SUNAK, HUNT SAY ‘INEVITABLE’ ALL BRITONS WILL PAY MORE TAX

LONDON – Mr Rishi Sunak’s government said it’s inevitable that all Britons, especially the richest, will have to pay more tax to restore stability to the public finances.

Mr Sunak met with Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on Monday to discuss tax and spending plans ahead of an economic statement planned for Nov 17.

They discussed the “eye-watering” gap in Britain’s public finances, and agreed “tough decisions” are needed on tax rises and on spending, according to a Treasury readout.

“They agreed on the principle that those with the broadest shoulders should be asked to bear the greatest burden,” the Treasury said. “However, given the enormity of the challenge, it is inevitable that everybody would need to contribute more in tax in the years ahead.”

The measures are necessary to bring calm to financial markets that dumped UK government bonds and the pound after Liz Truss’s tumultuous 44 days as prime minister.

Two leading research groups on Tuesday said Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt can’t rely on spending cuts when they present autumn statement. The government is having to bear down on the deficit while the economy teeters on the brink of recession and inflation lingers at a 40-year high.

Resolution Foundation said Mr Sunak needs to find £40 billion (S$65 billion) of savings to “re-establish economic credibility.” It says spending cuts of that scale aren’t plausible because high inflation already is squeezing the budgets of government departments.

“This reality means that the Autumn Statement is likely to involve tax rises, not just spending cuts,” Mr James Smith, research director at Resolution said.

GRAIN SHIPS SAIL FROM UKRAINE PORTS DESPITE RUSSIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM UN DEAL

As many as 12 grain ships left from Ukrainian ports on Monday despite Russia announcing its withdrawal from UN-brokered deal facilitating wheat exports from the war zone.

According to reports, the smooth shipment of grains suggests Moscow stopped short of reimposing a blockade that could lead to global hunger.

"Civilian cargo ships can never be a military target or held hostage. The food must flow," Amir Abdullah, the UN official coordinating the programme tweeted. The 354,500 tonnes of grain they carried was far more than typically leave in a single day, suggesting a backlog was being cleared after exports were interrupted on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The UN-brokered deal guaranteed food exports for three months which experts opined prevented global famine. The news that Moscow was pulling out of the deal had sent global wheat prices soaring by more than 5 per cent on Monday morning, Reuters reported.

Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking its Black sea fleet and said it was forced to pull out of the deal following the attacks. A fleet of air and sea drones attacked the Black sea fleet, Russia claimed.

Blaming Ukraine, Russia said that it was withdrawing from the deal since it could no longer guarantee safe shipping.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of blackmailing the world with hunger.

ISRAEL HOLDS 5TH POLL IN 4 YEARS TODAY; BIBI EYES COMEBACK IN TIGHT RACE

Jerusalem : Israelis vote for the fifth time in four years on Tuesday in an election in which former PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s comeback bid may depend on a far-right party whose leaders call for those deemed disloyal to Israel to be expelled Voter exasperation at the deadlock may hurt turnout but surging support for the ultranationalist Religious Zionism bloc and firebrand coleader Itamar Ben-Gvir has galvanised the race. Israel’s longest-serving premier, Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies. His rightist Likud party is still expected to finish as the largest in parliament.

Final opinion polls published last week however showed him still short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, opening the prospect of weeks of coalition wrangling and possibly new elections.

Security and surging prices have topped the list of voter concerns in a campaign triggered by outgoing centrist PM Yair Lapid’s decision to seek an early election following defections from his ruling coalition.

However policy disputes have been overshadowed by the outsized personality of Netanyahu, whose legal battles have fed the stalemate blocking Israel’s political system since he was indicted on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges in 2019.

After repeated rounds of elections in which he failed to gain a stable majority, he now depends on Religious Zionism, a once-marginal group set to be the third-largest party.

U.S. PLANS TO DEPLOY B-52S TO AUSTRALIA AMID CHINA TENSIONS

The United States is planning to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to an air base in northern Australia, amid heightened tensions with China.

Dedicated facilities for the bombers will be set up at the Royal Australian Air Force’s remote Tindal base, about 300 km south of Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.

The development was first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp’s Four Corners programme, citing U.S. documents.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia engages with the United States on defence alliances “from time to time”.

Australia’s Northern Territory is already host to frequent military collaborations with the U.S.

When asked for a comment at a regular briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said defence and security cooperation between countries should not target third parties.

RUSSIA POUNDS UKRAINE ENERGY FACILITIES IN NEW MISSILE STRIKES

Kyiv : Eighty per cent of the Ukrainian capital was without water on Monday, at least temporarily, after Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles at critical infrastructure and other targets across the country Monday morning. Residents of Kyiv, the capital city, were directed to wells and emergency water distribution sites, and many lined up with plastic jugs to carry water home as utility crews raced to make repairs. Power was also knocked out in parts of Kyiv and other cities, officials said.

Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 44 out of the more than 50 missiles fired from the Caspian Sea and the Rostov region of western Russia. Strikes hit 10 regions across Ukraine, damaging 18 “objects of civilian critical infrastructure,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Thirteen civilians were injured, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

On Monday, an official at Ukraine’s national energy utility, Ukrenergo, said power stations appeared again to be Russia’s primary target. Russia’s ministry of defence said it had taken aim at “the military control and energy systems of Ukraine.” Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said engineers were working to restore the electricity supply after an energy facility that provides power to about 3,50,000 apartments in Kyiv was damaged. Traffic lights across the capital were out and cellular service was spotty. Local officials in the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy, all reported hit on critical infrastructure.

MOSCOW PROTESTS WEST BID TO ‘HIRE’ RUSSIA DIPLOMATS

Moscow : Moscow on Monday summoned the Dutch ambassador to “protest strongly” against Western efforts to “recruit” Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, the foreign ministry said. Ambassador Gilles Beschoor Plug was called in to hear Moscow “protest strongly against an attempt to recruit the military attache of Russia’s embassy in The Hague on October 20 by a representative of the British intelligence services,” the ministry said. “Such provocative actions are unacceptable. . . and hinder the normal operation of Russian establishments abroad,” it added. The ministry accused Western secret services of attempting several similar “provocations” against Russian diplomats over recent years in the Netherlands. Representatives of CIA approached a Russian diplomat with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons “in a park” in December 2018, the ministry charged. Moscow accused Netherlands “of taking part” in “these illegitimate acts”.

IMRAN TO SUE POLL BODY CHIEF OVER DISQUALIFICATION

Islamabad : Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Monday targeted the chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan and announced that he will file a Rs 10 billion defamation suit against him for destroying his reputation by disqualifying him. Khan has announced his objective was to gain Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom) through a march to Islamabad which in his words was possible if free and fair elections are held. Khan was, earlier this month, disqualified from membership of the current National Assembly by an ECP panel headed by its chief Sikandar Sultan Raja.

“Sikandar Sultan, I will take you to court. . . so that in the future, you do not destroy anyone’s reputation on someone else’s instructions,” Khan said while addressing PTI supporters during the march. He alleged that the ECP’s decisions against him in prohibited funding cases were given on the instructions of the incumbent “imported government”. As per Pakistani law, any gift received from dignitaries of a foreign state must be put in the state depository.

IRAN PLANS PUBLIC TRIALS FOR 1,000 PROTESTERS IN TEHRAN

Dubai : Iranian authorities announced on Monday they will hold public trials for 1,000 people in the capital, Tehran, over the protests that have convulsed the country. The mass indictments mark the government’s first major legal action aimed at quashing dissent since unrest erupted over six weeks ago.

Iran’s state-run IRNA agency quoted judicial officials as saying that a thousand people who had a central role in the protests would be brought to trial in Tehran alone over their “subversive actions,” including assaulting security guards, setting fire to public property and other accusations. The protests erupted over the death of 22-yearold Mahsa Amini in the custody ofthe morality police.

“Those who intend to sub-vert the regime are dependent on foreigners and will be punished,” said Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, indicating that some protesters would be charged with collaborating with foreign governments. Tehran officials have repeated unsupported claims that Iran’s foreign enemies have fomented the unrest. Ejei also said prosecutors sought to differentiate between angry Iranians who sought to vent their grievances and those who wanted to take down the theocracy.

INSTA WORKING ON ISSUE THAT LOCKED USERS OUT OF ACCOUNTS

Instagram said it was working on an issue that left a seemingly large number of users locked out of their accounts on Monday morning. Some users reported seeing a message that they were locked out but were still able to scroll through their feeds. Others posting on Twitter said they were completely shut out. Some reported that their number of followers dropped, presumably because those accounts were locked. It was unclear whether the problem was an internal issue or whether the social media site had been hacked.