Category World News

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has arrived in India with a sprawling delegation of leading British CEOs, entrepreneurs and university vice-chancellors on a visit his government says is intended to “turbocharge” trade between the countries.

The two-day trade mission to India, which began in Mumbai on Wednesday, is intended to promote trade and business opportunities between India and the UK – the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies, respectively – as both countries seek to realign their trading relationships in the wake of stiff tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump’s administration.

In August, the US slapped 50 percent tariffs on goods from India in response to New Delhi’s trade with Russia, specifically its vast consumption of Russian oil, while the UK, which secured a trade deal with Washington in May, has also been hit with tariffs, albeit at a much lower rate.

Announcing the visit, Starmer said the mission was intended to build on a recent landmark trade deal.

“We signed a major trade deal with India in July – the best secured by any country – but the story doesn’t stop there,” he said in a statement.

“It’s not just a piece of paper, it’s a launchpad for growth. With India set to be the third biggest economy in the world by 2028, and trade with them about to become quicker and cheaper, the opportunities waiting to be seized are unparalleled.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is due to meet Starmer on Thursday before the leaders address a fintech conference in Mumbai, welcomed his UK counterpart in a statement, adding that he hoped to bolster their “shared vision of a stronger, mutually prosperous future”.

Trade between the countries is worth $54.8bn and supports more than 600,000 jobs across both countries, the AFP news agency reported.

Opportunities ‘already opening up’

Under the new deal, India will slash tariffs on British goods such as whisky, cosmetics and medical devices while the UK will cut duties on clothing, footwear and food products, including frozen prawns, from India.

The UK government said in a statement that under current projections, the new trade deal would increase the UK’s gross domestic product by 4.8 billion pounds ($6.4bn) each year and increase UK exports to India nearly 60 percent.

Starmer told the delegation that opportunities were “already opening up”, trade was rising sharply as a result of the deal and its members should build on the momentum.

After a visit to the Yash Raj Film studio on Wednesday, Starmer announced that three Bollywood films would be made in the UK from next year.

“Bollywood is back in Britain, and it’s bringing jobs, investment and opportunity, all while showcasing the UK as a world-class destination for global filmmaking,” he said.

Starmer also visited a new English Premier League community programme where he met aspiring young Indian footballers and coaches, highlighting the British football league’s popularity among Indian fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4bn.

The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with the Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400m.

Bloomberg said Ronaldo earned more than $550m in salary from 2002 to 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18m annually and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175m to his fortune.

Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest paid player in football history with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52m) plus bonuses and a reported 15 percent share in his Saudi club.

Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600m in pre-tax salary during his career.

Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James; golfer Tiger Woods; and tennis player Roger Federer.

Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.

“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit, and they ask me why I want to score 1,000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.

“I’m still producing good things. I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish, I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”

Two brothers from an Italian football hooligan group, Lazio’s Irriducibili, have been arrested and accused of trying to illegally obtain public works contracts for next year’s Winter Olympics, Italian prosecutors say.

The men, originally from Rome, sought to profit from the Olympics after establishing Mafia-style control over drug dealing and nightlife activities in the Alpine resort of Cortina, Venice prosecutors said in a statement.

The resort in northern Italy is cohosting the February 6-22 Winter Games with Milan.

The arrested men are accused of posing as high-level members of Rome’s criminal underworld, vaunting their friendship with the late leader of the Irriducibili Fabrizio Piscitelli, who was shot in a Rome park in 2019.

“Irriducibili” roughly translates as “diehards”.

The brothers terrorised business rivals in Cortina, prosecutors charged, mentioning the case of a nightlife events organiser who was dragged into the woods, beaten and held at gunpoint.

A man who owed them drug money was locked in a car boot and threatened with death, and two “unauthorised” drug dealers were also beaten up.

In 2022, the pair approached a member of Cortina’s city government, offering electoral support, which the politician did not accept. They later used a threatening message to ask to be given Olympic contracts, prosecutors said.

The brothers, one of whom was put in pre-trial detention while the other is under house arrest, are accused of extortion aggravated by Mafia-style methods. Five more suspects face the same charges but were not arrested.

Their relationship has long been defined by rivalry, competing ambitions and a disputed border. Now, India and China are resuming direct flights after a five-year suspension.

United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a shifting trade landscape could push them closer together.

For China, it is about offsetting the tariff pressure and expanding trade links.

For India, it is a chance to attract investment even as it holds to its goal of becoming an alternative manufacturing hub to China.
At stake is the balance of global supply chains and economic influence.

And what’s behind China’s K visa?