#UK: Labour Party Shadow Chancellor Says No Tax Hikes If They Win Election

[world politics news] 

A representative of the UK's Left-leaning Labour Party has said there will be no hikes in income tax or National Insurance if it wins the general election, which is widely expected - but some spending cuts have not been ruled out, she said.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg she did not want to make any spending cuts.

But she added she was "under no illusion about the scale of the challenge" and would face "difficult decisions," she said.

the UK's Labour Party has repeatedly criticized the incumbent Conservatives for not spending enough on Healthcare and other priorities, which will make Reeves' promise hard to swallow among Labour voters and hard to believe among Conservative ones.

If Labour needs other parties to form a coalition with them to form a government, it's unclear if Reeves would be able to keep her promise. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ARGENTINA: Pres. Milei's Reform Bill Passes Lower House

[world politics news]

Argentina’s lower chamber of deputies has given overall approval to libertarian president Javier Milei’s sweeping “omnibus” reform bill in a vote on Friday after days of debate, paving the way for a decisive vote in the Senate.

The controversial reform package was approved on a vote of 144 votes in favor and 109 against.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAPAN: Aggressive China Prompts Huge Military Buildup

[world politics news]

Japan has begun a once-unthinkable $320bn military build-up that will arm it with missiles capable of striking China after a newly nationalistic China aggressively expanded its military.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government worries that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors, and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Parliament Passes Judicial Reforms Demanded By EU

[world politics news]

The Hungarian Parliament voted to approve the judicial reform package needed to unlock €13.2 billion from the frozen EU cohesion funds on Wednesday, May 3rd, a day after the Hungarian prime minister met with Johannes Hahn, the EU’s budget commissioner in Budapest.

Even if the reforms were technically approved by the EU, it could still take months until the European Commission gives the final green light for releasing the funds, while the rest of the €27.8 billion of EU funds it decided to withhold from the country last year will remain tied to further legislative steps.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UKRAINE: Parliament Gives Extra US $800 To Non-Frontline Soldiers

[world politics news]

The Verkhovna Rada [the Ukrainian Parliament] voted on 10 April in favor of the general draft law with an amendment that restores the additional allowance of UAH 30,000 [roughly US$800] to Ukrainian soldiers outside the combat zone.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CANADA: Tax Group Slams Edmonton For Bike Lanes

[world politics news]

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says Edmonton city council is “blowing” $100 million on bike lanes for a handful of winter cyclists.

Councillors voted on Friday to give $100 million to implement the city-wide bike lane network.

Kris Sims, Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says city politicians should “read the room.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAPAN: Citing Threats, Gov't Set To Expand Military

[world politics news]

The Japanese government has unveiled plans to drastically expand its defense capabilities. 

In what would be the biggest military build-up since World War II, Tokyo aims to double its defense spending over the next five years and install missiles capable of striking an enemy launch site. 

It's a controversial move, marking another major step away from the country's pacifist constitution that severely limits the use of military force. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#BULGARIA: Parliament Votes To Buy F16 Fighter Jets

[world politics news]

Bulgarian lawmakers have voted to approve the purchase of eight F-16C/D Block 70 fighter jets for the country’s Air Force. The forthcoming acquisition is to be worth close to $1.3 billion.

The National Assembly, the country’s unicameral parliament, approved the planned purchase by a majority of 162 votes, with 49 members voting against, and 11 abstentions.

The first of eight F16 aircraft that have already been ordered, are scheduled to arrive in 2025. This current order of eight aircraft will arrive in 2027. The two orders will replace outdated MiG aircraft from the Soviet era, which are being withdrawn from service in 2023.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Truss U-turns On Plan To Lower Corporate Taxes, Fires Chancellor

[world politics news]

Prime minister Liz Truss has abandoned one of the key planks of her “mini” Budget, ditching plans to keep the corporation tax rate down. And she has fired chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng after just 38 days on the job, after his announcement of her plan caused panic in the London stock market.

“People across this country rightly want stability,” she said, adding: “It is clear that parts of our ‘mini’ Budget went further and faster than markets were expecting.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172yfc6f2wr0xxdicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Parliamentarians' Perks Cut

[world politics news]

Kenya has stopped giving Lawmakers sitting allowances and car grants.

Incoming Members of Parliament will now have to buy their own cars if they want.

Kenya will reportedly save $8.4 million yearly by doing this.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Parliament Ends TV Licence Fee

[world politics news]

The French Parliament has voted to end the TV license fee as part of a bill aimed at tackling the country’s cost of living crisis, in a move that has provoked fears over the future independence of French state broadcasters.

Under the bill, more than 23 million French households will no longer pay the annual fee, currently set at 138 euros ($141) per household. As of this October, families will not be billed for the fee and any households that paid it in advance will be reimbursed.

There is a similar push in the UK to eliminate the state license fee which supports the publicly funded BBC radio and TV apparatus.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: Cash-Strapped Cities Accused Of Misusing Bond Funds

[world politics news]

Dozens of local governments and small- to medium-sized banks in China have been found to be in breach of financial rules, as authorities in Beijing crack down on systemic risks amid growing pressure on the economy.

A total of 10 regions misused the proceeds of 13.66 billion yuan (US$2.03 billion) worth of special purpose bonds – which are allocated primarily for infrastructure spending – on business operations and personnel wages last year, according to China’s National Audit Office.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Gov't Weighs Funding For New Nuclear Plant Development

[world politics news]

The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said the government had published documents which show significant progress towards implementing a new funding model which will give nuclear projects the financial support they need and attract private investment.

The new Regulated Asset Base model will see projects receive a regulated payment from electricity suppliers. The Sizewell C project in Suffolk could be the first nuclear project to use this model, subject to the outcome of current negotiations.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EGYPT: Small Leftist Party Draws Attention To "Excessive Foreign Borrowing" In National Budget

[world politics news]

MP Farid El-Biaddi, a member of the leftist-oriented Egyptian Social Democratic Party, announced in a statement on Wednesday that the party's seven deputies have voted against approval of the state's 2020/21 budget.

El-Biaddi said the balance sheet of the 2020/21 budget showed that the government has been heavily involved in "foreign borrowing." 

Figures released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Monday show that Egypt's foreign debt rose to $145.5 billion at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year, from $137.4 billion at the end of the same period of FY 2020/19.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GHANA: Government Budget Voted Down Over Electronic Tax Proposal

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Ghana’s minority lawmakers rejected next year’s budget proposal over a new levy on electronic money transfers after majority members walked out in protest.

The country’s hung parliament had been deliberating the spending plan proposed by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, which introduces a 1.75% levy on digital transactions, including mobile-money payments, which has become an indispensable part of how people pay for goods and services using their phones.

“The e-levy is the cornerstone of this budget,” Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu said before the walkout. “Where are we going to get the money to do the roads?”

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Bennett Gov't Gets 2021, 2022 Budgets Thru Knesset

[world politics news]

Israel's parliament approved a 2022 national budget on Friday by a vote of 59 to 56, giving a greater measure of fiscal stability to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's cross-partisan coalition government.

It was the first national budget approved by parliament in 3 years.

The spending package was ratified after the Knesset had earlier passed a belated 2021 budget ahead of a deadline which, if unmet, could have triggered a snap election.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#NORTHERNIRELAND: DUP MP Condemns "Climate Hysteria" In UK Budget

[world politics news]

A senior Democratic Unionist Party MP has accused the UK government of “climate hysteria” as he demanded an “explanation” over the relative spending level on Northern Ireland.

Responding to chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget, chief whip Sammy Wilson told the UK House of Commons he was “encouraged at the path which he has outlined."

But the MP for East Antrim warned those people in low paid and medium paid jobs “are going to face a rather bleak period in the near future." 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Defies EU Over Blocking Funds

[world politics news]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the European Commission of blocking funds over the country's LGBT policies.

Orban has claimed that the EU had failed to approve Hungary's coronavirus recovery plan because of their disagreements over gay rights.

"The funds are loans that Brussels does not want to give us because of the debate on our LGBT policy," he said in an interview with state media.

In June, the Hungarian parliament banned the "promotion and portrayal of homosexuality" to citizens under the age of 18. 

Orban presented the legal amendment as a child protection tool.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Fourth Election In Two Years Called After Coalition Collapses

[world politics news] 

On Tuesday night, the deadline to approve a national budget expired, sending Israelis to the polls for the fourth time in less than two years. Elections were automatically called for 90 days from now, namely March 23, 2021, though that date could be changed.

The failure to pass a budget came just seven months after the swearing-in of the “unity government” between Likud and Blue and White. The two parties, which had fought each other bitterly in three indecisive elections, agreed to form a power-sharing government with a rotating premiership between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz in May.

Netanyahu promised a huge win, but polls suggest tough race, with the main threat coming from parties to his right

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#POLAND: Prime Minister Warns That Poland Will Veto EU Budget

[world politics news] 

Poland’s prime minister has said he told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday that his country is prepares to veto the EU’s new budget amid a conflict over linking funds from Brussels to Poland's court policies, which have been criticized by Western European powers.

The bloc’s budget has to be approved unanimously by all 27 countries in the European Union, of which Poland has been a member since 2004.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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