Kamis, 17 November 2022

London Playbook: On the Hunt for cash — Rishi dun roamin’ — Dominic A-Raab-iata! - POLITICO Europe

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POLITICO London Playbook

By EMILIO CASALICCHIO

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Good Thursday morning. This is Emilio Casalicchio for Autumn Statement pleasures this morning and Friday.

DRIVING THE DAY

ON THE HUNT FOR CASH: Jeremy Hunt will announce massive spending cuts and tax rises this morning in an attempt to mop up the damage of the Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng mini-budget as he delivers his much-anticipated Autumn Statement. The chancellor was last night putting the final touches to his speech ahead of a Commons announcement at 11.30 a.m. which is expected to run for about an hour. It’s a make-or-break moment for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that could renew Conservative hopes of winning another election or send the party hurtling faster toward a crushing defeat. 

How to watch the Autumn Statement like a pro: The Hunt statement was scheduled for 10.30 a.m. but has been held back so that Sunak can make a statement beforehand about his G20 summit. Hunt will appear outside No. 11 at around 10.40 a.m. with a big folder — not a red box since it’s not a budget. Once he finishes speaking at around 12.30 p.m. the documents (including the OBR forecasts) will appear on the government website and Hunt’s Labour counterpart Rachel Reeves will deliver a response. 

Outside the Commons: The all-important OBR will set out its workings in a presentation at 2 p.m. It’s the first time the official fiscal watchdog will make its thoughts known in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget Truss and Kwarteng announced less than two months ago. Look out for that all-important word … “recession.” Hunt is this afternoon heading out on a visit in south London and will do a round of sit-down interviews that are expected to land before teatime. 

The official line: According to a trail of the Autumn Statement released overnight, Hunt will tell the Commons his fiscal plan will help Britain “face into the storm” amid global issues over fuel and inflation. Truss doesn’t get a mention for some reason. Hunt will vow to be “honest about the challenges, and fair in our solutions” and to “protect the vulnerable, because to be British is to be compassionate.” To be British is also to be trapped on a political rollercoaster, it seems.

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Reading between the lines: The government hopes the plan will get a grip on soaring inflation and limit rising interest rates. The pledge is to balance the books while supporting the most vulnerable and seeing those with the broadest shoulders bear the heaviest load. Let’s see what the OBR and the Institute for Fiscal Studies make of it before drawing conclusions though. It’s a shame there are no government ministers to ask about the plan on the broadcast round for the [checks notes] third morning in a row. 

In numbers: Playbook hears the plan involves around £30 billion in spending cuts and £24 billion in tax rises over the next half-decade. No wonder the Sun has mocked Hunt up as “scrooge” and asking how “miserly” the announcement will be. 

What to expect: Playbook’s secret weapon Andrew McDonald has tallied up as many of the Autumn Statement measures leaked or briefed to various news outlets over the past few weeks as he could find. Playbook has added traffic lights to indicate whether each measure is expected () … unsure () … or not tipped to happen () … based on whispers last night from inside government. Bear in mind this is a best guess; the messenger is not enthusiastic about being shot. 

That speculation in full: Ditching the triple lock and squeezing benefits payments Not returning aid spending to 0.7 percent of GDP until 2028 Freezing income tax thresholds and allowances beyond the next election Increasing the rate of the windfall tax on oil and gas producers from 25 percent to 35 percent and extending its lifetime to 2028 Increasing the tax that banks have to pay on profits (corporation tax will rise but the bank surcharge will drop from 8 percent to 3 percent) …  Including electricity generators in a windfall tax of at least 40 percent Real-terms cuts until 2026 to the defense budget Cuts to capital spending New road taxes for electric car and van owners from 2025 A new tax on rich foreigners who speculate on U.K. property Freezing income tax thresholds to 2028 Limiting public sector pay rises to 2 percent across the board in 2023/24 (not a decision for Hunt but HMT is accounting for a 2 percent rise) … Delaying Boris Johnson’s social care reforms until 2025 Not increasing the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance and VAT Lowering capital spending on science Shelving Liz Truss’ promise to beef up Northern Powerhouse rail (not for now, at least) …

And breathe: Hiking the headline rate of capital gains tax (however the tax-free allowance is expected to be cut in half) … Not extending the Truss stamp duty cut Raising the dividend taxation rate and cutting the tax-free allowance for dividends Introducing changes to non-dom status Changing pensions tax relief for higher rate earners Allowing councils to hike local taxes by up to 5 percent without a referendum Reducing the rate at which income tax relief is applied to higher-rate taxpayers from 40p to as low as 20p Freezing inheritance tax thresholds Increasing pensions and benefits in line with inflation Freezing the pensions lifetime allowance for two years Raising the top rate of income tax and lowering the threshold from £150,000 to £125,000 Extending a freeze on the business VAT threshold Hiking the National Insurance rate paid by employers by 1.25 percentage points Scrapping investment zones Cutting planned growth in day-to-day public spending after 2025 from 3.7 percent to 1 percent Not expanding free school meals despite calls

Almost there: Selling underused government buildings and shifting to digital public services Targeted one-off payments to help vulnerable customers with energy bills after April A rise in the energy price cap from £2,500 on average to £3,000 Raising the National Living Wage to £10.40 an hour Offering cost of living payments to those on means-tested benefits Freezing tax-free allowances for ISAs … Pumping more cash into the NHS although seems probable and about time, Health Foundation data shared with the FT shows … Billions of pounds to insulate homes and upgrade boilers, alongside a public info campaign about reducing fuel consumption (Playbook also hears the new Sizewell nuclear plant will get a reaffirmed go-ahead) … Reforming Solvency II insurance rules … And a 7 percent rise in rents for social housing tenants in a partial shield from inflation

How to respond to all that: Team Rachel Reeves spent the 24 hours ahead of the statement crunching spreadsheets in her office and looking at what economies all over the world are doing, while drinking much too much Diet Coke and eating grapes. The shadow chancellor last night said the U.K. had “so much potential but we are falling behind on the global stage, while mortgages, food and energy costs all go up and up. The country is being held back by 12 years of Tory economic failure and wasted opportunities and working people are paying the price.”

Speaking of Labour: In his latest Spectator column, James Forsyth sets out how Labour could respond with a plan to tinker around the edges of the Hunt agenda, or set out its own full-blown shadow budget. 

And from the other side of the mag divide: “A country with a healthy industrial base, able to export its way out of trouble, would not be a country experimenting once more with — yes, that word again — austerity,” veteran broadcaster Andrew Marr wrote in his latest New Statesman cover piece. It’s like he’s offering up Labour attack lines. 

How Conservative backbenchers will respond: MPs on the right will be concerned about the £24 billion in tax rises but might be willing to swallow the pill seeing as a number of the measures wouldn’t come in until after the next election. One noted to Playbook that the statement will be “lose, lose” seeing as “there’s no meat on the bones in departments for further cuts either. The George Osborne cuts weren’t kidding around.” Former Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg told Peston last night he would back the government despite hating the tax rises. 

Meanwhile … the “one nation” caucus will be pleased to see benefits uprated in line with inflation and a hike in the minimum wage. The group will accept a postponed rise in aid spending through gritted teeth and are more willing to accept tax rises than their pals on the right. “No one takes pleasure in tax rises but it’s something we have to do,” one said. 

Oh and … Esther McVey will presumably be voting against the Autumn Statement in the Commons — which would be rebelling on an effective confidence vote. 

What else to look out for: Rees-Mogg blaming the Bank of England for the current inflation woes (as he was doing on Peston last night) and Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill defending the BoE when he speaks at the Bristol Festival of Economics at 12.30 p.m.

NOW READ THIS: “If the prime minister and his chancellor can get this week right, delivering an Autumn Statement that is not merely Austerity 2.0 but a new approach that they can convincingly defend as both honest and fair, the Conservatives under Sunak still have a road to recovery,” pollster James Johnson writes for POLITICO.

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BALI HARVEST

RISHI DUN ROAMIN’: Rishi Sunak will convene his Cabinet at 8.30 a.m. to sign off the Autumn Statement after touching down in Britain less than an hour ago following the G20 summit in Bali. Three hours or so into the long-haul flight, Sunak ventured to the back of the plane in a tracksuit, blue sweater and Nike trainers for an informal chat with waiting hacks.

On the menu: For dinner on the plane, the Lobby was served veggie sushi with a little plastic pot of soy sauce and a main course of salmon with soggy noodles worse than you’d find in any restaurant, Playbook’s Eleni Courea reports back.

RISHI’S G-SPOT: As noted above, Sunak will update the Commons on his G20 field trip at 10.30 a.m. No doubt he will burnish his Indo-Pacific-tilt credentials after high-profile meetings with crucial world leaders. Eleni writes in her wrap of the G20 summit that allies of the PM believe his heritage makes him uniquely placed to deliver on the “look East” agenda. One said Sunak becoming PM was “hugely powerful” in Asia “and says a lot about who we are.”

Rishi <3 Jokowi: Sunak plans to foster closer relations with emerging economies in Asia that are not aligned with the West, Russia or China. One person involved in discussions told Eleni that the PM plans to welcome Indonesian President Joko Widodo for a visit to London in mid-December which could include an audience with the king. The British plan to join the CPTPP trade pact is also a significant milestone. 

But but but: POLITICO’s trade team hears China’s application to join CPTPP has complicated matters, with current members refusing to “dumb down” the requirements for entry so as not to set a precedent that could be used as leverage by Beijing in its own accession talks. Others note that CPTPP nations are waiting to see if the U.K. manages to stabilize itself after a rollercoaster few months.

Line to Beijing: The most significant change Sunak is making to British foreign policy is opening the door to closer relations with China. The PM had been due to hold a surprise meeting with Xi Jinping but those plans were scuppered by emergency talks about the missile strike in Poland. Be in no doubt though — China is one subject we’ll be hearing a lot more about.

Door not wide open: However, the U.K. instructed Chinese-owned technology company Nexperia to sell at least 86 percent of the Newport Wafer Fab factory it acquired last year, citing national security grounds. Full write-up here from POLITICO’s Cristina Gallardo. 

DOMINIC A-RAAB-IATA!

IT GOES DOM AND DOM: It seems all corners of Whitehall who have worked with Dominic Raab are out for the justice chief at the moment. Playbook hears from a former Foreign Office official that when Raab was running the department he oversaw a “complete degradation in morale” in his private office and was disparaging toward officials, sometimes in front of ministers. During the 2019 election, just a few months after he took the foreign brief, his private office was said to be “doing rain dances” in the hope the minister would lose his seat and therefore not return. 

Pedant for the formatting: Multiple people confirmed that one of the things Raab was super uptight about was the formatting of ministerial submissions (documents from officials containing advice or requests for approvals and authorizations). He was said to dismiss submissions that were not formatted how he liked them or that had a Department for International Development heading (the two offices would produce joint submissions when DFID still existed).

Making the grade: Raab even created a grading regime for submissions, and civil service bosses would be held responsible if their team received regular low grades. At one point three directors-general found themselves working on a single submission for the best part of a week to ensure Raab wouldn’t just bin it. Officials said they felt the department had become cowed and overworked in a bid to manage the minister’s ego rather than enact meaningful change. 

The defense: Allies of Raab told Playbook he likes things to contain correct spellings and clear formatting, but that the grading regime was to rate the advice not the presentation of documents. His allies also reject claims that submissions with DFID headings were dismissed, or that he oversaw plummeting morale and was disparaging toward officials. Raab told the Commons during PMQs he was “confident that I have behaved professionally throughout” after requesting a formal conduct investigation. 

Sticking up for Dom: “I never saw him being disparaging of private secretaries, staff members or doing anything that came close to bullying,” former Foreign Office Minister James Duddridge, who worked with Raab at the time, told Playbook. Duddridge confirmed however that Raab was strict about submissions and liked a specific format to ensure he could get through a high volume of work — in part because he liked to scrutinize the detail himself. 

More FCDO vibes: The i newspaper team of Arj Singh, Richard Vaughan and Chloe Chaplain quote an official who said junior foreign office staff were “protected” from Raab. “Very senior officials knew he was a menace, and so time and contact with him was hugely limited, the person said. “The guy was just a totally arrogant, pompous bully.” People close to Raab told the paper he rejected the claims. 

BTW: No word from Downing Street on who will conduct the investigation into complaints against Raab or who will be the new government ethics adviser. Playbook remains willing to serve the nation if called upon.

HANCOCK WATCH

PLAYBOOK’S ANDREW MCDONALD WATCHES HANCOCK SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO: MP for the jungle Matt Hancock is tonight in with a shot of winning a brief trip to the beach and a surf-and-turf barbecue — which is sure to win over wavering members of the public to his dyslexia campaign. But before that, he looks set to take part in another gruesome trial fishing around for plastic stars while critters crawl into his pants.

Running from questions: The sheep’s-vagina-munching MP found himself at the center of a clash between Boy George (a.k.a convicted felon George Alan O’Dowd) and presenter Scarlette Douglas during a debate about his political views. During what comedian Seann Walsh dubbed “PMQs, live from the jungle,” Douglas unlocked her best SpAd impression and whisked Hancock away so he didn’t have to answer a slightly awkward question on arms spending. “Matt’s an adult, he can look after himself,” the pop star complained. To be fair, the so-called adult then point-blank refused to answer the question. Relive the high drama via the Independent write-up here.

Breakfast warning: Hancock also revealed during the impromptu question time that he hates the word “moist.”

He’s loving it: Following another dreadful trial performance from a non-Hancock celeb, the former health secretary enthusiastically put himself forward to take part in Scareground — the trial in tonight’s episode. This time ITV let the celebs choose the victims among themselves rather than risk the public ignoring Hancock for a third vote in a row. And to be fair to Hancock, he’s better at collecting plastic stars while cockroaches nibble at his unmentionables than he is at meeting self-imposed targets for COVID testing without fudging the numbers.

Not loving it: The 1,100 people who have moaned to Ofcom about his appearance on the show.

Mentions of dyslexia: You don’t need us to answer this one.

**Our UK newsroom follows the new government development closely to make sure you don’t miss any policy news. POLITICO Pro keeps you one step ahead with reliable news and intelligence on the politics and policies in the UK. Request a free demo today.**

TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 9.30 a.m. with Defra questions. Commons leader Penny Mordaunt has the weekly business statement before the PM statement on the G20, then Hunt’s Autumn Statement at 11.30 a.m. There will be a general debate after all that for International Men’s Day, which is actually Saturday.

COMMITTEE CORRIDOR: The public accounts committee will be quizzing senior Treasury officials on fraud and loss to the taxpayer from COVID employment schemes (10 a.m.).

HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 11 a.m. with the introduction of new peers SME4Labour founder Sonny Leong and Tory leader of Bexley Council Teresa O’Neill, followed by questions on carers in debt, tackling childhood obesity and Paris overtaking London as Europe’s most valuable stock market. There will then be debates on long COVID, the success of national women’s sports and the housing market.

NOT LIFTING WAITS: Labour lashed out at the government after a damning independent report found the NHS is on course to fail in its target to cut long waits for treatment and cancer care before 2025. The National Audit Office said government funding had not kept up with inflation, and that NHS workforce issues had reduced the chances of clearing the post-COVID backlogs. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government’s “failure to meet its unambitious targets will leave more patients in pain and discomfort for years to come.”

PEEKING TOM: Home Office Minister Tom Tugendhat faces a possible driving ban this morning after he admitted peeking at his phone while driving. The case is due to kick off at Westminster Magistrates’ Court at 10 a.m.

SPOTTED: At the Labour event at Bloomberg for Shadow Cabinet members to hobnob with the business world: The BCC’s Shevaun Haviland … the CBI’s Tony Danker … FGS Global’s Roland Rudd … HSBC’s Sherard Cowper-Coles … Impax Asset Management’s Ian Simm … the IoD’s Kitty Usher … Aviva’s Amanda Blanc … L&G’s Nigel Wilson … Lloyds’s Charlie Nunn … Octopus’s Greg Jackson … Teneo’s Nick Claydon … Severn Trent’s Paul Lindley … Diageo’s Nuno Teles … and more. 

The sales pitch: Leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves made speeches insisting Labour was not just pro-business but “proud of being pro-business.” Starmer said Labour “understands the only way to a fairer, greener, more dynamic Britain is to back private enterprise to the hilt.” Bloomberg’s Emily Ashton has a write-up

Speaking of Labour: New polling for the Best for Britain campaign group finds the Labour poll lead isn’t all that concrete. Full details here

BEYOND THE M25

COMING ATTRACTION: The Supreme Court will deliver its judgment next Wednesday morning on the Scottish parliament’s IndyRef powers. That’s much sooner than was expected, though apparently nothing should be read into the court’s swift deliberations. Whatever the court decides, there will be (yet another) almighty constitutional row.

Useful info: A few thousand supporters of Scottish independence are planning to make the trip down to London to mark the occasion, the Times’ Kieran Andrews reports.

MIDTERM RESULT: The U.S. Republicans have won back control of the House following more midterm vote-counting, giving them the power to thwart parts of Joe Biden’s agenda over the next two years. They’ll have only a tiny majority, despite pre-election predictions of an onrushing red wave. Here’s POLITICO’s write-up.

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MEDIA ROUND

Good Morning Britain: Former Education Secretary Justine Greening (7.25 a.m.) … Comedian David Baddiel (8.30 a.m.).

Kay Burley: Former Boris adviser Alex Crowley (7.30 a.m.) … Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney (7.45 a.m.) … Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden (8.05 a.m.) … Treasury committee Chairwoman Harriet Baldwin (8.20 a.m.) … Lithuanian PM Ingrida Šimonytė (8.30 a.m.) … SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford (8.45 a.m.) … Former MI6 chief John Sawers (9.30 a.m.).

Today program: IFS boss Paul Johnson (6.35 a.m.) … President of Queens’ College, Cambridge Mohamed Aly El-Erian (7.10 a.m.).

Nick Ferrari at Breakfast (LBC): Former Treasury SpAd Richard Davies (7.05 a.m.).

TalkTV Breakfast: Tory MP John Redwood (7.05 a.m.) … CBI Vice President Karan Bilimoria (7.12 a.m.) … Tory MP David Davis (8.05 a.m.) … Former McDonnell adviser James Meadway (9.05 a.m.).

Times Radio breakfast: Treasury committee Chairwoman Harriet Baldwin (7.05 a.m.) … FSB National Chair Martin McTague (8.05 a.m.).

Politics Live (BBC Two 11 a.m.): Labour MP Rushanara Ali … Tory MP Vicky Ford … IFS boss Paul Johnson … Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen and his shadow Pat McFadden … SNP MP Richard Thomson … Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper.

Tonight with Andrew Marr (LBC 6 p.m.): IFS boss Paul Johnson.

Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC 8 p.m.): Former Bank of England official Ian McCafferty … KPMG chief economist Yael Selfin … New Economics Foundation chief economist Alfie Sterling … Uni of Oxford economist Linda Yueh.

Peston Autumn Statement special (Twitter 9 p.m. and ITV 11 p.m.): Chancellor Jeremy Hunt … Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Question Time (iPlayer 8 p.m. or BBC One 10.40 p.m.): Treasury Minister Victoria Atkins … Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth … SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford … Broadcaster Trevor Phillips … The Spectator’s Kate Andrews.

Reviewing the papers tonight: Sky News (10.30 and 11.30 p.m.): Columnist Carole Malone and editor of the Courier David Clegg … talkTV (10.20 p.m.): The Spectator’s Isabel Hardman and former No. 10 chief of staff Nick Timothy.

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

(Click on the publication’s name to see its front page.)

Daily Express: D-day for U.K. … Hunt’s ‘fair and honest’ plan to fix future.

Daily Mail: Supermarkets to ration eggs.

Daily Mirror: Spies foil Iran plots to murder Brits.

Daily Star: To boldly go bigly.

Financial Times: Hunt aims big cuts and tax rises at repairing Britain’s frayed reputation.

HuffPostUK: Hunt braces U.K. for economic ‘storm.’

i: Hunt reveals U.K.’s new age of austerity.

Metro: Grin and bear it!

PoliticsHome: Government ‘lack of coordination’ has led to ‘chaotic’ refugee rehousing schemes.

POLITICO UK: Rishi Sunak spies Britain’s future — In the Indo-Pacific.

The Daily Telegraph: We will face into storm, says Hunt as taxes surge.

The Guardian: Millions face rise in energy bills as Hunt lifts price cap.

The Independent: Bank hits out at ministers over ‘damaged’ economy.

The Sun: Toney charged over 232 bets.

The Times: Hunt’s taxes target the wealthy.

TODAY’S NEWS MAGS

POLITICO: When pipe dreams become nightmares.

The New Statesman: The state we’re in — How a new age of austerity will change Britain.

The Spectator: The squeeze — How long will the pain last.

LONDON CALLING

WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Cloudy, light rain and breezy. Highs of 11C.

SPOTTED … At WPI Strategy’s annual party in Westminster, with opening remarks from Security Minister Tom Tugendhat … Tory MPs Andy Carter, Alan Mak, Damian Green, Nick Fletcher, James Davies, Stephen Hammond and James Wild … Tory peers Jim Bethell and Natalie Evans … Former No. 10 joint chief of staff Nick Timothy … Current No. 10 SpAds Sheridan Westlake and Tom D’Silva … Other SpAds including Lucy Noakes, Sam Hamilton and Michael Stott … U.K. Music chief Jamie Njoku-Goodwin … Hacks Martyn Brown, Christian Calgie, Katy Balls, Lara Spirit, Marie Le Conte, Mikey Smith, Ben Glaze, Martin Ivens … Think tankers Robert Colvile and Adam Hawksbee … Labour PAD Anthony McCaul.

GLORIA BE TO GOD: The deep-dive Gloria De Piero interviews on GB News are moving from their midweek slot to Sunday evenings. Her new show, “Gloria Meets,” will also include focus groups from around the U.K. Here’s the tweet

NEW GIG 1: Conservative former Minister Robin Walker was elected to chair the education committee. 

NEW GIG 2: Former Dominic Raab SpAd Jack Woolidge is joining the Institute for Government after spending the best part of a decade working in politics. Here’s his announcement

BOTANICAL NEWS: The 40-foot Christmas tree that will adorn the Palace of Westminster over the festive season will today be cut down in the Keilder Forest, Northumberland. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Crossbench peer and ex-Chief of the Defense Staff Charles Guthrie … Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley … Conservative Home Editor Paul Goodman … Former Tory Party Chairman Jeremy Hanley … Lib Dem peer Malcolm Bruce … HuffPost UK Deputy Political Editor Sophia Sleigh … U.K. Ambassador to Turkey Dominick Chilcott … South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Zoya Sheftalovich, reporter Andrew McDonald and producer Grace Stranger.

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More from ... Emilio Casalicchio

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmV1L25ld3NsZXR0ZXIvbG9uZG9uLXBsYXlib29rL29uLXRoZS1odW50LWZvci1jYXNoLXJpc2hpLWR1bi1yb2FtaW4tZG9taW5pYy1hLXJhYWItaWF0YS_SAXFodHRwczovL3d3dy5wb2xpdGljby5ldS9uZXdzbGV0dGVyL2xvbmRvbi1wbGF5Ym9vay9vbi10aGUtaHVudC1mb3ItY2FzaC1yaXNoaS1kdW4tcm9hbWluLWRvbWluaWMtYS1yYWFiLWlhdGEvYW1wLw?oc=5

2022-11-17 07:04:00Z
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Ukraine war: Kyiv not to blame for Poland missile - Zelensky - BBC

President Volodymyr ZelenskyGetty Images

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he had "no doubts" that Ukraine was not to blame for the missile strike that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday.

Mr Zelensky said he had received assurances from his top commanders that "it wasn't our missile".

He also called for Ukrainian officials to be allowed to access the blast site and to be part of the investigation.

His comments came as Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Kyiv's air defence missiles were "most likely" to blame.

US President Joe Biden also cast doubt on Mr Zelensky's statement that the missile was not of Ukrainian origin, telling reporters "that's not the evidence".

The missile blast occurred on a farm in Przewodow, just 6km (4 miles) from Poland's border with Ukraine.

Ukrainian air defence systems were activated on Tuesday when Russia launched what is believed to be its biggest wave of missile strikes since its February invasion.

The attack, which occurred during the G20 summit in Indonesia, caused an international outcry, while news of a missile blast inside Nato member Poland's territory raised fears of a dangerous escalation in the war.

Map

But Polish President Andrzej Duda said it was "highly probable" that the missile was launched by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence.

"From the information that we and our allies have, it was an S-300 rocket made in the Soviet Union, an old rocket and there is no evidence that it was launched by the Russian side," he said.

Mr Stoltenberg told the BBC that he agreed with Poland's assessment that the incident was probably caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile.

"But the main message is that Russia bears the ultimate responsibility, because this would not have happened hadn't Russia waged a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine," he said.

He added that Nato had pledged to supply a "more advanced air defence system" to Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance but receives extensive military aid.

And Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said Russia bore ultimate responsibility for the incident.

"While we still don't know all the facts, we do know one thing - this tragedy would never have happened but for Russia's needless invasion of Ukraine and its recent missile assaults against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. The UN Charter is clear. Ukraine has every right to defend itself against this barrage," she said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, the top US general has warned that an early military victory for Ukraine remains unlikely, despite a series of successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in the east and south.

Last week, Ukraine recaptured Kherson, the only major city to fall to Russia since it started its invasion in February. And in the east, a Ukrainian offensive launched in September has seen Kyiv's forces advance into Donestsk and Luhansk.

"The probability of a Ukrainian military victory - defined as kicking the Russians out of all of Ukraine to include what they claim as Crimea - the probability of that happening any time soon is not high, militarily," Gen Mark Milley - the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - told reporters at the Pentagon.

But he said recent Russian losses meant a "political solution" was possible.

Gen Milley, who serves as President Biden's top military adviser, said the Ukrainian gains had left Russia "on its back" and observed that its losses could see Moscow agree to some sort of a political withdrawal.

But the top US general did not elaborate as to what that agreement would look like.

Speaking to attendees of the G20 summit in Bali earlier this week, President Zelensky laid out a 10-point peace plan that includes nuclear safety guarantees, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's territory, and reparations and justice for "Russia's aggression against Ukraine".

But Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Kyiv's demands were "unrealistic and inadequate". He added that Ukraine "categorically refuses" negotiations with Russia.

Elsewhere, the eastern Donetsk region has seen heavy fighting in recent days, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych.

He said Russian troops from Kherson region had now been "redirected" towards Donetsk and Luhansk.

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2022-11-17 06:24:24Z
1656918863

Rabu, 16 November 2022

Oil tanker owned by Israeli billionaire 'struck by drone' off coast of Oman - Sky News

An oil tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman, an official has said.

The vessel, which is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping but owned by Idan Ofer, was attacked on Tuesday night, according to the Middle East-based defence source.

The operator said it was investigating after its ship was struck by what it described as a projectile.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organisation that monitors shipping in the region, said it was "aware of an incident", which is "being investigated".

The ship was identified as the Pacific Zircon.

Eastern Pacific Shipping said the vessel was carrying gas oil and only minor damage was reported to the vessel's hull with no spillage of the cargo or injuries among the crew.

According to the shipping tracking site MarineTraffic, it was last seen off the coast of Liwa, Oman, on Monday morning.

It departed from Sohar on Monday afternoon destined for Buenos Aires. Eastern Pacific Shipping said it was some 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Oman at around the time it was struck, deep in the Arabian Sea.

Idan Ofer, Director of the Israel Corporation, in Geneva in 2013
Image: Idan Ofer, Director of the Israel Corporation, in Geneva in 2013

Heightened tensions with Iran

The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions with Iran and ahead of the World Cup in nearby Qatar.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long war within wider tensions in the Middle East.

It has also reportedly provided Russia with drones to use in its war against Ukraine.

Read more from Sky News:
What are Iranian kamikaze drones?
Missile that hit Poland 'unlikely' from Russia

The US blamed Iran for a series of attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019.

Tehran then started escalating its nuclear programme after the US unilaterally withdrew from its atomic deal with world powers.

Iranian state media has not commented.

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2022-11-16 09:56:15Z
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Oil tanker hit by armed drone off coast of Oman: Official - Al Jazeera English

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the details of which are unclear, but suspicion has fallen on Iran.

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman, an official has told the Associated Press.

The attack happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, the Middle East-based defence official said. The official spoke on Wednesday on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorisation to discuss the attack publicly.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organisation in the region monitoring shipping, told the AP: “We are aware of an incident and it’s being investigated at this time.”

The official identified the vessel attacked as the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon. That tanker is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles (240 kilometres) off the coast of Oman.

“We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for,” the company said. “There is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.”

A call to the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi was not answered. Israel’s prime minister’s office and its defence ministry declined to comment.

However, while no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, an Israeli official speaking anonymously to Reuters said that Iran was behind the attack, which they said used the same type of drone that has previously been supplied to Russia in Ukraine.

Iran’s Nournews, which is affiliated with the country’s top security body, blamed Israel for the attack, accusing it of a distraction ahead of soccer’s World Cup that starts in Qatar on Sunday.

Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war in the wider Middle East, with some drone attacks targeting Israeli-associated vessels travelling around the region.

Timothy Hawkins, United States’ Naval 5th Fleet Commander, told Al Jazeera that the US’ biggest concern was “any destabilising maritime activity that takes place in the surrounding waters because they are vital to global trade”.

He said that the 5th Fleet’s next step would be to continue maintaining a persistent presence in the Gulf.

“[We will] work with our regional partners and our international partners in patrolling the nearby waters and also working with commercial shipping to ensure they have the information they need to continue transiting these waterways safely,” Hawkins said.

The US has blamed Iran for a series of attacks occurring off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Tehran then had begun escalating its nuclear programme following the US’s unilateral withdrawal from its atomic deal with world powers.

In 2021, a suspected Iranian drone attack hit the Israeli-associated oil tanker Mercer Street off Oman, killing two people on board.

Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack on the Pacific Zircon. It was not immediately clear where the vessel was on Wednesday. Satellite-tracking data from late Tuesday provided by MarineTraffic.com put the vessel deep in the Arabian Sea after leaving the Omani port of Sohar.

Since the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal, nonproliferation experts warn Tehran now has enough enriched uranium to make at least one nuclear weapon, though Tehran insists its programme is peaceful.

The Iranian government has also accused countries it deems to be enemy states of meddling in Iran’s internal affairs amid nationwide anti-government protests that have been continuing since September.

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2022-11-16 09:47:39Z
1657699133

Donald Trump 2024: Six ways running for president will be harder this time - BBC

Trump descends the escalator in Trump Tower in New YorkGetty Images

Donald Trump has announced his third straight presidential bid, in an extremely rare attempt by a former US leader to recapture the White House after losing an election.

The speech, which clocked in at more than an hour, was largely a mix of boasts about his presidential record and attacks on the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency.

On display were some of Mr Trump's continued strengths. He has an unmatched sense of which issues are important to grass-roots conservatives, such as immigration and crime. His unpredictable and inflammatory style can drive news coverage and deny the spotlight to his competitors. He has a base of loyal supporters and can motivate typically unengaged Americans to vote. And after four years in office, many of those supporters hold positions of authority within the Republican Party.

But his speech also highlighted some of Mr Trump's key weaknesses.

He glossed over the hardships and missteps during the Covid pandemic and totally ignored his months of election denial that culminated in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

He attempted to defend the Republican Party's tepid performance in last week's midterm election and his support for losing candidates, which has led to growing criticism from conservative ranks.

Mr Trump said the task ahead was not one for a "conventional candidate", but for a movement of millions of people - his movement, his people and his campaign. He rode that movement to the presidency six years ago, but there's reason to believe the obstacles that his latest White House bid will face are more daunting this time around. Here's why.

1. Running with a record

Eight years ago, Mr Trump was a political blank slate. With no record as an officeholder, voters could project their hopes and desires on to him. He could make expansive promises - so much winning! - without critics pointing to past shortcomings and failures.

That's not the case any more. While Mr Trump had some notable policy achievements during his four years in office, including tax cuts and criminal justice reform, he also had some prominent failures.

Republicans will remember his inability to repeal Democratic healthcare reforms and his repeated promises of infrastructure investment that never came to fruition. And then there's Mr Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which could open him up to attacks on multiple fronts.

Democrats have long criticised his response as insufficiently aggressive, but there are some on the right who believe he went too far in supporting government-mandated mitigation efforts.

2. The shadow of 6 January

Mr Trump won't just have to run on his policy record as president, either. He will have to defend the way he handled the end of his presidency and his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The images of that day, with supporters waving Trump banners amid the teargas as they ransacked the Capitol and temporarily halted the peaceful transition of power, will not be easily forgotten.

The midterm elections demonstrated that what happened that day - and Mr Trump's words and actions in the weeks leading up to it - may still be influencing voter behaviour.

Many Republican candidates who offered full-throated support for Mr Trump's refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election lost. Lots of them underperformed other Republican candidates in their states who were not outspoken in their election denial.

One of the reasons floated for why Mr Trump appears so eager to launch another presidential bid is because it will allow him to more effectively frame his multiple criminal and civil investigations as part of a larger political vendetta.

While that might work for public relations purposes, Mr Trump's legal exposure in these cases is very real.

The former president is currently defending himself against a criminal election-tampering inquiry in Georgia, a civil fraud case targeting his business empire in New York, a defamation lawsuit involving a sexual assault allegation, and federal probes into his role in the Capitol attack and his post-presidential handling of classified material.

Any of these investigations could lead to full-blown trials that would dominate the headlines and at least temporarily derail Mr Trump's campaign plans.

At best for him, it would be a costly distraction. A worst-case scenario would include massive financial penalties or prison.

4. A tougher opponent

As the Republican presidential contest began eight years ago, Mr Trump faced off against a Florida governor considered to be the party's prohibitive favourite. Jeb Bush, however, proved a paper tiger.

A massive campaign war chest and a famous last name was not enough. He was out of step with the Republican base on immigration and education policy. And the Bush name didn't carry the power within the party that it once did.

If Mr Trump wants the nomination in 2024, he may once again have to go through a Florida governor.

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Unlike Mr Bush, however, Ron DeSantis just won an overwhelming re-election victory that suggests he is in tune with his party's core supporters. While he has yet to be tested on the national stage, his political star is ascending.

It's unclear if Mr DeSantis will run, or who else will enter the Republican presidential contest at this point.

The Florida governor could emerge as the consensus pick among the party faithful not interested in giving Mr Trump another shot. If so, Republican voters may have the kind of binary choice that will improve their odds of stopping Mr Trump before his nomination is secured.

5. Popularity woes

On the eve of Mr Trump's presidential announcement, a conservative group released a series of polls that showed Mr Trump trailing Ron DeSantis in a head-to-head contest by double-digits among Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Those states hold votes early in the Republican nomination process.

Mr DeSantis also led by 26 points in Florida and by 20 in Georgia, which has a Senate run-off election in December. In all these states, Mr Trump's numbers were well down on previous surveys.

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According to exit polls from the recently concluded midterm elections, Mr Trump is simply not very popular - including in the key states he would need to win to secure the presidency in a general election.

In New Hampshire, only 30% of voters said they wanted Mr Trump to run for president again. Even in Florida, that number only rose to 33%.

Of course, Mr Trump overcame net-negative views of his candidacy in 2015 as well. But after eight years as a political figure on the national stage, those views may be much less likely to change this time around.

6. Father Time

If he wins the presidency, Mr Trump would be 78 years old when he's sworn in. And while that's the same age Joe Biden was when he moved in to the White House, it would make him the second-oldest president in US history.

Time takes its toll in different ways on different people, but the increasing burdens of age are inevitable.

There's no guarantee that Mr Trump can withstand the kind of rigorous campaigning required to win the Republican nomination - particularly one where he will probably be pitted against much younger candidates.

Mr Trump has shown remarkable endurance in the past, but every man has his limits.

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2022-11-16 04:39:12Z
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Oil tanker hit by armed drone off coast of Oman: Official - Al Jazeera English

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the details of which are unclear, but suspicion has fallen on Iran.

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, an official has told the Associated Press.

The attack happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, the Middle East-based defence official said. The official spoke on Wednesday on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorisation to discuss the attack publicly.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organisation in the region monitoring shipping, told the AP: “We are aware of an incident and it’s being investigated at this time.”

The official identified the vessel attacked as the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon. That tanker is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles (240 kilometres) off the coast of Oman.

“We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for,” the company said. “There is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.”

A call to the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi was not answered. Israel’s prime minister’s office and its defence ministry declined to comment.

While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion has immediately fallen on Iran. Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war in the wider Middle East, with some drone attacks targeting Israeli-associated vessels travelling around the region.

Timothy Hawkins, US Naval 5th Fleet Commander told Al Jazeera their biggest concern “is any destabilising maritime activity that takes place in the surrounding waters because they are vital to global trade”.

He said their next step is to continue maintaining a persistent presence.

“It is to work with our regional partners and our international partners in patrolling the nearby waters and also working with commercial shipping to ensure they have the information they need to continue transiting these waterways safely,” Hawkins said.

The United States also blamed Iran for a series of attacks occurring off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Tehran then had begun escalating its nuclear programme following the US’s unilateral withdrawal from its atomic deal with world powers.

In 2021, a suspected Iranian drone attack hit the Israeli-associated oil tanker Mercer Street off Oman, killing two people on board.

Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack on the Pacific Zircon. It was not immediately clear where the vessel was on Wednesday. Satellite-tracking data from late Tuesday provided by MarineTraffic.com put the vessel deep in the Arabian Sea after leaving the Omani port of Sohar.

Since the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal, nonproliferation experts warn Tehran now has enough enriched uranium to make at least one nuclear weapon, though Tehran insists its programme is peaceful.

The Iranian government has also accused countries it deems to be enemy states of meddling in Iran’s internal affairs amid nationwide anti-government protests that have been continuing since September.

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2022-11-16 09:45:24Z
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Selasa, 15 November 2022

Kyiv attacked as world leaders meet at G20 - BBC

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, UkraineReuters

Russia has launched a barrage of missiles at key cities across Ukraine, days after its troops were forced to withdraw from Kherson.

The capital Kyiv was among those hit, with mayor Vitaliy Klitschko saying residential buildings close to the city centre had been damaged.

Strikes were also reported in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Lviv, and other places.

As well as following Russia's setback in Kherson, the strikes come as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali.

There Moscow faced fierce condemnation for the war in Ukraine.

Mr Klitschko said at least one person was killed in the latest strikes, while several Russian missiles were shot down.

He warned that at least half of the city's residents were without electricity due to emergency outages - a "necessary step to balance the power system", he said.

Air raid alerts sounded across the country.

Vitaly Kimm, the mayor of Mykolayiv in the south, said Russian missiles had been launched in three waves.

In Chernihiv, in the north, Governor Vyacheslav Chaus warned people to take shelter, adding "the missile strike is continuing".

Meanwhile, in the western city of Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy said there had also been attacks, with power cuts as a result.

In the past week Moscow has withdrawn its troops from the southern city of Kherson - a major setback for Russia's invasion.

When Russia has suffered losses on the ground during this war, it has routinely taken to the air to retaliate.

In video shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, what looks like a block of flats can be seen on fire, with flames billowing from windows.

A 22-year-old resident, Oleksandra, told Reuters news agency that she saw from her window "as the rocket was flying, a bright fire, and the sound of something flying very close by".

Andriy Yermak, a presidential adviser, said the strikes were Russia's response to President Zelensky's "powerful speech" to the G20 summit.

During the virtual speech, Mr Zelensky addressed what he referred to as "G19" leaders - snubbing Moscow - and said he was "convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped".

A draft declaration from the summit, seen by news agencies, said "most" countries agreed the war was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.

Mr Lavrov said the declaration had been "politicised" by Ukraine's Western allies.

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2022-11-15 13:54:58Z
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