Displaying items by tag: Politics

The bosses of Britain’s biggest companies will have made more money in 2023 by Thursday afternoon than the average UK worker will earn in the entire year. TUC’s Paul Nowak called on the Government to ‘bring back some fairness on pay’. ‘Everyone deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. But working people are told not to ask for more. FTSE 100 chief executives are paid £3.4m on average, which is 103 times the £33,000 average full time worker’s salary. The figures highlight how executive pay has increased dramatically after a dip during the pandemic, while ordinary workers are struggling to secure pay rises anywhere near inflation. Workers should have seats on executive pay committees to bring some common sense to top pay. And ministers must set out plans for fair pay for everyone, starting by agreeing to pay negotiations in the public sector.’

Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are worried that Israel’s new government will spark escalations in the West Bank and Gaza that spill over into their territory. Jordan’s King Abdullah warned Israel, ‘We have red lines, and if people push those red lines, we'll deal with that.’ They already crossed one red line when the coalition guidelines said, ‘Jewish people have exclusive and unassailable rights to the entire Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the land - Galilee, Negev, Golan, Judea and Samaria (West Bank).’ May God bless Israel with effective, stable governance, and may Netanyahu's heart turn to the paths that please God. May God arise, conquer egos, and bring about a desire to do what is best for the nation and not what is best for one's personal political career. Pray for God to arrange the priorities of this coalition to line up with God’s priorities.

Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, has called for the Ukraine war to end. He warned that geopolitical struggles could ‘lead to humanitarian crises’. In a thinly veiled swipe at the Russian president, he said, ‘Our era need not be one of war. Indeed, it must not be one!’ The comments echoed his previous criticism of Mr Putin in September. India has abstained from condemning Moscow’s actions in Ukraine at the UN as the government balances its ties with Russia and the West, but has shifted its stance as the war intensifies and energy and food shortages pose greater global threats. Mr Modi said the world’s greatest challenges ‘can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together’. India hosts the next G20 summit, whose theme is One Earth, One Family, One Future.

Governments in both Iraq and Lebanon struggle to function and pass legislation. Political parties tied to ethnic and religious groups vie for control. Iran-backed militias hold more power than the military. There are many parallels between Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq because the nation-state borders were drawn around them by colonial nations around a hundred years ago. Ethnic groups thrown together by these borders often find it difficult to make their own voices heard and cooperate. It is an ongoing process that is only successful if there has been a dictator or authoritarian government. There is government corruption. Young Iraqis are dissatisfied and  are opening their eyes to opportunities for truth. South Iraq is seeing a time of harvest among the Shia community.  Even though they face persecution by larger religious groups, they are boldly proclaiming the Gospel repeatedly to all peoples and all backgrounds or ethnic minorities or majorities in their communities. God is doing amazing things in the south.

Britain and France have now agreed to unite to stop illegal migrants from crossing the Channel. Interior minister Suella Braverman said Britain faced an ‘invasion’ from people in small boats, saying, ‘It is in the interests of the UK and French governments to solve this problem together. There are no quick fixes, but this arrangement means we can have more gendarmes patrolling French beaches and ensure UK and French officers work hand in hand to stop people smugglers.’ There will be 40% more UK-funded officers patrolling French beaches in the next five months. A task force will focus on reversing the rise in Albanian nationals and organised crime groups exploiting illegal routes. British officers will work in French-led control rooms and on the ground to improve coordination and intelligence sharing. There will be drones, detection dog teams, CCTV, and helicopters to help discover and prevent crossings, plus reception and removal centres in France to prevent journeys to the UK of economic migrants.

The veteran politician has the official mandate to form a new government, paving the way for his comeback as the head of what is widely expected to be the most right-wing coalition in the country’s history. However, the 73-year-old promised to serve all Israelis, ‘those who voted for us and those who did not - it is my responsibility’. After unprecedented political gridlock forced five elections in under four years, Netanyahu’s Likud party and its ultraorthodox and ultranationalist allies received a clear majority in parliament. He must now build a coalition with his allies and quickly wrap up the negotiations. His next moves will be closely scrutinised as unease mounts in some quarters over his policy plans and the goals of his controversial governing partners. Violence has soared between Israel and the Palestinians recently, causing the deadliest period in years in the West Bank, with near-daily army raids and increased attacks on Israelis.

At the end of September, 401,537 patients had waited over 52 weeks to start treatment. The total number of people waiting for routine hospital treatment is a record high 7.1 million. NHS England and the government have set a goal of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025. Meanwhile nurses are about to strike nationally, for the first time ever, sending up distress flares about the state of their service. The majority of NHS members voted to strike for fair pay and safe staffing. Strikes will be at NHS trusts or health boards which meet relevant legal requirements. Many of the biggest hospitals in England will see strike action by RCN members, but others narrowly missed the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action. Nurses worry they cannot care as they should.

After an assassination attempt on ex-PM Imran Khan, the born-again Muslim, a political battle between him, the civilian government, and its military backers is spilling onto the streets. Khan is campaigning for snap elections and his return to power. The flurry of accusations, questions, and investigations after he had been shot in the leg does not bode well for political and social stability in the world’s fifth most populous country, the only nuclear-armed Islamic republic. Within 24 hours of being shot, the physically fit 70-year-old went on camera to deny that he was the target of a lone-wolf attack; rather, he blamed it on a plot hatched by PM Shehbaz Sharif, the internal security minister, and a senior military intelligence officer. Without offering any proof, he demanded they all resign and encouraged his supporters to keep protesting. Pakistan has lost many leaders whose killings have never been properly investigated.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has said the government is still committed to a manifesto pledge of building 300,000 homes every year by the mid-2020s. Former PM Liz Truss had cast doubt on the aim, saying she wanted to scrap ‘Stalinist’ housing targets. But Mr Gove - who returned to cabinet after Ms Truss's resignation said he wanted to build more homes, both for ownership and to rent, and that new developments should have the consent of local communities. He also warned meeting the target would be ‘difficult’ due to the economic circumstances. ‘We need to be straight with people: the cost of materials has increased because of the problems with global supply chains and also a very tight labour market means that the capacity to build those homes at the rate we want is constrained,’ he said.

Rishi Sunak’s rise to Prime Minister was on the front pages of most of India’s newspapers. The Evangelical Alliance said his appointment would reflect Britain's religious diversity. ‘As a nation, we celebrate freedom of religion and belief and it's important that we're able to recognise different people's religious beliefs and how they practise it. We should be encouraged that people are free to practise different beliefs, but in the same way, that we should stand for the freedom to practise our own religion.’ There are calls for a period of a ‘quiet, stable government’ under Rishi Sunak. Christian Conservative MP John Glen who has known Mr Sunak since 2014, said he believes Sunak has the integrity, drive and intelligence to restore the UK's reputation after the political and financial turmoil of recent weeks.