Putin files nomination for 2018 re-election bid

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday filed documents with electoral officials to run for re- election next year, a day after hundreds of politicians, celebrities and sports figures backed his bid.

Putin visited the Central Election Commission, handing over his passport and 300,000 signatures required by Russian legislation for those running as independent candidates.

The 65-year-old strongman, who will face only token opposition candidates, will extend his term until 2024, making him the longest-serving Russian leader since dictator Joseph Stalin.

A day earlier more than 600 celebrities, politicians and sports figures had gathered in Moscow to formally nominate Putin.

The Russian strongman skipped the ceremony, with the Kremlin citing his busy schedule.

Earlier this week electoral bosses barred top opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running against Putin, citing a controversial embezzlement conviction which he says is politically motivated.

“How do they look their children in the eyes?” Navalny asked on Facebook, referring to the outpouring of support for Putin, who was first elected president in 2000.

Putin instead met with children to open a Christmas tree on a square inside the Kremlin walls.

Candidates running against Putin include veteran ultraconservative politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin and a former socialite turned liberal journalist Ksenia Sobchak.

Navalny, who is seen by many as the only Russian opposition leader who stands a chance of challenging Putin, has called for a boycott of the polls. RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have long lured foreign workers with the promise of a tax-free lifestyle, plan to impose a 5 per cent tax next year on most goods and services to boost revenue after oil prices collapsed three years ago.

The value-added tax, or VAT, will apply to a range of items like food, clothes, electronics and gasoline, as well as phone, water and electricity bills, and hotel reservations.

Elda Ngombe, a 23-year-old college graduate who’s looking for a job in Dubai, said there’s one specific purchase she’s planning before next year’s price hike: “Makeup, because I can’t live without makeup.”

“I am scared because everything is actually expensive already in Dubai. The fact that it’s actually adding 5 per cent is crazy,” she said.

There will be some exemptions for big-ticket costs like rent, real estate sales, certain medications, airline tickets and school tuition. Higher education, however, will be taxed in the UAE. Extra costs parents pay to schools for uniforms, books, school bus fees and lunch will also be taxed, as will real estate brokerage costs for renters and buyers.

Other Gulf countries are expected to implement their own VAT scheme in the coming years. Shops, gyms and other retailers are trying to make the most of the remaining tax-free days in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, encouraging buyers to stock up before the VAT is rolled out on 1 January 2018.

Even with a 5 per cent jump in prices, the tax rate is still significantly less than the average VAT rate of 20 per cent in some European countries.

“If you compare with Europe, I don’t think it’s as expensive. Only in rent and food,” said Vera Clement, a mother and assistant manager of restaurants from France who has lived in Dubai for three years. “We are going to be more careful when we buy something,” she added. TUNIS: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that a political solution to the Syrian conflict was impossible without the departure of President Bashar al-assad, branding him a “terrorist”.

“It is absolutely impossible to advance with Assad in Syria,” Erdogan told a news conference after meeting Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.

“Bashar al-assad is a terrorist... We cannot just say this person goes on doing this job. If we do then it’s unfair” to the Syrians who have been killed, he added.

Turkey has opposed Assad throughout the conflict, now in its seventh year, backing the opposition seeking to oust him and accusing the Syrian leader of war crimes.