North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok provides an intriguing twist to the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear stand-off with Pyongyang, which appeared to hit a wall after a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed in February.It also adds a chapter to the storied but often strained friendship between Pyongyang and Moscow, which was forged in the blood of war and weathered by the Soviet collapse and tensions…
Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to Huawei in Beijing seen as sign of ‘endorsement’
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad visited Huawei Technologies’ Beijing office on Thursday morning in what was seen as a sign of Malaysian support for the Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier.Mahathir’s visit could be seen as an “endorsement” for Huawei which is still in the running to provide 5G gear for the country’s telecommunication networks, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to be named talking about confidential matters. However, no technology…
UK tax underpaid by US-based multinationals up 35% from last year
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) believes that US-based multinational businesses may have underpaid £4.6 billion of UK tax last year, up 35% from £3.4bn in 2017, according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.
BBC presenter wins personal service company case
ITV’s ‘Loose Women’ presenter Kaye Adams has won a tax tribunal case in which HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) claimed that her personal services company (PSC) should have applied IR35 rules to payments made by the BBC for presenting a BBC Scotland radio programme.
CJEU asked whether ‘innocent agent’ lorry driver can be liable for unpaid excise duty
The Court of Appeal has decided to ask the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) whether a lorry driver who is found to be carrying goods in respect of which excise duty has not been paid is liable to pay the duty under EU law, even if he did not know that the goods were being smuggled.
No job, huge debts: stressed out Indonesia’s election ‘losers’ face bleak future
Political hopeful Yayat Abdurahman bet that he would be a winner among some 245,000 candidates in Indonesia’s election last week, but his dreams of public office are fading fast as the votes get tallied.So the stressed-out candidate checked into an Islamic healing centre where a cleric prayed for his future and doused him in flower-infused water as part of traditional cleansing ritual.“At the beginning I was optimistic and feeling confident,” he said.“I thought ‘I have to win, I have to get the…
The Chearavanonts, Thailand’s richest family, are getting richer helping China
Chia Ek Chor fled his typhoon-ravaged village in southern China and started a new life in Thailand selling vegetable seeds with his brother in 1921. Almost a century later, with the largest family fortune in the country, his descendants are becoming Chinese President Xi Jinping’s key economic allies.Chia’s son Dhanin Chearavanont is senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, a vast conglomerate that is the world’s biggest producer of animal feed, shrimp as well as a top telecom firm in Thailand…
Heng Swee Keat appointed deputy prime minister in Singapore cabinet reshuffle
Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday moved one step closer to becoming the Lion City’s next leader after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong named him as his new deputy.Lee, 67, moved his two current deputies, Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, to senior minister roles.Heng, 57, will be the sole Deputy Prime Minister and will also continue as Finance Minister. The changes will take effect next Wednesday.Heng’s promotion comes after the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) last…
‘Seasteading’ couple Nadia Summergirl and Chad Elwartowski face arrest warrants after Thailand dismantles sea shack
Thai police will issue arrest warrants for Chad Elwartowski and his partner Nadia Summergirl, who have been accused of violating the country’s sovereignty by building an offshore “sea home” 14 nautical miles off the island of Phuket.On Monday, the Royal Thai Navy deployed three frigates to dismantle the shack as divers from the force’s SEAL team separated the hexagonal fibreglass structure from the underwater base and dragged the cabin back to shore to be used as evidence against the couple…
Australian father and son lifesavers die saving tourist in huge swell near popular Twelve Apostles
A father and son lifesaving team drowned while trying to save a tourist swept out to sea near one of Australia’s most famous sights off the south coast, officials said Monday.Ross Powell, 71, and his son Andrew, 32, died on Sunday after their rescue boat overturned in the surf during the rescue of a 30-year-old man near the Twelve Apostles, a set of 12 limestone stacks off the Victoria state coast.The tourist, whose nationality or name has not been released, had been wading at the mouth of a…