The British government presented its plans for brutal spending cuts today, slashing nearly half a million public sector jobs and taking the axe to welfare as it battles a record deficit.
Finance minister George Osborne said the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition would make "unavoidable" cuts of £83 billion (Dh480bn) by 2014-15 under the comprehensive spending review.
"Today is the day that Britain steps back from the brink. It is a hard road but it leads to a better future," Mr Osborne told parliament as he delivered the review.
Prime minister David Cameron's coalition came to power in May saying it had to take drastic action to to eliminate Britain's £154.7bn deficit - a legacy of the previous Labour government and the recession.
"The action we have taken since May has taken Britain out of the financial danger zone," Mr Osborne said.
He confirmed the government would cut 490,000 public sector jobs over four years. News of the job losses leaked when a minister was photographed last night reading confidential briefing papers in his car.
Mr Osborne said the job losses were "unavoidable when the country has run out of money".
Government departments saw their budgets cut, with the Foreign Office achieving savings of 24 per cent by reducing London-based diplomats, Osborne said.
Police spending would fall by four per cent each year while the budgets of the Home Office and Ministry of Justice would each fall by six per cent a year, he added.
Mr Osborne also announced measures to tackle the huge welfare budget, which accounts for a third of state spending, saying that the state pension age would rise to 66 by 2020, saving more than £5bn a year.
The minister, known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the government was ushering in the "greatest reform to the welfare state for a generation".
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will also feel the pinch, with royal household spending falling by 14 per cent in 2012/2013 and the queen agreeing to a one-year suspension of government payments under the so-called 'civil list'.
The government had already promised that healthcare and international development aid would be protected from the cuts.
The Labour opposition, unions and some economists say the cuts are too steep and risk plunging the fragile economy back into recession, from which it emerged at the end of last year.
The government is "taking the biggest gamble in a generation with growth, with people's jobs and people's livelihoods," the leader of the opposition Labour party, Ed Miliband, told parliament shortly before the announcement.
The coalition started the cuts process yesterday, announcing that it would shrink the country's armed forces, scrap key assets like a flagship aircraft carrier and reduce the defence budget by eight per cent.
Mr Cameron said 17,000 service personnel would go from the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy by 2015 - but vowed there would be "no cut whatsoever" to the level of support for forces in Afghanistan.
The International Monetary Fund has endorsed Osborne's spending cuts plans, and European governments facing major protests at their own austerity plans are watching closely to see if Britain's work.
Mr Osborne's announcement today came as official data showed British public sector overspending widened in September to £16.2bn, a record monthly high.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Company%20Profile
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5