Page 10 - Uk

UK Parliament in London celebrates Diwali with prayers, candles

Prayers for peace recited by priests from the Hare Krishna Temple and the lighting of candles marked this year's Diwali celebrations in the Houses of Parliament complex in London. The celebration was held in the State Rooms of the Speaker's House, described as the grandest residence within the Palace of Westminster, on Monday evening. It marked the largest Diwali event of its kind in the Parliament complex, which brought together cross-party parliamentarians, diplomats, community leaders and International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) representatives. I would like to wish all communities celebrating Diwali peace and joy, both here and across the world, said Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Opposition Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer joined Bhaktivedanta Manor ISKCON Temple President Visakha Dasi, veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma and Liberal Democrat House of Lords peer Navnit Dholakia to light the candles following prayers concluding with Om ...

UK PM insists of leading Conservatives into next general election

Despite the ongoing political upheaval, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has insisted of leading the ruling Conservative Party into the next general election

British consumers rein in luxury spending as energy bills rise by 48%

British consumers are reining in unnecessary purchases after a leap in energy prices ate into their discretionary spending, forcing people to cut back on new clothes, evenings out and lunches out

UK reverses bulk of September tax-cutting package to calm markets

The UK government has announced a reversal of the bulk of its September tax-cutting measures in yet another emergency action to ensure economic stability

Wall Street sees sharp gains as dollar dips on UK U-turn, strong earnings

Wall Street jumped to robust gains on Monday as solid earnings and a financial policy reversal in Britain fueled risk appetite and boosted the sterling and euro against the greenback

UK's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt reverses all of Liz Truss' tax cuts

Britain's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on Monday reversed entirely all of British Prime Minister Liz Truss' tax cuts and scaled back the expensive energy bills support in an emergency fiscal statement. Hunt's statement is an attempt to reassure the markets about the country's fiscal sustainability and calm the shockwaves of his predecessor's mini-budget last month. The finance minister said a 1 pence cut to income tax will be delayed "indefinitely" until the UK's finances improve, instead of being introduced in April 2023 as announced in predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget. The government's energy price guarantee will only be universal until April and not for two years as originally planned. The government has today decided to make further changes to the mini-budget, and to reduce unhelpful speculation about what they are, we've decided to announce these ahead of the medium-term fiscal plan, which happens in two weeks," Hunt said in a statement. After meeting

Britain in talks with British Steel and Tata to secure industry's future

Britain said on Monday it was in talks with steel makers, including British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group, and India's Tata to help secure the industry's long-term future

Bookie odds favour Rishi Sunak comeback amid turbulence for UK PM Liz Truss

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, just over a month into the job, is already seen as increasingly unlikely to ride out the turbulence within her own Conservative Party and the financial markets, with her former leadership rival Rishi Sunak the odds-on favourite to make a comeback for 10 Downing Street. At the end of a tumultuous week in British politics which saw Truss sack her close friend and trusted aide Kwasi Kwarteng who was enforcing her own economic policies as Chancellor, the mutinous voices within the governing Conservatives continue to flag how Sunak had warned against much of the financial meltdown that would follow his rival's unfunded tax-cutting policies. The former British Indian Chancellor adopted a silent approach as he hosted two pre-scheduled parties at a central London hotel this week to thank his Ready for Rishi leadership campaign team and officials at the UK Treasury. His approach is one part I told you so' but rather more a sense of sadness. He just says: It

UK PM Truss brings in rival who could steady the ship, or take her job

Under-pressure UK Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing Kwasi Kwarteng after just 38 days in office

UK PM Liz Truss sacks finance minister Kwarteng: Here is what happened

Kwarteng recently said that he was 'absolutely, 100 per cent' confident that he would be in post in November despite rising rebellion

Volatile sterling surges on reports of potential UK fiscal plan U-turn

Sterling surged 1.5% to a one-week high against the dollar at $1.1267 by 1205 GMT after Sky News reported the UK government was looking at which parts of its tax-cutting package might be ditched

UK home secy and her remarks on Indian migrants: Who is Suella Braverman?

Braverman's remarks on Indians overstaying in the UK have reportedly annoyed the officials in New Delhi and the India-UK FTA is on a verge of collapse

Recession fears mount as UK GDP falls 0.3% in Aug after 0.1% growth in July

The UK's gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.3 per cent in August, after growth of 0.1 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said

West pledges to bolster Ukraine air defence; nuke plant loses power

Unbowed Western powers pledged to supply Ukraine with more potent air defence systems following a furious barrage of retaliatory Russian missile strikes, including one that temporarily knocked Europe's biggest nuclear plant off the invaded country's electrical grid on Wednesday. The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffered a blackout when a missile damaged a distant electrical substation, Ukraine's state nuclear operator said. The power loss increased the risk of a radiation emergency because the plant needs electricity to prevent its reactors from overheating. Energoatom said the external power source was repaired after about eight hours and that the plant's emergency diesel generators which rely on uncertain fuel deliveries in the war zone provided backup in the meantime, but a similarly hazardous interruption could happen at any time. Russia has seized the plant and is not taking any steps to deescalate. On the contrary, it is shelling important infrastructur

US dollar surges to new 24-year high versus yen; sterling rallies

The dollar climbed to a fresh 24-year peak versus the yen on Wednesday, holding above levels that prompted intervention by Japanese officials last month

No e-visa facility for UK travellers likely to hit business: Goa tourism

Goa tourism industry stakeholders have said their business is likely to get affected this tourist season due to the withdrawal of e-visa facility for visitors from the United Kingdom. The chartered flights which were supposed to arrive from the UK in October, when the new tourist season commences in Goa, have been postponed to November, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) president Nilesh Shah said on Tuesday. TTAG is an apex tourism body in the coastal state. The UK no longer falls within the over 150 countries that can access the online tourist e-visa option when travelling to India, which has caused a considerable strain for tourists. Shah said the issuance of e-visas for travellers from the UK had stopped during COVID-19 pandemic. The UK and Russia are two important destinations from where visitors arrive in Goa during the tourist season. As per figures of the Goa tourism department, before the outbreak of COVID-19, around 40,000 tourists used to arrive from the UK .

Bank of England expands emergency effort to stabilise financial markets

The Bank of England on Tuesday expanded its emergency effort to quash upheaval on financial markets unleashed by the government's plan to slash taxes, saying fluctuations in bond prices posed a material risk to Britain's fiscal stability. The UK central bank said it will now buy inflation-linked securities which offer protection from inflation as well as conventional government bonds as it seeks to restore orderly conditions in the market. Purchases will total up to 10 billion pounds (USD 11 billion) a day split evenly between both types of bonds, and the program will end Friday as originally planned, the bank said in a statement. Analysts say pension funds lobbied the central bank to extend the programme by two weeks, but Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey stuck to the timeline in an appearance at the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance in Washington. He said portfolio managers have three days to rebalance their positions. The bank broadened the program

Experts debate fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's suicide risk in UK court

Nirav Modi faces charges of fraud and money laundering, amounting to an estimated $2 bn in the Punjab National Bank loan scam case

UK needs more migrants to boost growth, says CBI business lobby survey

Three-quarters of respondents believe a lack of access to labor is threatening the UK's competitiveness as a place to employ people, the Confederation of British Industry said Tuesday.

UK PM Liz Truss hands trade minister's job to Rishi Sunak's ally

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday handed a junior trade minister's job to an ally of her leadership rival Rishi Sunak, in a move seen as an attempt to rally the governing Conservative Party behind her and curb rebellious moves on the backbenches. Greg Hands, a vocal supporter of the former Indian-origin Chancellor, replaced Conor Burns as Minister of State in charge of Trade Policy in the Department for International Trade (DIT) after the latter was sacked recently following allegations of serious misconduct. Hands was one of Sunak's high-profile backers in the Conservative Party leadership contest and his inclusion was welcomed by other Sunak loyalists as a sign that Truss wants to build bridges with that faction of the party. No one is more experienced and knowledgeable than Greg Hands on trade. A welcome addition back to the Liz Truss government, tweeted former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, also a staunch Sunak supporter. Sunak, the first British Indian candidate to