Investment plans and employment intentions were the weakest since May 2020 last month…reports Asian Lite News
Britain’s Institute of Directors said on Sunday that optimism among its members had fallen to the lowest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, following tax rises in finance minister Rachel Reeves’ first budget on Oct. 30.
Investment plans and employment intentions were the weakest since May 2020 last month, while a gauge of business leaders’ optimism sank to its lowest since April 2020 at -65, down from -52 in October.
“As businesses continue to absorb the consequences of the Budget for their business plans, confidence has continued to plummet,” IoD Chief Economist Anna Leach said.
“Far from fixing the foundations, the Budget has undermined them, damaging the private sector’s ability to invest in their businesses and their workforces,” she added.
The IoD report adds to a chorus of complaints by businesses since the budget and other signs of an economic slowdown.
Last week Reeves promised the Confederation of British Industry that she would not be “coming back with more borrowing or more taxes” at future budgets.
Reeves announced 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) of tax rises at the budget, including a 25 billion pound increase in employers’ annual social security contributions.
Labour had only pointed to around 8 billion pounds of tax rises before the election and Reeves blamed the extra increases in large part on what she said was an unexpectedly poor fiscal legacy left by the previous Conservative government.
A planned tightening of employment laws was also likely to increase costs for employers, the IoD said.
The IoD survey took place between Nov. 15 and Nov. 27 and was based on 601 responses, mostly from small businesses.
Asked at a press conference about the likely impact of a second Trump presidency, Bailey repeated his stance that he wanted to see the policies the Trump administration will pursue…reports Asian Lite News
The Bank of England warned on Friday that higher trade barriers could hit global growth and feed uncertainty about inflation, potentially causing volatility in financial markets and pushing up borrowing costs for businesses and consumers.
Without specifically referring to the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election, the BoE said the financial system could also be impacted by disruption to cross-border capital flows and a reduced ability to diversify risk.
“A reduction in the degree of international policy cooperation could hinder progress by authorities in improving the resilience of the financial system and its ability to absorb future shocks,” the BoE said in a half-yearly report on the financial system.
Asked at a press conference about the likely impact of a second Trump presidency, Bailey repeated his stance that he wanted to see the policies the Trump administration will pursue.
“We are seeing increased risk of global fragmentation. But I would say this, that there are quite a lot of causes of that and I don’t think it’s right to pin it on one particular event.”
While UK households, businesses and banks appeared to be in good shape, the BoE report said, Britain’s financial sector faced risks that were “particularly relevant” given the openness of the UK economy.
Other threats included high levels of public debt in many economies around the world. “Uncertainty around, and risks to, the outlook have increased,” the report said.
Bailey pushed back against a complaint from new finance minister Rachel Reeves that British regulators had inadvertently damaged the economy by taking too tough a stance on risk-taking in the financial sector.
“Put simply, there is not a trade-off between financial stability and growth. This is a fundamental point,” he said.
But he said there were choices about how to apply rules and he said the BoE’s announcement on Friday that it would conduct full tests on the health of UK banks once every two years, and no longer annually, was an example of how to help competitiveness in the sector.
Bailey also stressed the importance of minimum international financial standards in the wake of the Nov. 5 U.S. election. The BoE said it continued to judge that valuations and risk premia in financial markets were “vulnerable to a sharp correction” due to the risks to growth and inflation and uncertainty about interest rates.
“Such a correction could be amplified by long-standing vulnerabilities in market-based finance” and could push up borrowing costs for UK households and businesses, it warned. The BoE said its latest tests of the resilience of UK banks showed they were well capitalised with high levels of liquidity.
But it said non-bank financial institutions such as hedge funds remained vulnerable to a sudden financial shock and might have to undertake a fire sale of assets such as British corporate bonds in this scenario.
Going forward, the central bank plans to carry out full stress tests once every two years starting in 2025, reducing the administrative strain on lenders and allowing the BoE to focus on other potential financial risks. Less detailed desk-based stress tests would be conducted by the BoE, when needed, in the intervening years.
The BoE held its countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB), or “rainy day” capital requirement for banks that can be drawn on in stressed times, at its neutral setting of 2%.
The mortgage payments of half of UK homeowners will rise over the next three years, leaving 4.4 million households facing extra pressure on their finances, the Bank of England has said.
The Bank’s financial policy committee said this would include £500-a-month increases for the mortgages of about 420,000 households.
The committee found that more than a third of borrowers – about 37% – had so far been shielded from rises to interest rates because they fixed their mortgages before increases began in the second half of 2021.
About 31% of all mortgage holders, or 2.7 million households, are expected to refinance on to a rate of more than 3% for the first time before the end of 2027.
That includes up to 1.5 million households, who will be forced to roll on to higher mortgages for a second time since interest rates started rising three years ago.
In its financial stability report, the Bank’s committee said this would lead to a 22% increase in monthly payments, on average, adding about £146 to the typical bill. However, that is slightly lower than previous forecasts in June, which had pointed to a £180 increase.
In total, the mortgage payments of 50% of mortgage holders will increase over the next three years, with 23% seeing no change and 27% experiencing a fall in payments.
Policymakers at the Bank announced a quarter-point cut in interest rates to 4.75% earlier this month, raising hopes that lower rates would ease the burden on households in the longer term.
However, the Bank warned that conditions for poorer households had worsened. “Pressures on renters and lower-income households continue. Savings buffers have decreased for lower-income households and the share of renters who have fallen behind on payments has risen slightly,” it said.
Separately, the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said uncertainty around the global economic outlook had increased. “Geopolitical risk remains elevated, and as we are an open economy with a large financial sector, these risks are particularly relevant to UK financial stability,” he said.
Policymakers also released the results of their first stress test into the shadow banking sector. It found that hedge funds, pension funds and other companies in the largely unregulated sector were at risk of amplifying market shocks and triggering a £17bn asset sell-off.
After five hours of debate in the House of Commons on Friday, the vote concluded with 330 Members of Parliament (MPs) supporting the bill and 275 opposing it
The British parliament voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people, a measure that has sparked divided opinions across the country.
After five hours of debate in the House of Commons on Friday, the vote concluded with 330 Members of Parliament (MPs) supporting the bill and 275 opposing it, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Terminally Ill Adults Bill, also known as the End of Life Bill, proposes allowing adults with terminal illnesses to request and receive assistance to end their own life, under safeguards and protections. The bill also includes provisions for connected purposes.
Kim Leadbeater MBE MP
Under the proposed bill, individuals aged 18 or older in England and Wales, diagnosed with a terminal illness expected to result in death within six months, would be eligible to request assistance to end their own life. They must demonstrate mental capacity to make an informed, voluntary decision.
The process requires High Court approval for each case. The individual must self-administer the approved substance after a mandatory reflection period, during which they must reaffirm their intent through a second declaration.
Since the war Britain, aware that America had displaced Britain as the supreme power, has tried to hold on to some semblance of still being influential in world affairs by making much of its “special relationship” with America. With Trump in power all this means is that Nigel Farage, a backbench MP, has a special relationship with Trump… writes Mihir Bose
Dean Acheson, Secretary of State under President Harry Truman, famously said Britian has lost an empire but not found a role. They were made just after India won freedom but while they riled Britain then, and still does, they remain relevant. Keir Starmer may have come to power saying he would reset Britain’s foreign relations, but he has given no indication that he has found the switch, let alone move the dial.
This was vividly demonstrated during the G 20 summit in Brazil. To begin with look how the world sees Britain. Just before the summit the environmentalist campaigners circulated a mock up photograph of the heads of different world leaders bobbing just above the surface of a hostile sea indicating their inability to deal with the climate crisis. The heads featured the leaders of America, Russia, China, France, and India but no head of Starmer. Nothing better illustrates that, despite all that British politicians claim, it just does not cut the mustard on the world stage.
Since the war Britain, aware that America had displaced Britain as the supreme power, has tried to hold on to some semblance of still being influential in world affairs by making much of its “special relationship” with America. With Trump in power all this means is that Nigel Farage, a backbench MP, has a special relationship with Trump.
The other British claim is that it punches above its weight. Whenever I hear that I always think of the minnows who play in the FA Cup and manage to beat a top team and then preen themselves as giant killers. They get a few sport media headlines, but they change nothing. This is what Britain does on the world stage.
Nothing demonstrates this further than Starmer’s attempt to reset relationship with China and India.
Take China. It now seems another century when David Cameron had a beer with Xi Jinping in a pub in his constituency. Now we are told Chinese spies are everywhere. It is taking over countries in Asia and Africa creating a new Chinese empire and its cheap goods flooding western countries are destroying industry in these countries. We know Trump will impose huge tariffs on imports to America which could unleash a dreadful trade war.
So, what is Sir Keir Starmer’s response? A handshake with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 in Brazil with much being made of this being the first such meeting between the British and Chinese leaders since 2018. Rachel Reeves will follow up with a visit to China all part of what Starmer calls a “strong UK-China relationship”. But what will it mean? Will Starmer ask Xi Jinping to remove the secret devises the Chinese are supposed to have put in our fridges to record what we are saying as we get a carton of milk from the fridge?
The fact is Britain needs China more than China needs Britain. The media may talk of Chinese students coming to this country being spies but cut their numbers and you further decrease the income of British universities which are already hard pressed. All that will do is increase student fees which can hardly help Labour’s chances of holding on to power.
What Britain needs is to understand that the China of Xi Jinping has a completely different worldview, both domestically and in foreign affairs, to Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader the west fell in love with. This has been very well analysed by the former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who knows China and can speak Chinese. Rudd says that China’s economic thinking has moved to the left in a decisively more statist direction away from the historical dynamism of the private sector and Xi has a much harder edged foreign policy vision of China and a new determination to change the international status quo. This worldview is an integrated one where his ideological vision for China’s future is ultimately inseparable from his view on China’s position in the region and the world. For Xi “struggle” is a legitimate concept for the conduct of both Chinese domestic and foreign policy.
I would urge Sir Keir Starmer, or at least some of his advisors, to read Kevin Rudd’s On Xi Jinping, published by the Oxford University Press. Maybe Lord Ali could give this to him as a Christmas present. He could certainly afford the price of £26.99.
The G20 in Brazil also saw Starmer shake hands with Narendra Modi, the India Prime Minister and much was made of a new trade deal. Talks on a trade deal have been going on since Brexit and they have got nowhere because Britain will not give India what it wants. More opportunities for Indian students to come here. I wonder if after the handshake Starmer is offering Modi a Diwali present promising him that. If he did then it will not please Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader who, when Business and Trade Secretary, ruled it out because it would increase migration.
India, of course, presents a very different problem to Labour compared to China. Britain is no longer the country Indian leaders look to when they look abroad. Britain was one of the last countries Modi visited when he became Prime Minister. Also, the hold on Indian voters which Labour, on the basis it had given India freedom, had, has gone. During the last two elections a majority of Hindus voted for the Conservatives. The Gaza crisis has meant there were also defections from Muslims, although not to Conservatives but other parties creating some major upsets in Labour strongholds. Labour no longer has a major politician who can claim to have close connections with Indian leaders.
Starmer and Modi would never be bhai-bhai, brother-brother in the way say Modi is with Netanyahu and has tried, with some success, to be with Trump, even though he such a mercurial politician that one day a bhai, next day he could be dushman, enemy. Against such a background trade talks are unlikely to succeed. This could prove to another Starmer reset which is more words than action. Labour, as Acheson said, would still be left searching a role.
(Mihir Bose is the author of Thank You Mr Crombie Lessons in Guilt and Gratitude to the British.)
Putin said that Russia is entitled to use its weapons against the military facilities of countries that allow their weapons to be used against targets in Russia…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has successfully fired a hypersonic missile with a conventional warhead in Ukraine warning that Moscow “had the right” to strike western countries that provided Kyiv with weapons used against Russian targets.
In a televised address on November 21 evening, Putin said that there are currently “no countermeasures for the Oreshnik missile” and assured that Russia will issue notifications before using this type of missile, state media reported.
“We will do it due to humanitarian concerns – openly, publicly, without any concerns about any countermeasures from the enemy, who will also receive this information,” Putin said according to TASS news agency.
“Why without any concerns? Because there are currently no countermeasures for this weapon at this moment,” Putin was cited as saying by the Russian news outlet.
The new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile which was used for the first time and struck a defence production site in Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk), was fitted with a conventional warhead, but is designed to carry a nuclear charge as well, according to the TASS report.
Putin said that Russia is entitled to use its weapons against the military facilities of countries that allow their weapons to be used against targets in Russia. When using Oreshnik in the future, Russia will issue warnings in advance, allowing civilians to leave zones designated as dangerous, the Russian leader was cited as saying.
HIMARS – a game-changer in Russia-Ukraine conflict?.(photo:IN)
Putin, in his televised address, said that that the strike was in retaliation to the attacks by US-made ATACMS and British-made Storm Shadow missiles on Russia.
Russia said it struck Yuzhmash, a Ukrainian aerospace plant, with the nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile, only carrying a conventional warhead this time. The missile was codenamed Oreshnik by its designers, which can roughly be translated as ‘hazelnut tree,’ Russian state media cited Putin as saying.
The Oreshnik attacks targets at a speed of Mach 10, or 2.5-3 kilometers per second and as per Russian state media, modern air defence systems and missile defence systems deployed by the Americans in Europe cannot intercept such missiles.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defence is terming the new kind of missile launched by Russia against the Ukraine as “intermediate-range ballistic missile,” or IRBM, in that it’s the first time a weapon of its kind has been used on the battlefield in Ukraine, said the deputy Pentagon press secretary.
“I can confirm that Russia did launch an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile,” said Sabrina Singh during a briefing on November 21 at the Pentagon.
“This IRBM was based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile model. In terms of notifications to the United States, the United States was prenotified, briefly, before the launch, through nuclear risk reduction channels,” she said.
Singh also said an IRBM and an intercontinental ballistic missile have similar flight paths, high trajectories and can carry large payloads. “But the main difference lies in the range and the strategic purpose,” she said.
As per an explanation by the CNN, the weapon known as Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV), carries a series of warheads that can each target a specific location, allowing one ballistic missile to launch a larger attack. MIRVs were developed during the Cold War to permit the delivery of multiple nuclear warheads with a single launch. The Minuteman III, which is the States’ ICBM, is armed with MIRVs.
Further, the Pentagon has described Putin’s remarks as “dangerous, reckless rhetoric.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on X termed the firing of the new medium range ballistic missile by Russia as a “a cynical violation” of the United Nations Charter and said it was “a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war.”
Zelensky said that Putin is “testing” Kyiv’s partners with his actions and called on world leaders to put pressure on Moscow. Zelensky accused Russia of taking a “second step toward escalation,” saying the first escalatory step was involving North Korean troops in the war.
Till the year 2019, the United States and Russia were both party to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned the testing and deployment of missiles traveling between 310 and 3,400 miles.
The United States quit the INF treaty in 2019 soon followed by Russia.
In his televised address yesterday, Putin was cited by TASS as saying that the United States has made a mistake by unilaterally destroying the INF Treaty in 2019 under a “far-fetched pretext.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the US Defence Department confirmed that the United States would provide to Ukraine antipersonnel landmines.
“What we’ve seen most recently is because the Russians have been so unsuccessful in the way that they have been fighting they’ve kind of changed their tactics a bit and they don’t lead with their mechanized forces anymore,” US Defence Secretary Llyod Austin said on the sidelines of the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus in Laos. “They lead with dismounted forces who are able to close in and do things to kind of pave the way for mechanized forces,” he said.
Further he said that in the face of changing tactics, the Ukrainians have been manufacturing their own landmines to slow down Russian advances.
The US has also announced an additional USD 275 million security assistance package for Ukraine, which was the 70th tranche of aid since August 2021. This Presidential Drawdown Authority package provides critical capabilities, including munitions for HIMARS, artillery, anti-tank weapons, drones, and protective equipment.
The Pentagon spokesperson in her briefing yesterday told reporters that the United States has no plans of updating its nuclear posture following Russia’s combat test of its new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range missile.
“We haven’t seen any adjustments that we’ve observed in their nuclear posture, and we haven’t adjusted our nuclear posture in exchange,” she said.
Putin had earlier this week on Tuesday approved changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons policy. It states that that any aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state that is carried out with the participation or support of a nuclear state will be considered a joint attack. Russia said it may use nuclear weapons in the event of a conventional attack against itself or Belarus that “creates a critical threat to their sovereignty or territorial integrity”.
It further said that nuclear deterrent is aimed not only at other nuclear states but also at other countries that allow their land, water or airspace to be used to prepare or conduct aggression against it.
Putin signed a decree approving the Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence, the country’s updated nuclear doctrine.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine provides for the possibility of a nuclear response to the use of Western non-nuclear warheads against Russia. Earlier, he said that the US decision to allow Ukraine to use American missiles to attack deep into Russia meant a “qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions.” (ANI)
Addressing the parliament on Thursday, Blackman showed his concern by the attempt of a High Court in Bangladesh to ban ISKCON from the country. …reports Asian Lite News
Bob Blackman, a Conservative Member of Parliament for Harrow East in the United Kingdom condemned the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
Addressing the parliament on Thursday, Blackman showed his concern by the attempt of a High Court in Bangladesh to ban ISKCON from the country.
In a post on X, he attached a video of himself speaking in the parliament and said, “Today, I condemned the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and the imprisonment of Chinmoy Krishna Das. I am also concerned by the attempt in their High Court to rule that ISKCON should be banned from the country. Freedom of religion must be preserved globally.”
He said that Hindus in Bangladesh are now subject to death, with their spiritual leader being arrested and their houses being burnt. He added that the UK has a responsibility to look into the matter because they had enabled Bangladesh’s independence.
“Now, right now, Mr Speaker, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, who run Bhaktaventa Manor in Elstree, the largest Hindu temple in this country, in Bangladesh, their spiritual leader is under arrest. Hindus across Bangladesh are being subject literally to death by their houses being burnt, their temples are being burnt. And there was an attempt today in the Bangladesh High Court to rule that ISKCON should be banned from the country. This is a direct attack on Hindus. Now this is a threat from India now to take action. We have a responsibility because we enabled Bangladesh to be free and independent,” he said.
Blackman urged the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to provide an oral statement on the floor of the House to enable them to bring world’s attention to Bangladesh.
“Now whatever the change of government has been in Bangladesh it cannot be acceptable that religious minorities are persecuted in this way. So far we’ve only had a written statement from the FCDO so could the leader enable an oral statement on the floor of this house so we can bring to the world’s attention what is going on in Bangladesh,” he said.
Lucy Powell, Labour and Co-op MP for Manchester Central, echoed Blackman’s views and said that she would ask the Foreign Office to look into the Bangladesh situation.
“He is absolutely right to highlight these issues. We support freedom of religion, belief everywhere, and that includes in Bangladesh. And I will certainly ask the Foreign Office to look into whether they can come forward with a statement about what’s happening to Hindus in Bangladesh,” she said.
ISKCON) on Thursday expressed solidarity with priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested on charges of sedition for allegedly raising a flag on a stand displaying Bangladesh’s national flag.
In a post on X, ISKCON, Inc. stated, “ISKCON, Inc. stands with Chinmoy Krishna Das. Our prayers to Lord Krishna for the protection of all these devotees.”
Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested on charges of sedition for allegedly raising a flag on a stand displaying Bangladesh’s national flag. He was presented before a Chittagong court on Tuesday, which denied his bail plea and remanded him in custody.
The arrest has sparked widespread outrage, with many demanding his immediate release. (ANI)
Addressing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ali said: “Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning the desecration of religious texts…reports Asian Lite News
A Labour MP has asked the British government for a new law to protect “religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions” from “desecration.”
Tahir Ali, MP for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley, spoke during Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster, bringing into focus issues around hate crimes against the UK’s Muslim communities as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month.
Addressing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ali said: “Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning the desecration of religious texts, including the Qur’an, despite opposition from the previous government.”
He added: “Acts of such mindless desecration only serve to fuel division and hatred within our society. Will the prime minister commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions?”
Starmer did not rule out the possibility of new legislation, saying: “I agree that desecration is awful and should be condemned across the House. We are, as I said before, committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division, including Islamophobia in all its forms.”
After the session, Ali wrote on X: “As November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, it is vital the Government takes clear and measurable steps to prevent acts that fuel hatred in society.”
The UK has seen a rise in reported cases of anti-Muslim prejudice in recent years, exacerbated by the Gaza war. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the charity Tell Mama UK has recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate, the highest number in 14 years.
The funds – which are limited to one payment per household – will be paid through a new Scottish Parliament benefit, which will not be ready until late 2025…reports Asian Lite News
Every pensioner household in Scotland will receive a winter fuel payment next year, the Scottish government has announced. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said those in receipt of qualifying benefits like Pension Credit would get £200 or £300 depending on their age, while all others would get £100.
The funds – which are limited to one payment per household – will be paid through a new Scottish Parliament benefit, which will not be ready until late 2025. The UK government scrapped universal entitlement to winter fuel payments earlier this year, with only those on Pension Credit or other benefits eligible.
The Scottish government was due to take over responsibility for winter fuel payments in September – but the introduction of a new universal benefit was delayed after the UK government decision. Somerville said the change to UK eligibility rules left it with a £150m shortfall, and it had no choice but to push its plans back until late 2025.
The change means an estimated 900,000 pensioners in Scotland are missing out on a fuel payment this winter.
In a statement at Holyrood, Somerville told MSPs that next winter Scots would be entitled to the newly-devolved Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. She said: “This universal benefit – providing much-needed support not available anywhere else in the UK – will deliver support for all pensioner households as we had always intended to do before the UK government decision to means-test winter fuel payments cut the funding available to support our new benefit in Scotland this winter by £147m. “We will not abandon older people this winter or any winter. We will do our best to make sure no-one has to make a decision between heating and eating, and we will continue to protect pensioners.”
The social justice secretary also announced a £41m support package, with £20m in welfare funding for councils this financial year and £20m for the Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme.
There will be a further £1m for social landlords and the third sector for homelessness prevention work. Somerville’s statement has been viewed by some as an attempt to outmanoeuvre Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who had vowed to undo some of the cuts from Westminster.
Labour MSPs had called on the Scottish government to use extra UK funding from the Chancellor’s Autumn statement to provide universal coverage to pensioners this year. Labour MSP Paul O’Kane said the £41m package was equal to a Holyrood cash boost coming via an increase in Treasury spending on the UK Household Support Fund.
He also pointed to an increase of £3.4bn in next year’s Scottish Budget. Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative social security spokeswoman Liz Smith accused ministers of “hoodwinking” pensioners by pretending that a full winter fuel payment was being introduced. She highlighted than many would receive a reduced £100 payment.
The UK government said the winter fuel payment cut was due to a “black hole” in public finances left by the previous Conservative government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said an increase in the state pension – which is set to rise by £460 per year in April – would “outstrip” losses for those who would not receive the winter fuel payment.
However, the state pension increase will be spread over the year from next April, whereas the winter fuel payment is usually paid in November or December. At a lunch club for pensioners in Crieff, Perthshire, run by the Royal Voluntary Service, several attendees said times had been made harder by the UK government’s move to restrict payments.
“It’s a terrible decision to have to make, whether you heat the house or whether you buy food, said Fay Murphy. “It is pretty shocking and it is getting worse in some areas in Scotland,” she added.
Murphy said the action by the Scottish government was welcome, although she said she was concerned about how that would be funded. But Geoff Mayne, 84, said he believed the UK decision to restrict the benefit in the first place was “perfectly fair.” “You were giving money to people who don’t really need it,” he said.
“I can’t help but feel it was the right decision to make sure it went to the people who needed it, but not to everybody. That includes me.”
At Inchgarth Community Centre in Aberdeen Harry Buck, 71, said it was “a bit of a concern” that he would get no fuel payment this winter. “I don’t receive any credits at all so I’ll not receive any additional help from the government.
“I’m probably lucky enough that I can afford my bills just now, so it will still be interesting to see how it goes this year without that wee bit of extra help.” Age Scotland chief executive Katherine Crawford said she was delighted with the announcement following the UK government’s “disastrous” benefits cut.
She said the £41m funding package, to be distributed through local authorities this year, was “positive”, with four in 10 Scottish pensioners in fuel poverty.
The 23-year-old had admitted partway through his trial to the escape from HMP Wandsworth, in south-west London…reports Asian Lite News
A former soldier whose prison escape led to a prolonged manhunt in 2023 has been convicted of spying for Iran but cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax.
Daniel Khalife was found guilty of two counts relating to his espionage on Thursday. Wearing a blue shirt and pale trousers in court, he calmly put his glasses back on as the verdicts were read out and did not show any emotion.
The 23-year-old had admitted partway through his trial to the escape from HMP Wandsworth, in south-west London. Khalife had strapped himself to the underside of a food delivery van while being held on remand over the spying charges.
Prosecutors accused Khalife of playing “a cynical game” in claiming he wanted a career working as a double agent to help British security services. In fact, he gathered “a very large body of restricted and classified material”, they said.
Khalife covertly gathered the names of serving soldiers, including those in special forces. Woolwich crown court was told that he took a photo of a handwritten list of 15 service personnel who included members of the SAS and Special Boat Service, having been sent an internal spreadsheet of promotions in June 2021.
He denied sending the list to the Iranians and claimed he mostly sent useless or made-up documents. In his defence, Khalife’s barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, said his double-agent plot had been amateurish.
Khalife’s trial heard that he could have endangered the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe by sending a fake intelligence document to Iran that said the British government was not willing to negotiate over her release. Jurors were told he sent a document to Iranian agents titled “Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe intelligence options”, which he created in 2021.
Prosecutors said he acted recklessly in sending the document and could have caused “consequences” for Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was freed only after ministers agreed to settle a £400m debt dating back to the 1970s.
The former soldier’s bogus document read: “There will be no advances in the area of returning Nazanin to the UK without further procurement of the debt owed to the Islamic Republic. The UK will not be seen to pay ransoms to hostile nations … terrorists have long used kidnap for ransom.”
In a transcript of a police interview read to the jury, Khalife said he produced “fake documents” to help convince the Iranians to trust him.
When police arrested him and searched his room at MoD Stafford in January 2022, they found a number of “completely fake” documents in digital and paper form purporting to be from MPs, senior military officials and the security services. Prosecutors say Khalife made sure there was no record of what documents were sent.
After his conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Khalife’s actions could have put military personnel’s lives at risk and prejudiced national security. “As a serving soldier of the British army, Daniel Khalife was employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country. But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security,” said Bethan David, the head of counter-terrorism at the CPS.
“He surreptitiously sought out and obtained copies of secret and sensitive information which he knew were protected and passed these on to individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian state. The sharing of the information could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom.”
Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met police’s counter-terrorism unit, said: “I hope this serves as a warning that the illegal sharing of information in this way will be treated extremely seriously by security services and police and we will use the full force of the law against those who put the UK’s security at risk.”
While on the run, Khalife made one last attempt to contact the Iranians before he was found, sending a Telegram message that said: “I wait.”
Concern that he would try to escape again during his trial was so high that when he gave evidence he was brought to and from the witness box in handcuffs.
Khalife has said he undertook his escape in the hope that after his recapture he would be kept in a high-security unit (HSU) at a different prison, away from “sex offenders” and “terrorists”.
Justice Cheema-Grubb told jurors she had asked Khalife if he wanted the prison escape charge to be put to him again. He replied: “I’m guilty.”
The court heard he planned a fake escape attempt for 21 August in the hope he would be moved to the HSU, but he decided that a genuine escape was his only option after the incident was not reported to senior prison staff. Khalife was convicted of charges under the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act.
Temperature is likely to fall below zero in Scotland, while in England and Wales, it will hover around 4-5 degree Celsius…reports Asian Lite News
Large parts of the UK are under warning of severe weather as a 411-mile (661 km) snowstorm is set to bring down temperature ahead of the holiday season. Weather maps across the country have turned orange and alerts have been issued for commuters. The long-range forecast has been issued for November 30 to December 9, with December 7 marked as peak day for snow flurries, according to WX Charts’ projections. Parts of Newcastle, Cumbria, Northumberland and Greater Manchester are expected to bear the brunt.
“The largely dry, settled theme may be punctuated by brief unsettled spells though with areas of low pressure possibly crossing the UK, bringing some spells of wind and rain,” the Met Office said in its warning.
It added that things will become more “settled” towards the middle of December. The three regions that are expected to stay dry are Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“Temperatures generally near average, but some overnight frost is likely, and rather cold by day where any fog persists,” the Met alert further said.
The Mirror reported that Plymouth and Southampton are bracing for up to 75-80mm rain, and areas such as London, Birmingham and Cardiff may see 35-40mm downpour.
Temperature is likely to fall below zero in Scotland, while in England and Wales, it will hover around 4-5 degree Celsius.
The latest weather update comes a week after Storm Bert caused widespread flooding and some areas of UK.
Looking ahead at December 13 to December 27, the Met Office forecast detailed: “Across the south of the country, high pressure is signalled to be prevalent through the second half of December. Less settled weather is more likely at times though, especially across the north and west.
“This means wetter and windier spells are possible with a risk of some snow, especially across northern hills. These weather systems are expected to move fairly promptly, with settled spells developing between them, with settled conditions perhaps becoming UK-wide. As a result of these, frost and fog will be notably present where skies clear overnight.
“Temperatures generally close to average through the period, or slightly above in areas which are wet and windy.” Discussing how the period will be “unsettled”, the BBC Weather team advised: “There is only a small amount of variability in weather patterns in the period ahead. A quite active and mostly mild North Atlantic pattern could continue over much of the UK meaning that spells of wind and rain are likely. Any high pressure influence would be rather temporary.
“However there could be occasions when a colder north-westerly flow develops, consistent with the centre of low pressure moving towards the eastern North Atlantic. As a result, temperatures could be a little lower at times, especially in Northern Ireland and Scotland with a possibility of occasional wintry precipitation, even at lower levels.”
The snow is expected to begin in western Scotland around midday on December 9 and spread to Northern Ireland, mid Wales, Cumbria, and Lancashire by midnight on December 10, potentially causing disruptions in northern and western region By midnight on December 11, snow is expected to retreat, primarily affecting western Scotland before clearing across the UK by 6am on December 11.
Netweather’s December also has similar forecast, saying: “This means that there could be snow for some, particularly on high ground and in the north. Overall, the weather during this period is expected to be more unsettled, but not particularly wet, with high pressure often quite close to the south and/or west of the British Isles.”
As westerly winds dominate and the possibility of a mid-Atlantic ridge forms, conditions in northern Britain may grow colder with an increased chance of snow, especially in exposed regions.
