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UK deputy PM admits underpaying tax as opposition seeks her dismissal

As her party struggles with declining poll numbers as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, UK deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid property tax on a purchase of a home.

After initially relying on incorrect advice, Rayner, who also serves as housing minister, confirmed she owed more tax on a property she purchased in southern England’s Hove.

She told Sky News on Wednesday, “I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have done so.” According to the advice I received at the time, I “made a mistake.”

She is now under pressure as Labour struggles to win the election, a year after Keir Starmer won by a landslide.

In a June YouGov poll, Reform’s victory over Labour’s party in parliament has soared to 271 seats, putting Labour’s lead at 178. Just 46 seats would be occupied by the Conservatives, who suffered a historic defeat last year.

Rayner, 45, is thought to be a contender for the position of ministerial leader in the future, but her future may depend on an independent ministerial standards investigation. Prior to purchasing the Hove property, her opponents have accused her of avoiding 40, 000 pounds ($54, 000) in stamp duty on a second home.

resignation calls

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, urged Starmer to sack her at Prime Minister’s Questions. Starmer defended his deputy, claiming she had “over and above” the transparency requirements for her property dealings and that he was “very proud” to work with her.

Four ministers have already resigned over misconduct since the Labour government’s election, which has already shook the organization. Starmer and Rayner received criticism earlier this year for accepting donations for expensive clothing, which they later discontinued.

Rayner is widely regarded as one of Labour’s most powerful political assets because of her blunt style and strong working-class roots.

She gained notoriety from a posh background and frequently used her story to make connections with disenchanted voters. According to political analysts, Starmer’s leadership team’s potential demise is a significant blow because of her significant appeal to working-class communities as a key component of Labour’s strategy.

The controversy comes as Labour battles sluggish economic growth, anger over welfare-cuts, and frustration among voters who voted for sweeping change last year. Farage positioning himself as the voice of working-class Britons, according to pollsters, indicates a high level of public outcry at the mainstream parties.

US and EU sanctions have killed 38 million people since 1970

United States and Europe have long used unilateral sanctions as a means of imperial power to discipline and even overthrow Global South governments that seek to end Western dominance, chart a free path, and establish any kind of meaningful sovereignty.

In any given year, there were on average about 15 nations subject to unilateral sanctions from the West during the 1970s. In many cases, these sanctions sought to stifle trade and finance, destabilize industries, and exacerbate crises to stoke state collapse.

The US government, for instance, harshly retaliated against Chile when the popular socialist Salvador Allende won the election in 1970. US President Richard Nixon stated at a White House meeting in September 1970 that the goal was to “make Chile’s] economy scream.” The sanctions, according to historian Peter Kornbluh, were an “invisible blockade” that deposed Chile of access to international money, sparked social unrest, and opened the door for the US-backed coup that erected the brutal right-wing dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The US and Europe have since used sanctions in a significant way. In any given year, an average of 30 nations were subject to unilateral sanctions from the West during the 1990s and 2000s. It is more than 60% of the countries in the Global South as of the 2020s, which is a staggering high proportion.

Sanctions frequently have a significant impact on people. Scholars have demonstrated this in a number of well-known cases, including the US’s sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s, which caused widespread malnormation, a lack of clean water, and a shortage of medicine and electricity. More recently, US economic strife against Venezuela has caused a severe economic crisis, according to a study that found that 40, 000 extra-dead deaths occurred between 2017 and 2018 in one year.

Researchers have focused on understanding the human toll of sanctions on a case-by-case basis up until now. This work is challenging, and it only ever provides a glimpse into the finished product. However, this has changed with the release of new research, which was first published in The Lancet Global Health this year. The University of Denver study, led by economist Francisco Rodriguez, calculates the total number of extra-deaths caused by international sanctions between 1970 and 2021.

The outcomes are astounding. According to their principal estimate, the authors discover that the US and the EU have since instituted unilateral sanctions that have resulted in 38 million deaths. More than a million people died in the 1990s, some years. Sanctions were responsible for more than 800 000 deaths in the most recent year of data, 2021.

According to these results, sanctions cause approximately 100, 000 deaths annually, which is more than direct casualties of war (on average, around 100, 000). Children and the elderly, who are most susceptible to malnutrition, account for more than half of the victims. According to the study, more than one million children have been killed by sanctions since 2012 alone.

Hunger and poverty are a key goal of Western sanctions, not an accidental result. A State Department memo from April 1960, which explains the purpose of US sanctions against Cuba, makes this clear. According to the memo, Fidel Castro and the revolution in general enjoyed acclaim in Cuba. It argued that “every possible means should be taken seriously to weaken the economic life of Cuba,” that “distribution of resources to Cuba, a reduction in monetary and real wages, hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of government should be taken seriously.”

The effectiveness of Western sanctions depends on their dominance of the world’s reserve currencies (the US dollar and the euro), their dominance of SWIFT, and their monopoly over key technologies (such as satellites, cloud computing, and software). Countries in the Global South will need to take steps to lessen their dependence on these things and protect themselves from negative feedback if they want to chart a more independent path towards a multipolar world. Such a strategy can be successful, according to recent Russian experience.

By establishing new payment systems outside Western control, establishing South-South trade and swap lines between the main currencies, using regional planning to develop necessary technologies, and establishing new payment systems, governments can increase their independence. In fact, several nations are already implementing this strategy. Importantly, new Chinese systems (such as CIPS for international payments, BeiDou for satellites, Huawei for telecom) now offer other world South countries alternative options that can help them break Western dependence and the sanctions net.

These actions are both morally necessary and necessary for nations that want to experience sovereign development. We cannot accept the fact that half a million people are murdered annually to advance Western hegemony. This kind of violence must be replaced and eliminated from an international order.

Campbell’s sees tariff hit in year ahead as economic uncertainty looms

Due to the food company’s burden of tariff-driven economic uncertainty, Campbell’s Co anticipates sales to decline in the upcoming year.

The New Jersey-based company predicted that its sales will likely remain flat or decline by as much as 2 percent in the upcoming year in its fourth quarter earnings report released on Wednesday.

For the 2026 fiscal year that started on August 4, Campbell’s, which is best known for its canned soup products, said it anticipates that tariffs will account for about 4% of the cost of goods.

As inflation affects how much money consumers spend, the company says it will try to lower the cost by introducing price increases and other cost-saving measures.

CEO Mick Beekhuizen stated that consumers are becoming more and more deliberate about their food choices.

The most recent consumer price index report for the month of July, which was released in mid-August, revealed an increase in overall food prices at home of 2.2 percent compared to the same time last year.

The company faces “a dynamic operating and regulatory environment,” according to Beekhuizen, which has led to significant input cost pressures, primarily caused by tariffs, which, despite significant efforts to mitigate, lower its earnings outlook for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to LSEG’s data, Campbell anticipates an annual adjusted profit per share decrease of 18% to between $ 2.40 and $ 2.55, including tariffs, and below $ 2.63.

Steel, which has been subject to high tariffs, is used in food products like Campbell’s and its rivals. The Can Manufacturers Institute earlier this year issued a warning that tariffs would put strain on food producers, especially given that domestic steel production for cans has fallen by 75% in the last eight years.

Nearly 80% of the tin mill steel is now imported from trade allies, according to Robert Budway, president of the Can Manufacturers Institute at the time.

Campbell’s Co. reported a 1% increase in net sales for the fourth quarter, or $2.3 billion. Additionally, the quarter’s price increased by 2%, making up for the volume decline by 4%.

cuts caused by food dye

By the second half of the 2026 fiscal year, the company that makes the Goldfish snack will stop using artificial food dyes in its products. The company intends to replace them with more conventional options like Lance crackers and V8 Splash’s purple carrot juice, which are made from the achiote tree seeds and annatto, an orange-red food condiment made from the seeds of the achiote tree.

In response to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and consumer preferences, it joins industry peers like PepsiCo, Kraft-Heinz, and Nestle in replacing synthetic food dyes with natural ones.