French envoy to return to US after fence-mending Biden-Macron call - CNA

PARIS/WASHINGTON: The US and French presidents moved to mend ties on Wednesday (Sep 22), with France agreeing to send its ambassador back to Washington and the White House acknowledging it erred in brokering a deal for Australia to buy US instead of French submarines without consulting Paris.

In a joint statement issued after US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone for 30 minutes, the two leaders agreed to launch in-depth consultations to rebuild trust, and to meet in Europe at the end of October.

They said Washington had committed to step up "support to counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel conducted by European states" which US officials suggested meant a continuation of logistical support rather than deploying US special forces.

Biden's call to Macron was an attempt to mend fences after France accused the United States of stabbing it in the back when Australia ditched a US$40-billion contract for conventional French submarines, and opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with US and British technology instead.

Outraged by the US, British and Australian deal, France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra.

"The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners," the joint US and French statement said.

"President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard."

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki described the call as "friendly" and sounded hopeful about improving ties.

"The president has had a friendly phone call with the president of France where they agreed to meet in October and continue close consultations and work together on a range of issues," she told reporters.

Asked if Biden apologised to Macron, she said: "He acknowledged that there could have been greater consultation."

The US, Australian and British security partnership was widely seen as designed to counter China's growing assertiveness in the Pacific but critics said it undercut Biden's broader effort to rally allies such as France to that cause.

Biden administration officials suggested the US commitment to "reinforcing its support to counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel" meant a continuation of existing efforts.

France has a 5.000 strong counter-terrorism force fighting militants across the Sahel.

It is reducing its contingent to 2,500-3,000, moving more assets to Niger, and encouraging other European countries to provide special forces to work alongside local forces. The United States provides logistical and intelligence support.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US military would continue to support French operations, but declined to speculate about potential increases or changes in US assistance.

"When I saw the verb reinforce, what I took away was that we're going to stay committed to that task," he told reporters.

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2021-09-22 22:29:59Z
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Uncharted waters for South-east Asian nations after Aukus - The Straits Times

A new trilateral defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US, known as Aukus, will lead to greater uncertainty for South-east Asia, but analysts say the region could gain from having a counterbalancing force against an increasingly assertive China.

The reaction has been wide-ranging in the region.

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2021-09-22 12:39:31Z
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Australia sets conditions for China joining Pacific pact - Yahoo Singapore News

China must end a freeze on contacts with senior Australian politicians if it hopes to join a trans-Pacific trade pact, Canberra's trade minister said Wednesday, setting de facto preconditions for accession.

Dan Tehan linked China's bid to join an 11-nation trading alliance with steps to improve bilateral relations that are at their lowest ebb in decades.

China formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) last week, and is lobbying to gain the consensus support of members including Australia.

This comes after a war of words between the two countries, a string of sanctions on Australian goods and a months-long freeze on senior-level government contacts.

"When I became trade minister, I wrote to my Chinese counterpart in January setting out how we can work more closely together. I am still waiting for a reply," Tehan said in a Monday speech.

"One of the most important things about negotiating the accession process of any country into the CPTPP is that you have to be able to sit down at ministerial level, look your economic partner in the eye, and talk about that accession process."

Tehan also indicated China would have to resolve disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO) stemming from a slew of politically driven sanctions on Australian imports.

"All parties will want to be confident that any new member will meet, implement and adhere to the high standards of the agreement as well as to their WTO commitments and their existing trade agreements," he said.

"It's in everyone's interests that everyone plays by the rules."

- 'Economic coercion' -

Australia this month asked the WTO to rule against China's imposition of crippling tariffs on Australian wine exports, after initial consultations failed to resolve the dispute.

Wine sales by Australia to China plummeted from over Aus$1 billion ($840 million) to a virtual trickle after Beijing imposed the tariffs, according to industry figures.

Australia is also challenging Chinese tariffs on barley at the WTO and has objected to sanctions on a string of other goods, which Canberra describes as "economic coercion."

The measures are widely seen in Australia as punishment for pushing back against Beijing's operations to impose influence in Australia, rejecting Chinese investment in sensitive areas and publicly calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the Chinese embassy in Australia this month lobbied Canberra to join the CPTPP, telling an Australian parliamentary inquiry that China's accession "would benefit all CPTPP members and the rest of the world."

Signed by 11 Asia-Pacific countries in 2018, the partnership is the region's biggest free-trade pact and accounts for around 13.5 percent of the global economy.

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2021-09-22 08:54:14Z
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China's Evergrande says deal reached to avoid default on key bond - The Straits Times

SHANGHAI (AFP, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Embattled Chinese housing giant Evergrande said Wednesday (Sept 22) it had agreed a deal with domestic bondholders that should allow the conglomerate to avoid default on one of its interest payments. 

In a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange, Evergrande’s property unit Hengda said it had negotiated a plan to pay interest worth 232 million yuan (S$48.48 million) for its  5.8 per cent 2025 onshore bond. There was no mention of its repayments on interest for an offshore bond.

Hengda said investors “who bought and held the bonds” before September 22, 2021 “are entitled to interest paid this time”.

Evergrande, with over US$300 billion (S$405 billion) in liabilities, is in the throes of a liquidity crisis that has left it racing to raise funds to pay its many lenders and suppliers. It has a bond interest payment of US$83.5 million due on Thursday.

China stocks opened sharply lower on their return from a public holiday on Wednesday, playing catch-up with global markets which were roiled at the start of the week by fears of a messy collapse of  Evergrande. 

Both the CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite Index lost more than 1 per cent in opening deals on Wednesday. The CSI300 Real Estate index started nearly 2 per cent lower, but recouped losses in early trading. The CSI300 Banking Index fell nearly 3 per cent. 

Evergrande’s Hong Kong-listed shares tumbled over 10 per cent during the first two days of the week, when mainland markets were closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Fears of spillover effect knocked property and banking shares. 

The Hong Kong market was shut on Wednesday for a public holiday.

Singapore shares also opened weaker on Wednesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) slipping 0.6 per cent as at 9.02am. 

China’s central bank also increased its injection of short-term cash into the financial system on Wednesday. 
 The People’s Bank of China injected 120 billion yuan   into the banking system through reverse repurchase agreements, exceeding the 30 billion yuan of maturities on Wednesday. 

“The PBOC kept its net injection against a possible market plunge,” said Zhaopeng Xing, senior China strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “This will soothe the tightness and keep liquidity loose. Next week will see big fiscal spending flows, which will solve the quarter-end liquidity issue.” 

Evergrande is so deeply intertwined with China’s broader economy – from retail investors to infrastructure-related firms that are a gauge for global commodities demand – that fears over contagion have kept financial markets on tenterhooks. “There’s been a fair bit of concern about the possibility of contagion,” analysts at New York-based Bespoke wrote in a research note on Tuesday. 

“But so far that concern isn’t showing up in parts of the credit markets that have served well as red flags for broader credit crunches in the past.” 

The developer has not indicated whether it will be able to pay US$83.5 million in interest due on its March 2022 bond on Thursday. It has another US$47.5 million payment due on Sept 29 for March 2024 notes. 

Both bonds would default if  Evergrande fails to settle the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates.

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2021-09-22 02:58:51Z
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Gabby Petito autopsy: Coroner identifies body as hers, calls death a homicide - Yahoo Singapore News

A coroner in Wyoming confirmed Tuesday that the body found near Grand Teton National Park was that of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who was reported missing after her fiancé returned home from a cross-country road trip without her. 

The FBI initially ruled her death a homicide.

Teton County Coroner Brent Blue, who conducted a preliminary autopsy on Petito's body, said that his “initial determination” is that the manner of death was homicide.

The official cause of death is “pending final autopsy results,” the FBI said in a statement.

Brian Laundrie, Petito’s 23-year-old fiancé, was called a person of interest by police in North Port, Fla., where he and Petito lived with Laundrie’s parents before embarking on their trip. Laundrie was last seen on Sept. 14, when he told his parents he was going to a nearby nature reserve to meditate. His parents reported him missing three days later.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. (Via Facebook)

The FBI executed a search warrant at their home Monday, a day after a body matching Petito’s description was found in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Authorities resumed their search for Laundrie in the 24,565-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County on Tuesday.

Petito and Laundrie had spent months visiting national parks in their converted 2012 Ford Transit van, documenting the trip on social media.

Petito’s family, which lives on Long Island, said they lost contact with her in late August and reported her missing on Sept. 11 — 10 days after Laundrie returned home to Florida in the van without her.

Police seized the van and named Laundrie a person of interest after he declined to share “any helpful details.”

Petito’s parents have issued pleas for the Laundrie family to cooperate with authorities.

“We understand that you are going through a difficult time and that your instinct is strong to protect your son,” the Petito family said in a letter to the Laundries last week. “We ask you to put yourself in our shoes. We haven’t been able to sleep or eat and our lives are falling apart.”

FBI agents remove evidence from the family home of Brian Laundrie in North Port, Fla., on Monday. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

Steven Bertolino, a lawyer for the Laundrie family, had scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon but canceled it after speaking to the FBI, he said.

Last week, police in Moab, Utah, released body camera footage of officers pulling the young couple’s van over near Arches National Park on Aug. 12 following a report of a “domestic problem” between the pair outside a natural food store.

The video showed Laundrie with scratches on his face and a visibly distraught Petito wiping away tears while telling one officer that the couple had been fighting and were struggling with “personal issues.”

“I’m sorry,” Petito told the officer. “We’ve just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues.”

After questioning the couple separately for more than an hour, officers concluded that Petito had been the aggressor in the incident, but neither Laundrie nor Petito wanted to press charges.

“I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis,” the officers concluded in their report.

They instead decided to separate the couple for the night. Laundrie was taken to a motel and Petito was allowed to stay in the van. The pair reunited soon after and continued on their trip.

According to audio from a 911 call released Monday, a witness told police that he saw Laundrie slap Petito multiple times in the parking lot of the natural food store. But the information was reportedly not shared with the officers who pulled the van over.

The case has garnered widespread national media attention — as well as criticism of news outlets for not covering similar cases involving people of color.

Gabby Petito. (Via Facebook)

It has also drawn intense interest on social media, with online sleuths scouring the couple’s posts on Instagram for potential clues.

Before her body was found, Petito’s Instagram posts had been filled with comments hoping she would be found safe. 

And the most recent post on Laundrie’s Instagram account page — which remains active — was flooded with thousands of comments, many with a similar question: “Where’s Gabby?”

____

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2021-09-22 01:52:30Z
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President Joe Biden says US does not seek 'new Cold War', in reference to China - The Straits Times

UNITED NATIONS (REUTERS) - US President Joe Biden mapped out a new era of vigorous competition without a new Cold War despite China’s ascendance during his first UN address on Tuesday (Sept 21), promising military restraint and a robust fight against climate change.

The United States will help resolve crises from Iran to the Korean Peninsula to Ethiopia, Mr Biden told the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York.

The world faces a “decisive decade", Mr Biden said, one in which leaders must work together to combat a raging coronavirus pandemic, global climate change and cyber threats.

He said the US will double its financial commitment on climate aid and spend US$10 billion (S$14 billion) to fight hunger.

Mr Biden did not ever say the words “ China” or “Beijing”, but sprinkled implicit references to America’s increasingly powerful competitor throughout his speech, as the two nations butt heads in the Indo-Pacific and on trade and human rights issues.

He said the US will compete vigorously, both economically and to push democratic systems and rule of law.

“We’ll stand up for our allies and our friends and oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones, whether through changes to territory by force, economic coercion, technical exploitation or disinformation. But we’re not seeking - I’ll say it again – we are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs,” Mr Biden said.

He came to the UN facing criticism at home and abroad for a chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan that left some Americans and Afghan allies still in that country and struggling to get out.

‘A new era’

His vow for allied unity is being tested by a three-way agreement among the US, Australia and Britain that undermined a French submarine deal and left France feeling stabbed in the back.

“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and as we close this era of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” Mr Biden said.

He vowed to defend vital US national interests, but said that “the mission must be clear and achievable”, and the American military “must not be used as the answer to every problem we see around the world”.

Mr Biden, a Democrat, hoped to present a compelling case that the US remains a reliable ally to its partners around the world after four years of “America First” policies pursued by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.

Overcoming global challenges “will hinge on our ability to recognise our common humanity", Mr Biden said.

He added that he remains committed to peacefully resolving a dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme.

He vowed to defend US ally Israel, saying a two-state solution with the Palestinians is still needed but a distant goal.

He also said the US wants “sustained diplomacy” to resolve the crisis surrounding North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. North Korea has rejected US overtures to engage in talks.

Discussing oppression of racial, ethnic and religious minorities, Mr Biden singled out China’s Xinjiang region.

In response to Mr Biden’s reference to Xinjiang, China’s mission to the United Nations, told Reuters: “It’s completely groundless. We totally reject. The US should pay more attention to its own human rights problems.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who begins a second five-year term at the helm of the world body on Jan 1, warned earlier of the dangers of the growing gap between China and the US, the world’s largest economies.

“I fear our world is creeping towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial and technology rules, two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence – and ultimately two different military and geopolitical strategies,” Mr Guterres said.

“This is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War,” he added.

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2021-09-21 14:39:17Z
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Canada election: Trudeau stays in power but Liberals fall short of majority - Yahoo Singapore News

Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party has narrowly won Canada's election, but it failed to secure a majority of seats.

This is Mr Trudeau's third federal election win, but his critics say the poll was a waste of time.

The Liberals are projected to win 158 seats, short of the 170 seats needed for the majority Mr Trudeau was seeking with his early election call.

The Conservatives have held onto their main opposition status and are expected to win about 122 seats.

"There are still votes to be counted but what we've seen tonight is millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive plan," Mr Trudeau told supporters in Montreal in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"You elected a government that will fight for you and deliver for you," he said.

A failed gamble for Trudeau

The election, which took place during a fourth pandemic wave in Canada, was the most expensive in the country's history, costing some C$600m ($470m; £344m).

The projected results suggest a parliament strikingly similar to the one elected just two years ago in 2019.

The snap election call, sending Canadians to the polls for the second time in two years, was widely seen as a bid by Mr Trudeau to secure a majority government and he struggled to explain why a campaign was necessary. Conservative leader Erin O'Toole suggested it was a waste of time and money.

"Canadians sent him back with another minority at a cost of $600m and deeper divisions in our great country", he told reporters.

Mr Trudeau maintained that the election gave the incoming government a clear mandate in moving forward.

But over the course of the campaign, he struggled to convince voters of the need for an election, which also coincided with rising Covid-19 case loads due to the Delta variant.

Separately he was also heckled by anti-vaccine protesters on the campaign trail, with some shouting they would refuse the Covid jab.

Trudeau and his wife share a kiss

While questions will inevitably be raised about Mr Trudeau's political future, Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez told journalists early in the evening that no matter the outcome, he had "100% confidence" in him as Liberal Party leader.

"And all the members of the party do as well," he said.

How did other candidates do?

The country's left-wing New Democrats (NDP), which ran on a "tax the ultra-rich" message with leader Jagmeet Singh trying to tap into progressive voters frustrated with the Liberals, looks to have picked up a small number of seats.

Vote counts will continue to trickle in over the coming days as elections officials tally the roughly one million mail-in ballots cast this election, and current seat tallies are still to be finalised.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole speaks from Oshawa, Ontario

For the Conservatives, the result is a disappointment for new party leader Erin O'Toole, who ran on a centrist message in a bid to expand the party's base of support.

Like in 2019, the party is projected to have won the popular vote. But the first-past-the-post system - awarding victory to the candidate with most votes in any given constituency - means that has not translated to seats won.

Speaking to party faithful in Oshawa, Ontario, a defiant Mr O'Toole pitched his vision for a bigger Conservative tent, saying: "Our party needed the courage to change because Canada has changed."

He urged supporters not to waiver from the commitment to grow the party's base, acknowledging that "clearly there is more work for us to do" in setting the stage for a better showing in the next campaign.

Conservative strategist Jason Lietaer told journalists at party headquarters that there's reason to keep Mr O'Toole on as leader despite his failure to secure them a victory.

"He's gone from unknown to contender in just a few weeks," Mr Lietaer said. "O'Toole was a huge underdog. To be within a few points is something we're all proud of."

Jagmeet Singh speaks alongside his pregnant wife

How will Canada govern now?

While minority governments are common in Canada, coalitions are extremely rare and Mr Trudeau will need to compromise with opposition parties to pass legislation.

The NDP are likely to be kingmakers in this new parliament, and could help the Liberals to survive key confidence votes and get their policies through.

Mr Singh, the NDP leader, speaking in Burnaby, British Columbia, noted he had secured concessions from Mr Trudeau in the last parliament.

He said he had a laundry list of priorities this time around, and vowed to push for action on climate change, affordable housing, and healthcare.

"You can be sure if we work together we can build a better society," he said.

Infographic showing seats by party in the new Canadian parliament: Liberal 158; Conservative 119; Bloc Quebecois 34; New Democratic 25; Green 2.

The night saw setbacks for both the Green Party and the People's Party of Canada (PPC).

New Green leader Annamie Paul was badly defeated in her efforts to secure a seat in Toronto, after she struggled with internal party divisions that threatened her leadership.

"I am disappointed - it is hard to lose, no one likes to lose," Ms Paul said as she thanked supporters.

Still, the party is still projected to send at least two members of parliament to Ottawa.

The PPC failed to secure any seats despite a late surge as its populist leader tapped into a vein of anger among some Canadians over vaccine mandates and lockdown measures, but did increase its overall vote share.

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2021-09-21 13:48:26Z
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