Emmanuel Macron dubbed 'jack***' after furious reaction to AUKUS deal 'Behaved daftly!' - Daily Express

GB News host Dan Wootton spoke to political commentators Albie Amankona and Alex Deane and reflected on the ongoing row between Australia and France. Australia agreeing AUKUS deal resulted in them pulling out of a submarine deal with France, to the dismay of French President Emmanuel Macron. Both Mr Amankona and Mr Deane dubbed Mr Macron a "jack***" and agreed he and French politicians have been behaving daftly following this.

Mr Amankona said: "My Union Jack*** is Emmanuel Macron and French politicians in general.

"Their attitudes towards Britain and British politicians and British success always stinks.

"I think Emmanuel Macron showed himself up with this whole AUKUS deal and his reaction to it.

"There are break clauses in contracts for a reason.

DON'T MISS: Boris rages in French over Macron 'Get a grip and give me a break!'

"Australia wanted better technology, nuclear submarines so they could stay underwater for longer so they went with the US and UK.

"France couldn't offer it, maybe they should improve their submarine technologies so they have got a better product to offer in the future."

Mr Deane added: "I think the French have behaved so daftly now.

"Who is going to want to be their customer now?

He continued: "I just think it's time for some of our dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break.

"Because this is fundamentally a great step forward for global security.

"It's three very like-minded allies standing shoulder to shoulder creating a new partnership for the sharing of technology.

"It's not exclusive, It's not trying to shoulder anybody out. It's not adversarial towards China, for instance."

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2021-09-23 07:07:00Z
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Aukus pact: France and US seek to mend rift - BBC News

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France and the US have made efforts to end a row which started last week with the announcement of the Aukus defence pact between the US, UK and Australia.

The pact cost France a deal worth $37bn (£27bn) to build submarines for Australia.

Paris said it found out only hours before the public announcement.

The American and French presidents have now issued a joint statement saying the situation would have benefited from open consultations between allies.

Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone for half an hour on Wednesday. They will also meet in Europe at the end of next month.

Announced last week, Aukus is widely seen as an effort to counter China's influence in the contested South China Sea.

Analysts have described it as probably the most significant security arrangement between the three nations since World War Two.

But French anger over the pact had been palpable - the French foreign minister called it a "stab in the back".

In a rare step among allies, Mr Macron had ordered the recall of the French ambassadors to Washington and Canberra.

However, the ambassador to Washington will now return to his post. There was no word on whether the ambassador to Canberra would do the same.

President Biden reaffirmed the importance of French and European engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

And the statement underlined US recognition of the importance of stronger European defence which France has been spearheading for years - as a complement to the trans-Atlantic Nato alliance.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to a US official.

• ANALYSIS: Aukus pact could signal power shift in Asia-Pacific
• LETTER FROM PARIS: Aukus pact delivers France some hard truths
• LETTER FROM SYDNEY: Australia's big gamble on the US over China

US and France agree to move on

Analysis by Nomia Iqbal, Washington correspondent

This was a classic "non-apology apology" by the Americans: an apology for the process (the lack of consultation), but not for the policy itself (Aukus). But we did get a picture of President Biden smiling whilst on the phone with President Macron, in an attempt to show all is well.

As far as the readout goes, they can often be rather bland, but this had lots of meaning.

Firstly, it was a joint statement, when usually you get one from each side, so both leaders were trying to show a united front after their "friendly 30-minute call". It made clear at the start that President Biden initiated the call - perhaps this was something France wanted to make sure was known.

Then there is this line: "The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations" - again, something France wanted in there?

But America had its say too, Biden did not alter his ongoing underlying message that European countries needs to contribute more to the continent's own defence.

It then ended with a pointed reminder of the US giving extra counter-terrorism help in the Sahel, where the French are hugely invested.

In short, it was a statement that was clearly very well crafted for both sides to get their points across and move on. But a smiling phone call is one thing. What about when the two presidents meet in person next month in Europe?

It is worth mentioning that President Macron is facing re-election next year. His hanging tough with President Biden was important domestically but equally he needed to find an exit ramp. Today's call delivers it.

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2021-09-23 03:54:18Z
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Taiwan seeks entry into key trade pact before China - BBC News

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Taiwan has filed an application to join a key Asia-Pacific trade pact just days after China submitted an application.

But it warned that its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could be put at risk should China join first.

The two places have a complicated relationship.

Taiwan considers itself as an independent nation, but China regards it as a breakaway province.

On Thursday, Taiwan's chief trade negotiator John Deng told reporters that if China joined the CPTPP first, "Taiwan's case to become a member will be at risk, this is fairly obvious".

The unanimous approval of all 11 members is needed for new countries to join the pact.

On Thursday, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters that he welcomed Taiwan's application to join the pact, said a Kyodo News report.

The CPTPP was initially created by the US to counter China's influence - but the US later pulled out under then US President Donald Trump.

It is one of the largest of its kind, linking a wide swathe of countries across the region.

• What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?

China has not yet commented on Taiwan's application - though it has in the past often insisted that Taiwan be excluded from many international bodies or to be labelled as part of China.

This has sometimes resulted in Taiwan joining under different names. For instance, its team competes under the name of Chinese Taipei in the Olympics.

Taiwan has also applied to join the CPTPP under the name it uses in the World Trade Organization (WTO) - the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen

Both China and Taiwan's applications come after the US, UK and Australia recently announced a controversial security deal, in an effort seen to counter Chinese influence in Asia-Pacific.

The Aukus pact will allow Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time, using technology provided by the US and the UK.

China has criticised Aukus, with foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying the alliance risked "severely damaging regional peace... and intensifying the arms race".

The original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was promoted by then-President Barack Obama as an economic bloc to challenge China's increasingly powerful position in the Asia Pacific.

After Mr Trump pulled the US out of the deal, Japan led negotiations to create what became the CPTPP.

The CPTPP was signed in 2018 by 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand.

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2021-09-23 04:54:27Z
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Canary Islands volcano forces further evacuations of La Palma residents - BBC News - BBC News

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2021-09-22 20:09:54Z
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President Biden pledges 500m more vaccine doses to developing world - BBC News

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The US is to donate 500 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine to developing nations from next year.

President Joe Biden made the pledge at a virtual Covid-19 summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, promising an "arsenal of vaccines".

The additional jabs will see the total US commitment on vaccine sharing exceed one billion jabs.

Experts say some 11 billion doses are required to vaccinate at least 70% of the global population.

The World Health Organisation has set a minimum target of 40% vaccine coverage in every country by the end of 2021.

But the goal is unlikely to be met.

While many high-income countries have now given at least one shot to more than half their populations, only 2% of people in low-income countries have had their first dose, according to data from the University of Oxford.

• Covid vaccine tracker: How's my country doing?
• Could 241m vaccine doses go to waste?

Global vaccine supply is still lagging

Analysis by Stephanie Hegarty, BBC population correspondent

It's a big pledge but it'll be met with a fair share of scepticism from countries still waiting to vaccinate even 2% of their population.

The US had already pledged 580m doses but delivered only 160m of those so far.

So what's different now? Well, global production has picked up in the past few months and there are doses available.

Rich countries could have 1.2bn spare doses by the end of the year, even if they run booster campaigns, according to science analytics firm Airfinity. 241m of those could go to waste if they're not donated. But these need to be sent very soon.

Covax, the WHO-backed scheme to help distribute vaccines fairly, has told the BBC that too many of the donations it's receiving have come in small quantities, at the last minute and with little time left before they expire.

That makes their job of getting them to where they are needed very hard. If Biden want to meet this ambitious goal of vaccinating the world by this time next year, that will have to change.

The White House's Covid summit comes as research shows rich countries are still holding surpluses of vaccines, many of which could soon be thrown out.

In June, members of the G7 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US - pledged to donate one billion doses to poor countries over the next year.

President Biden pledged 580m at the time, of which the US has delivered only 160m so far.

The donated vaccines are routed through Covax, the global scheme supported by the WHO to get doses where they're needed most.

Covax purchases and then sells vaccines at low-cost to middle income countries and donates to poor countries.

In the US - where more than 76% of adults have received at least one dose - criticism that the country is doing too little to help the rest of the world has grown.

On Friday, a panel advising the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended booster shots - third doses - of the Pfizer vaccine for people 65 and over.

The WHO has previously called on wealthier nations to hold off on providing boosters until vaccination rates go up in lesser developed countries.

Last week, in a letter to Mr Biden, eight lawmakers of his own party wrote: "Clearly, there is an inequitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccine doses, and it is getting worse."

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2021-09-22 16:14:09Z
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Police identify woman found injured and speaking with 'Scottish accent' on Croatian island - Daily Record

Police have identified a woman found injured and 'speaking with a Scottish accent' on a Croatian island.

Officers identified the woman as Daniela Adamcova, from Slovakia, after receiving numerous tips from Croatia and abroad.

When the 57-year-old was found, she couldn't remember her own name or how she came to be there.

We previously told how the woman was believed to have had a "Scottish accent".

It is now understood this was an Irish accent after she was found to have resided there in recent years.

Daniela was found by a fisherman (Image: Dajana Milinković)

Croatian media said the tip that revealed her identity came from the US where she reportedly lived until 2015 before moving to Ireland.

She was reportedly a successful jewellery designer who ended up becoming homeless.

The woman was discovered on September 12 on Krk, sitting on a jagged rock close to the sea in a remote part of the island inhabited by bears.

Croatian media reported that she in English but could not give her name. She did not have identification documents or a mobile phone.

Police released a photo showing a blonde woman with blue eyes and a bloodied face.

Croatian rescue services said she woman had spent a night at the sea shore and was found "exhausted and with light injuries and disoriented".

The case drew attention in Croatia and internationally.

The woman cannot remember her name (Image: Dajana Milinković)

The woman has since been transferred to a hospital in the town of Rijeka.

Concerned local Dajana Milinković had posted a Facebook appeal suggesting the woman speaks with a Scottish accent in the hope that someone will recognise her and help get her home to her loved ones.

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Dajana had told the Record: "The fisherman who alarmed the police said she was calling for help in English, but she has a Scottish accent.

"She does not remember her name, she did not have any documents or a mobile phone with her, the only thing that is known about her is that she communicates in English.

"Police found her backpack on the rocky shore where she had been all night, dehydrated and fainting.

"She may have spent the whole night on that rocky terrain.

Top news stories today

"But the contents of the backpack did not provide investigators with the desired information about her identity. She only had mosquito spray, a wallet and some other small items that every tourist would take with them on a trip."

After Daniela was finally identified police described her condition as "stable" and said social services will take over once she is released from hospital.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

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2021-09-22 14:01:49Z
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La Palma volcano: Canary Islands eruption could last for three months, experts say - Sky News

A volcanic eruption in Spain's Canary Islands could last three months, experts have said.

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said on Wednesday that the eruption on the island of La Palma and its aftermath could last for up to 84 days.

Image: Since last Sunday's eruption, powerful rivers of lava have swallowed up 185 buildings

The institute said it had looked at calculations of the length of previous eruptions on the archipelago, which like the latest eruption were followed by heavy lava flows and lasting seismic activity.

This means residents could still be at risk of earthquakes, lava flows, toxic gases, volcanic ash and acid rain.

The institute also reported that Tuesday night saw a strong increase in the number of smaller eruptions that hurl rocks and cinders high into the air from the La Palma volcano.

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Since last Sunday's eruption, powerful rivers of lava, up to six meters high, have swallowed up 185 buildings, mostly homes in the countryside.

Siguiendo las noticias y sufriendo con las terribles imágenes de la erupción del volcán en La Palma y las consecuencias para tantas familias afectadas. Enviarles un fuerte abrazo a todas y ojalá esto termine pronto. Intentaremos aportar nuestro granito de arena en su momento. pic.twitter.com/emarM826bS

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 22, 2021

The lava now covers 154 hectares, according to the volcanology institute.

More on Canary Islands

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On Tuesday, the lava flows were heading downhill toward the island's more densely populated coast.

Image: Thousands of people have been evacuated since the eruption

Emergency services on the island attempted to divert some of the lava by using front-loaders to clear a path for the molten rock to follow, hoping to steer it away from properties.

However, officials said they did not know if it would work.

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Slow motion footage shows volcano's power

Some 1,000 people were evacuated later in the day from the neighbourhood of Todoque on the shoreline, bringing the total number of evacuated people to around 6,000.

The meeting of lava - which is more than 1,000C - with a body of water, could cause explosions and produce clouds of toxic gas.

Image: Homes have already been destroyed but the eruption's aftermath could last for up to 84 days

Prompt evacuations have helped avoid any casualties from the eruption, though damage to homes, infrastructure and farmland is significant, officials have said.

The volcano has also been spewing out between 8,000 and 10,500 tons of sulfur dioxide - which also affects the lungs - every day, the institute added.

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2021-09-22 12:00:00Z
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