Monday, September 20, 2021
‘We Felt Fooled’: France Still Furious after Australia Scraps $90bn Submarine Deal
THE GUARDIAN: ‘Maybe we’re not friends,’ recalled ambassador says, claiming Scott Morrison ‘kept us in the dark intentionally’
France's ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault at Sydney airport last week. He said his country had been the last to know that the Morrison government was tearing up its submarine contract. Photograph: David Gray/AP
French anger at the Morrison government’s decision to scrap its $90bn submarine program with France continues to boil over, with the country’s recalled ambassador saying it felt “fooled” by the announcement.
Jean-Pierre Thebault was ordered back to Paris in the wake of the Aukus announcement, which will see Australia enter into a strategic “forever partnership” with the US and the UK.
Part of the still-to-be-determined arrangement will include the sharing of nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia, prompting the Morrison government to tear up its existing contract with France.
On Sunday Scott Morrison said his government had informed France’s President Emmanuel Macron that the deal was off at “around 8.30” the night before the deal was announced. But details had already leaked to the media and the French have said they felt “blindsided” by the decision. » | Amy Remeikis | Monday, September 20, 2021
French anger at the Morrison government’s decision to scrap its $90bn submarine program with France continues to boil over, with the country’s recalled ambassador saying it felt “fooled” by the announcement.
Jean-Pierre Thebault was ordered back to Paris in the wake of the Aukus announcement, which will see Australia enter into a strategic “forever partnership” with the US and the UK.
Part of the still-to-be-determined arrangement will include the sharing of nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia, prompting the Morrison government to tear up its existing contract with France.
On Sunday Scott Morrison said his government had informed France’s President Emmanuel Macron that the deal was off at “around 8.30” the night before the deal was announced. But details had already leaked to the media and the French have said they felt “blindsided” by the decision. » | Amy Remeikis | Monday, September 20, 2021
British ‘Baby Shortage’ Could Lead to Economic Decline, Says Thinktank
THE GUARDIAN: Social Market Foundation suggests measures including better childcare provision to increase birthrate
Britain is facing a “baby shortage” that could lead to “long-term economic stagnation”, a thinktank has said.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) said the birthrate was almost half what it was at its postwar peak in the 1960s, and the country’s ageing population could lead to economic decline.
It said ministers should set up a cross-government taskforce to consider the issue, and one helpful measure might be better childcare provision. The thinktank said typical British working parents spend 22% of their income on full-time childcare, more than double the average for western economies.
The birthrate in England and Wales peaked in 1964 when the number of children per woman averaged 2.93. Last year it was 1.58, well below the 2.1 replacement level needed to keep the population rate stable, and in Scotland it was even lower at 1.29. » | Andrew Sparrow, Political correspondent | Monday, September 20, 2021
Britain is facing a “baby shortage” that could lead to “long-term economic stagnation”, a thinktank has said.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) said the birthrate was almost half what it was at its postwar peak in the 1960s, and the country’s ageing population could lead to economic decline.
It said ministers should set up a cross-government taskforce to consider the issue, and one helpful measure might be better childcare provision. The thinktank said typical British working parents spend 22% of their income on full-time childcare, more than double the average for western economies.
The birthrate in England and Wales peaked in 1964 when the number of children per woman averaged 2.93. Last year it was 1.58, well below the 2.1 replacement level needed to keep the population rate stable, and in Scotland it was even lower at 1.29. » | Andrew Sparrow, Political correspondent | Monday, September 20, 2021
Gunman Kills Eight at Russian University
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A mass shooting at a provincial Russian university killed at least eight people in the latest outbreak of violence at schools or universities in Russia.
MOSCOW — A gunman opened fire on Monday on a Russian university campus, killing at least eight people and wounding 19, state media reported.
During the attack, students jumped from a second-floor window to escape a building on the campus of Perm State University, in the city of Perm, about 650 miles east of Moscow, video footage posted online showed. A state news agency, RIA Novosti, cited the Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, saying eight people had died. » | Andrew E. Kramer | Monday, September 20, 2021
MOSCOW — A gunman opened fire on Monday on a Russian university campus, killing at least eight people and wounding 19, state media reported.
During the attack, students jumped from a second-floor window to escape a building on the campus of Perm State University, in the city of Perm, about 650 miles east of Moscow, video footage posted online showed. A state news agency, RIA Novosti, cited the Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, saying eight people had died. » | Andrew E. Kramer | Monday, September 20, 2021
French Cooking Academy : How to Cook a Fish meunière : Trout meunière with Toasted Almonds
Get the recipe here.
Crise des sous-marins: les États-Unis ne s’émeuvent pas de l’ire tricolore, ni d’avoir mal traité la France
LE FIGARO : Le président Biden a convenu, à son retour de son week-end, de s’expliquer avec son homologue français.
Le rappel à Paris pour consultation de l’ambassadeur de France aux États-Unis, Philippe Étienne, n’a pas suscité beaucoup d’émoi à Washington. Cette mesure diplomatique, destinée à exprimer un profond désaccord, n’avait pourtant jamais été utilisée à l’égard des États-Unis, y compris pendant de précédents épisodes de tension entre les deux pays.
L’annonce de la décision, vendredi en fin de journée, est aussi intervenue juste avant le week-end. Joe Biden, parti en week-end dans sa résidence de Rehoboth Beach, dans le Delaware, avant même l’annonce du rappel de l’ambassadeur, n’a pas fait de commentaires. La seule réaction de la Maison-Blanche a été un communiqué d’Emily Horne, la porte-parole du Conseil de sécurité nationale, qui a déclaré: «Nous avons été en contact étroit avec nos partenaires français concernant leur décision de rappeler l’ambassadeur Étienne à Paris pour consultation. Nous comprenons leur position et nous continuerons à œuvrer dans les prochains jours pour résoudre nos différends, comme nous l’avons fait à d’autres moments au cours de notre longue alliance.» » | Par Adrien Jaulmes | dimanche 19 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 20 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
Paris sagt Ministertreffen mit London ab
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Wegen des gekündigten U-Boot-Deals hat Paris ein Ministertreffen mit London abgesagt. Premierminister Boris Johnson versuchte, die Franzosen zu besänftigen – mit Liebesschwüren aus dem Flugzeug.
Wegen des Streits um den geplatzten Verkauf französischer U-Boote an Australien hat die französische Verteidigungsministerin Florence Parly ein Treffen mit ihrem britischen Kollegen Ben Wallace abgesagt. Die Begegnung sei „auf einen späteren Termin verschoben“ worden, sagte der Co-Vorsitzende des Franco-British Council, Peter Ricketts, wie die BBC und die Zeitung „Guardian“ am Montag berichteten. Parly sollte im Rahmen eines Treffens der Organisation nach London reisen, auch ranghohe Militärs sollten an den Beratungen der beiden größten Militärmächte Westeuropas teilnehmen.
Australien hatte im Zuge eines Dreierpakts mit den USA und Großbritannien den Bau atomgetriebener U-Boote vereinbart und dafür einen 56-Milliarden-Euro-Vertrag von 2016 mit Frankreich aufgekündigt. Der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson versuchte unterdessen, Frankreich zu beruhigen. Das dem Streit zugrunde liegende neue Militärbündnis seines Landes mit Australien und den Vereinigten Staaten im Indopazifik sei „nichts, worüber sich irgendjemand Sorgen machen müsste, insbesondere nicht unsere französischen Freunde„, sagte Johnson. London und Paris hätten eine „sehr freundliche Beziehung“, die „von äußerster Wichtigkeit“ sei, sagte er auf dem Flug zur UN-Generalversammlung in New York. „Unsere Liebe zu Frankreich ist unauslöschlich.“ Der Deal solle niemanden ausschließen. Morrison: Bereue den Deal nicht » | Quelle: dpa/AFP | Montag, 20. September 2021
Japan Urges Europe to Speak Out against China’s Military Expansion
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: in the first piece in a new Guardian series on China and tensions in the Indo-Pacific, Japan’s defence minister says the international community must bolster deterrence efforts against Beijing’s military
Japan's defence minister, Nobuo Kishi, said China was ‘attempting to use its power to unilaterally change the status quo in the East and South China Seas’. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Japan has urged European countries to speak out against China’s aggression, warning that the international community must bolster deterrence efforts against Beijing’s military and territorial expansion amid a growing risk of a hot conflict.
In an interview with the Guardian, Japan’s defence minister, Nobuo Kishi, said China had become increasingly powerful politically, economically and militarily and was “attempting to use its power to unilaterally change the status quo in the East and South China Seas”, which are crucial to global shipping and include waters and islands claimed by several other nations.
Tokyo had “strong concerns in regards to the safety and security of not only our own country and the region but for the global community”, Kishi warned. “China is strengthening its military power both in terms of quantity and quality, and rapidly improving its operational capability,” he said.
Kishi’s comments are a strong signal of the rising international concern over China’s military ambitions in disputed regions like the South and East China Sea, the Indian border, and in particular Taiwan. His remarks were echoed by senior figures on the island, with Taiwan’s former head of navy and deputy defence minister also warning that more deterrence was needed.
With China ratcheting up military activity in the region, experts and global military figures have also warned that small confrontations or maritime accidents could quickly escalate into a full-blown conflict. » | Helen Davidson in Taipei | Monday, September 20, 2021
Japan has urged European countries to speak out against China’s aggression, warning that the international community must bolster deterrence efforts against Beijing’s military and territorial expansion amid a growing risk of a hot conflict.
In an interview with the Guardian, Japan’s defence minister, Nobuo Kishi, said China had become increasingly powerful politically, economically and militarily and was “attempting to use its power to unilaterally change the status quo in the East and South China Seas”, which are crucial to global shipping and include waters and islands claimed by several other nations.
Tokyo had “strong concerns in regards to the safety and security of not only our own country and the region but for the global community”, Kishi warned. “China is strengthening its military power both in terms of quantity and quality, and rapidly improving its operational capability,” he said.
Kishi’s comments are a strong signal of the rising international concern over China’s military ambitions in disputed regions like the South and East China Sea, the Indian border, and in particular Taiwan. His remarks were echoed by senior figures on the island, with Taiwan’s former head of navy and deputy defence minister also warning that more deterrence was needed.
With China ratcheting up military activity in the region, experts and global military figures have also warned that small confrontations or maritime accidents could quickly escalate into a full-blown conflict. » | Helen Davidson in Taipei | Monday, September 20, 2021
Australia Is Making a Risky Bet on the U.S.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The United States did not directly mention China in announcing its historic new security partnership with Australia and Britain last week, but it didn’t have to. The defense deal is a clear escalation and indication that Washington views Beijing as an adversary.
It also has thrust Australia into a central role in America’s rivalry with China. After hinting at a more self-reliant defense posture for the past several years, Australia’s government is now instead betting big on the future of its alliance with the United States with the new pact. Australia seems to be assuming that America will remain engaged in Asia for the long haul and will be prepared to face down China if necessary — but it shouldn’t.
The crux of the partnership, called AUKUS, is an agreement for the United States and Britain to share their technology to help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines. But this is no ordinary arms agreement, nothing like exporting fighter jets or howitzers. Only a handful of nations have nuclear-powered submarines, and Australia will be just the second country, after Britain, to benefit from the top-secret U.S. technology.
Why is Australia worthy of such favorable treatment? It’s not just that it is one of America’s oldest and closest allies. It’s that for many American observers of China’s increasingly aggressive behavior, Australia is also the canary in the coal mine for great power competition with China. » | Sam Roggeveen | Monday, September 20, 2021
Romance, Leis, Kisses.
Jews & Arabs Kiss to Protest a Book Ban
Die Welt näher zusammenbringen: Ein Jude und ein Araber küssen einander.
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Crise des sous-marins: une «rupture de confiance majeure» avec Washington
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Pour le gouvernement français, le «contrat du siècle» avec l’Australie ne se résumait pas à une affaire de vente d’armes.
En rappelant pour consultation ses ambassadeurs à Washington et à Canberra, une mesure très forte d’ordinaire réservée à des pays adversaires lorsqu’ils franchissent les lignes rouges, comme la Turquie d’Erdogan il y a un an, la France a-t-elle surréagi? «Crise grave», «mensonge», «duplicité», «mépris»: rarement le ministre des Affaires étrangères Jean-Yves Le Drian, qui a l’habitude d’appeler un chat un chat, mais n’est pas connu pour être colérique ni impulsif, avait paru aussi irrité.
Quant au porte-parole du gouvernement, Gabriel Attal, il parle de «rupture de confiance majeure». La tourmente sera au cœur du coup de téléphone prévu dans les jours qui viennent entre Emmanuel Macron et Joe Biden, à la demande du président américain. Elle sera aussi évoquée dans des entretiens entre le chef de la diplomatie française et ses homologues américains en marge de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU, dès lundi. » | Par Isabelle Lasserre | dimanche 19 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
À LIRE AUSSI :
Sans le Brexit, le Royaume-Uni aurait-il pu négocier le nouveau pacte de sécurité avec les États-Unis et l'Australie ? : LA VÉRIFICATION - Aussitôt après l'annonce du torpillage du «contrat du siècle» entre la France et l'Australie, Nigel Farage s'est félicité du contrat Aukus signé par le Royaume-Uni, qu'il estime être une conséquence du Brexit. »
Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 in E Minor, Op.11 - 2. Romance | Larghetto | Krystian Zimerman
Voted the Best ‘Chicken française’ on Facebook
Get the recipe here.
En minijupe dans Kaboul ? La réalité derrière la photo des Afghanes « libérées » - Flashback #5
Sep 19, 2021 • Trois femmes, en jupe, dans Kaboul : l’image est simple et puissante. Abondamment relayée sur les réseaux sociaux, souvent par des militants d’extrême droite, elle aurait aussi convaincu Donald Trump, en 2017, de maintenir les troupes américaines en Afghanistan.
Cette photo, prise en 1972 dans un quartier huppé de Kaboul, illustre-t-elle la « modernité perdue » de l’Afghanistan, avant que les talibans n'arrivent ?
Pour ce nouvel épisode de la série vidéo «#Flashback», nous avons rencontré la photographe Laurence Brun, celle qui était derrière l’objectif.
Cinquième épisode de la série « Flashback » du « Monde », qui remonte le temps pour raconter les histoires extraordinaires qui se cachent derrière les photos qui ont changé le monde.
Cette photo, prise en 1972 dans un quartier huppé de Kaboul, illustre-t-elle la « modernité perdue » de l’Afghanistan, avant que les talibans n'arrivent ?
Pour ce nouvel épisode de la série vidéo «#Flashback», nous avons rencontré la photographe Laurence Brun, celle qui était derrière l’objectif.
Cinquième épisode de la série « Flashback » du « Monde », qui remonte le temps pour raconter les histoires extraordinaires qui se cachent derrière les photos qui ont changé le monde.
View from the Left: US Defeat in Afghanistan Signals an Irrational, Declining Empire - Global Capitalism
Submarine Deal Gives Post-Brexit Britain Its Moment on the Global Stage
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The British government played an early role in brokering the alliance with the U.S. and Australia to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific, officials in London and Washington said.
President Biden with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, left, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain joining him via video conference on Wednesday at the White House. Doug Mills/The New York Times
LONDON — As relations between France and the United States sink to their lowest depths in decades, Britain has emerged as the unlikely winner in a maritime security alliance that has sowed anger and recrimination across three continents.
The British government played an early role in brokering the three-way alliance with the United States and Australia to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific, according to officials in London and Washington. The landmark agreement was announced hours after Australia canceled a $66 billion deal for diesel-electric submarines with France, provoking fury in Paris and quiet satisfaction in London.
For Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will meet this coming week with President Biden at the White House and speak at the United Nations, it is his first tangible victory in a campaign to make post-Brexit Britain a player on the global stage.
Since leaving the European Union 18 months ago, Britain has cast about for a place in the world. Brexiteers latched on to the phrase “Global Britain,” which always seemed more a marketing slogan than a coherent foreign policy.
Yet the deal sealed on Wednesday, in which the United States and Britain would supply Australia with the submarines, confirmed Britain’s status as a military power with nuclear expertise, as well as a trusted ally of the United States. It also lent credibility to Mr. Johnson’s effort to build a British presence in Asia, a strategy that at first looked mostly like a nostalgic throwback to its imperial past.
Now, Britain has negotiated trade deals with Australia, Japan and South Korea, and deployed an aircraft carrier to help the United States keep an eye on China in the South China Sea, where Beijing is asserting its own imperial ambitions by constructing a chain of military installations. » | Mark Landler | Saturday, September 18, 2021
LONDON — As relations between France and the United States sink to their lowest depths in decades, Britain has emerged as the unlikely winner in a maritime security alliance that has sowed anger and recrimination across three continents.
The British government played an early role in brokering the three-way alliance with the United States and Australia to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific, according to officials in London and Washington. The landmark agreement was announced hours after Australia canceled a $66 billion deal for diesel-electric submarines with France, provoking fury in Paris and quiet satisfaction in London.
For Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will meet this coming week with President Biden at the White House and speak at the United Nations, it is his first tangible victory in a campaign to make post-Brexit Britain a player on the global stage.
Since leaving the European Union 18 months ago, Britain has cast about for a place in the world. Brexiteers latched on to the phrase “Global Britain,” which always seemed more a marketing slogan than a coherent foreign policy.
Yet the deal sealed on Wednesday, in which the United States and Britain would supply Australia with the submarines, confirmed Britain’s status as a military power with nuclear expertise, as well as a trusted ally of the United States. It also lent credibility to Mr. Johnson’s effort to build a British presence in Asia, a strategy that at first looked mostly like a nostalgic throwback to its imperial past.
Now, Britain has negotiated trade deals with Australia, Japan and South Korea, and deployed an aircraft carrier to help the United States keep an eye on China in the South China Sea, where Beijing is asserting its own imperial ambitions by constructing a chain of military installations. » | Mark Landler | Saturday, September 18, 2021
Crise des sous-marins : Le Drian dénonce une «duplicité», l'Australie évoque de «profondes et sérieuses réserves»
LE FIGARO : Le chef de la diplomatie française pointe «une rupture majeure de confiance». Canberra rétorque que la France savait que Canberra avait de «profondes et graves réserves» sur la commande de sous-marins.
Le chef de la diplomatie française Jean-Yves Le Drian a évoqué samedi la «crise grave» provoquée par le torpillage d'un mégacontrat de sous-marins français à Canberra, dénonçant une «duplicité», ce que l'Australie et les États-Unis contestent. Interrogé au journal télévisé de France 2, le ministre des Affaires étrangères a ainsi justifié le rappel des ambassadeurs français à Canberra et Washington par le fait qu'il y avait «une crise grave entre nous». Cette mesure, la première dans l'histoire des relations entre Paris et Washington, «est très symbolique. Il y a eu mensonge, il y a eu duplicité, il y a eu rupture majeure de confiance, il y a eu mépris donc ça ne va pas entre nous», a-t-il déclaré.
Plusieurs représentants du gouvernement australien ont tenté de faire baisser la pression française dans cette affaire et de défendre leur bonne foi. Le ministre australien des Finances Simon Birmingham a assuré dimanche que son pays avait informé le gouvernement français «à la première occasion possible, avant que l'affaire ne devienne publique». Interrogé par la chaîne publique australienne ABC, il a souligné que la décision australienne de revenir sur le contrat conclu avec la France était évidemment très difficile. «Nous ne sous-estimons pas l'importance maintenant de nous assurer que nous serons en mesure de rétablir ces liens forts avec le gouvernement français et nos partenaires à long terme», a-t-il ajouté. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | Publié : samedi 18 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : dimanche 19 septembre 2021
Baptism of fire as Liz Truss heads to US amid submarine row: As France accuses the US and Australia of ‘lies and duplicity’, new UK foreign secretary faces major diplomatic incident on her first official overseas trip »
Wir haben unsere Bedenken geäußert“: Paris wirft Canberra wegen eines geplatzten Rüstungsdeals „Doppelzüngigkeit“ vor. Der australische Außenminister weist den Vorwurf der Lüge jetzt entschieden zurück. Und auch die neue britische Außenministerin verteidigt den Deal. »
Funny Gay Quote
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)