Rachel Reeves says higher taxes on wealthy ‘part of the story’ for November budget

Exclusive: Chancellor hints at rises and calls out past ‘scaremongering’ over VAT on private schools and changes to non-doms

Rachel Reeves has said higher taxes on the UK’s wealthy will form part of next month’s budget, as she shrugged off the “scaremongering” and “bleating” of her critics, and stressed her determination to repair the public finances.

Speaking in Washington, where she is attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the chancellor told the Guardian there “won’t be a return to austerity” and hinted at tax increases for the most well-off.

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PPE firm linked to Michelle Mone misses deadline to repay £122m

Firm was ordered by high court to return sum paid by DHSC for unusable surgical gowns by 4pm on Wednesday

A company linked to the former Conservative peer Michelle Mone has failed to pay the government any of the £122m ordered by a high court judgment for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.

Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled that PPE Medpro must, by a deadline of 4pm on 15 October, return the money it was paid by the Department of Health and Social Care for 25m sterile surgical gowns under a contract awarded in June 2020.

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Hegseth tells NATO Ukraine ‘firepower’ is coming amid Tomahawk missiles speculation – NBC News

  1. Hegseth tells NATO Ukraine 'firepower' is coming amid Tomahawk missiles speculation  NBC News
  2. Pressure mounts on NATO allies to go all-in on Trump arms scheme for Ukraine  politico.eu
  3. ‘Firepower’ coming for Ukraine, Hegseth says, but Tomahawks not on agenda at NATO meeting  CNN
  4. Hegseth warns of ‘costs on Russia’ in latest sign of shifting US stance  Politico
  5. NATO's newest members offer to buy more US arms for Ukraine as Western backing declines  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
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Starmer only read China spy witness statements this morning, No 10 says, as Cleverly accuses PM of misquoting him – as it happened

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

Lindsay Hoyle starts by telling MPs that speakers from the parliaments in Fiji and Ukraine are in the gallery. And he says it is four years to the day since David Amess was murdered.

It’s PMQs. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

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South Korea Targets Cambodia’s Scam Industry After Kidnappings, Torture and a Death – The New York Times

  1. South Korea Targets Cambodia’s Scam Industry After Kidnappings, Torture and a Death  The New York Times
  2. South Korea bans travel to parts of Cambodia amid deepening scam crisis that has left 80 missing  The Guardian
  3. Around 1,000 Koreans involved in Cambodian scam rings: Seoul  The Korea Times
  4. Cambodia Voice Phishing Gangs Kidnap, Torture South Koreans  조선일보
  5. South Korea bans travel to notorious scam complex zones in Cambodia  South China Morning Post
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Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years – AP News

  1. Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years  AP News
  2. Afghan Taliban and Pakistan agree short truce after deadly clashes  BBC
  3. News Wrap: Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to a 48-hour ceasefire after days of clashes  PBS
  4. New violence on Pakistan-Afghan border kills more than a dozen civilians and troops  NBC News
  5. Video: Afghan Taliban Drone Drops Bomb On Pak Outpost  NDTV
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Photos show polar bears making themselves at home at abandoned Russian research station – CBS News

  1. Photos show polar bears making themselves at home at abandoned Russian research station  CBS News
  2. This one isn’t AI. Video shows polar bears crashing a research station.  The Washington Post
  3. Photos show polar bears chilling at home in abandoned Russian research station  AP News
  4. Stunning PHOTOS: Polar bears chill at abandoned research station  FOX 8 News
  5. Polar Bears Take Over Russian Research Station, Turn Abandoned Buildings into an 'Interesting Neighborhood'  People.com
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Canadian man fined for submitting AI hallucinations as part of legal defense

Jean Laprade ordered to pay $3,500 in legal saga of ‘hijacked planes’, Interpol red alerts and ‘inappropriate use’ of AI

A Quebec man has been ordered to pay C$5,000 (US$3,562) for submitting artificial intelligence hallucinations as part of his legal defense, a move the judge warned was “highly reprehensible” and threatened to undermine integrity in the legal system.

Justice Luc Morin of Quebec superior court levied the fine on Jean Laprade in a decision released on 1 October, capping a legal saga the judge said “contains several elements worthy of a successful movie script”, including a “hijacked plane passing through several complacent airports”, Interpol red alerts and the “inappropriate use of artificial intelligence” by Laprade.

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