(Australian) Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has some pointed remarks for tennis superstar and nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who has been rather reluctant to say whether he’s had a coronavirus jab.

But if he wants a shot at the tenth title, he’ll need to be double vaccinated.

Speaking on the ABC’s RN Breakfast earlier this morning, Mr Hawke ruled out a special exemption for tennis players.

“The government in establishing its borders has said that you’ll need to be double vaccinated to visit Australia. That’s a universal application, not just to tennis players. I mean that every visitor to Australia will need to be double vaccinated,” Mr Hawke said.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-melbourne-prepares-to-exit-lockdown-mike-baird-to-appear-at-icac-inquiry-into-gladys-berejiklian-cleo-smith-search-continues-20211019-p591c3.html

Not per capita, but a sobering graph nonetheless.

As at September 22, the Federal Reserve held $5.314 trillion of U.S. Treasuries.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TREAST

If necessary, the Board of Governors could cancel sufficient of its holdings as to stave off a default.

It was not just subs. On August 30, France and Australia held a ministerial meeting to establish a strategic defense partnership.

INAUGURAL AUSTRALIA-FRANCE 2+2 MINISTERIAL CONSULTATIONS 30 AUGUST 2021 JOINT STATEMENT

JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, MINISTER FOR EUROPE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF FRANCE FLORENCE PARLY, MINISTER FOR THE ARMED FORCES OF FRANCE SENATOR THE HON MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND MINISTER FOR WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA THE HON PETER DUTTON MP, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA

21 – BOTH SIDES COMMITTED TO DEEPEN DEFENCE INDUSTRY COOPERATION AND ENHANCE THEIR CAPABILITY EDGE IN THE REGION. MINISTERS UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FUTURE SUBMARINE PROGRAM. THEY AGREED TO STRENGTHEN MILITARY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COOPERATION THROUGH A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP AND THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR ARMAMENTS.

https://alexpresents.com/2021/09/17/france-recalls-its-ambassadors-to-us-and-australia-in-submarine-deal-backlash-worldnews/

That defense alliance was founded the French submarine program. At the time that joint statement was made, Washington, London, and Australia were in to final stages of torpedoing the order for French subs.

At the very least, the Australians should have postponed their ministerial meeting with the French.

cancels the commemoration of the Battle of Chesapeake Bay.

France recalls ambassadors to US and Australia after Aukus pact

First time France has recalled a US ambassador in alliance dating back to American revolution

... The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said the order to bring the ambassadors back to Paris “immediately” was made at the request of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

... Peter Ricketts, a former permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office and former UK ambassador to France, tweeted: “Don’t underestimate reaction in Paris. It’s not just anger but a real sense of betrayal that UK as well as US and Aus negotiated behind their backs for 6 months. I lived the rupture in 2003 over Iraq. This feels as bad or worse.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/france-recalls-ambassadors-to-us-and-australia-after-aukus-pact

https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1179823638306050053
https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1179851099978846209

Source: Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died in hospital at the age of 80, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family," the spokesperson said.

"Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/rolling-stones-drummer-watts-dies-at-80-publicist/ar-AANGX1r

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Source: Forbes

A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people who are older than 60, findings published by the Israeli Health Ministry on Sunday showed, a finding that will likely bolster the push for deploying a third dose of the vaccine to better protect elderly and immunocompromised populations.

Among people aged 60 and older, the health ministry’s findings showed that the booster dose offered a four-fold increase in protection from infection after 10 days compared to people who have received two doses, Reuters reported.

The third dose also offered five to six times stronger protection against hospitalization or serious illness after 10 days in the same age group.

Despite having one of the widest vaccine rollouts in the world, Israel has seen a major resurgence of Covid-19 inside its borders largely fueled by the more infectious delta variant.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/08/23/pfizer-booster-significantly-lowers-risk-of-covid-19-infection-among-elderly-israeli-govt-finds/

Maine state Representative Chris Johansen attended an anti-vaccine rally on Tuesday, a little more than a week after his wife died of COVID-19.

The Daily Beast reported that the Republican legislator joined a group of fellow GOP lawmakers at a demonstration in Augusta, Maine. A crowd of around 400 people were gathered at the State House to protest Democratic Governor Janet Mills' recent mandate that all health-care workers in Maine get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Johansen has long been a vocal critic of public health measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. The Bangor Daily News reported neither he nor his late wife Cindy had been vaccinated against COVID.

https://www.newsweek.com/gop-maine-rep-chris-johansen-attends-anti-vaxx-rally-days-after-wife-dies-covid-1621673