Briefly

INDIA

Rescuers near 41 trapped workers

Ambulances were on standby Thursday morning as Indian rescuers dug through the final meters of debris separating them from 41 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for nearly two weeks. Emergency vehicles and a field hospital stood ready, preparing to receive the men who authorities hope will soon be freed from the tunnel in Uttarakhand state, Agence France-Presse reported. Engineers have been digging for days to drive a steel pipe through some 57 meters of earth, concrete and rubble that has divided the trapped men from freedom since a portion of the under-construction tunnel caved in on Nov 12. After days of painfully slow progress, engineers with a powerful drilling machine made a sudden rapid advance on Wednesday, before being slowed with just 12 meters to go after metal rods blocked the route.

UNITED KINGDOM

Chancellor pushes tax cuts to boost growth

The United Kingdom's finance minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, announced tax cuts alongside many other measures to help grow the country's stagnating economy in his Autumn Statement budget, delivered in Parliament on Wednesday. Hunt also revealed the latest forecasts for the UK's economic growth, provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility, or OBR, which expects 0.6 percent growth this year, and 0.7 percent next year. Hunt told lawmakers that, taken together, the measures will increase business investment in the UK economy by around 20 billion pounds ($25 billion) a year during the next decade to "get Britain growing". Hunt said he will make the "full expensing" tax relief system for businesses permanent. The policy, which was due to expire in 2026, allows a company to immediately deduct all of its spending on IT equipment, plant or machinery from taxable profits.

Agencies - China Daily