UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, and US President Joe Biden, right, during the plenary session of the G20 summit in Rome. EPA
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, and US President Joe Biden, right, during the plenary session of the G20 summit in Rome. EPA
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, and US President Joe Biden, right, during the plenary session of the G20 summit in Rome. EPA
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, and US President Joe Biden, right, during the plenary session of the G20 summit in Rome. EPA

G20 endorses global minimum tax plan as linchpin to tackle multinationals


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Leaders of the world’s biggest economies have endorsed a global minimum tax on corporations, which will be the linchpin of new international tax rules.

They are aimed at blunting the fiscal advantages that some multinational giants enjoy with strategic regional headquarters in low-tax countries.

The deal did fall short of US President Joe Biden’s original call for a 21 per cent minimum tax but he was still pleased with the result.

“Here at the G20, leaders representing 80 per cent of the world’s GDP – allies and competitors alike – made clear their support for a strong global minimum tax,” the president said on Twitter.

“This is more than just a tax deal – it’s diplomacy reshaping our global economy and delivering for our people.”

G20 finance ministers in July had already agreed on the 15 per cent minimum tax but it still needed formal endorsement at the summit on Saturday in Rome.

“There are good things to report here. The world community has agreed on a minimum taxation of companies. That is a clear signal of justice in times of digitalisation,” departing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

“From the pandemic, to climate change, to fair and equitable taxation, going it alone is simply not an option,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said.

Summit's host Italy had put health and the economy top of the agenda for Saturday, setting aside Sunday for climate change.

The corporate tax deal was hailed as evidence of renewed multilateral co-ordination.

Major corporations face a minimum 15 per cent tax wherever they operate from 2023 to prevent them from shielding their profits in offshore entities.

G20 leaders also broadly backed calls to extend debt relief for impoverished countries and pledged to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world's population against Covid-19 by mid-2022.

Many of the other G20 leaders will fly from Rome to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit. Others, including the leaders of Russia, China and Brazil will not attend the Scottish summit in person.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged the G20 and Cop26 talks would be difficult, but warned that without courageous action, world civilisation could collapse as swiftly as the ancient Roman empire, ushering in a new Dark Age.

“It's going to be very, very tough to get the agreement we need,” he said as he stood next to the ruins of the Colosseum amphitheatre – a symbol of once mighty Rome.

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
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Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?

Some facts about bees:

The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer

The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days

A queen bee lives for 3-5 years

This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony

About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive

Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.

Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen 

Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids

Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments

Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive,  protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts

Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain

Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities

The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes

Is beekeeping dangerous?

As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.

“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”

 

 

Kalra's feat
  • Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
  • Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
  • Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
  • Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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'C'mon C'mon'

Director:Mike Mills

Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman

Rating: 4/5

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Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah 
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology 
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million 
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin

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MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

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Who is Tim-Berners Lee?

Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.

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Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

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THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Updated: October 31, 2021, 6:38 AM