#MP Budget 2023

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MP Budget 2023: छात्राओं को मिलेगी स्कूटी, मध्य प्रदेश का पहला पेपरलेस बजट पेश। जानें पूरे बजट का हाल…

MP Budget 2023: मध्य प्रदेश सरकार ने अपना इस कार्यकाल का आखिरी बजट पेश किया। वित्त मंत्री जगदीश देवड़ा ने पहला पेपरलेस बजट पेश किया। सदन में बजट पढ़ने के लिए सभी विधायकों को टैबलेट मुहैया कराए गए।

बजट पेश करने से पहले जगदीश देवड़ा ने ट्वीट करते हुए कहा कि यह बजट उन्नत, आत्मनिर्भर, विकसित और समृध्दशाली मध्यप्रदेश का आधार बनने जा रहा है। इसके लिए पूरी तैयारी हो चुकी हैं।

बजट पेश करते हुए वित्त मंत्री ने कहा कि लाडली लक्ष्मी योजना से राज्य की 44 लाख से ज्यादा बालिकाओं को फायदा मिला है। (MP Budget 2023)

तीन गुना हुई प्रति व्यक्ति की आय- वित्त मंत्री

वित्त मंत्री जगदीश देवड़ा ने सदन में कहा कि देश के सकल घरेलू उत्पाद में मध्य प्रदेश का योगदान 3.6 प्रतिशत से बढ़कर 4.8 फीसदी हो गया है। साल 2011-12 में प्रति व्यक्ति आय 30 हजार से ज्यादा थी जो अब 2022-23 में बढ़कर साढ़े तीन गुनी बढ़कर 1,40,585 रुपये हो गई है।

MBBS की सीटों में बढ़ोत्तरी (MP Budget 2023)

MBBS सीट 2 हजार 55 से बढ़कर 3 हजार 605 की जाएंगी

नवीन मुख्यमंत्री बालिका स्कूटी के तहत बारहवीं में प्रथम आने वाली छात्राओं को ई-स्कूटी दी जाएगी।

बकायादार किसानों के सरकारी संस्थानों से लिए कर्ज का ब्याज सरकार भरेगी।

इंदौर और भोपाल में मेट्रो रेल परियोजना के लिए 710 करोड़ का बजट मिला है।

लाडली लक्ष्मी योजना के लिए 929 करोड़ रुपये दिये जाएंगे।

खेल विभाग को मिले 738 करोड़ रुपये (MP Budget 2023)

वित्त मंत्री ने कहाकि खेल विभाग को 738 करोड़ रुपये का बजट दिया गया है। यह पिछले साल के मुकाबले कहीं ज्यादा है। इसके अलावा 109 रेलवे ओवर ब्रिज समेत 354 पुल बनेंगे। पुल और सड़कों के लिए 10154 करोड़ रुपये का प्रावधान किया गया है। (MP Budget 2023)

सीएम सनराइज स्कूलों के लिए बजट

इसके लिए 358 करोड़ रुपये का बजट है। साथ ही नगरीय निकायों को 842 करोड़ रुपये, नगरीय विकास के लिए 14 हजार 82 करोड़ रुपये, स्थानीय निकायों को 3 हजार 83 करोड़ रुपये का प्रावधान है। (MP Budget 2023)

इन बातों को रखें ध्यान…

महिला स्व सहायता समूह के लिए 660 करोड़ का प्रावधान है।

आहार अनुदान योजना के लिए 300 करोड़ रुपये।

सीएम लाडली बहना योजना के लिए 7 हजार करोड़।

पात्र महिलाओं के वास्ते 1000 रुपये हर महीने।

नारी कल्याण के लिए 2 लाख 976 करोड़ रुपये प्रतिमाह।

Also Read: Budget 2023 : आसान भाषा में समझिए पूरी जानकारी, मोदी ने थपथपाई वित्त मंत्री की पीठ

[yonderghostshistories]

HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY TO “HOLY FLYING CIRCUS” (2011) 🥳🎉🎊🎂🎈

(Aka the best Monty Python biopic imho)

It’s been 13 BLOODY years since HFC aired on this day (19th October) at 9:00pm on BBC 4 in the year of our lord 2011, but it’s only been a few months since I (and many other of my mutuals) watched and rewatched it this year, and I will always treasure the times that I have seen this wonderful movie!

I remember when I was a newly fresh faced MP fan in 2023 and was slowly and gradually getting into them, and that I was wondering if there was ever a biopic made about Monty Python? I mean, it would be kinda weird that there wasn’t a biopic made about Monty Python, ya’know considering that they were very much influential in the world of comedy and beyond, that it would obviously be a missed opportunity to NOT make a biopic about them.

I then went and logged on into one of the school computers at my secondary school to look up if there was a Monty Python Biopic, in which I googled smth along the lines of “Monty Python Biopic”, and LO and behold, HFC was (iirc) the first result that came up!

I was IMMEDIATELY intrigued to see what HFC was all about, and so I looked at and read the plot synopsis for HFC on IMDb. At the time, it was honestly really cool and interesting fr! Then I looked at the cast and…well. I wasn’t immediately put off by the fact that the cast for the HFC Pythons weren’t exactly 100% identical to the irl Pythons, like they were similar to them but JUST different enough to have a sorta distinct, uncanny feeling to them. But ngl, at the time when I saw photos of the cast, I did have a feeling that was like “ughh….this is soooo obviously cheap, why couldn’t they have gotten a bigger budget for this?”, and now looking back, I do recognise that HFC was, well, made on a BBC 4 budget (aka a low budget, at least for BBC 4) and that the cast and crew had to work with what they had (both in terms costumes and hair) and tbh I was kinda a bit mean on them at that time and that do I regret it. I mean, I still don’t forgive some of the HFC Pythons’ hair cuz OMG Steve Punt/Eric and Phil Nichol/Terry G’s hair is still kinda not good lol 😂 but I do understand why it is what it is.

Anyway, I digress!

It was because of this (plus looking at some rather quite negative reviews of HFC) that I STILL wanted to check out HFC and see what it’s about, but I had INCREDIBLY low expectations for it. At best thinking that HFC would be at least kinda decent, but at worst thinking that it would be kinda mediocre and not the worst but definitely not the best. So, for Christmas 2023, I asked my Dad (iirc) to buy me the DVD for HFC (as well as some other DVDs, those being “A Liar’s Autobiography” the book, the animated film adaptation “A Liar’s Autobiography” (2012), “Remember Me” (2014) starring Michael Palin, “A Field in England” (2013) and “In the Earth” (2021), the latter 2 cuz I was really into the League of Gentlemen/Inside No. 9/Reece Shearsmith at the time and also cuz I love me a bit of horror!). Then came January/February 2024, and I got my DVDs by that time!

(Here’s a crappy looking (affectionate) picture I took of them back in February when I still used my Android phone to take pictures of stuff)

Then I…..didn’t watch them (and in this case HFC) for a couple months after I got them (mostly due to school and exams and shit which made me kinda exhausted and so I didn’t watch much stuff during that time cuz of it), BUT! BUT BUT BUT!!

It was on a somewhat regular day on the 20th of May 2024, when I finally, FINALLY AFTER ALL THIS TIME OF LAYING IT OFF AGAIN AND AGAIN (again due to the exams and studying for said exams and shit) that I decided to finally get the courage to watch HFC in its entirety!! Also cuz I needed to give myself a bit of stress relief and also a lil reward for studying too much lol.

I got the HFC DVD from my living room shelf, I took the HFC DVD out from the plastic cover, I then got my DVD player and carefully inserted the HFC DVD into the DVD player so as to NOT potentially break it, and then…..I finally watched it.

It was…..quite the experience (and I mean this in the most positive way ever!)

Watching the film for the first time genuinely, like GENUINELY, floored my previously low expectations of it. Like, fr IT WAS CRAZY. AND AMAZING. AND WONDERFUL. AND SURREAL. AND FUNNY. Like, it was honestly the best thing I ever watched at that time!!

The HFC Python cast, who I thought was not gonna be the best, was actually fr incredible! Not only did they all get their respective irl Pythons’ mannerisms and expressions on point, but their unique take on each Python was genuinely charming and interesting fr! Especially Charles Edwards/Michael and Darren Boyd/John and their relationship between each other in the film was indeed very captivating to watch (and a lil gay and fan service-y, to which I also love it for that <33).

Speaking of which, Charles Edwards as Michael Palin was unironically the best thing about this film, not only for his voice and mannerisms but his character as well!! Like fr CHARLIE EDWARDS FR LOOKS LIKE ACTUAL MICHAEL PALIN LIKE WHAT?!!?!!

Darren Boyd as John Cleese was also quite great too, like, even if he portrayed him as the “Basil Fawlty Persona” version of John, I felt like it was still pretty much like John’s character, and Darren Boyd/John does show little moments of genuine vulnerability, which make it really more profound imo!

Rufus Jones as Terry Jones, Phil Nichol as Terry Gilliam, Steve Punt as Eric Idle and Tom Fisher as Graham Chapman were also pretty great in this as well! But ESPECIALLY Tom Fisher/Gray as HE ABSOLUTELY STOLE THE SHOW IN THIS MOVIE FR, AND THAT HE ABSOLUTELY SLAYED AS GRAY AND I LOVE HIS JACKETS, HIS SEXINESS, HIS QUOTES, HIS GAYNESS, HIS WISENESS, HIS EVERYTHING AGHHHHH (also he’s really beautiful imo). Like with Charles Edwards/Michael and Darren Boyd/John, their performances as their each respective Python was really amazing, such as Phil Nichol exhibiting Terry G’s childlike craziness and goblin-like energy, to Rufus Jones/Jonesy also acting/double role-ing as Michael’s Wife (in a loving homage to Jonesy playing most of the female characters in MPFC and the films with absolute PERFECTION) to Steve Punt/Eric being very much onto the business side of Python (in which he’s referred to as a “money grabbing bastard”, which I almost quote all the time haha).

Also shoutout to the supporting cast of HFC, they also carried the movie too! My personal favourites being Jason Thorpe as the rude and annoying and obnoxious boss (and very funny) Alan Dick and the LoB obsessed but with good intentions Christian with a stutter Desmond Lovely, Simon Greenall as the Pythons’ Manager/Film Distributor Barry, Paul Chahidi as the meek and trying to make things go well Harry Balls, and Stephen Fry as God (cuz Stephen Fry is an absolute ⚡️✨ ICON ✨⚡️fr)!

Oh yeah, also, I LOVE THE ANIMATIONS AHHHH THEYRE SO AMAZEBALLS FRRR!!!! AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE LOVE LOVE THE MUSIC TOOO!!!! SHOUTOUT TO THE ANIMATION TEAM AND MUSIC COMPOSER FOR HFC, THEY DESERVE IT FR AND DESERVE ALOT OF APPRECIATION!!!

Also, this movie is fr so funny frfr, have I mentioned that it’s really funny? Cuz it’s really funny! It’s also (like Holy Grail) very quotable indeed, and there’s a lot like ALOT of quotes from HFC that live in my head rent free! My personal favourites among them are:

-“It’s Half Logical, Half Silly!”

-“Eric is a Money Grabbing Bastard!”

-“Glass of Cordial? S P O T O F S O U P ?”

-“Are you Willy waving at Jesus?”

-“Well, I am Gay, I like Neeews, it’s very good for film reviieeewwws 😌😏”

The ways this movie have changed my life for the better (and for the sillier) is that I’ve gone through the rabbit hole and have discovered many, MANY amazing shows and films starring each of the HFC Python actors, for example; “Treacle Jr” (2010) and “The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz” (2000) (both films starring Tom Fisher) are genuinely pretty great and I do recommend you watch them if you can! Plus I bought them and other projects starring each HFC Python on DVD cuz it shows how much I’m THAT dedicated to this movie (HFC) fr, and that I’m fr grateful for discovering this little BBC 4 Pythonesque comedy drama from 2011, cuz if i hadn’t, I’d have missed out on some real great stuff!

I will always love “Holy Flying Circus” (2011) for the rest of my life, and I will always appreciate and treasure it with my entire heart 🫶❤️, and I will continue watching and rewatching it and continue fanning about it into the future! I’m very lucky that HFC came into my life and that I watched it, and that I don’t think I’d be quite the same if I hadn’t the courage to watch the film on the 20th May 2024.

It’ll soon be almost 1 hour to the time (that being 9:00pm) when HFC aired on the 19th of October in 2011 by the time I’m writing this, so I’d like to quickly wrap up by saying:

Thank you “Holy Flying Circus” (2011). Just, thank you ☺️🫶❤️…..

And remember:

“Eric is a Money Grabbing Bastard”.

[mariacallous]

Two top PiS politicians, one of them the former interior minister, are jailed, in what could become a major battleground for the former ruling party as it attempts to force early elections.

On Wednesday morning, the former Polish interior minister Mariusz Kaminski and his ex-deputy, Maciej Wasik, woke up in prison in eastern Warsaw after the police had spent the better part of the previous day trying to arrest the duo to serve sentences for crimes they have already been found guilty of, but for which the opposition claim they should not be imprisoned.

On Tuesday, the police tried to implement a court order to arrest the two Law and Justice (PiS) politicians, who were sentenced in December 2023 to two years in prison for abuse of power committed in 2007 while running the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), but the move turned into something out of a political thriller.

With PiS politicians protesting the arrest warrants, and Kaminski and Wasik themselves arguing they are “political prisoners”, the PiS-allied President Andrzej Duda invited the two to a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, taking photos with them as police officers were busy searching their homes in another part of the Polish capital.

Kaminski and Wasik ended up spending the whole day at the Presidential Palace. And it was only in the evening, at around 19:30, that the police decided to enter the palace and arrest the two.

Duda and his supporters point to the fact that the two politicians were pardoned by the president shortly after the populist-conservative PiS came to power in 2015. However, the Supreme Court, the new government that won the October election and legal experts argue that the president’s act has no legal consequences, as the original 2015 court ruling had not yet been made final (only the December 2023 ruling was final).

This is one of several flashpoints many had foreseen when the alliance of three opposition parties won Poland’s October 15 general election and promised to reverse many of what opponents regard as PiS’s anti-democratic policies.

The stakes for the PiS camp and Poland could not be higher. On the one hand, with the new government setting up three separate parliamentary commissions to investigate potential abuses by the previous PiS government – including the use of the Pegasus surveillance software to spy on political opponents – many of its politicians fear going to jail themselves eventually. More immediately, observers are warning that PiS could try to use the arrests of Kaminski and Wasik to force an early election just months after it lost the previous one.

‘Political prisoners’

Kaminski and Wasik were elected to parliament on the PiS list in the October general election, but in December the two politicians were convicted for orchestrating a scheme, including the use of intelligence agents and falsifying of documents, designed to bring down a political opponent. The two argued they were “fighting corruption”; the judge ruled the means used were illegal. The sentence is final.

Szymon Holownia, the marshal of the Sejm, declared their mandates were invalidated by the court ruling and terminated their voting privileges. However, PiS insists the two should remain in parliament and can vote.

A chamber of the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Kaminski was indeed no longer an MP after Kaminski had appealed Holownia’s decision.

Kaminski and Wasik themselves had announced their intention to vote during a new parliamentary session that was set to begin on Wednesday, but which Holownia has since postponed to next week.

Crucially, parliament has to vote on a new budget in this coming session, and the new government has only until the end of January to bring the budget to President Duda for approval. Duda, who cannot veto the budget, can nevertheless send it to the Constitutional Tribunal in the event he has legal doubts and thus delay its adoption. Experts say Duda could invoke the exclusion of the two PiS politicians from voting as a reason to send the budget to the Constitutional Tribunal, which the EU regards as an illegitimate and politicised body after PiS appointed its allies to it.

In such a scenario, Duda could eventually claim the deadline for adopting the budget has been breached and call for an early parliamentary election.

While both sides of the political camp await the next developments, PiS has been mobilising to push a narrative in which it is depicting the attempts by the new government to “clean up” after PiS as totalitarian acts, with the former ruling party now a persecuted minority.

There was a similar flashpoint when the new government in December changed the leadership of public media channels, which during PiS’s eight years in power had become government mouthpieces. PiS and its friendly journalists organised occupations of some of these media institutions, while hundreds of supporters protested outside.

On Tuesday night, PiS politicians, including leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, showed up at the police station and called on their supporters to join them. Hundreds also protested in front of the Presidential Palace. Later that evening, Kaczynski went to the detention centre where Kaminski and Wasik are being held. On Wednesday morning, some Polish media reported Kaminski had gone on hunger strike.

“It is an unprecedented scandal that Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik are in prison,” Kaczynski told supporters. “They are the first political prisoners in Poland since 1989. Those who are responsible for this will suffer the consequences.”

Jacek Sasin, a former PiS minister, called the arrests a “coup d’etat”, while PiS euro-parliamentarian Zdislaw Krasnodebski described Tuesday night’s events as a “police attack on the Presidential Palace.”

Key politicians in PiS are now calling on supporters to protest in Warsaw on Thursday afternoon, and local structures of the party have been engaged for days in organizing transport from across the country for those willing to attend.

According to a press statement issued on Wednesday morning, PiS representatives say they expect tens of thousands to attend.

[beardedmrbean]

Finland's public healthcare and social services system has seen rapidly mounting budget deficits ever since a reform at the start of 2023 shifting responsibility from municipalities to regional counties.

On Monday evening, Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns) called the social and healthcare reform a failure, but told Yle that the current government neither intends nor is capable of making radical changes to the system.

The Uutissuomalainen news group reports that Antti Kurvinen (Cen), the chair of the opposition party Centre Party's parliamentary group, says his party is ready to sit down at the same table with the government to think about how the financing of services can be put in order.

Kurvinen has now proposed setting up a parliamentary working group to look at ways to secure funding healthcare and social services.

However, he rejected suggestions that merging smaller welfare counties would bring operational savings, and pointed out that the biggest budget deficits being seen are in the larger regions.

Kurvinen also criticised the government of PM Petteri Orpo (NCP) for turning its back on the system, describing it as "indifferent and passive".

According to Kurvinen, the government is blaming the welfare counties for deficits while at the same time cutting their funding.

Russian spokesperson: Finnish exercises hostile

Iltalehti reports that Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday described upcoming Finnish military exercises, and recent statements by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo as "hostile steps".

The paper points to a report from Russian news agency Tass, which quotes Zakharova as saying "the statements of the Finnish prime minister, which essentially justify the terrorist attacks of Ukrainian neo-Nazis on the Kursk Region, have not gone unnoticed. And it is in this context that we view the exercises of the Finnish Army near the Russian borders."

Regarding Finnish manoeuvrers scheduled for late this month, Zakharova added that Russia views these "in the context of other hostile steps taken by Helsinki", and linked them to what she described as a hybrid war being waged against Russia by "the collective West".

Neo-Nazi trial opens

Hufvudstadsbladet is among the papers carrying a report on the opening of the trial of two men charged with offences committed with terrorist intent, and three other with various related offences.

The five, all members of a neo-Nazi group based in the town Kankaanpää, were in Satakunta District Court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.

According to the indictment, the police found almost 40 kg of dynamite, 5 kg of gunpowder and various firearms in the possession in the possession of one of the accused, who is also charged with making explosives from ammonium nitrate.

According to the prosecution, the defendants had embraced an accelerationist ideology, aimed at bringing about a "race war" through acts of terrorism. Police have stated that the men planned a bomb attack on a refugee centre in Niinisalo. Two of the accused are also charged with assaults targeting a Jewish man and a transgender individual.

The five men are facing over twenty different charges in total. The offences were committed between 2018 and 2023.

The trial is to resume in October.

Free flowers

Helsingin Uutiset reports that the fields of Haltiala Farm, an agricultural estate owned and operated by the City of Helsinki have been crowded in recent days.

As in past years, those fields on the northwestern edge of the capital have been turned over to sunflowers, cornflowers and mallows.

The public can pick these flowers free-of-charge for personal use.

The fields are also a popular picturesque spot for taking selfies, which HU says have spread through social media, bringing more and more pickers to the fields.

On a visit to the fields, HU found the access road lined by cars and even briefly blocked by a tow truck rescuing a car from a ditch.

The paper writes that even as the sun sets, hundreds of people can still be seen in the fields, and those just leaving with armloads of fresh flowers.

[toiletpotato]

the caption for the picture in the article states "NZ Prime Minister Chris Luxon's office has confirmed taxpayers paid for his Māori language classes."

article transcription below "keep reading"! (emphasis mine)

written by Ben McKay, last updated at 2.15 am on 18 Dec 2023

--

As New Zealand grapples with a new style of government and approach to the Māori language, Prime Minister Chris Luxon has fallen foul of his advice to the public service.

Mr Luxon appears guilty of a double standard after scolding bureaucrats for taking cash bonuses for understanding the Māori language, te reo, while using taxpayer funds to learn it himself.

Mr Luxon recently confirmed his government would axe payments to te reo-speaking public servants and criticised those who took the bonuses.

"People are completely free to learn for themselves," he said.

"That's what happens out there in the real world, in corporate life, or any other community life across New Zealand.

"I've got a number of MPs, for example, that have made a big effort to learn te reo ... they've driven that learning themselves because they want to do it.

"In the real world outside of Wellington and outside the bubble of MPs, people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves."

However, Mr Luxon did not follow his advice.

After repeated requests, the prime minister's office confirmed taxpayers paid for Mr Luxon's classes through a budget offered to the leader of the opposition, saying it was "highly relevant" to his role.

"I think it makes me a better prime minister," he said on Monday.

Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins said te reo was "a national treasure" and learning it should be incentivised.

"Christopher Luxon should be commended for learning Māori, but it's absolute hypocrisy for his government to then set about cancelling the taxpayer subsidies he used to do so, thus denying others that same opportunity," he said.

Waste watchdog the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union called on Mr Luxon to pay back the tuition costs.

Mr Luxon's right-leaning coalition of the National, ACT and NZ First parties has already strained relations with many in Māoridom, particularly over plans to wind back te reo use as championed by the Labour government.

Public servants have been told to communicate in English while public bodies - such as Waka Kotahi for the New Zealand Transport Agency - must revert to using their English-language name first.

Detractors say the government is bashing a minority and inflaming a culture war while the government argues changes have confused non-te reo speakers.

Te reo use is on the rise in NZ but remains a second language.

Competent speakers have grown from six to eight per cent from 2016 to 2021, including 23 per cent of Maori, up from 17 per cent.

Assimilationist governments banned the language in schools for much of the 20th century, causing trauma for many Māori.

Some government members are hostile to te reo use, with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters believing Aotearoa, the Māori term for NZ, is illegitimate.

In parliament last week, the 78-year-old declined to answer a question in te reo from Rawiri Waititi, the Māori Party co-leader who has mobilised thousands to protest the new government.

Mr Luxon insisted he supported the language and wanted others to learn too.

"It's a fantastic language," he said.

"I wish I had learned as a younger person ... I'm trying to learn.

"I've found it actually very hard."

Mr Luxon had a chequered record with the Indigenous language in his former role as Air New Zealand's chief executive.

Under his leadership, stewards began using te reo greetings such as "kia ora" for hello and "ma te wa" for see you soon.

In September 2019, the airline sought to trademark "kia ora" - the name of its in-flight magazine.

After consultation with Māori leaders, and a local and international backlash, Air New Zealand abandoned the bid a week later.

[httpiastri]

hi!! so i’m very new to f2 (i’ve only started educating myself on it recently so that i can watch this season and know the teams + drivers), but when it comes to teams, is there a certain team that is capable of winning championships but also isn’t like, the best? like for example, one of their drivers can win the championship while the other driver may not perform as well that season.

(this is so specific i’m so sorry 😭)

dont apologize love!! it's a great question <3

you've chosen a good season to start watching, i think 2024 will be great!! with the new car, everyone will be kind of starting on the same level, and we have a lot of great drivers who will try to prove themselves this year. it's going to be wonderful 🤭

the way i see it, f2 is much more equal than f1, but it's still not completely equal. some teams just don't usually get good results, but there are several teams who are up in the fight for the titles every year. but different teams have different budgets, different levels of skill in their engineers & other staff members, and so on.

so i think i would say that the short answer is yes, some teams occasionally will win the driver's championship with one driver while the other driver finishes far from the top in the standings. i'm not sure if it's because the team has invested more money and time into only one car, because the car just fits one driver better, or because one driver is just better – i guess that differs a lot from year to year.

but i wouldn't say that there's just one team that fits into that category. in 2017-2019, the team's championship was won by another team than the team of the driver who took the driver's title. in those years, the drivers of other teams were just more consistent i guess. in 2020 and 2021, prema had two good years with two drivers who constantly were in the top of the points. in 2022, felipe drugovich was very dominant and only finished out of the points twice. and in 2023, it was a very close fight between the art gp drivers and the prema drivers, but the art gp drivers were more consistent.

i made a quick lil summary of the seasons since f2 (the version we have today) started, feel free to skip it if you want to;

2017 - charles leclerc won the driver's championship, driving for prema, but prema lost the team's championship to russian time (now virtuosi racing) as their drivers came 2nd and 4th in the championship (charles's teammate came 8th).

2018 - george russell took the win in the driver's championship, but his team, art gp, lost the team's championship to carlin (lando's team).

2019 - nyck de vries took the most points, giving art gp their second consecutive driver's title, but the team only came third in the driver's standings with 277 points, since his teammate nikita mazepin only scored 11 points all season. dams scored 418 points and their drivers came in second and fourth in the standings.

2020 - prema took the title, after having come second to last in the 2019 team's championship. mick schumacher won the driver's championship, but only 14 points ahead of virtuosi driver callum ilott. mick and robert shwartzman scored a total of 392 points for prema, while callum and teammate zhou guanyu took home 352.5 points for virtuosi.

2021 - oscar's year <3 in 2021, the team's championship wasn't really that exciting; oscar took 252.5 points, robert (who came second) took 192, for a total of 444.5 points for prema. the second best team, virtuosi, scored 288 in total.

2022 - felipe drugovich was quite dominant, scoring over 100 points more than second-place theo pourchaire (265 points vs 164). his teammate in mp motorsport, clement novalak, came in 14th with a total of 40 points – but without those 40 points, mp would've finished third in the championship instead of first. carlin and art gp were 8 and 24 points behind the team, respectively.

2023 - well, i don't wanna say too much about this season because if i start i think i might not ever finish. but i think you could say that all four drivers (theo pourchaire, frederik vesti, victor martins and ollie bearman, finishing in that order in the standings) of the top two teams (art gp and prema) all showed great pace all season. art gp took only two race wins throughout the season, whereas prema took ten. fred and ollie were extremely unlucky at times, though, and i'm not sure if it's because of the team or truly just bad luck. though, fred losing both of his rear tyres was definitely the team's fault... but other drivers had good pace too, like jack doohan and ayumu iwasa who finished 3rd and 4th, while their teammates finished 15th and 20th in the total standings.

hope this wasn't too long and i wasn't too confusing.... feel free to stop by if you have any other questions or anything love!! 💓

[ingek73]

Scobie: Princess Kate’s Early Years work is ineffectual because of her ‘limitations’

February 02, 2023

By Kaiser

It’s been Keen Early Years Week, where the Princess of Wales has launched yet another awareness-raising campaign centered on Kate going around, telling people that the early years are important. Shaping Us is no different than the Five Big Questions, which was no different from Big Change Starts Small (rip to that initiative). None of these “campaigns” are any different and none of them actually does something substantive. It’s all white noise, gurning, wiglets and gloss. It’s Kate preening for the cameras and telling everyone that she’s a credible expert and a big girl doing important work! As I said, we’re past the point where Kate is a chaotic neutral – the messaging has gotten harmful. Even credible childhood development experts are coming out and saying that Kate’s fluff is dumb and unimportant, that these resources should be focused on actually solving very real problems for kids. All of this and more made it into Omid Scobie’s latest Yahoo UK column – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Kate’s 2012 ‘listening and learning’ charity visits: Chatting with her press secretary at the time, I was told how the duchess’s “keen interest” in childhood development will likely lead to projects focused on supporting the young. A month earlier she had also taken on a patronage with Action on Addiction, a charity working with those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and the children affected by it. “Right now she is listening and learning… in the future she hopes to find practical ways to contribute,” the palace aide explained.

All of Kate’s sound and keenery, signifying nothing: It’s an extremely important subject. But after 12 years of work, the goods being delivered right now feel light. Some within the early years sector have already voiced frustrations. “We are well accustomed to MPs and royalty visiting early years settings, praising the invaluable work of practitioners… but nothing is done,” a statement from the Practitioners of the Early Years Sector group says. “The time has long passed for ‘awareness’. We need action – long-term investment and funding in the early years.”

Kate’s big-girl problem: And this is where the Princess of Wales will no doubt find herself stuck. Because while elevating the importance of helping children in their first five years of life to thrive is certainly necessary, there are very few options available to Kate when it comes to actually helping solve the main issue at the heart of Britain’s early years crisis – funding. Budgets for preventative services for children in the country have been slashed by more than £400m since 2015 . And 4,000 early childcare providers have shut down in the last year alone due to chronic underfunding.

More slashes to the social safety net: Cuts have also seen the closures of children’s centres nationwide, despite the fact they help prevent more serious social services intervention at later stages in childhood. Britain’s social care system, which is already on its knees, estimates that over 15,000 young people will be taken into care over the next three years. As the country falls deeper into its cost of living crisis, and childcare providers raise prices due to funding pressures, is Kate’s awareness project really able to do much at all?

Ineffective royal work: If anything, Shaping Us exposes the ineffectiveness that the Royal Family’s charity work can have. Because it is almost impossible to make an impact in this field, or even usher in the smallest of change, without considering all the social factors that have an impact on early development. And that cannot be done without stepping into policy or politics — the one thing Kate can’t do as a working member of the Royal Family.

The Art Room disaster: Two years ago The Art Room charity Kate first visited in 2012 shut down its facilities for good after it became no longer financially sustainable. Shrinking school budgets from the government were to blame, and while Kate was able to shine a light on their work through the odd royal engagement, her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going.

The third landmark announcement: This week’s awareness drive launch is the third “landmark” announcement by the Princess of Wales on this topic in as many years. The message is essential, and she makes a serious case, but no matter how many versions of it we hear, Kate’s hope and a wish are unlikely to bring the necessary solutions. Given that Kensington Palace says this is her “life’s work”, I hope she can eventually prove me wrong.

[From Yahoo UK]

While I know what Scobie is doing here – and god knows, he has his own set of limitations as part of the royal press pack – it would be interesting if he actually came out and said it. Like, he’s going too far to half-way excuse Kate here: “while Kate was able to shine a light on their work through the odd royal engagement, her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going.” Kate could easily brush off the shackles of her royal patron “limitations” if she wanted to. She could have hosted fundraisers for the Art Room, she could have used her staff to come up with some kind of scheme to raise money online by selling the students’ art, she could have done a lot more than she did. It wasn’t because of the limitations of the royal role, it was because Kate is lazy, dull and unimaginative.

THAT is the larger problem – while the royal-patronage system is deeply flawed, all of these people could do a lot more without being called “political.” And seriously, if the point of Kate’s dumbf–k Early Years campaign is to raise awareness of just how basic and fundamental it is to give children a head start in life, why is that political? That’s the argument she could make, if she had two brain cells to rub together. “All kids need access to nursery schools and Head Start programs” is only a political hot potato if you think poor children don’t deserve to be nurtured.

-

" her limitations as a royal patron meant that she would never be able to lobby to keep it going."

Complete nonsense. Meghan would have found a way.

Kate really is a useless waste of space. Who just loves to pose. And copy Meghan's outfits.

[selloldmobile]

Realme C67 5G Price, Full Specifications

realme C67 5G Price in India

realme C67 5G price in India is expected to be ₹ 12,490, and the launch date is speculated to be December 14, 2023. The mobile is expected to be available in multiple colour options.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme is poised to make waves in the budget smartphone market with the launch of its highly anticipated Realme C67 5G. The unveiling event is scheduled for today at 12:00 noon, promising a host of features that cater to the modern smartphone user. The event will be live-streamed on Realme's official YouTube channel, offering enthusiasts a firsthand look at the device's capabilities.

 Display:

The Realme C67 5G is rumored to boast a spacious 6.72-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD display. With a peak brightness of 680 nits and support for a 120Hz refresh rate, users can expect vibrant visuals and smooth interactions, whether gaming, streaming, or browsing.

Processing Power:

The smartphone is anticipated to be powered by the 7nm MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset. This, coupled with the Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, ensures optimal performance for graphics-intensive tasks, promising a seamless user experience.

Camera Capabilities:

The Realme C67 is speculated to feature a dual-camera setup, including a 50 MP main camera for capturing detailed and high-resolution images. Complementing this, a 2 MP macro camera is expected to add versatility to the photography experience. On the front, users can anticipate an 8 MP camera designed to deliver stunning selfies.

Software and User Interface:

Running on Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13, the device is likely to offer a smooth and intuitive user interface. Users can expect the latest features and enhancements that come with the Android 13 operating system, providing a modern and up-to-date experience.

Storage Variants:

Realme is expected to offer the Realme C67 5G in two storage configurations - 8GB RAM paired with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. This flexibility ensures that users can choose a variant that aligns with their storage needs and budget constraints.

Battery and Fast Charging:

Powering the Realme C67 5G is a robust 5,000 mAh battery, providing ample juice to keep the device running throughout the day. Additionally, the smartphone is set to support 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging via a wired charger, ensuring quick and efficient charging when needed.

Disclaimer: Specifications shown may be different from the actual product. We cannot guarantee that the information provided on this page is 100% correct. Please check with the retailer before purchasing. and you have old mobile phone then sell your old Realme Mobile Phone or any other Smartphone at RecycleDevice for good exchange value.

[feckcops]

After raising the pension age, Emmanuel Macron is planning “unprecedented austerity”

“The cuts represent an acceleration of an austerity campaign that Macron has been pursuing since he was elected. At a rally against the cost of living last November, France Insoumise MP Marianne Maximi, who represents a district in Puy-de-Dôme, in central France, had already denounced the 2023 budget as ‘a large return of austerity in our country.’

“‘The result,’ Maximi said, ‘is €11 billion in budget cuts ... It’s the second-most austerian budget in the past two decades.’ What this meant concretely, Maximi explained, was a major negative impact on local services: school cafeterias, libraries, public pools, and heating in schools. ‘Children are cold, and they will continue to be,’ she said …

“Berr thinks that Le Maire’s announcement [that the 2024 budget would ‘represent several billion euros in savings’] is meant to reassure finance that, in the face of the current social movements, France’s government will ‘stay the course.’ That course, he said, means ‘lowering taxes, reducing the public deficit . . . [and] reducing public spending.’

“Part of sending that signal, Berr says, could be a whole raft of laws on the way, including one being prepared by the minister of labor to change the employment market, or another targeting unemployment insurance.

“It’s all part of a long-running ideological project by Macron and the EU ‘to restrain state action,’ Berr says.”

[f1]

F1 Academy announces the five teams entering 2023-2025 seasons

The all-women F1 Academy series has confirmed the team line-up for the inaugural campaign in 2023. Five veteran outfits in junior categories have confirmed their entries for next year with ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Carlin, MP Motorsport and PREMA Racing fielding three cars each to comprise the 15-car grid. READ MORE: Formula 1 announces F1 Academy, a new all-female driver series for 2023 Each team has an established history in junior racing including the Formula 2 and Formula 3 Championships and will now add the all-women driver category to their motorsport setup from next year. MP Motorsport claimed the F2 Teams’ and Drivers’ Championship double with Felipe Drugovich in 2022. ART Grand Prix took Victor Martins to the F3 Drivers’ Championship this season while PREMA Racing won their third F3 Teams’ title in 2022. Carlin helped Logan Sargeant graduate from F2 to a 2023 Williams Formula 1 seat, and Campos Racing secured the Spanish F4 title this season. F1 Academy focuses on young women drivers emerging in the junior ranks and aiding them in progressing to the higher levels of single seater racing such as W Series, F3, F2 and F1. The series will subsidise the costs of each car with a €150,000 contribution each driver will match while the teams cover the rest of the budget. It means that the series will position itself as a more affordable option versus comparable series. The first season will include seven events and with such experienced teams forming the ’23 line up, the drivers will gain vital experience both in and out of the car, helping each achieve their full potential. Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “It is exciting to be able to announce the five teams that will be racing in the F1 Academy for next year and who will be providing this fantastic opportunity to the young and talented women to begin their journey into competitive motorsport. “We believe it is important that everyone has the chance to follow their ambitions and get the support and guidance needed to progress and excel. The F1 Academy is an important part of our plan to increase diversity and representation in motorsport and we are looking forward to the first season in 2023 and stay tuned for more news in this area.” READ MORE: Aurelia Nobels seals Ferrari Academy slot and F4 seat after winning Girls On Track – Rising Stars programme General Manager of the F1 Academy Bruno Michel added: “I am very pleased to reveal the five teams entering the F1 Academy for the next three-year cycle, starting from 2023. We know them very well and we have been collaborating with each one for many years. “They are well-known for their experience and expertise in nurturing and developing young drivers. I fully trust that they will give the drivers competing in the F1 Academy the keys to grow technically, and that they will help them with the physical and mental preparations for the journey ahead.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[sa7abnews]

Bank of England reduces interest rates to 5%, as growth forecasts are upgraded

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/bank-of-england-reduces-interest-rates-to-5-as-growth-forecasts-are-upgraded/

Bank of England reduces interest rates to 5%, as growth forecasts are upgraded

The Bank of England has this lunchtime reduced interest rates for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic, dropping its core base rate by 0.25% from 5.25% to 5.0%. Interest rates had previously risen steadily, doing so on 14 separate occasions from 0.1% in October 2021 to 5.25% in the spring of 2023, a level at which they had previously remained for over a year. This lunchtime’s announcement was believed to be in the balance and in the end the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted narrowly by 5 votes to 4 for a rate cut.    The Bank’s Governor, Andrew Bailey, cast the deciding vote for an interest rate cut. As part of today’s announcement the Bank of England has also raised its annual growth forecast for the UK economy from 0.5% to 1.25%. Today’s announcement will be welcomed by mortgage holders, with some 560,000 UK households said to be set to refinance a fixed mortgage between now and the end of 2024.  For the 1.2 million UK households who currently have a ‘tracker’ mortgage, today’s announcement will equate to an average saving of just under £400 per year. Reacting to the Bank’s decision, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves commented, “The cut in interest rates will be welcome news, but millions are still facing higher mortgage rates after the disastrous mini-budget”. The former Chancellor, and now Shadow Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt also welcomed today’s announcement.  Suggesting that the new Labour government had inherited an economy that was on ‘the right track’, Mr Hunt said, “In government, we took difficult decisions that cut inflation from 11.1 per cent to the Bank’s target 2.0 per cent, paving the way for lower rates”. With two thirds of sitting Conservative MPs having been defeated in last month’s general election, this apparent change in the trajectory of the UK economy, is likely to lead some to further question Rishi Sunak’s decision to call this year’s electoral contest as early as he did. The Building Societies Association (BSA) has welcomed today’s move stating, “Today’s cut in Bank Rate marks a turning point in what has been a very difficult two and half years”. Speaking on behalf of the BSA, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy, said, “The news will be welcomed by many homeowners and aspiring first-time homebuyers. Whilst a 0.25% cut in the rate to 5%, will not have a significant impact on the overall cost of mortgage payments, it is likely to boost to consumer confidence and lead to an increase in housing market activity”. The General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Paul Nowak also welcomed today’s move, saying, “This rate cut will give relief to millions of families and businesses – and needs to be the first of many”. The extent to which interest rates now embark on a fast downward trajectory does though appear uncertain, with the CBIs deputy chief economist, Alpesh Paleja warning, “At best, there is only mixed evidence that inflation persistence has been defeated. While the labour market is loosening and wage growth slowly easing, the unexpected strength in services inflation remains a red flag” The minutes of the previous MPC meeting had expressed concern that this April’s increase in the National Living Wage was creating cost pressures for some businesses.  Greg’s the bakery chain has already commented that cost pressures were causing it to raise its prices with the chain increasing the price of its sausage roll by 5p earlier this week.   . The post Bank of England reduces interest rates to 5%, as growth forecasts are upgraded .

[head-post]

Ukraine on the brink of default, Ukrainians support US-Russia negotiations without Kyiv

Kyiv is on the verge of default, hoping for another financial aid package to cover the hole in its budget, which is corroded by military spending and corruption.

Ukraine is on the brink of default

Ukraine’s commercial debt to creditors is $20bn, and the country’s government has already effectively defaulted, although it has not yet been officially declared, Verkhovna Rada MP Nina Yuzhanina said.

Yuzhanina said on air of the Ukrainian TV channel “Novyny.LIVE”:

We have a problem just with the commercial debt, which is nothing less than $20 billion. default, in fact, we already have – it is in fact there, but de jure it is not.

According to her, the Rada is checking the possible reaction of citizens to the official announcement of the country’s insolvency, for this purpose the government is discussing tax increases in Ukraine, although there is no direct indication of an increase yet. Kyiv does not dare to discuss the default publicly yet because it realises that society and business may react negatively to the lack of funds for settlements with Ukraine’s creditors.

Yuzhanina also noted that there is a big difference in the incomes of citizens in the country: some of them have very high salaries, but at the same time over 50 per cent of Ukrainians live below the poverty line and will not be able to support the state or the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

Ukraine received $2.2bn from IMF – Ukrainian PM

Kyiv received the next tranche from the IMF in the amount of $2.2 billion under the programme for 2023-2027 in the amount of almost $ 16 billion, Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal reported in his Telegram-channel.

“The transferred amount will help the government in financing critical budget expenditures, social benefits, salaries of medics and teachers,” he wrote.

The agreement on the allocation of this tranche to Ukraine was reached in February. At that time, the IMF expressed the opinion that the country was experiencing positive dynamics of strong economic growth. However, the organisation admitted that the forecast for the Ukrainian economy’s development for the current year remains very uncertain.

Ukrainians support the US-Russia negotiations without Kyiv’s participation

A poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) showed that 47 per cent of Ukrainians were in favour of such an option of direct negotiations without the participation of Ukrainian representatives. 49 per cent were against it.

Also, 45 per cent of respondents agreed to territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for “freedom of choice” on the issue of joining the EU and NATO. 26 per cent of Ukrainians would prefer to return Ukraine’s 1991 borders and agree to the country’s neutral status.

Read more HERE

[olko71]

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on https://yaroreviews.info/2024/02/budget-2024-when-it-is-and-what-will-it-mean-for-my-money

Budget 2024: When it is and what will it mean for my money?

Getty Images

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his 2024 spring Budget on Wednesday 6 March.

He will say how much money the government plans to take in taxes, and what it will spend it on.

This spring there is a lot of focus on whether he will cut taxes ahead of the election.

What is the Budget?

Each year, the chancellor of the exchequer – who is in charge of the government’s finances – makes a Budget statement to MPs in the House of Commons.

The speech outlines the government’s plans for raising or lowering taxes. The Budget also includes big decisions on spending on health, schools, police and other public services.

The Treasury publishes a report alongside the Budget, which sets out further details about the measures announced, and what they will cost.

After the statement, MPs will spend several days debating the Budget.

They will then be asked to approve the tax proposals, and the government will introduce a Finance Bill to turn the Budget proposals into law.

How the government raises and spends £1 trillion a year

Autumn Statement 2023: Key points

Budget 2023: Key points

When is the 2024 Budget?

The 2024 spring Budget is on Wednesday, 6 March.

The speech usually starts at about 12:30 UK time and lasts about an hour. It will be broadcast live on the BBC iPlayer and on the BBC news website.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will give his response to the Budget as soon as Mr Hunt sits down.

After the speech, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – which monitors government spending – will publish an independent assessment of how the economy is doing.

Who is Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor?

How is the UK economy doing?

At the end of last year, the economy was in recession. That means it contracted, rather than grew, between July and September and then shrank again between October and December.

But it was a shallow recession, meaning economic output did not suffer a sharp, deep fall, which would have put more businesses at risk and people out of work. And the Bank of England’s governor has said he does not think the country is still in recession.

Even if the economy is growing again, many people are still feeling the pinch, after two years of rising prices.

Growth for the whole of last year was just 0.1% – although figures measuring the size of the economy can be revised upwards or downwards several months later.

What is a recession and how could it affect me?

How does government borrowing work?

How will the UK economy compare to others in 2024?

What could be in the Budget?

The government has hinted that it wants to cut taxes. But it has also tried to manage expectations by suggesting there may not be enough money to make big changes.

Recent figures on government borrowing suggest he could have a few billion pounds to play with, but only because some tax rises have already been accounted for.

National Insurance rates

The big headline-grabber would be a cut to the basic rate of income tax.

Cutting it by 1p would cost £7bn, according to the Resolution Foundation – an independent think-tank focused on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes.

Or, the government could spend the same amount cancelling the personal allowance freeze. Allowing the threshold of when you start paying income tax to rise in line with inflation would mean lots of people paying less tax.

National Insurance calculator: What will I pay now?

99% mortgages

According to reports in the Financial Times newspaper, the chancellor is looking at introducing 99% mortgages.

This could make it easier for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder, only needing a 1% deposit while the government acts as a partial backer.

But some experts have raised concerns that such a move would not address the need to build more homes across the UK, and owners could end up in negative equity if the value of their home goes down, where their debts are more than the value of the property.

Inheritance tax

A cut in inheritance tax has generally been described as a break for the better-off. You do not pay inheritance tax on estates worth less than £325,000.

Nevertheless, the chancellor may look at changing that threshold to reflect rising house prices and investments.

What is inheritance tax and who pays it?

Abolishing it altogether would cost £7bn, according to think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and benefit just 4% of the population.

Childcare

Childcare reforms take effect from April to expand the free sessions available to families.

But in January, the chancellor acknowledged that the High Income Child Benefit charge could be “unfair”.

Claimants currently have to pay back 1% of their family’s child benefit for every extra £100 they earn over the £50,000 threshold each financial year.

One person earning £60,000 wouldn’t get any child benefit under the current rules, while a dual-income family with two parents earning £50,000 would receive the full amount.

The chancellor may decide to raise the threshold at which this applies.

How does 15 hours and 30 free hours childcare work?

Fuel duty

Fuel duty has been frozen since 2011, making it hard to take the brake off now.

But a 5p fuel duty increase has been pencilled in for later in March.

The Resolution Foundation calculates scrapping it would cost £2bn next year.

Holiday lets

The government has already said it is clamping down on holiday lets.

We may hear more about new controls on holiday lets in England, which will be introduced in the summer to stop local people from being unable to afford living in their own community.

The changes mean people may need to seek permission from the council to turn their home into a short-term let.

Does the Budget affect all parts of the UK?

Some parts of the Budget, such as defence spending, affect the whole of the UK.

Others, such as education, only affect England. This is because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make their own decisions on this policy area.

Scotland has income tax-raising powers, which means its rates differ from the rest of the UK.

The Scottish government set out its budget for the 2024-2025 tax year in December.

From April, those earning between £75,000 and £125,140 in Scotland will pay a new “advanced” rate of 45%, and the top rate of tax is increasing to 48%.

If the government announces extra spending on areas that only affect England, the other nations get an equivalent extra sum of money to spend as they choose, according to a rule called the Barnett formula.

Related Topics

HM Treasury

Economics

UK taxes

Cost of Living

UK economy

Jeremy Hunt

More on this story

Budget to be held on 6 March, says Treasury

27 December 2023

[mariacallous]

Bulgaria’s new caretaker Prime Minister, Dimitar Glavchev, announced on Friday his projected expert cabinet, which will take the reins after the uneasy coalition between We Continue the Change / Democratic Bulgaria and GERB / United Democratic Forces collapsed. 

Four ministers from the 2023-2024 cabinet will remain in post, including Kalin Stoyanov as Interior Minister, which created frustration among the ranks of We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria. 

Stoyanov, who between 2021-2023 was investigated for trying to persuade a prosecutor to violate her official duty in connection with the administration of justice, was criticised for inaction on police violence during football riots in Sofia last November and is seen as a protector of GERB’s legacy.

“The choice of Stoyanov is outrageous and offensive, a poor attempt to cover up the various dependencies in this cabinet,” said WCC leader and 2021-2022 PM Kiril Petkov.

He sees Glavchev’s interim government as one that may pave the way to another election victory by GERB and won’t act on vote-buying and fraud. In protest, Petkov and his allies left the Presidency upon the announcement. The Ministry of Interior issued a statement sayimg Petkov’s claims were “unfair to thousands of policemen”. 

In contrast, GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms welcomed Glavchev’s choices.

Among the ministerial nominations that also sparked crossfires are Evtim Miloshev, a TV producer now entering politics as Minister of Tourism, and Vladimir Malinov, Bulgartransgaz CEO and one of the main figures behind the controversial TurkStream pipeline, seen as a key element in Russia’s energy geopolitics. He is now Minister of Energy.

The situation rewinds the troubled relations between GERB/UDF and WCC/DB back to the their original divisions before the outgoing coalition was established.

On Friday, President Radev also stated that the next general elections will be on June 9, along with the polls for the European parliament. 

Glavchev was born in 1963 in Sofia and his professional experience is mainly within accounting .In 2009 he was Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance and an MP as part of Boyko Borissov’s GERB government from 2009 to 2021.

Between April and November 2017, he was Speaker of parliament. He resigned over a row with the leader of Bulgarian Socialist Party Korneliya Ninova. Glavchev tried to send her out of parliament after she read out a declaration attacking the governance of then-PM Borissov.

Glavchev left GERB in 2023 to become Head of the Chamber of Audit. He was chosen for the post with wide support from the now outgoing coalition.

Glavchev received the PM’s mandate last Saturday from President Radev and was chosen in line with recent amendments to the constitution made by the outgoing coalition. Under them, the President can no longer just form a cabinet on his own but has to choose between the Chairman of the National Assembly, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the National Bank, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Audit Office, or the Ombudsman or their deputies.

The coalition passed the amendments in an effort to limit the powers of the President, whose interim cabinets tended to be handpicked in accordance with his pro-Moscow tilt. 

Glavchev��s government will be the fifth caretaker cabinet in three years. Since 2021, Stefan Yanev and Galab Donev, both close to President Radev, led two cabinets each. Two short cabinets ruled for less than a year: the 2021-2022 reformist coalition of Kiril Petkov of We Continue the Change, and the 2023-2024 coalition between WCC/Democratic Bulgaria and GERB/UDF, which ended after the two blocs failed implement an agreed rotation of power between them.

[beardedmrbean]

March 14 (UPI) -- Britain may follow the United States, European Union and Canada in banning TikTok from government phones, according to the country's security minister who is looking at possible security risks posed by the Chinese-owned app.

Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat said Tuesday that he had asked the National Cyber Security Center to look into TikTok saying it was "absolutely essential" to keep Britain's "diplomatic processes free and safe".

"We need to make sure our phones are not spyware. Understanding exactly what the challenges that these apps pose, what they are asking for and how they're reaching into our lives is incredibly important," he said.

"What certainly clear is that, for many young people, TikTok is now a news source. And just as is quite right that we know who owns the news sources in the U.K. ... it's important that we know who owns news sources that are feeding into our phones."

RELATEDCanadian government bans TikTok from all devices

Tugendhat, an army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, did not rule out banning it on government phones, but said he wanted to wait for the conclusions of the NCSC.

Parliament has already closed its own TikTok account after MPs raised concerns about security last year.

Tuesday's announcement came one day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain would look at the bans the United States, EU and Canada had implemented for government phones.

RELATEDWhite House gives agencies 30 days to purge TikTok from gov't devices

TikTok is facing intense scrutiny from Western governments over security and data privacy worries amid fears the app could be used to collect and pass on user data to Beijing or promote a pro-China agenda.

The company denies allegations that it transfers data to the Chinese government and insists it operates no differently than other social media platforms.

The EU Commission and more than half of U.S. states have already introduced a ban over concerns around potential cyber-attacks.

RELATEDCongress to grill TikTok on list of concerns from spying to child safety

In a Feb. 27 memo, the White House's Office of Management and Budget gave federal agencies 30 days to delete TikTok from staff and contractors' work devices.

The U.S. Senate passed legislation in December banning TikTok from government-issued devices. The No TikTok on Government Devices Act by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was passed by unanimous consent, sending it on to the House for approval.

President Joe Biden signed it into law Dec. 29 as part of the federal government's fiscal 2023 spending bill.

Last month, the European Commission ordered its 32,000 staff to remove the TikTok app from devices as soon as possible and no later than March 15.

A 2020 attempt by President Donald Trump to introduce an outright ban was later blocked in the courts.

[techbd4]

Tecno Spark Go 2024

Let’s get something clear first. Tecno Spark Go 2024 was released at the end of November 2023, but Tecno is calling it 2024 model. There’s just about one month left till we reach the year 2024, so it’s not a big deal. The phone is running on Android T Go version. You may wonder what is “Android T”? Well, T stands for the Italian dessert “Tiramisu” which is the internal codename of Android 13. You’d think why Tecno didn’t just say Android 13? It’s probably because Android 14 version was already released in October and the 13 version is one year older but who knows.

It comes with the latest type of design, but it has already become common in the lower budget segment. Some other brands recently released phones with a very similar design. It’s a bit of an iPhone clone, especially with the rear camera structure as well as the Dynamic Port on the front. Even the Tecno Spark 20C comes with the exact same design but with a bit of different specification. The screen is a 6.6-inch punch-hole HD+ 90Hz one and that is up to the mark.

The 13 MP primary camera may not be extraordinary but it should be satisfactory, especially with its f/1.8 aperture and Dual LED flash. The 8 MP selfie shooter also has the same amount of flashes. There is a 10W charger for its 5000 mAh battery, which is a little disappointing. Some of you would definitely want an 18W charger. It is still not unfair to get 10W for this cost. It may take you 3+ hours to fully charge the battery. The phone packs a 12 nm Unisoc T606 chipset which is adequate for low-budget gaming. 4 GB RAM with 4 GB virtual RAM is standard around this price. Overall performance is satisfactory here. We are getting 64 GB internal storage. You can use the external memory card slot to additionally extend it up to 1 TB. There are dual stereo speakers, 400% volume and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor which are of benefit.