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☆ UK Prime Minister Sunak vows to maintain military aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to promise on Monday to maintain or increase military aid to Ukraine next year, and to confront international competitors "not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism". British government support for Ukraine has remained unchanged, despite turmoil in recent months as Boris Johnson was succeeded as prime minister by Liz Truss and then Sunak. On Ukraine, Sunak indicated no change with the policy pursued by Johnson and Truss. We will maintain or increase our military aid next year. In September Britain said it was the second largest military donor to Ukraine after the United States, providing 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) of aid this year.

☆ Angela Merkel says she was powerless to stop Putin invading Ukraine because he knew she was about to leave office
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Angela Merkel said that she was too politically weak to stand up to Putin at their last meeting. "For Putin, only power counts," she told German outlet Der Spiegel. "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through,'" she told the magazine. In Moscow, she said, "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through.'" US intelligence and independent experts increasingly suggested that Putin was looking for an excuse to invade.

☆ Germany angrily denies claim by Boris Johnson that it wanted Ukraine to quickly lose to Russia when it invaded
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Germany slammed comments from Boris Johnson about its attitude to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Johnson said on Monday that Germany initially wanted Ukraine to "fold" to get it over quickly. Hebestreit pointed to Germany's military support to Ukraine as evidence that it did not want it to lose. Despite being politically embattled domestically throughout the Ukraine conflict, Johnson developed close ties with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before he stepped down and was widely celebrated in Ukraine. Ultimately, Johnson told CNN, the EU has "done brilliantly" despite his initial "anxiety" about member states' reactions to Putin's aggression.

☆ King Charles welcomes South Africa’s Ramaphosa for first state visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

King Charles hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch on Tuesday, welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace. Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in Africa. Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela. The Prince and Princess of Wales stand with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) at the Corinthia Hotel in London. The last state visit to Britain by a South African leader was that of President Jacob Zuma in 2010 when he was met by Charles and Camilla at the start of the trip.

☆ The Twitter Blue relaunch is on hold until the platform can sort out impersonation issues with 'high confidence,' Elon Musk says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk says Twitter Blue's relaunch is on hold until it can deal with impersonation issues. "Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation," Musk tweeted late on Monday. Musk's announcement comes after the social media platform halted its relaunch of Twitter Blue — which gives users a blue tick if they pay $8 a month — due to widespread impersonation issues. The billionaire's latest update also supersedes his earlier announcement that Twitter Blue would return on November 29. Twitter suspended its verification relaunch on November 11, and started focusing on solving impersonation issues, per Platformer's Zoe Schiffer, who cited an internal note.

☆ ‘Difficult decisions’: Britain announces higher taxes and spending cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN Business —The United Kingdom has already entered a recession and is battling decades-high inflation, eroding standards of living for millions of people across the country. Britain’s painful planThe United Kingdom is in a recession that will last just over a year, the country’s budget watchdog said in a new forecast released Thursday. The United Kingdom is also increasing its windfall tax on oil and gas companies, while slapping a new levy on electricity generators. “We do have to take difficult decisions on public finances, so we’re going to grow public spending, but we are going to grow it more slowly than the growth in the economy,” Hunt said. The Bank of England has said the United Kingdom could be in a recession for two years.

☆ It’s the wrong time for Trumponomics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump tried to juice U.S. economic growth by enacting massive tax cuts and championing lower interest rates. As he sets his sights again on the White House, the country is turning its back on Trumponomics. The U.S. Federal Reserve has been jacking up interest rates in hopes of weakening demand and easing the climb in prices. Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss proposed tax cuts for Britain's top earners and homebuyers in a mini-budget revealed in September, posing the policy as a way to spur growth. Surging inflation prompted the Fed to start raising interest rates in March to cool demand and slow price growth.

☆ Biden says it's 'unlikely' the missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden said it is unlikely that the missile that hit Poland and killed two people was fired from Russia, but the United States and allies unanimously agreed to support the country's investigation. "There is preliminary information that contests that," Biden said when asked if the missile was fired from Russia. Biden didn't address whether the missile could have been fired by Russia from Ukraine or elsewhere. Participants included G-7 members and allies: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spainish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and European Council President Charles Michel. "The moment when the world came together at the G-20 to urge de-escalation, Russia continues to escalate in Ukraine," Biden said.

☆ Centrica gives ammo to UK windfall tax fans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The chief executive of 5 billion pound Centrica (CNA.L) on Thursday outlined plans for a 250 million pound share repurchase, following in the footsteps of chunky payouts by BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L). With the UK already windfall taxing North Sea oil profits, the risk for O’Shea is that it emboldens UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to hit power generators as well. Nearly half of Centrica’s 25 billion pounds of revenue this year, based on Refinitiv data, will come from British Gas, which sells power to Britons. But a strong performance from Centrica’s electricity and gas production, and from its trading arm, means O’Shea has cause to be generous. Generation provides a much larger chunk of 2.2 billion pound renewable energy group Drax’s (DRX.L) top line.

☆ Trolls are already abusing Elon Musk's new Twitter verification system, impersonating everyone from George Bush to O.J. Simpson
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter's new verification system is already being abused by trolls impersonating public figures. Neither Bush nor Blair have personal Twitter accounts, but are verified through their foundations. Other examples of fake but verified accounts causing trouble soon after the new verification system came in included a user pretending to be O.J. "I'm ngl I did that shit," the verified account "ThaReal0J32" tweeted, attracting over 55,000 likes before it was deleted. The fake Bush account also responded to tweets about fake verified accounts saying: "Jed [Bush's younger brother] is smarter than Elon."

☆ Guy Fawkes Night: What those fireworks and bonfires are all about
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Every year on November 5, skies across England, Scotland and Wales are illuminated by fireworks as Brits head out into the night to enjoy Guy Fawkes Night celebrations. Also called Fireworks Night or Bonfire Night, this autumn tradition has been a staple of the British calendar for the past 400 years. A photograph from 1955, depicting children at a school in Surrey, England, preparing the Guy Fawkes Night bonfire. What’s Guy Fawkes Night like today? Lewes Bonfire Night celebrationsEffigies of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and fellow UK Conservative politician Jacob Rees-Mogg are paraded through the streets of Lewes during traditional Bonfire Night celebrations in 2019.

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☆ The company that pays Akshata Murthy, wife of British PM Rishi Sunak, £11.5 million a year is still operating in Russia, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Infosys, founded by Rishi Sunak's father-in-law, is still operating in Russia, The Guardian reported. The IT firm still has staff in Moscow and is paying two subcontractors, per the report. Infosys, which pays the PM's wife £11.5 million in dividends, said it would leave Russia in March. A spokesperson told The Guardian that it was seeking to end the arrangement and had taken measures to "suspend its operations in Russia". A Downing Street spokesperson told The Guardian: "Neither Akshata Murty nor any members of her family have any involvement in the operational decisions of the company."

☆ Western leaders rushed to recognise Bolsonaro's defeat in Brazil to head off any Trump-like attempt to stay in power, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

World leaders swiftly backed Brazil's president-elect on his election victory over Jair Bolsonaro. Analysts say the move was likely meant to counter any attempt by Bolsonaro to undermine the vote. Analysts said the rush to congratulate da Silva was likely part of a coordinated campaign to head off attempts by Bolsonaro to question the election. For months, Bolsonaro has pushed baseless claims that the election, which many observers expected him to lose, was tainted by fraud. Bolsonaro's allies so far seem to have accepted the result, in which da Silva was declared the winner with 50.9% of the vote, The New York Times reported.

☆ Rishi Sunak is worth almost $850 million, making him Britain's richest prime minister. Here's why that could be a big problem.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Ryan Hogg | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is worth about $850 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List. With wealth that rivals King Charles III, the former finance minister is the richest UK leader ever. The 42-year-old former chancellor (finance minister) has a net worth of £730 million ($847 million) according to the Sunday Times Rich List, and was ranked 222nd in May. Queen Elizabeth II was estimated to be worth about $440 million before her death, according to the Sunday Times. The ex-finance minister has a 19th century, Grade II-listed mansion in Yorkshire as well as a London home worth millions.

☆ World Cup: UK foreign secretary under fire for saying LGBT soccer fans should be "respectful" at Qatar 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Amy Cassidy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is receiving backlash for suggesting gay soccer fans should be “respectful” in Qatar when attending the FIFA World Cup set to take place in the Gulf Arab state later this year. “One of the things I would say to the football fans is you know, please do be respectful of the host nation. “Two football fans going as a couple can’t hold hands? Leon Neal/Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, British LGBTQ activist Peter Tatchell protested by himself outside the Qatar national museum ahead of the World Cup. Wearing the armband together on behalf of our teams will send a clear message when the world is watching.”

☆ Fact Check-Social media users duped by tweet about Sunak from account parodying the World Economic Forum
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Social media users are sharing a tweet about new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from an account that parodies the World Economic Forum (WEF), which says: “We always get our man in the end.”The post (here) has been shared more than 7,800 times. Replies suggest people believe it was tweeted by the verified WEF account (found at twitter.com/wef), with two users posting separate images about the WEF’s chief executive Klaus Schwab allegedly controlling Sunak (here and here). Screenshots of the tweet have been uploaded to Facebook (here, here and here), where together the posts have been shared dozens of times. The tweet was originally uploaded by an account called World Ecommunist Forum (twitter.com/EcommunistForum), which says it is: “The international organization for public-private-parody cooperation”. The tweet was posted by a Twitter account that parodies the WEF.

The British bank made a profit before tax of 2 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) in July-September, up from 1.9 billion a year ago and above analyst forecasts. European rival Deutsche Bank said fixed income trading revenues rose 38%. Barclays' advisory fees including merger and acquisitions (M&A) fell 45% in the third quarter to 533 million pounds. Despite the higher loan loss charge - including 381 million pounds taken in the quarter - Barclays' chief financial officer Anna Cross told reporters this had been taken ahead of time. Barclays said the net loss arising from the error over the year to date was 600 million pounds.

☆ What do Indians think about Rishi Sunak’s rise? Like UK-India relations, it’s complicated
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Now, an Indian-origin man has become the Prime Minister of England,” a Zee News anchor said. Leon Neal/Getty Images Sunak and Boris Johnson watch as a sheep is sheared during a visit to a farm in North Yorkshire, England, in July 2019. Danny Lawson/PA Images/Getty Images Sunak speaks during a general election debate in Cardiff, Wales, in November 2019. Hollie Adams/Bloomberg/Getty Images Sunak and Murty are seen with their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, while campaigning in Grantham, England, in July 2022. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested as much in a tweet welcoming Sunak’s appointment.

New leader of the Britain's Conservative Party Rishi Sunak walks outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, in London, Britain October 24, 2022. The 42-year-old former finance minister becomes Britain's third prime minister in less than two months, after infighting and feuding at Westminster that has horrified investors and alarmed international allies. Sunak, Britain's youngest prime minister for more than 200 years and its first leader of colour, will replace Liz Truss who resigned after 44 days following a "mini budget" that sparked turmoil in financial markets. Sunak was blamed by many in the party when he quit as finance minister in the summer, triggering a wider rebellion that brought down the-then leader Boris Johnson. His appointment also marks a first in Britain as Sunak, a Hindu, becomes its first prime minister of Indian origin.

☆ Rishi Sunak delivers first address as UK prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRishi Sunak delivers first address as UK prime ministerCNBC's Arabile Gumede joins 'Squawk Box' to report on comments made by Rishi Sunak about his new role as U.K. Prime Minister and the goals and responsibilities he sets out to fulfill in his new position.

☆ Rishi Sunak's first speech as UK prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Rishi Sunak made his first speech as Britain's prime minister on Tuesday, acknowledging the mistakes of his predecessor Liz Truss while vowing to fix the economy, lead with integrity and fulfil the promises of the Conservative Party's 2019 manifesto. Below are the highlights from Sunak's speech:ON THE ECONOMY"Our country is facing a profound economic crisis. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government's agenda. And I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister, in part to fix them." ON BORIS JOHNSON"I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as prime minister and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit.

☆ Rishi Sunak, the new UK prime minister, is yet another Goldman Sachs alumnus
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rishi Sunak, the new UK prime minister, once worked as a junior analyst at Goldman Sachs in London. Sunak also worked at one hedge fund and cofounded another before getting into politics. Sunak left Goldman Sachs to get an MBA at Stanford University. After finishing his studies, Sunak worked at the hedge fund TCI, before setting his own up – Theleme Partners – with a colleague. The party held its second leadership race in the space of just a few months, and Sunak became the UK's presumptive prime minister on Monday after his only remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, withdrew.

☆ Pound holds ground as Rishi Sunak leads race to become UK prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN Business —Britain’s third prime minister in seven weeks will face the huge challenge of projecting stability after a period of historic political and financial market chaos. Rishi Sunak emerged over the weekend as the clear front-runner in the dramatic race to replace Liz Truss, who’s set to be the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history. “A key focus for the next Prime Minister and their chosen Chancellor needs to be fiscal responsibility,” Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said in a statement. An economy in recessionThe Bank of England forecast last month that the UK economy was already in recession. 10 Downing Street, investors and economists expect the revamped economic plan outlined by current finance minister Jeremy Hunt to remain intact.

☆ Boris Johnson's statement on pulling out of the UK prime minister race
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Boris Johnson on Sunday night said he had pulled out of the race to become Britain's next prime minister, saying he realised the country and the Conservative Party needed unity. There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members - and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday. "But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. "I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCompiled by Andrew MacAskill Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Boris Johnson pulls out of UK leadership race
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsBoris Johnson pulls out of UK leadership racePostedFormer UK prime minister Boris Johnson has pulled out of the race to become the country’s next Prime Minister. With Johnson out, former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt battle for the title. The decision could be reached as early as Monday if Mordaunt fails to clear a 100-vote threshold in parliament; something Sunak has already achieved. This report produced by Kristy Kilburn.

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