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Trade war ignited? UK risks wrath of US after vowing to go ahead with digital tax on tech giants like Google and Facebook British Chancellor Sajid Javid has committed the UK to enforcing a digital services tax on global tech companies, despite threats from the US that they may respond by putting “taxes on their car companies” – risking a trade war. Speaking on a panel – alongside US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin – at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Javid doubled down on government plans to implement a two-percent levy on revenues made by global tech giants like Facebook and Twitter in the UK. We plan to go ahead with our digital services tax in April. It is a proportionate tax, and a tax that is deliberately designed...

Lebanon faces a ‘catastrophe,’ new PM Diab says Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Wednesday that Lebanon faces a ‘catastrophe,’ after his newly unveiled cabinet held its first meeting. It is expected to tackle the twin challenges of a protest movement and a nose-diving economy, AFP said. Diab, who replaced Saad Hariri as prime minister, vowed to meet the demands from the street but demonstrators were unconvinced and scuffled with police overnight. The 61-year-old academic admitted that the situation he inherited was desperate. “Today we are in a financial, economic and social dead end,” Diab said in remarks read by a government official after the new cabinet’s inaugural meeting in Beirut. French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the first leaders to react to the formation of ...

Muddle-Eastern diplomacy: White House confuses Iran and Iraq in YouTube blunder As President Donald Trump sat down with the world’s movers and shakers at Davos, White House staff clearly weren’t paying much attention, mistaking Iraqi President Barham Salih for his Iranian counterpart. “President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the President of the Republic of Iran,” the title of a YouTube video published by the White House on Wednesday proclaimed.  Hell had not frozen over, however, and Trump had not secretly met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unbeknownst to the world’s media. Instead, the video clearly showed Trump meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih. Iraq’s President identified as the President *of Iran* - ...

Head of Russian Church Explains Why 'Papism Is Dangerous' Editor's Note:  While both Orthodox and Catholic churches claim to have remained most faithful to the original Christian Church, there are many fundamental differences. One of the most obvious is that the Orthodox Church does not have a pope, but is rather led by a council of bishops. In Orthodoxy, all bishops are fundamentally equal in theological authority, even if some have higher administrative roles. For example, the head of the Russian Church, the patriarch, sets general policy, but he is not theologically superior to other bishops. Head of Russian Church Explains Why 'Papism Is Dangerous'