Budget 2018-19

  A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint US counterterrorism efforts made the claims in an interview A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint US counterterrorism efforts claimed in an interview with “60 Minutes” that the kingdom’s crown prince once spoke of killing a sitting Saudi monarch before his own father was crowned king.  Saad al-Jabri  did not provide evidence to the CBS News program, which aired Sunday. The ex-intelligence official, who resides in exile in Canada, claimed that in 2014, Prince Mohammed boasted that he could kill King Abdullah. At the time, Prince Mohammed held no senior role in government but was serving as gatekeeper to his father’s royal court when his father was still heir to the throne. King Salman ascended to the throne in January 2015 after his half-brother,   King Abdullah, died of stated natural causes. Al-Jabri used the interview to warn  Prince Mohammed bin Salman  that he’...

  Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show Whether for bread, rice or tortillas, governments across the world know that rising food costs can come with a political price. The dilemma is whether they can do enough to prevent having to pay it. Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show. And it’s not likely to get better as extreme weather, soaring freight and fertilizer costs, shipping bottlenecks and labor shortages compound the problem. Dwindling foreign currency reserves are also hampering the ability of some nations to import food. From Europe to Turkey and India, politicians are now handing out more aid, ordering sellers to cut prices and tinkering with trade rules to mitigate the impact on consumers. The issue ...

  Facebook has taken down nine networks from six countries in April targeting people with false and deceptive information Facebook  has taken down nine networks from six countries in April targeting people with false and deceptive information. The social network removed 1,565 Facebook accounts, 141 Instagram accounts, 724 Pages and 63 Groups. In Palestine, Facebook removed 447 Facebook accounts, 256 Pages, 17 Groups, and 54 Instagram accounts from Palestine that targeted primarily Palestine, and to a lesser extent Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Qatar. “In addition, WhatsApp removed multiple accounts that were part of this activity. We found this activity as part of our internal investigation ahead of the election in Palestine and linked it to Fatah, a political party in Palestine,” Facebook said in a blog post late on Thursday. In Mexico, it removed 162 Facebook accounts, 11 Pages, and seven Instagram accounts from Mexico that targeted the state of San Luis Potosi in that country...

  Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate against US companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles, the US Trade Representative’s office has said WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate against U.S. companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday, paving the way for potential retaliatory tariffs. USTR, releasing the findings of its “Section 301” investigations into the digital taxes, said it was not taking specific actions at this time, but “will continue to evaluate all available options.” The probes are among several still open USTR Section 301 investigations that could lead to tariffs before President Donald Trump leaves office or early in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden. Among these is a more advanced probe into France’s digital services tax. USTR had set a Jan. 6 deadline for implementi...