‘Freedoms need to be defended’: Truss hails AUKUS submarine deal amid deepening row with France
New Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has defended the UK’s “hard-headed” security pact with the US and Australia, amid a deepening diplomatic row with France.
The AUKUS deal saw the UK, Australia and the US form a security pact to develop and deploy a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, adding to the Western military presence in the Pacific region.
Ms Truss said the agreement showed Britain’s readiness to be “hard-headed in defending our interests”, adding that it could result in hundreds of new jobs.
France was outraged by the deal which sees them losing out on a £30bn contract to supply conventional submarines to Australia, who opted for nuclear-powered subs provided by Britain and the US.
In response, they recalled their ambassadors to the US and Australia, although there was no similar order to return to Paris for the French envoy to London.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss made no mention of the diplomatic stand-off with the French.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
British nuclear-powered subs make rare ‘surface’
Earlier, however, a French minister scornfully referred to the UK as the “junior partner” in the trilateral agreement and accused it of returning to hide in the “American lap”.
It comes after Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to the US, referenced the omission of UK from the ambassador recall.
He wrote on Twitter: “You can interpret the omission of the UK as a sign of conciliation or contempt. Your choice.”
In her article, Ms Truss said the agreement, widely seen as a counter to increasing Chinese military assertiveness in the region, underlined the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.
She said Britain would always be a “fierce champion” of freedom and that the agreement illustrates the nation’s commitment to “challenging unfair practices and malign acts”.
“Freedoms need to be defended, so we are also building strong security ties around the world,” she wrote.
“That is why last week the prime minister announced, alongside our friends President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison, the creation of a new security partnership called AUKUS.
“It shows our readiness to be hard-headed in defending our interests and challenging unfair practices and malign acts.”
On Saturday, the president of the French National Assembly told Sky News that the bonds of friendship between France and the UK, US and Australia have been “tarnished” by the AUKUS pact.
Speaking while attending the G7 Speakers’ Conference in Chorley, Lancashire, Richard Ferrand said: “I think it has somewhat tarnished the bonds of friendship that we have. Yes, it has made things more difficult in terms of trust and friendship.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘AUKUS alliance will bring us closer than ever’
Pressed on why Catherine Colonna, the top French diplomat in the UK was not recalled, Mr Ferrand said: “Obviously it was not my decision but we thought it was more important to recall the ambassadors of the two main protagonists in this thing.”
Andreas Michaelis, Germany’s ambassador to the UK, has suggested the AUKUS agreement threatens the “coherence and unity of the West”.
In the Commons on Thursday, Boris Johnson sought to smooth over the differences, insisting relations with France remained “rock solid” while Downing Street described Paris as “a close ally and friend” of the UK.
Nevertheless, the prime minister also made clear he expected the agreement to bring “hundreds” of highly-skilled jobs to Britain – jobs which may well have otherwise gone to France.
Ms Truss said the deal could “create hundreds of new and high-skilled jobs, from the shipyards of Govan to the factories of Tyneside”.
The French were reportedly given just a few hours’ notice of the new agreement ahead of what is expected to be a tough election year for Mr Macron.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the snub was a “stab in the back” and constituted “unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners”.
The pact between the UK, US and Australia has been widely seen as an attempt to counter the growing military assertiveness of China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Beijing swiftly denounced the initiative as “extremely irresponsible” and a threat to regional peace and stability.
Mr Johnson, however, said it was not intended as an “adversarial” move against China or any other power.
Donations being held by Zarah Sultana will be transferred over to Your Party in tranches from this week, Sky News has been told, but the party stand-off remains.
Ms Sultana has sole control of over £800,000 of Your Party donations following an internal fallout.
Her spokesperson told Sky News £600k would be transferred over in three tranches starting with £200k from Wednesday, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.
But a Your Party source told Sky News she should transfer the full £800k worth of donations now.
Politics Live: Another migrant deported to France returns to UK on small boat
It follows a major row over finances behind the scenes of the new left-wing party, which Ms Sultana co-launched with Jeremy Corbyn in July.
At the time, a company called MOU Operations was used to collect donations, with the idea this would be transferred over to Your Party once it was formally registered with the Electoral Commission.
The registration happened on 30 September, but no transfer of funds has been made – despite Ms Sultana stepping in to take ownership of MOU last month after its previous three directors quit.
MOU is holding around £800k of donations in total, as well as around £500k in fees collected as part of Ms Sultana’s unauthorised membership launch, Sky News understands.
Ms Sultana’s spokesperson said £600k would be transferred over in three tranches, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.
The Your Party source told Sky News that Ms Sultana has been told Your Party can’t accept the money related to her membership launch due to legal risks and accused her of trying to “offload” it.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Can Your Party get it together?
Ms Sultana agreed to take over MOU to break a standoff between Your Party and the company’s previous three directors – former Labour MP Beth Winter, former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll and former South African politician Andrew Feinstein.
The trio set up MOU in April to assist with a new left-wing party centred around Mr Corbyn but resigned on 29 October, claiming the role of holding donations had been “thrust upon” them and raising concerns about a “lack of appropriate governance” within Your Party.
The statement said they hadn’t transferred over the funds because they were worried about legal liabilities and wanted Your Party to take over the company instead – but five of the six founding MPs refused.
Ms Sultana said her stepping in would “bring the chapter to a close” and “these resources will now be used for Your Party, as was always intended”.
However that angered some within Your Party who say this is a mess of her own making because of the membership fiasco, which is still being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
‘Low trust environment’
While Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana have since patched things up, one Your Party source described operating in a “low trust environment”.
Senior Your Party figures have accused Ms Sultana of deliberately withholding MOU’s funds for political leverage despite privately and publicly committing to the transfer. Organisers expressed frustration at operating on a “shoestring” ahead of the founding conference at the end of this month.
However, allies close to the Coventry South MP have dismissed the “hostile briefings” and insist she has been conducting “due diligence” before sending the money over.
Sky News understands Ms Sultana has been seeking Your Party’s constitution and financial scheme as registered with the Electoral Commission, to help her understand the party’s governing structures.
A source close to her claims there has been an unwillingness to share the documents from within Your Party, so she has requested them from the elections watchdog directly.
It is not clear who wrote the documents and who is controlling access to them – or why one of the party’s founders should not be able to see them.
A spokesperson for Ms Sultana said: “Zarah did not choose to become the sole director of MOU Operations Limited, but was prepared to take on this responsibility to ensure funds are transferred as quickly as possible and preparations for the founding conference can progress.
“As sole director, she is legally responsible for ensuring the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses are settled, and this process may take some time. To ensure funds are available for the founding conference, she will transfer £600k in tranches over the next couple of weeks. The first £200k is scheduled to be sent 12 November.
“All remaining funds will be transferred once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full.”
A Your Party spokesperson said: “We are completely focused on putting together a successful founding conference for our members, so they can democratically decide Your Party’s structures and programme, and Britain can get the socialist alternative it so badly needs. Hundreds of volunteers are working tirelessly on a shoestring budget to make this a reality, a testament to the grassroots power of our mass movement.”
Excitement in the crypto community is growing over the potential launch of XRP funds, as the US Senate advances a deal aimed at ending the longest-ever government shutdown.
The Senate reportedly reached a deal on a budget bill to end the government shutdown on Sunday, sending a bullish signal to numerous markets, including crypto.
The XRP (XRP) community is anticipating multiple XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch shortly, with several already appearing on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website ahead of a possible launch this month.
The price of XRP has rallied more than 12% on the bullish news over the past 24 hours, with the token trading at $2.56 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko.
11 XRP products listed on DTCC
As of Monday, the DTCC website featured 11 XRP ETF products on its “active and pre-launch” listing, including those by 21Shares, ProShares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Volatility Shares, REX-Osprey, CoinShares, Amplify and Franklin Templeton.
Although a DTCC listing does not equal actual launch and does not guarantee regulatory approval, it signals that the ETF infrastructure is ready to be traded on US markets.
It’s worth noting that Grayscale’s XRP Trust (GXRP) has not yet appeared on the DTCC website, and the list also does not currently include an XRP fund from WisdomTree.
“Government shutdown ending = spot crypto ETF floodgates opening,” ETF expert Nate Geraci wrote in an X post on Sunday, adding: “In the meantime, could see first ‘33 Act spot xrp ETF launch this week.”
Related: End to US gov’t shutdown sparks institutional buying, ETF ‘floodgate’ hopes
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also posted on X on Sunday, noting that the “shutdown is over” and highlighting a subsequent uptick in US equity futures.
“The SEC had open litigation against Ripple for the past five years, up until three months ago. IMO, the launch of spot XRP ETFs represents the final nail in the coffin for the previous wave of anti-crypto regulators,” he wrote in an X post on Nov. 2.
He also highlighted a post from Canary Capital, which claimed last Friday that its XRP ETF is “coming soon,” speculating that the product could go live by the end of this week.
Magazine: Grokipedia: ‘Far right talking points’ or much-needed antidote to Wikipedia?
Acting Chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline Pham is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged spot crypto products as early as next month.
In a Sunday X post, Pham confirmed that she is pushing to allow leveraged spot crypto trading in the US and that she is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged crypto spot products next month.
Pham also confirmed that she continued meeting with industry representatives despite the government shutdown. The regulator is also currently considering issuing guidance for leveraged spot crypto products.
The news comes after the CFTC launched an initiative in early August to enable the trading of “spot crypto asset contracts” on exchanges registered with the regulator. In an announcement at the time, Pham invited comment on the rules that governed “retail trading of commodities with leverage, margin, or financing.”
According to the Federal Register, the Commodity Exchange Act “provides that a retail commodity transaction entered into with a retail person which is executed on a leveraged or margined basis” is “subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction, unless the transaction results in actual delivery of the commodity within 28 days of the transaction.” Consequently, leveraged crypto spot positions would only be allowed if their duration were limited to 28 days or they would be illegal.
Related: Republican Senator Says There’s a Small Time Frame for Passing Crypto Bill
Crypto pushes forward despite shutdown
A US government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass an annual spending bill or a short-term continuing resolution, blocking much of the federal government’s spending. In such situations, non-essential services are paused, some workers are furloughed, and others work without pay.
The current shutdown started on Oct. 1. However, Sunday reports suggest that the shutdown is likely nearing its end as the Senate moves to consider a continuing resolution to fund the government.
Related: Michael Selig Confirms CFTC Nomination, but Questions Linger
The report follows speculation about the impact of the government shutdown on progress in US crypto regulation. Early October reports noted that the SEC began its shutdown by announcing that it would “not engage in ongoing litigation,” except for emergency cases.
Despite this, at the end of October, many US senators reportedly moved to advance a bill on crypto market structure rules, despite the shutdown. Reports from earlier this month also suggest that meetings on the bill are still taking place in the US Senate despite the shutdown.
Magazine: US risks being ‘front run’ on Bitcoin reserve by other nations: Samson Mow
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024