The UN General Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority, demanding that the United States "must end its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba", first imposed in 1960.
A total of 187 countries including China voted in favor of the resolution, the United States and Israel voted against, and Moldova abstained. This is the 32nd consecutive year that the General Assembly has demanded an end to the U.S. blockade against Cuba.
After the counting results came out, long and warm applause rang out in the UN General Assembly Hall.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla pointed out in his speech before the vote that the United States has adopted a blockade policy against Cuba and deliberately strangled the Cuban economy. It is an inhumane economic aggression, which has caused huge obstacles to Cuba's economic development, he said, adding that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it even affected Cuba's purchase of oxygen cylinders and ventilators from foreign countries.
Rodriguez said that 80 percent of the population in his country has never known life without the crippling U.S. blockade and the people are suffering every day.
The U.S. representative spoke after the vote and said that the United States recognizes the challenges faced by the Cuban people, so it includes exemptions and authorizations for the export of food, medicine and other basic commodities in the sanctions. He claimed that the U.S. sanctions were intended to help the Cuban people pursue human rights.
The Cuban representative countered that the U.S. was trying to subvert Cuba's social and economic order and the U.S. manipulated human rights issues abroad, but was rife with police violence and racial discrimination at home, and was not worthy of discussing human rights with Cuba.
UN votes overwhelmingly against US embargo on Cuba
The Labour Party government unveiled its first budget on Wednesday, outlining plans to raise taxes by 40 billion pounds a year.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented the budget in the House of Commons, marking Labour Party's first budget since returning to power in July after 14 years.
Despite previous assurances not to raise taxes on working people, the chancellor announced a rise in employers' National Insurance (NI) contributions from 13.8 percent to 15 percent, effective April 2025. Also, the threshold at which employers begin paying NI for employees will be reduced from 9,100 to 5,000 pounds annually.
Together, these changes are projected to generate 25 billion pounds per year for the government.
Capital gains tax will also see an increase, with the lower rate rising from 10 percent to 18 percent and the higher rate from 20 percent to 24 percent, Reeves said.
The national minimum wage for full-time workers aged 21 and over will rise by 6.7 percent to 12.21 pounds an hour, while that for 18 to 20-year-olds will rise from 8.6 to 10 pounds an hour.
Additional tax changes include higher taxes on smoking, the introduction of VAT on private school fees, and the abolition of the non-dom tax regime beginning in April 2025.
In her budget statement, Reeves stressed the importance of investment, saying that the government will deliver "a boost to public investment by over 100 billion pounds over the next five years across roads, rail, schools and hospitals whilst keeping debt on a downward path."
Analysts note that the high debt burden and global economic uncertainty would continue to pose significant challenges for UK fiscal policies.
There are also concerns among the public that the Labour Party's commitment to increasing spending on healthcare and other social services may be difficult to achieve fully amid current fiscal pressures.
UK unveils new budget with tax hikes of 40 bln pounds
