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Nov 19, 2024 - World

Exclusive: Sister says Harshita Brella reported abuse but ‘police processes made her feel more scared and alone’The family of a woman found dead in a car boot in east London have accused police of not doing enough to protect her, saying she had filed a complaint alleging domestic abuse by her husband weeks before.The body of Harshita Brella, a 24-year-old Indian citizen who was living in Northamptonshire, was discovered last Thursday in a car in Ilford. Police have named her husband, Pankaj Lamba, as the main suspect for the killing. Officers believe he has fled the country. Continue reading...

Nov 19, 2024 - World

A study published Tuesday estimates that tax dodging enabled by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other wealthy nations is costing countries around the world nearly half a trillion dollars in revenue each year, underscoring the urgent need for global reforms to prevent rich individuals and large corporations from shirking their obligations.The new study, conducted by the Tax Justice Network (TJN), finds that "the combined costs of cross-border tax abuse by multinational companies and by individuals with undeclared assets offshore stands at an estimated $492 billion." Of that total in lost revenue, corporate tax dodging is responsible for more than $347 billion, according to TJN's calculations."For people everywhere, the losses translate into foregone public services, and weakened states at greater risk of falling prey to political extremism," the study reads. "And in the same way, there is hope for all to benefit from moving tax rule-setting out of the OECD and into a globally inclusive and fully transparent process at the United Nations."The analysis estimates that just eight countries—the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Japan, Israel, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—are enabling large-scale tax avoidance by opposing popular global reform efforts. Late last year, those same eight countries were the lonely opponents of the United Nations General Assembly's vote to set in motion the process of establishing a U.N. tax convention.According to the new TJN study, those eight countries are responsible for roughly half of the $492 billion lost per year globally to tax avoidance by the rich and large multinational corporations, despite being home to just 8% of the world's population."The hurtful eight voted for a world where we all keep losing half a trillion a year to tax-cheating multinational corporations and the super-rich," Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, said in a statement Tuesday. "The U.K. and the U.S. are both among the biggest enablers and the biggest losers of this lose-lose tax system, and their people consistently demand an end to tax abuse, so it's absurd that the U.S. and U.K. are seeking to preserve it.""It's perhaps harder to understand why the other handful of blockers, like Australia, Canada, and Japan, who don't play anything like such a damaging role, would be willing to go along with this," Cobham added.TJN released its study as G20 nations—a group that includes most of the "hurtful eight"—issued a communiqué pledging to "engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed." Brazil, which hosted the G20 summit, led the push for language calling for taxation of the global super-rich.The document drew praise from advocacy groups including the Fight Inequality Alliance, which stressed the need to "transform the rhetoric on taxing the rich into global reality."The communiqué was released amid concerns that the election of far-right billionaire Donald Trump in the U.S. could derail progress toward a global solution to pervasive and costly tax avoidance.The new TJN study cites Trump's pledge to cut the statutory U.S. corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% and warns such a move would accelerate the global "race to the bottom" on corporate taxation."People in countries around the world are calling in large majorities on their governments to tax multinational corporations properly," Liz Nelson, TJN's director of advocacy and research, said Tuesday. "But governments continue to exercise a policy of appeasement on corporate tax.""We now have data from these governments showing that when they asked multinational corporations to pay less tax, the corporations cheated even more," Nelson added. "It's time governments found the spines their people deserve from their leaders."

Nov 19, 2024 - World

Brazilian police said they arrested four soldiers on Tuesday over an alleged plot to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a 2022 "coup."The four "were arrested in Rio, where they were participating in the security operation for the G20 leaders' meeting," a federal police source told AFP, adding that a police officer was also taken into custody.The army, in a statement, denied that information, saying in a statement: "These soldiers were not part of the operation of maintaining order at the G20 summit."A statement by Brazil's federal police made no link to the G20.It said the suspects were "mostly soldiers with special forces training" who were arrested in an operation to "dismantle a criminal organization responsible for planning a coup d'etat to prevent the government legitimately elected in 2022 elections taking office."US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among leaders in Rio for the annual get-together of the heads of the world's biggest economies.Security is tight for the event, with troops in armored vehicles lining the streets of the usually laid-back seaside city.Tuesday's arrests come under a week after a failed bomb attack on the Supreme Court by a suspected far-right extremist, who killed himself in the process.The alleged plot against Lula was to have been carried out on December 15, 2022 -- just weeks before the veteran leftist returned to office at the start of 2023 -- and involved "the murder of the candidates to the presidency and vice presidency," the statement said.The suspected coup-plotters, who also allegedly planned to assassinate a Supreme Court justice, intended afterwards to set up a "crisis cabinet" with themselves in it, the police added.Brazilian media said the judge they plotted to kill was Alexandre de Moraes, a powerful justice who has drawn the ire of the right for his investigations into the far-right and for shutting down the social network X for 40 days in a fight with its owner Elon Musk over disinformation.- 'Green-and-yellow dagger' -The suspects possessed "advanced military operational" know-how and had codenamed their plot "Green and Yellow Dagger," according to the federal police. That was an apparent reference to colors on the Brazilian flag.They face potential charges of violently trying to overthrow the government, coup-plotting and being part of a criminal organization, the statement added.In October 2022, Lula defeated far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who had served a single term in office, to regain power after a decade's absence.Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023 in an uprising reminiscent of the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.Several investigations have been opened into the Brasilia riots, as well as other alleged plots to prevent Lula taking office.The man who carried out a failed bomb attack on the Supreme Court last week, killing himself in the process, is also suspected of involvement in the 2023 unrest.

Nov 19, 2024 - World

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty.More than 35,000 demonstrators poured into the harborside city of Wellington, police said, shutting down busy streets as their spirited procession inched its way towards parliament.Bare-chested men draped in traditional feather cloaks were joined by horse riders waving the red, white and black Maori flag.Children marched alongside adults bearing distinctive full-face Maori "moko" tattoos and clutching ceremonial wooden weapons.Protests have been swelling throughout New Zealand after a minor party in the conservative coalition government drafted a bill to redefine the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.Although the bill has almost no chance of passing, its mere introduction has triggered one of New Zealand's largest protests in decades.- 'Heads held high' -After it was presented for debate in parliament last week, 22-year-old Maori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke took to her feet in the chamber, ripped the bill in half, and launched into a haka.She joined the crowds of protesters gathered on the lawns Tuesday outside New Zealand's beehive-shaped parliament building."I may have been suspended for 24 hours and not let into the gates of the debating chambers, but the next day I showed up outside the steps with a hundred thousand of my people, marching with our heads held high and our flags waving with pride," she told them."We are the king makers, we are the sovereign people of this land and the world is watching us here."Many critics of the bill -- including some of New Zealand's most respected lawyers -- see it as an attempt to strip long-agreed rights from the country's 900,000 strong Maori population."It's not the best way to have a conversation. We will not accept unilateral change to a treaty that involves two parties," said Ngira Simmonds, a key advisor to New Zealand's Maori queen."There is a better way," he told AFP from Wellington.Many demonstrators arrived in Wellington after a nine-day "hikoi" -- or protest march -- that began hundreds of kilometres away at New Zealand's northern tip.- A country divided -At the centre of the outcry is government minister David Seymour, the outspoken leader of the libertarian ACT Party -- a minor partner in the governing coalition.Seymour has long railed against affirmative action policies designed to help Maori, who remain far more likely to die early, live in poverty, or wind up in prison.His bill would look to wind back these so-called "special rights".Incumbent Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has voiced his opposition to Seymour's bill, meaning it is all but doomed to fail when it comes to a parliamentary vote.But former conservative prime minister Jenny Shipley said just putting it forward threatened to "divide New Zealand in a way that I haven't lived through in my adult life".Seen as the country's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 to bring peace between 540 Maori chiefs and colonising British forces.Its principles today underpin efforts to foster partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous New Zealanders and protect the interests of the Maori community.The anniversary of the treaty's signing remains a national holiday.

Nov 19, 2024 - World

G20 leaders met in Rio de Janeiro on Monday for talks on climate change, ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, and more, at a forum that highlighted differences between world powers but also delivered some successes.Here are five key takeaways from the summit:- No climate breakthrough -Hopes were high that G20 leaders would jumpstart stalled UN climate talks taking place in Azerbaijan.In their final declaration, however, they merely recognized the need for "substantially scaling up climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources."Crucially, they did not say who would provide the trillions.They also did not reiterate a commitment made at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai last year for a "just, orderly, and equitable transition" away from fossil fuels."They haven't stepped up to the challenge," Mick Sheldrick, co-founder of the Global Citizen campaign group said.- Ukraine war -The war in Ukraine dominated discussions at the G20, a day after the United States gave Kyiv the green light to strike Russian territory with American-supplied long-range missiles.Russia vowed a "response" if hit.Chinese President Xi Jinping, who together with Brazil has been pushing for Kyiv to enter peace talks with Russia, urged the G20 to help "cool" the war.In their final statement, G20 leaders said they welcomed "all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace" in Ukraine.While condemning, as at last year's G20 summit, the "threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition," they made no mention of Russian aggression.- Lebanon, Gaza ceasefire calls -The leaders of the G20 -- which mixes steadfast Israel allies such as the United States and Argentina with countries like Turkey that are more supportive of Palestinians -- called for "comprehensive" ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon.They said the Gaza ceasefire should be in line with a US-proposed UN resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in the territory in return for the release of all hostages by Hamas.It also called for a Lebanon ceasefire "that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line" that separates Lebanese and Israeli armed forces.- Tax the super-rich -The G20 endorsed the idea of cooperating to make sure "ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed," delivering a victory to summit host Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.It said though that such cooperation should be "with full respect to tax sovereignty" and involve "debates around tax principles" as well as coming up with anti-avoidance mechanisms.An economist specializing in inequalities who was tapped by the Brazilian G20 presidency to write a report on the issue, Gabriel Zucman, hailed the "historic decision."- Alliance against hunger -One of the issues dearest to President Lula was forging a global alliance against hunger, and he received an early success by launching that initiative at the start of the summit, getting 82 countries to sign on.The alliance aims to unite international efforts to provide financing in the campaign against hunger, and to replicate programs that have proved successful in some countries.The goal is to reach half a billion people by the end of the decade, reducing what Lula -- who grew up in poverty -- has called a preventable "scourge that shames humanity."