Newspapers : 23rd September

France reforms its Anglo-Saxon attitudes. John Thornhill, The FT (en) Report boosts European policy on CO2. Tony Barber,
Russia-Venezuela moves stir cold war ghosts. Benedict Mander and Daniel Dombey, The FT (en)
Other G7 members have no plans to follow US. Alan Beattie, Ben Hallin and Bertrand Benoit, The FT (en)
Outlook for Eurozone grim as PMI falls. The FT (en)

EU to slash the cost of text messaging while abroad. Bruno Waterfield, The Telegraph (en)
''... The cost of sending a text message for consumers on holiday or travelling for business is expected to fall by 60 per cent, from a European average of 23 pence to 8.7 pence ..."

Brown to promise 'fairness for all' in crucial speech. Robert Winnett, The Telegraph (en)
" Gordon Brown is preparing to make one of the most important speeches in his political life at the Labour Party conference in Manchester ..."

French opposition withdraws Afghanistan support . Charles Bremner, The Times (en)
" ... We have learned the lessons of the murderous ambush", he said. Ten soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in the 10-hour battle east of Kabul on August 18. "Caracal and Gazelle helicopters, drones, listening devices, and supplementary mortars will be sent," Mr Fillon said ...
... Wives also reported that their husbands were poorly equipped to fight. One has to take off his body armour to shoot because it is too big, she said. The media have been full of reports of low morale in the French Afghan contingent. "

France agonizes over Afghan war. Charles Bremner, The Times (en)
" ... The latest fuss is over the leaking of an American report on the French bungling of the hillside battle. According to the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper, which published extracts, the French paratroopers ran out of bullets and did not have proper communication equipment, forcing them to stop fighting after 90 minutes. The Taleban were better equipped and trained and used incendiary bullets to punch holes in the French armoured vehicles, and so on. The army denied that this was a Nato analysis, saying that it was just an ill-informed e-mail from an officer with American special forces who had taken part in the French patrol. But the damage has been done ... "

Washington divided over European bailout . Suzy Jagger and Tom Baldwin, The Times (en)
" ... While Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, wants to allow foreign banks to benefit from the scheme, some Democrats in Washington and others on Wall Street are angry that taxpayer funds may be used to prop up overseas businesses ... In their defence, banks such as HSBC and Deutsche have substantial businesses in the US and offered to contribute to last week’s $77 billion emergency fund for all banks to use after the collapse of Lehman Brothers ..."