UK

November 30, 2016

Hammond bets on a productive future

In 51 minutes and with 15 references to “productivity” the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond threw more light on what a post-Brexit Britain could look like than all the uncountable hours of hints…

Deadly Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon test ceasefire limits
Israel unleashed its largest wave of airstrikes across Lebanon since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week, killing at least 11 people on Monday after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were Israeli truce violations. The projectiles were apparently the first time that Hezbollah took aim at Israeli forces after the 60-day ceasefire went into effect last Wednesday. The increasingly fragile truce aimed to end more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel - part of a wider regional conflict sparked by the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. France 24, December 3

Russia and Iran pledge support for Syria’s president
Russia and Iran, the staunchest allies of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, pledged to stand behind his government yesterday, sending warplanes and voicing diplomatic support, as his forces attempted to repel a startling rebel advance. It remains to be seen if they can back that rhetoric up by stopping the rebels, especially since neither country has committed to sending ground troops. Instead, Russian and Syrian fighter jets were striking targets across territory seized by rebels in northwestern Syria yesterday, according to Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strikes had killed both civilians and fighters. Yet the rebels appeared to continue their advance through Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city, and the surrounding areas, battling pro-Assad forces to capture more territory in Hama Province in western Syria. New York Times, December 3

French government on brink as Michel Barnier set to be ousted as PM
Michel Barnier, the French prime minister, is set to be forced out of his post this week in a move that would leave the country facing a political crisis unlike anything it has experienced for six decades. His fall risks dragging France deeper into a crisis that has already sent shockwaves across the Continent, amid concerns that the EU’s second biggest power is now ungovernable and burdened by a spiralling public debt. Barnier, who announced that he would push through a controversial budget, appeared to have only a slender chance of keeping his job after he dared opposition parties to vote in a no confidence motion that he warned would take France into “unknown territory”. After the populist right National Rally said it would back the left-wing motion due to go before the National Assembly on Wednesday or Thursday, Barnier’s fate seems sealed, barring a last-minute turnaround. The Times, December 3

Starmer rejects false choice between Trump’s US and EU in key speech
Keir Starmer has “utterly rejected” the idea that the UK must choose between the United States and Europe when Donald Trump comes to power, arguing that it is in the national interest to work with both. The prime minister said the UK would “never turn away” from its relationship with the US, despite the difficulties the new administration could pose, as it had been the “cornerstone” of security and prosperity for over a century. Yet he would also continue to “reset” Britain’s relationship with Europe, the country’s biggest trading partner, he said, after years of neglect post-Brexit, as strong bilateral links were vital for growth and security. “Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said. “I reject it utterly. [Clement] Attlee did not choose between allies. [Winston] Churchill did not choose. The national interest demands that we work with both.” His remarks come after foreign policy and trade experts warned that Trump could pressure the UK to effectively pick sides between it and the European Union if he presses ahead with threatened trade tariffs when he takes over next year. The Guardian, December 2

UK: Covid corruption commissioner starts fraud probe
The new Covid corruption commissioner has started an investigation into personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud. Tom Hayhoe's first task will be reviewing the £8.7bn of PPE bought during the pandemic that then had to be written off the government's books. Mr Hayhoe is also likely to review the previous government's abandoning of attempts to reclaim money from deals worth £674m. The National Crime Agency is separately investigating possible criminal offences committed in the PPE procurement system. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has asked him to try to recover the public money lost to fraud and underperforming contracts using his experience in procurement as the former chair of an NHS trust. A Treasury source said: "The chancellor has been clear that she wants this money - that belongs to the British people, and belongs in our public services like our NHS, schools, and police – back. She won’t let fraudsters who sought to profit off the back of a national emergency line their pockets.” BBC news, December 3

Tesla loses bid to restore Elon Musk’s record $56bn pay package
A US judge has shot down Tesla’s second attempt to award Elon Musk a record pay package, saying shareholders’ overwhelming reapproval did not override her previous rejection of the deal. Monday’s decision is a stinging rebuke of the world’s most valuable carmaker and chief executive Musk, the richest man in the world who has been riding high since Donald Trump was elected last month for a second term as US president. Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick said Tesla’s unprecedented effort to push the 2018 pay package through a second time was “creative”, but that the board “had no procedural ground for flipping the outcome”. The package of stock options, worth $56bn when voided in January, has soared to be worth more than $100bn after a 44 per cent surge in Tesla’s stock this year. Tesla vowed to appeal against the decision. “This ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners - the shareholders,” it said. Financial Times, December 3

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Hammond bets on a productive future