Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire

New security agreement to allow Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines with American technology. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire [In this photo provided by US Navy, the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) returns home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility, Sept. 13, 2021.] Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael B. Zingaro/US Navy via AP Aukus pact A new security pact announced Wednesday between Australia, the UK and the US — dubbed Aukus — is being seen as a counter to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The pact will allow Australia to build [nuclear-powered submarines]( provided by the US, along with other forms of technology. Analysts are calling the deal one of Australia’s biggest defense partnerships in decades. But, China has condemned the pact, calling it “extremely irresponsible,” and accusing it of espousing a [“Cold War mentality.](” The deal echoes a similar Cold War-era intelligence-sharing agreement that the UK and US signed 75 years ago, known as UKUSA. France has also lashed out against the pact, calling it a “stab in the back” after Australia refused a multibillion-dollar French nuclear submarine deal. Mali President Emmanuel Macron has announced that French forces killed the [leader of ISIS in the Greater Sahara](, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, during an air and ground operation in Mali. Macron [tweeted](, “It’s another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.” France says Sahrawi ordered the killing of [six French charity workers]( and their Nigerien driver last year, and that he oversaw the group claiming responsibility for a 2017 attack that killed four American soldiers on patrol with Nigerien forces. Sahrawi was born in the disputed territory of Western Sahara and switched allegiances from al-Qaeda to ISIS in 2015, [founding a Sahel region affiliate](. ISGS operates mainly in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. El Salvador Thousands of people in El Salvador took to the streets to protest the introduction of Bitcoin cryptocurrency as legal tender in the country last week. President Nayib Bukele has argued the move will make it easier for people living abroad to send home remittances. But some people fear it will bring [inflation and instability]( to the country. The demonstrations that took place on the nation’s bicentennial also protested Bukele’s recent moves to [consolidate power](. The protests were largely peaceful, though one group smashed windows and set fire to a Bitcoin ATM kiosk. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Helsinki’s mayor thinks English should be the city's official language]( [Maija Astikainen/Bloomberg via Getty Images]( Credit: Maija Astikainen/Bloomberg via Getty Images Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen wants to make the Finnish capital an English-language city — to attract more foreign workers — and respond to the city’s and country’s labor shortages. Finland’s two main official languages are Finnish and Swedish. This would certainly make it easier for some foreigners to get a job. But [not everyone is embracing the idea](. [Cybersecurity expert: Israeli spyware company NSO Group poses ‘a serious threat to phone users’]( [A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli NSO Group company, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021.]( Credit: Sebastian Scheiner/AP A massive security flaw was discovered in Apple's iPhone this week — and it's a biggie. The phones could be broken into without the user doing anything to trigger the hack. Without even a click, your information could be at risk. That news left iPhone users scrambling to update their devices. It was security researchers at the The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto [who realized that spyware from an Israeli cybersurveillance company, known as NSO Group](, was behind the move. --------------------------------------------------------------- Double Take A [new study]( of shoes believed to have belonged to Michelangelo — the mastermind behind the Sistine Chapel’s frescoes and many other pieces of art — suggests that the artist may have been short in stature, not more than 5 feet 2 inches tall. Scholars from the Forensic Anthropology, Paleopathology and Bioarchaeology Research Center in Italy have examined three pairs of shoes found in the towering art figure’s home in 1564 following his death. [A screenshoot of a tweet from Twitter by istockhistory]( Credit: Twitter --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it from The World --------------------------------------------------------------- - [Beijing court dismisses high-profile #MeToo case]( - [Living in a climate change contradiction]( - [German elections]( - [Israeli spyware company NSO Group behind Apple hack]( - [Texans now turn to online abortion pill providers]( - [Haitian prime minister sacks prosecutor who links him to president’s murder]( - [Dolphin hunt angers even its supporters]( - [Belarusians in Vilnius]( - [Tensions rising on the Korean Peninsula over missile tests]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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