Reflectii

France to Its Citizens in Afghanistan: Happy Bastille Day, Leave the Country

The French ambassador in Afghanistan, David Martinon, in a Bastille Day speech in Kabul, urged all French citizens to immediately leave the country due to the precarious security situation. He did not mince his words: “The Taliban loot, burn, destroy buildings and energy and communication networks. They indiscriminately detain and kill civilians and attack prisons. All of this demonstrates the Taliban’s utter contempt for the rule of law,” the ambassador said. The embassy, he said, was arranging a special evacuation flight that would depart on Saturday morning, “to allow the entire French community to return to France.” The flight will be free of charge. Martinon warned those who decide to stay in Afghanistan after July 17 that the embassy would “no longer be able to provide security for your departure.” The announcement comes as most US and allied NATO troops have already left the country and the rest are due to pull out in the coming days.

Bombast in the Black Sea: the Latest British Provocation

Post-World War II British foreign policy has included a number of provocative steps that have weakened British standing; created complications in the international arena; and raised the possibility of serious confrontation. In the 1950s, the British were the ringleaders in the last gasp of European colonialism: a British-French-Israeli conspiracy to topple Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and occupy the Suez Canal. In the 1980s, the British ended up in a war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, projecting power over thousands of miles to save British sheepherders. In the 1990s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher goaded President George H.W. Bush to pursue war in Iraq (“don’t go wobbly on me, George) at a time when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was trying to arrange for an Iraqi troop withdrawal from Kuwait to prevent war. In the 2000s, Prime Minister Tony Blair was the only West European leader to enthusiastically support the U.S. invasion of Iraq, supplementing the lies and chicanery of the Bush administration to justify war. This month, the British send a destroyer into the Black Sea to challenge the Russian occupation of Crimea, which complicates Western relations with Russia at a time when Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin are moving awkwardly to end the free fall in their bilateral relations and to institutionalize a diplomatic dialogue on central issues such as arms control and cybersecurity.

Former US informants arrested as suspects in Haitian President’s assassination; media

Two men tied to the Haitian President’s Murder plot worked for US law enforcement as informants; one was said to work for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA. A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a US State Department official, provided information to the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual,” the DEA said, some media reported.

A înnebunit Frans Timmermans?

Comisia Europeană vrea să ajungă la ”zero net” emisii de carbon până în 2050. Asta înseamnă că în acel an ar trebui ca țările UE să nu emită mai multe gaze cu efect de seră decât pot reține în mod natural și prin noile tehnologii. Primul pas este reducerea emisiilor cu 55% până în 2030. Nu este doar planul Comisiei Europene, prin Pactul Verde European. Este și obiectivul administrației Biden și devine și obiectivul bancherilor centrali.

„Acht bis vier war gestern“

Eight days a week – Acht Tage die Woche – sangen die Beatles vor fast 60 Jahren. Doch heute wird öffentlich darüber diskutiert, die Arbeitswoche auf vier Tage zu verkürzen – und das nicht unbedingt am Arbeitsplatz.

Der Arbeitsmarkt befindet sich in diesen Jahren unter ständiger Veränderung. Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter sind über die vergangenen Jahrzehnte durch die zunehmende Digitalisierung mobiler und flexibler geworden. Aber auch der (angebliche) Bedarf, jederzeit einkaufen oder Dienstleistungen in Anspruch nehmen zu können, verschiebt Arbeits- und Öffnungszeiten.

Global piracy down, Gulf of Guinea still a concern

Incidents of international piracy and armed robbery are at their lowest level in 27 years, according to International Maritime Bureau (IMB) statistics, with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) specialist facility warning risks to seafarers remain, especially off West Africa.

France: L’avenir troublé du contre-terrorisme au Sahel au menu du sommet France

Paris – Les chefs d’Etat du G5 Sahel devaient s’entretenir vendredi avec Emmanuel Macron, alors que la France n’a encore donné aucun détail sur la réduction de ses forces militaires dans la région, où les groupes jihadistes restent toujours aussi menaçants.

Le nouveau président nigérien Mohamed Bazoum est arrivé vendredi matin à Paris pour une visite bilatérale. Ses homologues tchadien, malien, burkinabè et mauritanien étaient pour leur part réunis en visio-conférence pour un sommet du G5, avant qu’Emmanuel Macron ne se joigne à eux.