- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
- Top Hezbollah commander 'killed' in Israel strike
UK confronts cost of living crisis with inflation-fighting budget
British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday launched plans to ease a cost of living crisis, with UK inflation set to spike to a 40-year high on Ukraine fallout.
In a budget update, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak unveiled measures to help household finances, including a cut on fuel duty and easing the tax burden for the lowest earners.
Britain's economy will grow far slower than expected this year owing to the Ukraine war and soaring global inflation, he told parliament.
The UK economy was set to grow 3.8 percent in 2022, down from an official estimate of six percent made in October.
- 'Prepare for worse' -
Sunak said that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) -- the government's official economic forecaster -- "has not accounted for the full impacts of the war in Ukraine and we should be prepared for the economy and public finances to worsen, potentially significantly".
"Their initial view, combined with high global inflation and continuing supply chain pressures means" the UK economy is forecast to grow significantly slower than thought.
Gross domestic product was estimated to expand a further 1.8 percent next year, down from an official prediction of 2.1 percent.
The OBR warned that should "wholesale energy prices remain as high as markets expect, energy bills are set to rise... pushing inflation to a 40-year high of 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter".
UK annual inflation accelerated to a 30-year high at 6.2 percent in February, official data showed Wednesday.
Countries across the world are battling surging inflation fuelled by rocketing commodity prices over the Ukraine war and after nations exited pandemic lockdowns.
Sunak last month unveiled a package worth £9 billion ($11.9 billion, 11 billion euros) targeted at helping 28 million poorer and middle-income households with energy bills in particular.
Household incomes are set to shrink further in April owing to a planned tax hike on all UK workers and businesses to fund care for the elderly.
The same month, a cap on domestic gas and electricity bills will be increased, in line with rebounding wholesale energy costs.
"Higher inflation will erode real incomes and consumption," the OBR said Wednesday.
It said that "with inflation outpacing growth in nominal earnings and net taxes due to rise in April", real living standards are set to fall by a record amount this year.
- Rate hikes -
Spiking global inflation has forced central banks around the world to lift interest rates, including the Bank of England which last week lifted borrowing costs to 0.75 percent.
Rising interest rates are significantly increasing governments' debt repayments, which ballooned over the past two years on vast pandemic costs.
Britain's economy rebounded by a record 7.5-percent last year on easing Covid curbs after a pandemic-driven collapse.
The record UK expansion followed an all-time slump of 9.4 percent in 2020.
Sunak has also been comforted by news that the UK unemployment rate has fallen to its pre-pandemic level.
However, rising wages are being eroded at the fastest pace in eight years as inflation soars.
N.Fournier--BTB