untitled goose game

Tusk’s party names Warsaw mayor as presidential candidate

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday said that all sectors would have to contribute towards increasing the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio, adding that the salaried class were at their limit and could not contribute anymore. The finance minister has repeatedly underscored the need for strict enforcement of tax laws amid plans for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to undergo full digitalisation to reduce human interaction and enhance efficiency. FBR’s performance will be reviewed as part of the tax transformation plan, and the second phase of “rightsizing” is expected soon. While speaking to the business community in Kamali, the finance minister said, “And they are certain segments that need to pay taxes and they will have to pay taxes now, he said. He added that every single segment in this country will have to contribute because Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio was only 9 to 10 per cent while neighbouring countries had it around 18pc. He added that the government had only talked about reaching 13pc. “Then people say that your institution is very corrupt, that your institution harasses people — which is correct,” he admitted, adding that it was important to acknowledge the problem to start working on it. “So we are tackling the issue with people-processed technology. The more technology comes, the less the human intervention,” he stressed. On privatisation, the finance minister said that the government needed to play the role of a regulatory body rather than controlling businesses. “I don’t know if there are any Passco people here but it is the most corrupt institution. That is why the prime minister has said that it needs to be closed and that is how we are taking it forward,” he said. The minister added that there was a need to keep a “strategic reserve” but questioned whether it should be within the government. “I am very clear as finance minister that we need to bring as many things towards the private sector — provided it is all regulated, God willing, so there are no monopolies,” he said. He noted the poor standard of government research institutes, “All this research, where is it? Where are we in terms of the research? Why hasn’t that delivered results?” he rhetorically asked, “Because when I looked at the research institutes, 80 to 90pc [of the funds] of it are going into salaries.” He said that 10pc of it should be going into salaries and 80pc into research, public-private partnerships and other universities. “As far as I’m concerned, I am very clear all the institutions should be closed. Private sector people like you should come forward.” He went on to say that there was nothing to show from “institutions such as higher education commission with its 270 universities”, noting their high current expenditure and development expenditure. “What do we have to show? Where are the people that we are producing? The boys and girls, what is their calibre that on whose basis we need to take the country forward?” he asked. On a positive note, Aurangzeb noted that the inflation had reached nearly 5pc, with the interest rate down to 13pc. “These are all the things that indicate that the wheel of the economy has started moving and I would be the last person to say that we have achieved whatever we said — however, in the last six months the macroeconomic stability which makes the foundation is there so that we can achieve sustainable growth,” he said. However, he cautioned that the country was still an “import-led economy” and it was critical to ensure that they headed towards export-led growth, adding that they had created the foundation where in 2025 they could head towards sustainable growth.Luanda (Angola), Dec 3 (AP) Speaking of “our nation's original sin,” President Joe Biden on Tuesday toured a slavery museum in Angola and inspected shackles and a whip but also addressed Africa's future, saying Africans will make up one in four people by 2050 and the world's fate rests in their hands. Biden's visit, the first to Angola by a US president, is meant to promote billions of dollars of commitments to the sub-Saharan African nation for what he called the largest ever US rail investment overseas. “The United States is all in on Africa," Biden earlier Tuesday told Angolan President João Lourenço, who called Biden's visit a key turning point in US-Angola relations dating back to the Cold War. But even as the trip was meant to counter China's influence on the African continent of over 1.4 billion people by showcasing a US commitment of $3 billion for the Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment linking Zambia, Congo and Angola, China announced its own move. The corridor across southern Africa is meant to make it easier to ship raw materials for export and advance the US presence in a region rich in critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies. China already has heavy investments in mining and processing African minerals, and on Tuesday it announced it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other high-tech materials. It came a day after the US expanded its list of Chinese technology companies subject to controls. The US for years has built relations in Africa through trade, security and humanitarian aid. The 800-mile railway upgrade is different, with shades of China's Belt and Road infrastructure strategy in Africa and other parts of the world. Biden will visit the coastal city of Lobito on Wednesday for a look at the corridor's Atlantic Ocean outlet. The project also has drawn financing from the European Union, the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations, a Western-led private consortium and African banks. It was not clear how much of the US commitments had been delivered and how much will depend on the Trump administration. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the corridor's completion is “going to take years.” That means much of it may fall to Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan 20. Asked whether the project could proceed without Trump's support, Kirby said the Biden administration's hopes "that they see the value too”. Kirby also insisted that the corridor was about more than simply trying to outpace Beijing, saying that “we're not asking countries to choose between us and Russia and China". One Angolan, 19-year-old Ladislau Ngola, called Biden's visit “very important for our country as the Lobito Corridor will create lots of jobs for young people.” Julião Oliveira said "Africa in general" would benefit, too. The rainy streets of the capital, Luanda, had a heavy military presence but few civilians — a striking change from Biden's arrival on Monday, when cheering onlookers lined his route. Authorities on Tuesday encouraged people downtown to stay home. As the motorcade passed through outer neighbourhoods, crowds waved from rooftops or intersections. Biden and Lourenco briefly addressed reporters before a closed-door meeting. Biden ignored questions about his decision to issue a pardon for his son after previously pledging not to, and joked to the Angolan delegation, “Welcome to America”. He also told Lourenco while pledging to use the trip to listen: “We don't think, because we're bigger and more powerful, that we're smarter. We don't think we have all the answers." Angola's president said he'd like to see a public-private partnership to increase energy production, and praised Biden's leadership on the Lobito Corridor, saying it would “always be remembered." After the meeting, a senior US administration official said China didn't come up. The official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a meeting that was not public, also said Biden's visit to Lobito will be joined by the presidents of Zambia and Congo. Biden had promised to visit sub-Saharan Africa last year, after reviving the US-Africa Summit in 2022. But the trip was delayed until this year, reinforcing a sentiment among Africans that their continent is still a low priority for Washington. The last US president to visit sub-Saharan Africa was Barack Obama in 2015. Biden toured Angola's National Slavery Museum at a site that was formerly the headquarters of the Capela da Casa Grande. The 17th century temple is where slaves were baptised against their will, with their names changed, before boarding ships to America. Angola was the departure point for an estimated 6 million enslaved people, the White House said. Looking ahead, “I know the future runs through Angola, through Africa,” Biden said. Speaking by the water, he said history “cannot and should not be erased," and that while America was founded on the ideal of freedom and equality, “it's abundantly clear today we have not lived up to that ideal". (AP) SCY SCY (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)

Rental Housing Market Update: Policies in Multiple Regions Aid in Minor Recovery

Several factors have contributed to the market's strong rebound today. Firstly, positive macroeconomic indicators, such as better-than-expected GDP growth and industrial production data, have injected fresh optimism into the market. China's economy, despite facing challenges, has shown resilience and adaptability, which is being reflected in the stock market performance.The exact nature of the potential fine facing NVIDIA has not been disclosed, but reports suggest that it could be substantial. The company, known for its innovation in AI, data centers, and autonomous vehicles, may need to navigate a challenging regulatory landscape as it continues to expand its presence in China.

Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78

Croatia's president wins election, exit poll shows

The final whistle blew, and Village FC emerged victorious, defeating Real Madrid in a historic match. The players were ecstatic, celebrating their incredible achievement with tears of joy and disbelief. The villagers erupted in cheers and applause, hugging each other in sheer happiness.Big strides in key areas of economy seen

Singapore’s port handles record of over 40 million shipping containers in 2024The Israeli airstrikes have not only impacted the military dynamics on the ground but have also raised concerns about the humanitarian situation in Syria. The conflict in Syria has already resulted in widespread devastation, displacement, and suffering for millions of civilians. The escalation of violence from external actors like Israel only adds to the complexities and challenges facing the Syrian people.None

In conclusion, the recent admissions of exhaustion from high-profile figures like Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola serve as a reminder of the intense nature of the English Premier League. As one of the most competitive and physically demanding leagues in the world, the Premier League can take a toll on its participants, leading to burnout and fatigue. It is crucial for clubs, players, and managers to prioritize the health and well-being of all individuals involved, creating a supportive and nurturing environment that promotes long-term success and sustainability in the league. Only by addressing the challenges of the intense nature of the Premier League can we ensure a bright future for the beautiful game.In the end, the story of Yang Niuhua stood as a testament to the power of belief, the resilience of the human heart, and the unwavering faith in the face of insurmountable challenges. Her journey was far from over, but in that moment, as she faced the judgment with unwavering resolve, she stood as a beacon of hope and inspiration for all who witnessed her bravery.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened a meeting to analyze and study the economic work for the year 2025, aiming to implement more proactive and dynamic macroeconomic policies. The meeting, chaired by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, emphasized the importance of addressing challenges and opportunities in the global economic landscape, as well as promoting sustainable and high-quality economic development within China.Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 4,603 Shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

"We would like to confirm that the fire incident at our data center has been successfully contained, and all individuals have been safely evacuated. We can also confirm that our cloud services remain operational, and we are working diligently to address any potential disruptions that may arise as a result of this incident," the official spokesperson for Alibaba Cloud stated.

It was a day of celebration as Riverside Elementary in Coral Springs unveiled a much-anticipated renovation to the school library, showing it was finally getting some return from the decade-old $800 million bond referendum. The media center now had new paint, flooring and furniture. Colorful tables and cushioned chairs replaced the old wooden furniture that had been there since the school opened in 1987. The renovation was part of an overall $2 million investment in the school that also included restroom renovations, air conditioning and roofing upgrades and a new fire alarm system. “Media centers are often the heart of a school and serve as a hub for learning,” School Board Chairwoman Debbi Hixon said at the Dec. 12 ribbon-cutting. “Within these walls, incredible, exceptional, educational experiences will be able to take place.” But Hixon and others attending the Riverside event told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that as excited as they were about the renovation, it highlighted a problem. A modest renovation that was planned to cost $1 million and be complete in 2020 cost twice that and forced students and parents to wait for years. “There were a lot of questions from parents,” said Lisa Ivanik-Geller, the longtime media specialist at Riverside. “It’s been many years since they said it was going to happen. But it finally did.” It’s a story that’s far from unique to Riverside. Broward school officials poorly managed the $800 million bond referendum that voters approved in November 2014 to provide much-needed upgrades to schools, forcing many students to learn in leaky, moldy and uncomfortable conditions for years, according to audits, investigations and a statewide grand jury report. While the bond program has produced some nice libraries, culinary labs, weight rooms, art and music rooms and classroom additions, those have often been overshadowed by years of long delays in addressing the basics, such as roofs, air conditioners and perennial flooding. Broward schools are now planning to end the program next year, while still finishing any work that was promised. “I think it’s pretty clear the program didn’t work the way it was supposed to,” said School Board member Sarah Leonardi, who was first elected in 2020. “Obviously, it has done a severe amount of damage to public trust, and I think it’s going to take a long time to repair.” The district’s bond-related work is known as the SMART program for its focus on safety, music and art, athletics, renovations and technology. It was supposed to be completed by 2021 at a cost of $1 billion (including some non-bond funding). Instead, the program has now reached the 10-year mark with less than half the work complete and a price tag of $1.7 billion, a 70% increase. Even when the work is finally complete, the district will have still have billions of capital needs, officials said. “We overpromised and underdelivered, we poorly planned how to do the work and we poorly executed the poorly planned work,” School Board member Allen Zeman, who was elected in 2022, told the Sun Sentinel. “All three of those made it end up with the unfortunate fact the SMART bond was anything but smart.” The SMART program was the focus of a statewide grand jury report, completed in 2021 and released in 2022, that concluded school administrators had mismanaged the program and misled the public for years. The same grand jury indicted three school district administrators, including then-Superintendent Robert Runcie, who was charged with perjury . He was accused of lying not about the substance of the bond but whether he was prepped about a technology contract that was partially bond funded. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is set for trial in June. He could not be reached for comment, despite attempts by phone. Issues with the bond program also led the grand jury to recommend that Gov. Ron DeSantis remove Runcie’s allies on the School Board. DeSantis removed four board members and replaced them in August 2022. The state Department of Education forced Runcie’s successor, Vickie Cartwright, to fire three administrators named negatively in the report. The School Board later fired Cartwright, in part due to what some board members felt was a lack of urgency to fix issues identified by the grand jury. (Cartwright’s firing later was rescinded , and she agreed to a mutual separation from the district.) Now many in the school district want the stench of the SMART program gone. They’ve set an official end date for the program of Oct. 31, 2025, even though they acknowledge the work won’t all be finished by then. The unfinished projects will just move over to the district’s regular capital budget. Related Articles Zeman, who asked the School Board in May 2023 to set the completion date, told the Sun Sentinel recently that imposing a deadline is getting better results. “We’ve had some systemic improvements,” he said. “It used to take 12 months on average to get a change order approved. Now it’s being done in 10 working days.” Howard Hepburn, who started as superintendent in April, said his staff is working hard to get bond projects finished. He has made what many see as an overly aggressive prediction that all but 25 of the 172 projects now under construction will be complete by Oct. 31. The remaining 25 are scheduled to be finished in 2026. “We’re an administration of high expectations,” Hepburn told the Sun Sentinel. “We know the impact of what we do every day, how it impacts our students and impacts our learning environments. We’re trying to close out 10 to 12 projects per month, minimum.” That’s a completion rate the school district has yet to come anywhere close to achieving. A Sun Sentinel analysis of Bond Oversight Reports from the past two years show that the district has closed out an average of 3.5 schools per month. The most recent report shows that for the months of July through September, the district finished five new projects, an average of 1.7 per month. “Based on that analysis, it doesn’t look good. They’ve got to really step up,” Stephen Hillberg, an engineer who chairs the Bond Oversight Committee, told the Sun Sentinel. Kimberly Burke-Mohorne, who chairs the Facilities Task Force, another district oversight committee, responded “absolutely not,” when asked whether it was realistic for the district to finish 147 projects in less than a year. School Board member Nora Rupert, whose northeast district includes many projects that are still waiting to be finished, said, “Obviously it’s not going to get done by October.” While she voted last year to support the Oct. 31, 2025, deadline, she called the decision to move unfinished projects from the SMART bond budget to the regular capital budget a “shell game.” Rupert is the only current School Board member who was on the board when the bond passed in 2014. However, the grand jury didn’t recommend she be removed, saying she had “diligently attempted to hold the superintendent and the rest of the district accountable.” Hixon, who was first elected in 2020, said the decision to end the program next year is a good one. The $800 million bond money ran out two years ago, so the district is already using other funds to pay for these projects. The district will no longer pay for a program manager, a function now handled by the consulting firm AECOM. She said it’s time to move on from the SMART program. “We won’t be stuck in the whole bond place when that’s not where the funds are coming from anymore,” she said. “We’ve still committed to finishing the projects.” The school district’s bond fatigue is a far cry from a decade ago when Runcie campaigned to put the bond referendum on the November 2014 ballot and to sell it to the public. The district had a long history of problems in its facilities department outlined by previous grand juries, and two School Board members had been arrested on ethics and corruption issues in 2009 and 2010. One pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges , while another was convicted of a state charge of misconduct in office . In a news conference in 2014, Runcie said the problems were in the past. “This is a different School Board,” Runcie said at the time. “Over the past 2 1⁄2 years, this school district and administration have worked hard to show our commitment to spend taxpayer dollars responsibly and continue to build and restore public trust and confidence in us.” What was not widely known at that time was that the district made a number of key blunders that year that it struggled to overcome. Instead of focusing the bond program on the oldest schools with the most dire needs, the district spread the program out countywide to improve its chance of passing, the grand jury report said. It resulted in newer schools like Cypress Bay in Weston and Falcon Cove Middle in Weston getting new buildings to relieve crowding, while numerous older schools got less visible improvements, like roofs and air conditioners. Instead of fully using a professional firm to survey schools to assess needs, the district decided to save money by using its own staff, many of whom lacked the skills or training to assess the condition of schools, the statewide grand jury found. The needs assessment also grossly underestimated the cost of roofs, putting them at $6 to $8 per square foot, about half of what the district had paid seven years prior. “It is difficult for us to overstate the ridiculousness of this amount,” the grand jury report stated. “That needs assessment just got everyone off on the wrong foot,” Bob Nave, senior vice president for Florida TaxWatch, a government accountability group, said in a recent interview. TaxWatch provided quarterly feedback to the Bond Oversight Committee from 2015 until it dropped out earlier this year, citing a lack of funding. The 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland brought intense scrutiny on the district, including the bond program. Media reports, including one published in The Hill based on the research of a high school journalist, revealed that the district was far behind on promised safety projects, including single points of entry to control visitor access to schools and fire alarm systems. Shortly after taking office in 2019, DeSantis commissioned a grand jury to look at safety issues as well as how districts managed voter-approved bonds. Broward quickly became the primary focus. “This is not normal. BCPS is not the first local school district to undertake a construction project of this scale. In fact, all three school districts in South Florida are currently involved in similar projects,” but without similar issues, the grand jury report stated. Since the grand jury report was released in 2022, the district has had three permanent and two temporary superintendents. There has been progress, district officials and observers said. The district has made changes to its inspections department that enabled reviews to be completed faster. The School Board now allows the superintendent to approve smaller change orders instead of them having to get on a board agenda. Some delays produced better results, school officials say. Northeast High in Oakland Park was only set to get a renovation, but after community pressure, the School Board approved a new classroom building. Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale is getting a cafeteria that wasn’t planned. C. Robert Markham Elementary in Deerfield Beach is being rebuilt instead of just renovated. Rickards Middle in Oakland Park is also being rebuilt but that’s due to a major roof collapse related to a structural failure when the school was built in the late 1960s. Zeman said the upgrades have resulted in the public getting 18% more in scope than what they approved. However, the cost increase has been about 70%. School Board members are now pondering the idea of asking voters for another bond in the future. They said they’re correcting mistakes from the past. They’ve enlisted a firm to conduct the thorough assessments of school conditions that should have been done in 2014. They’ve also entered into contracts with companies to assess roofs and structural conditions. Zeman said he wants to “beg forgiveness” from the public and ask them to give the district another chance, estimating there are still $5 billion to $6 billion in capital needs in the district. He said the district’s recent A grade is already helping to restore confidence. “I think the public will be convinced of the overwhelming need to build great schools, and we can point to systemic improvements we’ve made,” Zeman told the Sun Sentinel. He said the district should have the needed data to go to voters as soon as 2026, although he doesn’t know if other decision-makers will be ready that soon. Hixon said the district still has a lot of work to do to ensure before it can consider another bond referendum. She noted the district is in a multiyear effort to close or repurpose schools, which could affect what type of renovations are needed. “I think we would have to finish out all the (2014 bond) projects that were supposed to be done and show with different leadership, there’s a commitment to doing it right,” she said. “I would say it would be a few years before we could do that.”

(The Center Square) – Billionaire and advisor to President-elect Donald Trump Elon Musk was denied by a judge this week a $56 billion compensation package for his work as CEO of Tesla, the successful electric automaker that pioneered EV technology in the U.S. The package had been approved by more than 70% of Tesla's board of directors. A Tesla shareholder who owned just nine shares of stock in the company sued to block the 2018 compensation agreement. In addition to blocking the package this week, the judge in the case, Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, awarded the plaintiff's attorneys $345 million, which Reuters reported is “one of the largest fee awards ever in securities litigation.” The Associated Press reported that “the fee award amounts to almost exactly half the current record $688 million in legal fees awarded in 2008 in litigation stemming from the collapse of Enron.” The ruling was widely criticized as government overreach into the private sector. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARKinvest, called the ruling a "mockery." "Adding judicial insult to injury, Delaware Judge McCormick has ordered #Tesla shareholders to pay the plaintiff’s lawyers $345 million! The plaintiff owned 9 shares of $TSLA," Wood wrote on X. "McCormick is making a mockery of the sense of fairness essential to our American judicial system." Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman wrote: "This decision and the payola for lawyers is absurd. We are going to see a migration of Corporate America from Delaware." The unique compensation package was high risk, high reward. If Musk hit all of his target goals to make the company hugely successful, as he did, then he would be awarded the compensation package. If he did not hit those marks, he would receive zero dollars. Musk and Tesla vowed to appeal. McCormick first voided the pay agreement in January, saying it was unfair and that the Tesla board did not negotiate well enough with Musk. In response, a supermajority of more than 70% of Tesla shareholders voted to approve the payment package for Musk earlier this year, but again McCormick sided this week against Musk and Tesla shareholders. Musk called the ruling a form of “lawfare.” “Shareholders should control company votes, not judges,” Musk wrote on X. Many other Tesla shareholders blasted the decision and the attorney fee decision. "The lawyers, judges, and attorneys did not create net-positive shareholder value from this clownery," Alex Guichet, who said he is a Tesla employee, wrote on X. "They do not deserve a single dollar. We employees did. We supported the shareholder vote with our own yes votes too. This is wrong on so many levels." Shareholder Jeremy Goldman wrote: "The majority of the owners of the company have made their desires known and it's just crazy that a single judge can basically say haha, no. I don't really care what you want. Also pay a few hundred million for the privilege of being ignored." The plaintiff's attorneys praised the ruling. “We are pleased with Chancellor McCormick’s ruling, which declined Tesla’s invitation to inject continued uncertainty into Court proceedings and thank the Chancellor and her staff for their extraordinary hard work in overseeing this complex case,” attorneys from Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossmann, the firm representing Musk’s opponents, said in a statement. A November 2024 study published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform found tort costs amounted to $529 billion in 2022, or 2.1 percent of U.S. GDP. The study found that excessive tort costs hurt the economy. "In addition to having a substantial aggregate cost on the economy, a large portion of the total tort-related expenditures go toward litigating and defending claims and lawsuits rather than compensating claimants,” authors of the study wrote.Title: "46 RMB for 12 Bottles! 'Hei Shen Hua: Wu Kong' Co-Branded with Pepsi Cola Now Available on JD.com - Would You Buy It?"As we reflect on this disturbing incident, let it serve as a wake-up call for the tourism industry and society as a whole to prioritize the dignity, respect, and care of all individuals, especially those who are most vulnerable. Let us strive to create a world where such acts of callousness and neglect are not only condemned but eradicated, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the simple pleasures of a day trip without fear or harm.One of the primary reasons behind the anticipated change in oil prices is the ongoing geopolitical tensions in key oil-producing regions. Conflicts and instability in these regions can disrupt oil supply chains and lead to fluctuations in oil prices. Additionally, factors such as changes in global demand, supply disruptions, and economic policies of major oil-producing countries can also contribute to the volatility of oil prices.