
-
Sudan army says retakes Khartoum-area market from paramilitaries
-
Eze leads Crystal Palace into FA Cup semi-finals
-
Guinea ex-dictator freed from jail after 2009 massacre pardon: junta
-
Martinez punishment 'out of Flick's hands' as Barca focus on title
-
Hundreds of thousands join Istanbul protest rally
-
Australian sprinting prodigy Gout Gout upstaged in 200m
-
'We need aid': rescuers in quake-hit Myanmar city plead for help
-
Protesters flock to mass opposition rally in Istanbul
-
Are women allowed their own dreams, wonders Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
-
Deadly earthquake forces Thai patients into sports hall
-
'Everyone was screaming': quake shocks Thailand tourists
-
Rallies grow in South Korea as court weighs president's fate
-
Scientists explain why Myanmar quake was so deadly
-
Turkey opposition calls mass rally in Istanbul
-
Chapman blasts ton as New Zealand win first Pakistan ODI by 73 runs
-
French chefs quake as Michelin prepares new guide
-
Mike Leigh on the 'hard truths' of film, happiness and World War III
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 1,000 as rescuers dig for survivors
-
Lights out: Bali guards protect island's day of silence
-
Myanmar-Thailand quake toll passes 700 as rescuers dig for survivors
-
UK gallery to return Nazi-looted painting to heirs of Jewish collector
-
UK dreams of US trade deal before Trump tariffs
-
'Blink of an eye': survivor tells of Bangkok skyscraper collapse horror
-
The hand of GOAT, Mensik wins with Messi touch
-
Partial solar eclipse to cross swathe of Northern Hemisphere
-
Tunisian startup turns olive waste into clean energy
-
Guinea ex-dictator sentenced for 2009 massacre pardoned: junta
-
Chapman ton lifts New Zealand to 344-9 in first Pakistan ODI
-
Myanmar quake: what we know
-
Vu fires 64 to seize lead at LPGA Ford Championship
-
Resurgent Liu wins women's figure skating world title
-
Djokovic to face Mensik with 100th title within reach
-
Rescuers dig for survivors after huge quake hits Myanmar, Thailand
-
South Korea firefighters deploy helicopters as wildfires reignite
-
'Defiant' Canada autoworkers vow to fight tariff layoffs
-
Performance, museums, history: Trump's cultural power grab
-
Russian-born 12-ranked Kasatkina says to play for Australia tennis
-
New to The Street Show #639 Premieres Nationwide on Bloomberg Television, March 29 at 6:30 PM EST Featuring BioVie, Roadzen, Tonix Pharma, and eXoZymes Inc.
-
Wallabies back Jorgensen suffers serious ankle injury
-
Academy apologizes after stars say it 'failed to defend' Palestinian filmmaker
-
UN rights chief demands end to 'horrific suffering' in Ukraine
-
Djokovic oozing confidence ahead of century bid
-
US regulators to investigate Disney diversity efforts
-
Elon Musk says xAI startup buying X platform
-
'Jail or death': migrants expelled by Trump fear for their fate
-
Djokovic closing in on 100th title after Dimitrov downed in Miami
-
Leverkusen beat Bochum to stay hot on Bayern's heels
-
Global markets slide as fears over US tariffs intensify
-
Dorival Junior sacked as Brazil coach after Argentina humiliation
-
Djokovic cruises past Dimitrov into Miami Open final

UK slashes growth forecast, cuts public spending
The UK government halved its 2025 growth forecast on Wednesday as it made billions of pounds of spendings cuts to shore up the public purse in the face of economic headwinds.
The Spring Statement spending update came as the Labour government, elected in July after a landslide election win, faces sluggish economic growth and rising borrowing costs.
Britain's economy is expected to grow by just one percent this year, revised down from an estimate of two percent made in late October when Labour gave its inaugural budget.
However, the Office for Budget Responsiblity, the UK's spending watchdog, upgraded the country's growth forecast for the three following years.
"Our task is to secure Britain's future in a world that is changing before our eyes," finance minister Rachel Reeves told parliament in the highly-anticipated update.
Concerns over US tariffs and the war in Ukraine have added to the UK's economic woes, chipping away the government's fiscal cushion.
"The threat facing our continent was transformed when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin invaded Ukraine," Reeves said.
She added that "the job of a responsible government is not simply to watch this change, this moment requires an active government".
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has recently pledged to hike spending on defence, with the government confirming Wednesday a £2.2 billion ($2.8 billion) boost next year.
To avoid slipping into a deficit, Reeves has cut disability welfare payments and government departmental budgets, blaming a period of heightened uncertainty in global markets.
- Public spending cuts -
Reeves's attempts to mend public finances were constrained by her own fiscal rules and her pledge not to increase taxes.
The rules prevent her from borrowing to fund day-to-day spending and call for debt to fall as a share of the gross domestic product by 2029-2030.
Ahead of Wednesday's update, the centre-left government announced it would slash the cost of running the civil service by 15 percent over the next five years, targeting annual savings of around £2 billion.
It has unveiled also contested cuts to disability welfare payments, in the hopes of saving billions annually by the end of the decade.
While Labour has highlighted increased funding for housing, the struggling National Health Service, and reforms to workers' rights, it is spending cuts that have remained in the spotlight.
The cuts added to criticism piled on Labour after it scrapped a winter-fuel benefit scheme for millions of pensioners last year.
Higher business tax comes into effect from April, pressuring businesses facing also a hike to the minimum wage.
In a glimmer of good news, official data showed Wednesday that Britain's annual inflation rate eased to 2.8 percent in February, down from 3.0 percent in January.
But despite the slowdown, inflation remains elevated above the Bank of England's two percent target.
The central bank kept interest rates unchanged last week after a series of cuts, warning of "economic uncertainty".
Ch.Havering--AMWN