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France expels Algerian diplomats in tit-for-tat decision as feud deepens
France said Wednesday it will expel Algerian diplomats in response to Algeria's decision to do the same, escalating a diplomatic standoff.
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement it had summoned Algerian officials to inform them of the decision, describing it as strict reciprocity after 15 French officials were expelled from Algiers on Sunday.
France did not say how many Algerians holding diplomatic passports had been expelled. It called on Algerian authorities to demonstrate responsibility and to return to a demanding and constructive dialogue that had been initiated by our authorities, in the interest of both countries.
The measures are the latest sign of deteriorating relations between France and Algeria. They go against a 2013 deal allowing individuals with diplomatic passports to travel between the countries without needing visas.
Algeria said it expelled French officials on Sunday because France had broken procedures, including in how it assigned new diplomats to replace a different set that were expelled last month.
Despite economic ties and security cooperation, France and Algeria for decades have clashed over issues ranging from immigration to the painful legacy of French colonialism.
Tensions flared last year when France shifted its longstanding position and backed Morocco's plan for sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara. Algeria views the Morocco-controlled territory as Africa's last colony and supports the pro-independence Polisario Front materially and politically.
The tensions jeopardise more than $12 billion in annual bilateral trade and could create hurdles for the hundreds of thousands of Algerian-born residents of France who travel between the countries.
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Business Standard
41 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Bengal cabinet clears addition of 76 castes to OBC list, new subdivision
The cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal to make Farakka a new subdivision in Murshidabad district The cabinet on Monday approved recommendations of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (WBCBC) to include 76 new castes on the list for OBC, an official said. These 76 new castes would be added to the existing 64 ethnic groups on the Other Backward Class (OBC) list in the state, he said. The cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal to make Farakka a new subdivision in Murshidabad district, he said. It was learned that the new subdivision would be constituted of Farakka, Shamsherganj, Suti-1 and Suti-2 blocks, he said. Earlier, these four blocks were part of the Jangipur subdivision. "Due to the growing population, the Jangipur subdivision authorities were facing difficulties in executing administrative work in the vast area. Hence, the decision was taken," the official told PTI. A source in Nabanna, the state secretariat, said that the council of ministers approved a decision to initiate a tendering process again to invite fresh bids for the proposed Rs 25,000-crore Tajpur deep-sea port project. The state government had, in 2023, dissolved the letter of intent (LoI) handed over to Gautam Adani-controlled Adani Ports to develop the deep-sea port, he said. "The cabinet okayed the reopening of the tender for the Tajpur deep sea port project. The necessary steps will be followed soon," the source said. During the cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat, approval was given to create 109 contract-based posts at various administrative levels for the new subdivision, he added. Notably, Banerjee, during her recent visit to the riot-hit areas of Murshidabad district, had announced the formation of the new subdivision. On Monday, the state cabinet also approved the creation of 336 posts and filling up the vacancies in the departments of home, health, finance, law, and municipal affairs, the official added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
India-US ties ‘very personal', time of great opportunity for both countries: Usha Vance
Calling her relationship with India 'very personal', US Second Lady Usha Vance said that in broader terms, it is a time of great opportunity for the bilateral ties between the United States and India, something her husband, Vice-President J D Vance, also believes in. At a fireside chat on the sidelines of the USISPF Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, Monday evening, Vance also recalled their recent trip to India, and how it was special for their three children, who struck a rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, putting him 'in the grandfather category'. 'It is a very personal relationship because I have family members who are in India, and I have many family members who are in the US. And I did grow up visiting India and visiting those family members, and they grew up visiting me. So that's always been a relationship that I've personally thought of as very important,' she said, during an interaction with USISPF Chairman John Chambers. 'More broadly, this is a time of great opportunity. And if my husband were here, he'd say the same thing,' she remarked. 'Obviously, the relationship has ebbed and flowed at times. There are times when one country's needs and one country's goals are different from the other. But in the next four years, and in the future, the fact that there is this established Indian-American population here and so many people in India who know the country and know the people who are here doing great things, having great opportunities, these personal ties actually have something to do with it,' she added. 'We followed radically different paths… converged' Born in San Diego to Indian-born Telugu-speaking professors, her father, Krish Chilukuri, is an aerospace engineer from IIT-Madras, while her mother, Lakshmi, is a marine biologist and now provost at one of the colleges in UC San Diego. The family moved to the US in the 1980s. Talking about her recent visit to India as the US' Second Lady, along with her husband and kids, she said, 'When we were visiting recently, I was struck by the number of people who came up to me to say how much they loved our country, how they visited family, how they visited just for pleasure, that they were hoping for a close relationship looking forward.' She said her parents moved to San Diego to pursue higher education. 'That's sort of what happened, as I think it does for a lot of Indian Americans. They come, they find a community and an educational institution, and they find a real home in those places,' she said, about her growing-up years. 'I grew up in a pretty Asian-American community, but we had a lot of family friends who were Indian-Americans. We had friends from all over as well, and everyone was really invested in being a part of this country, and pursuing the American dream for themselves and their kids,' she said. However, later, as she went to Yale, she said her 'life veered towards the East Coast, and I married someone who's from the eastern half of the country'. The couple met at Yale Law School, she said. 'We had followed radically different paths in life and converged in the same place. JD, of course, had grown up in Ohio. He had been in the Marine Corps as an enlisted Marine. And I had taken the diligent, progressive path of high school to college to graduate school and some jobs and to law school. And we have these really different backgrounds, but the reality is that we had so much in common,' she added. 'They are very into' PM Modi Coming back to her India trip, Usha Vance called it 'the trip of a lifetime'. 'My children had never been to India, with the pandemic and JD's entry into politics. And so they'd grown up just knowing so much about this country, the stories, the food, the relationships with grandparents and friends. But they had never actually seen it. So it was mind-blowing from their perspective. And then for me and JD, it just could not have been any more special. We had the opportunity to see some of the greatest sights in North India, including the Taj Mahal,' she said. #WATCH | In a conversation at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, DC, US Second Lady Usha Vance recalls her visit to India and her children's experience meeting PM Modi. She says, 'When we were at the Prime Minister's residence, our son was just so taken by… — ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025 'We're looking forward to our next trip and trying to get to the parts of the country where my family is from as well,' she added. She said meeting PM Modi was really special. 'And it's funny. My kids saw him. They were sort of sleep-deprived in Paris. And they saw an Indian man with a white beard and white hair. And they just put him in the grandfather category immediately. So they are very into him. They just love him. And he really cemented his status by giving our five-year-old a birthday present that day,' she said, recalling their visit to the PM's residence in New Delhi. 'So when we were able to visit his home, they just sort of ran up. They were hugging him. He was just incredibly kind and generous to them. It was a very productive conversation for JD and the Prime Minister, of course. When we were at the Prime Minister's residence, our son was taken by the entire cart of mangoes that was available for him to eat, he announced to the Prime Minister that he thought he could maybe live there,' she recalled on a lighter note. But he dialled that back a little bit as he remembered how hot it had been earlier in the day, she said. While Ewan, their oldest child at 7, was taken by the sculptures in the temple that he visited, Vivek, their middle child, was very excited to meet elephants, peacocks, a camel and just any animal. 'And then our daughter, she's sort of along for the ride. She really enjoyed her time in an auto-rickshaw,' she said. Reading challenge Vance also spoke about her work and priorities as the Second Lady after she recently announced a reading challenge for children. 'I'm conscious that reading scores have dropped over time. And that is something lots of people are working to rectify, and I wanted to do something small to contribute to that,' she said. 'Secondly, we live in a world of distractions now. It's very easy to just pick up your phone all the time. It's pinging you. And that worries me. I do think that one of the things that is very special about being a human is that we have this capacity for sustained thought and reflection, and those produce very beautiful things, like the Taj Mahal that we visited.' Even as literacy will be a big focus of her efforts, the Vances are also starting to get involved in organising the Special Olympics in the US. Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
What would a French nuclear umbrella mean for Europe?
The story so far: On May 14, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France is 'open to dialogue' on potentially stationing its nuclear weapons in other European countries. This development occurred amid security concerns in Europe due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. What lies behind France's offer? France's consideration of a broader European role for its nuclear deterrent aligns with its 'European strategic autonomy' policy, which aims to enhance the EU's capacity to act independently in security and defence matters. President Macron's Sorbonne University speech emphasised Europe's need to bolster its defence capabilities, in order to be a more 'sovereign Europe.' Moreover, U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned unconditional U.S. security guarantees to NATO allies, linking support to the 2% GDP defence spending target for security guarantees, prompting European nations to seek additional security assurances. Historically, France has fiercely guarded the independence of its nuclear deterrent, viewing it as a strictly national tool. This openness, thus, signifies an evolution in its strategic thinking. What is the nuclear sharing model? 'Nuclear sharing' involves a nuclear-weapon state stationing nuclear weapons on allied non-nuclear-weapon states' territory, with specific arrangements for potential use. Within NATO, the U.S. has maintained such arrangements for decades. Currently, U.S. B61 tactical nuclear gravity bombs are understood to be deployed in five NATO states: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkiye. Under these arrangements, the U.S. retains legal ownership and custody of the warheads. The U.S. President also retains the power to make the decision to use these weapons, following NATO consultation. This Cold War-era posture aims to demonstrate alliance solidarity, and share nuclear risks. Does France have enough weapons? France's arsenal is around 290 nuclear warheads, deliverable by submarine-launched ballistic missiles and air-launched cruise missiles via Rafale jets. A 2023 Centre for Strategic and International Studies report analysed that extending France's nuclear deterrent by basing warheads abroad would pose logistical and doctrinal challenges with its current arsenal size, suggesting that an increase in warheads might be needed for credible extended deterrence. Such deployments would require stationing French Air Force units, including Rafales and support infrastructure, abroad. Establishing secure command and control systems in a multinational setting would be complex. Would it strengthen deterrence? Deploying additional nuclear weapons in Europe has varied security implications. Proponents argue it could enhance deterrence against Russia by increasing NATO's nuclear assets and demonstrating European resolve. Conversely, Russia would likely view such deployments as a significant escalation, potentially leading to 'military-technical measures' in response. Russian officials have repeatedly warned against NATO's eastward military expansion. Russia's 2023 stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is cited by some as a preceding escalatory step. Is it legal under international law? The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the primary legal instrument for regulating nuclear weapons. Article I of the treaty prohibits nuclear-weapon states (like France) from transferring nuclear weapons or control over them. Existing NATO nuclear sharing is justified by participants as being NPT-compliant because no 'transfer' of legal ownership or control occurs in peacetime; the U.S. maintains custody. Non-proliferation advocates and various research institutions have consistently challenged this legality.
