France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit

France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (R) listens to France's President Emmanuel Macron during a signing ceremony in the Royal Palace in the capital Rabat on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 29 October 2024
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France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit

France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit

RABAT: France and Morocco reached agreements on Monday totalling “up to ten billion euros ($10.82 billion),” sources with direct knowledge to the matter told AFP, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to Morocco aiming to mend strained relations.
Several deals were signed in the presence of Macron and King Mohammed VI, with more expected on Tuesday, including on energy and infrastructure.
Macron’s trip was at the king’s invitation late in September, but also follows years of tense ties with Rabat.
A delegation of French ministers and business leaders accompanied Macron, while French and Moroccan flags flew alongside each other in the city’s main thoroughfares.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, Economy Minister Antoine Armand and Culture Minister Rachida Dati — herself of Moroccan origin — all traveled with the president.
Though specific contract details were not disclosed, French rail manufacturer Alstom is set to supply up to 18 high-speed train cars to Morocco according to the deals signed on Monday.
Energy company Engie and the Moroccan Phosphates Office meanwhile signed a renewables agreement with potential investments reaching up to 3.5 billion euros, according to AFP reporters.
France’s TotalEnergies also inked a deal to develop “green hydrogen” production in the north African country.
Macron’s visit follows years of strained relations between Paris and Rabat over a range of issues.
Those include France’s ambiguous stance on the disputed Western Sahara region and Macron’s quest for rapprochement with Algeria.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which in 2020 declared a “self-defense war” and seeks the territory’s independence.
It is considered by the United Nations to be a “non-self-governing territory.”
Rabat and Paris have also been at odds after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it granted to Moroccans.
In July, Macron eased tensions by saying Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory was the “only basis” to resolve the decades-old conflict.
France’s diplomatic turnabout had been awaited by Morocco, whose annexation of Western Sahara had already been recognized by the United States in return for Rabat normalizing ties with Israel in 2020.
Monday’s visit also comes after Macron’s rapprochement efforts with Algeria appear to have hit a dead end.
A state visit to Paris by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was rescheduled multiple times before being called off by Algiers earlier this month.
After Macron endorsed Morocco’s autonomy plan, Algeria promptly withdrew its ambassador to Paris and has yet to send a replacement.


Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover

Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover
Updated 23 sec ago
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Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover

Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover
  • The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to a tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry
TAIPEI: Taiwan said Friday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry.
China insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, which Taipei rejects.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China’s “joint combat readiness patrol” on Thursday evening and was the highest number since November 4.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon — the fourth since Sunday — about 172 kilometers west of the island.

UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms

UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms
Updated 53 min 7 sec ago
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UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms

UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms
  • South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week

BUSAN, South Korea: Negotiators at the fifth round of talks aimed at securing an international treaty to curb plastic pollution were striving on Friday to speed up sluggish proceedings and reach a deal by a Dec. 1 deadline.
South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week.
Until Thursday, several delegates from around 175 countries participating had expressed frustration about the slow pace of the talks amid disagreements over procedure, multiple proposals and some negotiations even returning to ground covered in the past.
In an attempt to speed up the process, INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso is holding informal meetings on Friday to try and tackle the most divisive issues.
These issues include curbing plastic products and chemicals of concern, managing the supply of primary polymers, and a financial mechanism to help developing countries implement the treaty.
Petrochemical-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia strongly oppose efforts to target a cap on plastic production, over the protests of countries that bear the brunt of plastic pollution such as low- and middle-income nations.
While supporting an international treaty, the petrochemical industry has also been vocal in urging governments to avoid setting mandatory plastic production caps, and focus instead on solutions to reduce plastic waste, like recycling.
The INC plans an open a plenary session at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Friday that will provide an indication of how close the talks have moved toward a treaty.


New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry

New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry
Updated 29 November 2024
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New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry

New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry
  • Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef
  • Vessel burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand navy vessel plowed into a reef near Samoa and sank because its crew mistakenly left it on “autopilot,” a military inquiry found on Friday.
Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef, burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu.
One of just nine commissioned ships in New Zealand’s small naval fleet, the Manawanui had been dispatched to map the ocean floor.
A military court of inquiry on Friday found the survey vessel had been scuttled because its “autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been.”
“Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”
Crewmembers noticed the ship had veered off course and tried to change direction, believing they had lost control due to a “thruster control failure.”
But they forgot to check if the autopilot had been disengaged first, the tribunal found.
Rather than steering away from danger, the ship “started to accelerate toward the reef.”
Defense Minister Judith Collins said the debacle had “really knocked Navy for six.”
“It was a terrible day. The navy and the defense force are not shying away from this.
“It was extremely disappointing. But that’s what has happened.”
The shipwreck settled on a stable section of reef some 30 meters below the surface.
It was carrying 950 tonnes of diesel when it sank, stirring fears of an oil slick that could kill wildlife and taint crucial food sources.
New Zealand’s navy has said previously that the main fuel tanks appeared to be intact.
Salvage crews were working to retrieve the fuel without major leaks.
No one died in the incident, although a small number of sailors suffered minor injuries.


Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay

Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay
Updated 29 November 2024
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Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay

Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay
  • Government suspends EU accession talks until 2028
  • Georgian Dream has deepened ties with Russia amid EU tensions

TBILISI: Police clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Friday, after the country’s ruling party said the government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.
The country’s interior ministry said three police officers were injured.
Police ordered protesters to disperse, fired water cannon and deployed pepper spray and tear gas as masked young people tried to smash their way into the parliament. Some protesters tossed fireworks at police while shouting “Russians” and “Slaves!“
Georgia’s relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the government had resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted pro-Russian stands.
Thousands of pro-EU protesters had blocked streets in the capital before the altercations began. The country’s figurehead president accused the government of declaring “war” on its own people and confronted riot police, asking whether they served Georgia or Russia.
The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of “a cascade of insults,” saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to “blackmail” the country, and to “organize a revolution in the country.”
As a result, it said: “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.”
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states.
With months of downturn in relations between Tbilisi and Brussels, the EU had already said that Georgia’s application for membership was frozen.
Georgian Dream says it is not pro-Russian, and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.
It says it still wants to join the EU eventually, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, whilst deepening ties with neighboring Russia.
There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream’s statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday’s move was huge, adding the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.
Opinion polls show that around 80 percent of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc’s flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.
The pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream’s announcement with fury as protesters massed. Local media reported that protests that erupted in provincial cities.

’WAR’ AGAINST PEOPLE
Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: “the self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people.”
President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling party had “declared not peace, but war against its own people, its past and future.”
Zourabichvili’s term ends in December, and Georgian Dream has nominated a former lawmaker with hard-line anti-Western views to replace her.
The opposition says that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54 percent of the vote, was fraudulent and have refused to take their seats. Western countries demand a probe into irregularities.
Both Georgian Dream and the country’s election commission say the election was free and fair.
Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia’s economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.
The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but has said that a raft of laws passed since by Georgian Dream, including curbs on “foreign agents” and LGBT rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.
Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back toward Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.
Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since Moscow won a brief 2008 war, but have had a limited rapprochement recently.
Opinion polls show most Georgians dislike Russia, which continues to back two breakaway Georgian regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, praised the “courage and character” he said Georgian authorities had shown in passing the law on foreign agents, which domestic critics have likened to Russian legislation. (Reporting by Felix Light Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, William Maclean, Frances Kerry and Ron Popeski)


Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region

Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region
Updated 29 November 2024
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Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region

Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region

Russian air defenses destroyed or downed 30 Ukrainian drones in southern Rostov region early on Friday, Regional Governor Yuri Slyusar said.
Slyusar, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said some private homes in two villages had sustained some damage, but there were no casualties.