to a "one-two punch" of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Niño. So far, 2026 is the third-hottest year behind 2024 and 2025, but El Niño's full force has yet to be felt. "Bigger shocks are on the way," climate scientists caution.^[14]

The European Union rolled out a new team on Friday to rein in AI companies across the world, in one of the most aggressive regulations the high-tech sector has so far faced. Brussels aims to track the use of AI models for violations of its new regulations, like the publishing of sexually explicit material, fake photos and videos (deepfakes), and cyber threats to public infrastructure. The team will have the power to investigate and penalize companies that fail to comply with the EU AI Act, which took effect earlier this year. The move comes amid growing alarm over AI-generated deepfakes influencing elections, non-consensual intimate images circulating online, and AI-powered cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure. The EU's approach contrasts sharply with the more hands-off stance of the U.S., where federal AI regulation remains fragmented and the Trump administration has actively opposed restrictions on AI companies. The new Brussels unit will coordinate with national authorities across all 27 EU member states and can refer cases for prosecution. Companies found violating the rules face fines of up to 7% of global annual turnover.^[16]

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out an ambitious vision of what artificial intelligence can do for the world, imagining a future where everyone has access to their own personal AI agent that can improve all aspects of their lives. In a sweeping 6,500-word essay published online, Zuckerberg argued that the biggest question surrounding advanced AI is not how powerful it becomes, but who gets to control it. He made a passionate case for open-source AI, in which developers make key components accessible for anyone to examine, modify and build upon — a stance that conveniently aligns with Meta's business model of distributing its Llama models freely. "The most dangerous scenario is not powerful AI getting released. It is if superintelligence gets locked up and controlled by a small number of labs, companies or governments," Zuckerberg wrote. "Safety will not come from putting power in one place. Safety comes from balance of power." The essay, which used the word "superintelligence" 60 times, outlined a three-part vision: AI that enhances individual agency, open infrastructure that prevents monopolies, and community-driven governance. Critics note that open-source AI also lowers the barrier for malicious actors, and that Zuckerberg's vision conveniently serves Meta's competitive positioning against closed-model rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.^[17]