Wednesday newspaper round-up: UK Budget, North Korea warning, Brexit battles

The United States and North Korea are racing towards a catastrophic “head-on collision”, China’s foreign minister has warned, amid Chinese fury at America’s deployment of a controversial anti-missile system. Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang Yi said a “looming crisis” was brewing on the Korean peninsular. - Guardian

Chancellor Philip Hammond is to announce tax rises to meet a fresh round of spending commitments and reject calls to increase borrowing, when he unveils his maiden Budget later today. It is expected Mr Hammond will rely on taxes to raise extra spending for social care and business rates. - Telegraph

Philip Hammond will also present a sharp increase in economic growth, coupled with an improvement in the public finance figures. The Office for Budget Responsibility could all but erase the short-term downgrade to the borrowing figures delivered in last November’s autumn statement after the Brexit result. - The Times

Philip Hammond is facing growing pressure from within the Conservative party to plough the proceeds of growing tax revenues into shoring up beleaguered public services. The Treasury has indicated that the chancellor will not shirk difficult decisions on tax as the government aims to steady the public finances before triggering article 50 and starting the formal process of Brexit. - Guardian

The Chancellor is planning to step in to help the aging North Sea oil and gas sector by investigating ways the tax system could help to extend the life of projects. The move will be announced by Philip Hammond when he delivers his first Budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday. - Telegraph

Landlords are exploiting legal loopholes such as by using snail farms, hot air balloons, tents and empty cardboard boxes to escape paying business rates at a cost to local authorities of £230 million a year, experts have claimed. Philip Hammond is set to use his budget today to quell the backlash against business rates rises by offering more relief to those who will be hit worst. - The Times

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has dropped an ambitious target to get consumers to halve their household food waste after finding it was more difficult than expected to achieve behavioural change. Sainsbury’s launched its “Waste Less, Save More” programme in 2016 – a £10m five-year plan to help customers save money by reducing their food waste. - Graun

Lord Heseltine was sacked last night as a government adviser for supporting a House of Lords rebellion that inflicted a historic defeat on the government. The former deputy prime minister was one of 13 Tory peers to rebel against the government by amending its Article 50 bill to give parliament the final say on any European Union agreement. - Times

Theresa May is heading for a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over her Brexit bill next week, after peers voted to give parliament the right to veto the final outcome of her EU talks. Downing Street said it would seek to overturn the amendment passed by the House of Lords on Tuesday by 366 to 268, arguing that giving parliament a blanket right of veto was against the national interest and would weaken May’s negotiating hand. - Guardian

The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act hit a wall of fierce conservative opposition on Tuesday, less than a day after it was introduced. The American Health Care Act is already being denounced by many influential conservative groups and is meeting widespread skepticism among Republicans on Capitol Hill. - Guardian