Putin: I will only speak to Zelensky for ‘final phase' of peace talks
'Start learning Russian' if Kyiv doesn't get aid, EU official warns
Russian leader
Vladimir Putin has claimed he is willing to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky but only for a 'final phase' of talks.
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RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
One dead, 14 injured in Russian attack on Ukraine's Odesa
One person was killed and at least 14 were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, damaging high-rise buildings and railway infrastructure. Odesa is Ukraine's largest Black Sea port, key for imports and exports, and has been under constant missile and drone attacks by Russia since the war began. "Despite the active work of air defence forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, a higher education institution, a gas pipeline and private cars," local governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger. Mr Kiper released photos of burning houses and charred high-rise buildings. Local emergencies service said that during the attack there were at least 10 drone strikes on residential buildings, causing massive fires. Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 86 drones on Ukraine overnight. The military noted its air defence units shot down 34 drones while another 36 drones were lost. However, the military reported that drones hit eight locations. Ukrainian state railways reported that Odesa railway station was damaged during the attack, with power wires and rails damaged. Russian drones also attacked Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine overnight, damaging several private and multi-storey houses, Kharkiv officials said.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Review to find Israel violated trade agreement with EU
A review into Israel's compliance with its human rights obligations, enshrined in its trade and political relations with the European Union, will be circulated to member states later today. The review, which was ordered by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, is expected to find that Israel is in violation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in its conduct of the Gaza war. Article 2 of the agreement binds both parties to human rights and international humanitarian law. Critics of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian population of Gaza have long argued that it is in breach of those obligations and that the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs trade, political and educational links, should be suspended, in whole or in part. Ireland and Spain called for such a move in February last year. However, member states traditionally supportive of Israel, such Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic, were opposed, meaning there was no consensus. Last month the Dutch foreign minister - himself a former ambassador to Israel, and a long time supporter - revived the idea. It followed Israel's weeks-long humanitarian blockade of Gaza. The Dutch proposal did garner majority support among national capitals and Ms Kallas ordered a review, which is expected to find that Israel is in violation of Article 2. EU foreign ministers will address the review when they meet on Monday, and Ms Kallas will also brief EU leaders at their summit on Thursday. However, in order to avoid bitter divisions, diplomats say member states could defer action against Israel for one month in the hope that it massively restore humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Central Bank's hard-landing scenario: corporate tax crashes, budget deficit balloons to €18bn
For obvious reasons, officials in Ireland can't use the term 'soft landing'. It was trotted out so regularly, so erroneously in the late 2000s when the economy was hurtling towards the hardest of hard landings that it has become synonymous with the opposite. If the Central Bank told us the Irish economy was in for a 'soft landing' from the current US tariff debacle, people would panic. Perhaps in reaction to the misplaced optimism of the Celtic Tiger era, we now seem to have an inherent bias towards highlighting negative scenarios. READ MORE [ US tariffs could punch €18bn hole in public finances, Central Bank warns Opens in new window ] We were certainly prepared for a bigger assault from Brexit than the one we actually got. Some call it 'catastrophising', but regulators should take a sober view on things. In an article published alongside its latest quarterly bulletin, the Central Bank lays out three possible scenarios for how US tariffs and greater US protectionism might impact the economy here. In its baseline scenario, which involves 20 per cent tariffs on European Union goods going into the US from the third quarter of this year, with pharmaceuticals and semiconductors exempt, the economy grows by 2 per cent this year, in terms of modified domestic demand, and 2.1 per cent on average in 2026 and 2027, while the State continues to run a budget surplus out to 2030. Even if it won't say it, this is the regulator's 'soft landing' scenario. In a more adverse scenario with pharmaceuticals and semiconductors getting hit by 20 per cent tariffs and with the EU retaliating with 20 per cent tariffs of its own, growth is slower and the budget surplus shrinks to less than 1 per cent. But what grabbed the headlines was the Central Bank 'extreme scenario' which involves the State losing the entire windfall element of its corporate tax base, which is due to peak at €17 billion in 2026, alongside a 20 per cent reduction in multinational investment 'and a corresponding loss of export market share'. [ Rent pressure zone changes will be 'painful' for tenants, Central Bank warns Opens in new window ] This scenario would see the Government's healthy budget surplus – it was €8.9 billion last year – flip to a budget deficit of more than 4 per cent of national income by 2030, equivalent to €17.7 billion. While there are lots of caveats – the scenario assumes the Government takes no corrective action and continues to make contributions to the two long-term savings funds – such an outcome would pitch us back into another period of austerity. It also highlights how much the State's coffers have become intertwined with the financial fortunes of a small number of US multinationals. 'This could be considered a somewhat extreme scenario as it incorporates a loss of all excess CT [corporate tax] by 2030 along with weaker economic activity, but it is illustrative of a key vulnerability for Ireland relating to the future path of the foreign-owned capital stock,' it said. Central Bank director of economics and statistics Robert Kelly denied he was painting too bleak a picture, saying the bank's worst-case scenario did not envisage the possibility of a big multinational firm leaving the jurisdiction because of tariffs or changes to US tax law, which has been the fear since the corporate tax boom started more than a decade ago. The nightmare scenario for Ireland would be for an Apple or an Intel to up sticks and leave. Despite the threat hanging over Ireland's economic model, there are several reasons to believe that corporate tax receipts, which hit a record €28 billion last year (excluding the Apple tax money), will continue to increase in the medium term. For one, the biggest corporate taxpayers here are in the tech and pharmaceutical sectors, both at present exempt from US tariffs. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) also expects receipts from the business tax to rise by about €5 billion from 2026 onwards as additional revenue from the new minimum tax rate of 15 per cent over and above the State's headline rate of 12.5 per cent flows into the Exchequer. Big multinationals with a turnover above €750 million have been liable to pay the higher rate since 2024, but are not due to make their initial payments under the new rate until the middle of next year. This is expected to boost tax receipts here by an additional €3 billion next year and €2 billion in 2027. Despite the US signalling its intention to withdraw from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -brokered deal to establish a minimum global rate, tax authorities here and elsewhere are pushing ahead with it. Several big taxpayers here have been availing of generous tax-cutting capital allowances which are due to run out, meaning they will be liable to pay more tax – another factor likely to drive receipts. Some of the frothier predictions suggest corporate tax receipts here could grow to €40 billion and say we should be saving a lot more than the current allocations to the State's savings funds. The windfall has also coincided with a worrying increase in Government spending, over and above what IFAC deems sustainable. It might be that the bigger threats facing the Irish economy are coming from within – housing, government spending, energy security, the high cost of doing business – rather than those emanating from abroad.
