United Kingdom

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — The British government on Monday dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts unveiled only days ago that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows.

In a dramatic about-face, Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng abandoned plans to scrap the top 45% rate of income tax paid on earnings above 150,000 pounds ($167,000) a year.

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Britain has too many low-skilled migrant workers and very high numbers of international students, who often brought dependents with them, the country's new interior minister Suella Braverman said in an interview with The Sun on Sunday newspaper.

Braverman said new Prime Minister Liz Truss's government aimed to stick to a 2019 election pledge to lower net migration in an interview ahead of the ruling Conservative Party's annual conference.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III has decided not to attend the international climate change summit in Egypt next month, fueling speculation that the new monarch will have to rein in his environmental activism now that he has ascended the throne.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the decision came after Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss objected to Charles attending the conference, known as COP27, when she met with the king last month at Buckingham Palace.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Sunday that she could have done a better job “laying the ground” for her package of unfunded tax cuts, but insisted she would push on with an economic plan that has caused turmoil on financial markets and weakened the country’s public finances.

Truss acknowledged that the U.K. faces “a very turbulent and stormy time,” but said her policies would lead to a “high-growth, low-tax economy” in the longer term.

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia's region of Chechnya, said on Saturday that Moscow should consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine after a major new defeat on the battlefield.

As Russia confirmed the loss of its stronghold of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, Kadyrov slammed top commanders for their failings and wrote on Telegram: "In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons".

LONDON (AP) — Like many small business owners in Britain, Harry Niazi hoped for government help to keep his south London fish and chip shop going in the face of rocketing energy bills and soaring inflation.

But an economic stimulus plan announced last week by Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new government brought no relief — far from it.

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour party has surged to a 33-point lead over the ruling Conservatives, according to a YouGov poll on Thursday, after days of chaos in financial markets triggered by the government's planned tax cuts.

The lead was a record high share for Labour in any YouGov poll as well as the highest figure the party has ever recorded in any published survey since the late 1990s, YouGov said.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of England stepped into Britain's bond market to stem a market rout, pledging to buy around 65 billion pounds ($69 billion) of long-dated gilts after the new government's tax cut plans triggered the biggest sell-off in decades.

Citing potential risks to the stability of the financial system, the BoE also delayed on Wednesday the start of a programme to sell down its 838 billion pounds ($891 billion) of government bond holdings, which had been due to begin next week.

LONDON (AP) — New British Prime Minister Liz Truss came under growing pressure Wednesday from opponents — and inside her Conservative Party — to reverse announced tax cuts that are fueling a financial crisis in an already struggling economy.

The Bank of England stepped in to buy up government bonds in an attempt to stabilize the cost of borrowing after the government said last week that it would slash income tax and scrap a planned corporation tax hike, all while spending billions to cap soaring energy bills for homes and businesses.

LIVERPOOL, England, Sept 27 (Reuters) - An opposition Labour lawmaker was suspended from the party on Tuesday after being accused of making racist comments about British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, with a party spokesperson saying it would call on her to apologise.

Rupa Huq, a lawmaker who represents an area of west London, was accused of racism by Conservatives after the Guido Fawkes website published a recording of her saying about Britain's first Black finance minister that "superficially he is a black man".