Draft budget of the federal government Cabinet approves of high New debt

Status: 23.06.2021 12:18 p.m.

The federal government will also take on massive debts in the coming year. The cabinet approved the draft budget, which provides for new borrowing of almost 100 billion euros for 2022. The debt brake will be suspended again for this. The federal cabinet has approved the government draft for the federal budget for 2022. Once again, the approved budget is shaped by the consequences of the Corona crisis. According to the draft, the federal government wants to incur more new debts in the coming year than previously planned. A net borrowing of 99.7 billion euros is planned, as can be seen from a cabinet proposal. The high level of new borrowing is justified with additional spending as a result of the corona pandemic, for example for corporate aid and to stabilize social contributions.

Debts grow to 470 billion euros

In the benchmarks presented in March, the Ministry of Finance had expected a net borrowing of 81.5 billion euros for 2022. Tax revenues remain below pre-crisis levels. This would mean that the mountain of debt accumulated by the corona pandemic between 2020 and 2022 would grow to around 470 billion euros. However, there are now plans to increase spending on climate protection and health, for example. The federal government had already taken on billions in new debts in 2020 and 2021. The budget plans are, so to speak, subject to change, because the new Bundestag elected in autumn has to pass the budget. There could therefore still be significant changes.

Debt brake suspended again

According to the draft, the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law will also be suspended in the coming year against the background of the Corona crisis. It stipulates that the federal government may only take out new loans to a very small extent – a maximum of 0.35 percent of economic output. According to the draft, the federal government no longer wants to make use of the exemption from 2023. In the afternoon, Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to present his budget plan

Market power of Chinese companies Beijing takes on tech companies

Status: 23.06.2021 12:18 p.m.

Numerous large and valuable tech companies have emerged in China in recent years. The government did its best to promote the rise. In the meantime, however, the feel-good phase is over.

By Steffen Wurzel, ARD-Studio Shanghai A small coffee shop in Shanghai’s Jing’an business district. The shop is popular, a take-away coffee costs the equivalent of two euros, a bargain for this location. The fact that shopkeeper Wu Jialing is still worth it is because he can sell a lot of coffee within a short period of time. Customers pay by smartphone. You simply scan the QR code that is hanging next to the coffee machine. “Paying by app is incredibly fast,” says the shop owner. Serving the cash register, looking for change, washing your hands after contacting the cash register and cash – all of this is eliminated. Correspondingly more sales are possible.

Revolutionized dealing with money

The payment apps Alipay and WeChat-Pay have revolutionized the way money is handled in China within a few years. Instead of struggling with the mostly old-fashioned, complicated and sluggish state banks, most Chinese people now fully rely on the smartphone apps of the domestic fintech companies Ant and Tencent to handle their everyday financial transactions.

It is no longer just about cashless payments. The Alipay app can now also be used to take care of investments, insurance and old-age provision. That too weakens the role of the state banks. “In the area of ​​finance, China has developed from a very backward place to a global pioneer in terms of fintech,” explains Martin Chorzempa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Not only in the financial technology sector have new, powerful large corporations emerged in the country in recent years. There was also a start-up boom in other tech areas, financed partly by state and partly private venture capital.

Government rethinking corporate relationships

Whether online shopping, social media or delivery services: For years, companies such as Alibaba, Bytedance and Meituan have been able to rely on political and sometimes financial support from the government. But in the past few months the climate has changed, says Duncan Clark, head of the management consultancy BDA in the Chinese capital Beijing. “It seems that the government in China is rethinking its relationship with the big tech companies.”

Obviously, some of the big tech companies have grown too big too quickly for the communist leadership – and above all too powerful. The fact that cartel and supervisory authorities are taking action against the market power of large corporations such as Google, Amazon or Facebook is also true in Europe and the USA. But: “What makes the matter special in China are the outstanding position of the Communist Party and the tensions that exist again and again in China: Tensions between the large state corporations supervised by the CP on the one hand and the private sector on the other.” explains Clark.

Ant IPO stopped

These tensions became apparent in China over the past year. In several cases, the state and party leadership slowed down the emerging private companies. Ant, the parent company of the payment and financial services app Alipay, wanted to go public last November, for example. It would have been the largest IPO in world economic history. With him, the Chinese fintech company Ant would have collected around 30 billion euros. But two days before the equity debut in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the government surprisingly stopped the IPO. Ant does not meet certain regulations, it was announced. Further details: none. But in the following weeks it became clear that the cancellation of the Ant IPO probably came from the very top. China’s state and party leadership was apparently bothered by statements by Ant boss Ma Yun, alias Jack Ma, who said in a speech in Shanghai shortly before the planned IPO: “As far as the financial sector is concerned, we are still beginners in China. We do have Big banks – they are like big rivers. But what we mainly need are small lakes, ponds, streams and smaller rivers. ”

Open criticism crosses a red line

China’s financial system, previously dominated by large state banks, harbors risks, Ma criticized. That is unhealthy. A statement that many experts would endorse, but from the point of view of the communist leadership, the previously ubiquitous model manager had crossed a red line with his open criticism of the state banks.

The IPO of his fintech company Ant burst. Ma himself had to withdraw to a large extent from the public.

Several company directors resigned

“At first it was thought that this was all about Jack Ma because he was so open about himself, and about his company Ant,” says management consultant Clark, who has also written a book about the rise of Jack Ma. “But since then we have seen much more extensive crackdown by the authorities against large tech companies in China.”

Other prominent startup founders and tech billionaires resigned. For example, Zhang Yiming, the head of the TikTok parent company Bytedance, and Huang Zheng, who ran the emerging Chinese online shopping group Pinduoduo. The reasons for the resignations are unclear, but most industry observers believe government pressure played a role. “The Communist Party is profiting enormously from the consumption boom that all these tech companies have triggered in China,” Clark analyzes. “But this is not a one-way street. We see a certain double dependency between the CP and the tech companies: Both somehow need each other, but in the end the party says: ‘You need us more.'” It is becoming increasingly clear that China’s leadership is no longer allowing private tech companies to get away with as much as it has before. They too must submit to the Communist Party’s claim to leadership. Criticism will not be tolerated, however subtle it may be.

Lost 25 billion euros in one post

This was recently also experienced at the delivery service group Meituan, against which the antitrust authorities are investigating. Meituan boss Wang Xing posted a historical satirical text that is more than 1000 years old in early May. This text is about criticism of a former Chinese emperor. Some understood the post of the company boss and multi-billionaire as a hidden criticism of today’s rulers. The Meituan boss deleted the posted text, but Meituan’s stock market price plummeted by almost 15 percent, and the company lost around 25 billion euros in value in one fell swoop. The fact that Xing then donated around ten percent of his personal fortune, around 1.8 billion euros, to a charity is understood as an attempt at penance. “Many company bosses in China are currently examining how they can get rid of outstanding titles or even parts of their assets,” reports management consultant Clark. “It’s about behaving as inconspicuously as possible, no longer being the tallest tree in the forest. Because it is the first to be felled.”

Are the small shops in each area prosperous, and are the fireworks strong? In the past, city managers could only understand through coarse-grained statistics or organizing on-site visits. Now, through the “Small Store Index” module of the “Meituan City Digital Signs System”, city managers can clearly perceive At present-in Huangpu, Putuo and other areas, the index of small shops in supermarket convenience, fresh fruit, snacks and catering is more than 60% higher than other districts; while small shops in the leisure and entertainment field are the top three fastest-growing districts They are Chongming, Qingpu and Baoshan, which demonstrate the huge growth potential of urban economic development.

A good life in the city is a huge proposition. It is closely related to everyone living in the city. It is more than a small shop, a breakfast full of vitality and within reach, a shared bicycle that is convenient for green travel, and even home. The parks at the gates and the activities held by urban commercial bodies are all microscopic components of the nerve endings of a good life. If the fresh social data can feed back to the government, it will become a new supplement to the digital governance of the market.

On June 10, Shanghai City Operation Digital Sign 1.0 was officially launched. Just today, Meituan and the Shanghai Institute of Digital Governance released in Shanghai the country’s first digital platform for life services in the field of government affairs-“Meituan City Digital Sign System”, which will be connected to the “Shanghai City Operation Digital Sign System” “Based on Meituan’s consumption, evaluation data and practice accumulation in the field of life services, through observation of urban consumption such as catering and entertainment, as well as life service modules such as the operation of small stores, it empowers city operation and management and helps create a quality life.

The fastest data update can be synchronized with the real scene in real time

The “Meituan City Better Life Digital Sign System” released this time is based on Meituan’s practice in the field of life services under the guidance and help of the Shanghai Urban Transport Center, and draws on the experience of the Urban Transport Center in the field of digital governance of super large cities. , Which took more than a year to explore together.

In terms of coverage, the digital signs of a good life in the city cover more than 200 sub-categories in 6 categories, including food, lodging, travel, shopping, and entertainment; at the level of consumption scenarios, search, browse, order, and evaluation form complete consumption. Closed-loop windows, through the supply-demand relationship model, build a healthy supply-demand ecology; at the geographic level, it can be refined to streets and business circles, and run through the various units of urban management vertically, achieving macroscopic view, manageable at the end, and breaking barriers horizontally through inter-regional comparison And mobile insights to help fine-tune urban governance. At present, the data update on the system can be synchronized with the real scene in real time at the fastest.

Meituan Bicycle, the most familiar to Shanghai citizens, converts the number of kilometers that citizens ride on shared bicycles daily into actual figures for reducing carbon emissions in the “Bicycle Riding Heat Map” module. The reporter saw that in the data released on the day of release, the number of kilometers that Shanghai citizens rode on a bicycle that day, if converted into a private car trip, is equivalent to replacing about 160,000 trips with a private car, and the calories consumed by cycling is equal to about 240,000. The calories of a burger or 1.46 million xiaolongbao.

Not only that, the data in the field of transportation capacity distribution provides an effective reference for city managers to solve the “last mile” of citizens’ travel. Li Jiao, head of big data products at Meituan City, gave an example. When a company launches shared bicycles, it may place 8 cars at exit 1 of a certain subway station and 2 cars at exit 2 according to the traffic volume. Changes in the weather and an important meeting may change the use of shared bicycles. With the help of government public data and open resources, shared bicycles will become more “smart”, which will be based on passenger flow at rail stations, weather changes, etc. The data adjusts the number of vehicles delivered. Citizens’ evaluation of public service places can also become an important reference for city managers to improve their management level. The reporter saw that the “Resident Evaluation” module in the “Meituan Digital Signs System for a Better Life in Cities” is to analyze the natural evaluations of users on the POI pages of urban public services such as parks and stadiums collected by Meituan to encourage citizens to actively participate. Urban governance practices the concept of “People’s Cities and People’s Construction” to highlight the temperature of the city. Taking the park as an example, the evaluation can help the park learn about the inadequacies in fee admission, service management level, park facilities richness, environmental beauty, convenience facilities perfection, transportation convenience, etc., and provide reference for its refined construction and operation . In addition, Meituan takes advantage of the full business chain coverage of the life service industry of “food, lodging, travel, shopping and entertainment”. Through comprehensive and detailed data, it can not only fully present the development of the regional life service industry, but also provide a window for research in sub-fields. Taking catering as an example, in addition to understanding the overall consumption situation of the catering industry, research can also be carried out by subdividing catering categories such as hot pot, coffee, and milk tea. The “Meituan City Better Life Digital Sign System” also refers to the “Excavator Index” in the industrial field, and uses the Milk Tea Index, Coffee Index and other popular specialties in cities. The data shows that Shanghai’s coffee consumption index is 2.4 times that of 35 cities (30 provincial capitals/municipalities + 5 cities specifically designated in the national plan). Empowering city operation and management with fresh enterprise data This year, Shanghai issued opinions on comprehensively advancing the digital transformation of Shanghai’s city, and proposed strengthening system integration and overall improvement. According to Xu Huili, deputy director of the General Office of the Municipal Government and director of the Municipal Urban Transport Center, the digitalization of life and the digitalization of governance are both important parts of the digital transformation of cities, and through the exploration of professional fields, fresh enterprise data can empower city operation and management , Repeating the needs of urban citizens in daily life, has become a new force in the operation of the “one network unified management” of cities. Today, Meituan also demonstrated other explorations in the field of life services. For example, based on Meituan’s consumer review data, we will promote social co-governance of food safety. Meituan has more than 1,000 engineers working on AI, and has applied technological innovations to back kitchen monitoring, warehouse temperature control, food seal recognition, intelligent meal cabinets, unmanned delivery vehicles, and other scenarios. Support the upgrading of products and services in the field of life services through the digitalization of the offline economy. Through industrial cooperation, the further exploration of innovative solutions for food safety technology is also what Meituan has been exploring in recent years. Last year, Meituan launched the first food safety technology innovation platform activity, soliciting food safety technology innovation solutions for the whole society in warehousing, cooking and processing, takeaway delivery, dine-in dining, etc., and mobilizing more people to care about and participate in food safety governance and Industry sustainability work. “Food safety work is not just a business for an enterprise, but also requires the extensive participation of all sectors of society and all stakeholders, co-governance and sharing. Food safety work is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It is more reflected in daily food safety risk monitoring, In terms of evaluation and management,” the relevant person in charge of Meituan introduced, “Meituan has also been exploring to link industry partners to jointly sum up and precipitate good food safety management experience, and form standards and norms that the industry abides by.” “One of the basic elements of Shanghai’s urban operation’One Network Management’ is to use real-time online data to help city managers observe the society, perceive needs, and cognitive laws, so as to better meet the needs of the masses and solve problems efficiently.” Xu Huili said, After Meituan’s exploration in the life service industry is empowered by the urban transportation system, it will effectively help city managers find problems in a more timely and accurate manner, connect needs, study the situation, prevent risks, and accumulate more energy for good governance in big cities. Author: Xu Jinghui Editor: Zhang Tianchi *Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source for reprinting

Heil is promoting training bonuses There should be no “Corona vintage”

Status: 06/22/2021 05:07

The second year of training since the beginning of the corona pandemic begins in September. The federal government supports training companies with training bonuses, but Labor Minister Heil is still worried about a corona kink on the apprenticeship market. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil sees the German training market facing a critical phase after months of the pandemic. The number of apprenticeships like applicants had already decreased last year, said the minister. Figures from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training prove this. The test comes this summer, “Heil told the Funke media group. “We are currently fighting the clock as the training year begins on September 1st.” It is clear: “We are not allowed to allow a Corona class in training.”

6000 euros bonus per apprenticeship position

Many companies were hesitant at the moment because they believed they could not afford apprentices at the moment. Heil called on companies to make greater use of state support offers such as the training bonus. The bonus has been approved for almost 40,000 training positions since last summer.

Heil pointed out that the new protective umbrella for training has been in place since the beginning of June. The premium was also doubled in March. Companies affected by a pandemic that keep their training quota have been receiving EUR 4,000 per apprenticeship position since the beginning of June, and EUR 6,000 for new trainee positions.

According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the program has a total volume of 410 million euros for the current year. By mid-June, around 88 million euros, almost a fifth, had been paid out

Fight against cryptocurrencies China closes data centers

As of: 06/22/2021 8:26 am

Virtual means of payment like Bitcoin are a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. That is why it is vehemently against it: Now data centers have been switched off in several parts of the country.

From Steffen Wurzel, ARD studio Shanghai

The Chinese government continues to vehemently oppose everything that has to do with Bitcoin. Banks and financial service providers were again asked not to offer any more services that have to do with crypto payment methods. One wants to preserve the stability and the security of the financial market and protect the assets and property of the population, said the state central bank of China.

China had banned trading in crypto-currency such as Bitcoin as early as 2017, as the first large country in the world. The so-called mining, however, i.e. the electronic generation of Bitcoins and Co with huge computer networks, was still tolerated by the Chinese authorities. The government has only been systematically taking action against decentralized and digital means of payment for around six weeks. Huge data centers were shut down in several parts of the country. Most recently, around two thirds of all new Bitcoins worldwide were generated with computers in China. This share will now decrease rapidly and significantly, say analysts.

Concept of bitcoin contradicts politics

Monetary and currency policy are centrally controlled in China. The central bank is directly under the communist leadership. The Chinese currency, renminbi or yuan, is not freely convertible. The decentralized and open concept of Bitcoin contradicts this policy and is therefore rejected by the Chinese government. At the same time, the government is working on its own digital currency, which, however, has almost nothing to do with Bitcoin.

The stricter action taken by the Chinese authorities against crypto-currency has helped Bitcoin to lose around half of its value in the past two months. The Bitcoin price is still a good three times as high as a year ago

Arab and Jewish Israelis Reconciliation as Economic factor

Status: 21.06.2021 6:04 p.m.

After the change of government in Israel, the multi-party coalition is faced with difficult tasks, above all the reconciliation between Israelis and Arabs. That would also help the country economically.

By Till Rüger, Muhamed Abofani and Mike Lingenfelser, ARD studio Tel Aviv

For the first time, Arab MPs are part of one Ruling coalition in Israel. The Islamic Ra’am party of Mansour Abbas provided the decisive votes for the so-called “Coalition of Change” of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. With a wafer-thin majority of just one vote it became so Long-term Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted out of the Likud. A historic moment for an underrated minority. Arab Israelis now make up around 21 percent of Israel’s citizens – and their number is growing. Officially, they have the same rights and duties as Jewish Israelis. But many feel disadvantaged, for example when it comes to job placement or training.

Feeling of second class citizens

The villages and residential areas of the Arab Israelis also usually have poorer infrastructure. They suffer from a high level of crime, which the police have so far failed to combat. Many Israeli Arabs therefore see themselves as second-class citizens. In its Inaugural address to the Knesset , the Israeli parliament, said the new Prime Minister Bennet of the right-wing Yamina party that his new government was opening a new chapter in relations with fellow Arabs. He wanted to eliminate imbalances in education and alleviate the housing shortage of the Bedouins in the south. Everyone has the right to live in dignity. During the eleven days of rocket bombardment from the Gaza Strip, the conflict broke out even more clearly than usual. Many cities and villages with a mixed population of Arab and Jewish Israelis such as Lod, Akko and Jaffo experienced the worst unrest in decades. The deep crack became visible even where both groups had previously lived largely peacefully together.

Deep distrust with historical roots

Almost all Arab Israelis lived in what is now Israel’s territory before the establishment of Israel in 1948. In the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, they did not flee and were not expelled. Many see themselves as sisters and brothers of the Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.

After the recent unrest, many Jewish Israelis avoided the Arab residential areas, including some areas of Jaffo, the district in the south of Tel Aviv. The pubs and restaurants in Jaffo had reported up to 70 percent fewer Jewish guests than before the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. During the unrest, the government imposed curfews and cordoned off entire streets, but otherwise did little to counter the deep-seated mutual distrust.

Arab Israelis as an important economic factor

Private initiatives are different. The Israeli insurance company Harel, for example, posted large posters on Tel Aviv’s city motorway in Hebrew and Arabic: “The best insurance against violence is coexistence.” Many other companies followed suit with commercials and newspaper advertisements. Because the Arab Israelis are an important economic factor.

It was not until the later 1970s that a visible number of Arab Israelis began studying at an Israeli university, primarily in engineering, pharmacy and teaching. In the early 1990s, agriculture and the textile industry went downhill in Israel. Many Arab Israelis were active there.

“The best insurance against violence is coexistence” – poster of the Harel concern. Image: Till Rüger

At the same time, Russian immigrants came into the country. More than a million new homes had to be built, and so the Arab Israelis got access to a new economic sector: housing, road construction, electricity and gas management.

Locked out of the software industry

Around the year 2000 there was a small high-tech miracle in Israel: Many Israeli software companies were able to establish themselves worldwide. But this industry remained closed to the Arab Israelis because, among other things, it had to do with security issues. Many Arab computer scientists were not permanently employed.

Since then, the Arab Israelis have almost only chosen professions in which they could certainly find a job, for example in medicine or pharmacy. Many saw a solid education as the only way to improve economically. The Arab villages in Israel are now competing with each other to see who has more doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. Pharmacy and medicine are often dominated by the well-trained doctors and pharmacists from the Arab minority. In recent years, the Arab Israelis have rediscovered the high-tech industry. This is suffering from underemployment in Israel, and many start-ups are desperately looking for well-trained employees – a new opportunity for the Arab Israelis.

Unequal distribution of the workforce

If you look at the total number of employees, then the Jewish Israelis come to a good 83 percent. Conversely, this would mean that the Arab Israelis, together with the large number of Asian guest workers, make up less than 17 percent of the workforce in the country.

If you take a look at the figures from the Israeli statistics agency exactly where and how Arab Israelis are employed today, the distribution looks like this: 13 percent are unskilled, 42 percent are skilled workers in industry and construction. Two percent work in agriculture, 15 percent in the service sector, three percent in administration, five percent are engineers, eleven percent are academics and five percent run a company. The labor force participation of Jewish Israelis aged 15 and over was 65.0 percent in 2019, while that of Arab Israelis aged 15 and older was only 43.4 percent, mainly due to the significantly lower labor force participation of women.

Reconciliation as the primary goal

The reconciliation of the two population groups – also for economic reasons – is likely to become one of the most important tasks of the new government of Prime Minister Bennett and his Vice Yair Lapid of the liberal Center Party.

Only when the inner-Israeli conflict has calmed down, according to Middle East observers, the new government can look to the West Bank and Gaza again and tackle the peace process with the Palestinians, which has come to a complete standstill

Free corona tests Pharmacies want to reduce supply

Status: 06/20/2021 07:22 a.m.

In view of falling demand and less money from the federal government, many pharmacies want to reduce their range of corona rapid tests. The implementation is no longer economical. Due to the falling demand for corona tests, Germany’s pharmacies want to limit their range. Since the number of fully vaccinated is increasing and infection protection rules have been relaxed, the need for tests is decreasing, said a spokesman for the Abda pharmacists’ association. He also pointed out that the federal government pays less than before. “This means that it is no longer economical to carry out the tests for a number of pharmacies.” The test offer will therefore probably get smaller step by step. Alongside private companies and state institutions, pharmacies are among the most important test center operators. According to Abda estimates, around 20 to 25 percent of pharmacies offer so-called citizen tests – that is, rapid tests that are free for consumers and paid for by the federal government.

Less money for tests

Originally, the pharmacies, like all other providers, received up to 18 euros per antigen test carried out, now the federal government only pays up to 12.50 euros. In the corona pandemic, spring tests were key to ensuring that people with a negative result could visit restaurants or shops.

However, the number of infections is now so low that loosening takes effect and a visit to a restaurant or shopping is permitted even without a test result. In addition, fully vaccinated people are exempt from test requirements.

Fewer and fewer rapid tests

Figures from the NRW Ministry of Health show how much demand is falling. Last Thursday there were 306,000 rapid antigen tests via the test centers in the state. Of those, 216 were positive – a percentage of 0.07 percent. A week earlier there were 498,000 tests in one day (positive: 0.08 percent); a month ago it was 594,000 (positive: 0.23 percent). The number of test sites in North Rhine-Westphalia was recently stable at 9236 – it will probably decrease in the future.

The Association of the Diagnostics Industry, which represents manufacturers of tests, assumes that the demand for antigen tests in the test centers will drop significantly in the summer. The manufacturers will “of course adjust to a permanently falling demand,” said an association spokeswoman. But they are working on tests that could detect both influenza and coronavirus disease. Such tests could help in the fall, should there be a flu wave and the number of corona infections rise again.

Business support Only a few corona aid accessed

Status: 06/17/2021 10:08 a.m.

The federal government had made available 150 billion euros for companies as corona aid in grant programs – according to the Ifo Institute, just 24 percent of this was accessed. Companies in Germany have so far called on much less Corona aid than planned by the federal government. “Only a fraction of the budgeted aid was paid out to the companies affected by the corona pandemic,” said Selina Schulze-Spüntrup, researcher at the Ifo Institute. “That also has to do with the fact that some of the eligibility requirements were formulated quite strictly to rule out abuse.” According to the information, the federal government provided 150 billion euros in grant programs. Of this, 24 percent have so far been accessed. For emergency aid from the federal government, 50 billion euros were estimated, according to Ifo, less than a third of it was used.

Bridging aids were also not exhausted

In the case of the subsequent bridging aid, too, the money paid out was well below the budgeted amount: According to economic researchers, it was 6 percent for bridging aid I, around 10 percent for bridging aid II, and a good 28 percent for bridging aid III.

56 percent of the available funds were paid out of the November aid, 33 percent of the December aid. The state-owned KfW Bank has so far pledged 46 billion euros from its special program.

Exclusive

Housing market Tax tricks with Interest settlements

Status: 06/17/2021 10:42 a.m.

Financial investors speculate with billions on the German housing market, but hardly pay taxes – thanks to a legal trick. The federal government wanted to close this loophole. But loud monitor – Research won’t come of it.

By Lutz Polanz and Jan Schmitt, WDR

“Behind this house is an American company, the trail of the owners leads via Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands” , tells Coni Pfeiffer, activist and spokeswoman for the # 200Houses network. Tenants from Berlin have come together to defend themselves against the conversion of their apartments into expensive condominiums and the greed of financial corporations. It is similar with the other houses on the opposite side, explains Pfeiffer. Here the trail of investors leads to tax havens such as Gibraltar or the Virgin Islands. The Berlin real estate market has long since become an Eldorado for major investors who want to remain anonymous. The official owners are companies with names such as Magenta Properties S.à.rl or Berlin Project-1 Property III S.à.rl The names often conceal complex corporate structures with a whole chain of companies. In the end, they lead to well-known tax havens, for example in the Caribbean.

Interest trick to save taxes

The elaborate company structures apparently also serve to avoid paying taxes to the German tax authorities. A completely legal interest trick helps the companies: The parent companies lend money to their subsidiaries who own the houses and land in Germany. In return, they charge them high internal interest rates – much higher than they would otherwise have to pay at banks. The interest payments of the subsidiaries reduce the profit in Germany and thus the taxes that would have to be paid here.

“The profits go to countries in which no tax is levied on interest income”, explains Gerhard Schick, board member of “Citizens’ Movement Finanzwende”. “Thanks to these high interest payments, it is practically possible to push the income abroad, so that in Germany you can tell the tax office that we have actually not earned any money, but that the profit is generated abroad.”

Billions are being lost to the Treasury

“Every year the German state loses five to seven billion euros as a result of the interest rate trick”, adds Christoph Trautvetter from “Network tax justice”.

So far, the tax authorities have been able to do next to nothing about it. There is no corresponding legal regulation. Specialists have been calling for them for years, for example Manfred Naumann, an expert in international tax law and head of department in the Federal Ministry of Finance for many years: “I am frustrated that the legislature and the Federal Ministry of Finance are unable to find such a regulation”, said Naumann in an interview with the ARD -Magazine monitor . For him the state wears one “complicity” because financial resources run into the billions “flow untaxed”. Proposals for such a regulation have long been on the table. Accordingly, the interest rate would always be used as a benchmark at which a group can borrow money from the bank. Demanding higher interest rates internally would only be possible if the group can justify it well. That would be a kind of reversal of the burden of proof, which experts believe would prevent a large part of the tax damage.

Paragraph disappeared

The Federal Ministry of Finance under Olaf Scholz (SPD) had proposed precisely such a new regulation in a draft law. But the CDU / CSU parliamentary group intervened and the corresponding passage was deleted from the draft. The Federal Council then made a new attempt to resume the regulation. But this was also thrown out at the instigation of the Union.

“Braking measures against money laundering, aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion by the CDU / CSU has a long tradition”, criticizes Sven Giegold from the Greens in the European Parliament. However, he is also surprised that the SPD did not protest against it.

The Union faction wanted to get up monitor -Do not answer the request. The Federal Ministry of Finance, led by Scholz, is now apparently at a distance from its original approach. Corresponding changes “should ideally be coordinated internationally”, it says in a response from the ministry to a request from monitor .

Now the match ball lies with the Federal Council. He wants to decide at the end of June whether to call the mediation committee or wave the law through with the loophole

The origin of this incident is that some cities have made a wish for a “digital economy”, admiring the name of “smart cities”, and they want to build “urban brains” one after another. This is a good thing. Who doesn’t want to be a fan of the computing power economy? If the local government builds the platform down-to-earth and the manufacturer deploys the product honestly, there is nothing to write about. But there are some weird phenomena, which creased this pool of spring water. Attention, there is weirdness! For example, more than half a month ago, a city’s artificial intelligence computing center project was completed and put into use to provide services such as public computing power for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. What a good thing! However, in the media reports on the computing power of the center, such a strange appearance appeared: “The first phase of the center’s construction scale is 100P FLOPS artificial intelligence computing power… Its computing power is equivalent to 50,000 high-performance computers.” XX release, investment XX, a little information XX, etc. “The computing power of artificial intelligence is equivalent to 50,000 high-performance computers”, which is typically misleading. Coincidentally. Two years ago, when a large-scale intelligent computing project was launched in a city, the computing power released to the outside was “100PFLOPS”, and the topic was forcibly added: “Domestic AI training clusters enter the field of supercomputing”… The AI ​​dedicated smart computer became an all-round supercomputer at once, wonderful! Speaking of dollar as a “knife” and intelligent computers as supercomputers, who is pretending to be confused? Sorry for joining the stage! Is it really all the media? not necessarily. Regardless of whose pot it is, but see that the unhealthy wind is getting longer. In some places, in order to quickly launch the computing power project, the computing power is not discriminated, as long as the number is beautiful enough. Perhaps the local area did not spend a particularly large amount of capital, and built the so-called tens of P, hundreds of P computing power, thinking that it can compete with the national supercomputing center and launch a wave of computing power to drive the economy. Unexpectedly, when they invited supercomputer experts to ask, it didn’t seem to be the case. Why? You get what you pay for computing power. In order to quickly launch the computing power project, the smart computer and the supercomputer are stupidly unclear, and they are even more confused about what is the reasoning performance and what is the training performance. As a result, I thought that I spent a small amount of money to build a world-class supercomputer. It may cost a lot of money to build a machine with only reasoning performance. What does that sentence say? “ The gift of all destiny , The price has already been secretly marked . ” Today we will talk about the mystery of this. Smart computer VS super computer, can’t tell the difference? First of all, supercomputing is supercomputing. Some machines dedicated to AI computing are also called supercomputing, which is questionable. The Linpack test, which is currently used in the industry to measure supercomputers, tests the “double-precision floating-point computing capabilities” of supercomputers, that is, the calculation of 64-bit floating-point numbers (FP64), which is a high-precision numerical calculation. Among the digital precision expressed in binary, there are single precision (32-bit, FP32), half-precision (16-bit, FP16), and integer types (such as INT8, INT4). The higher the number of digits, it means that people can reflect the changes of the two values ​​in a larger range of values, so as to achieve more accurate calculations. Unlike many scientific calculations, the computing power required by AI does not need to be too high-precision. For example, some AI applications need to process speech, pictures, or videos. Inference or training can be completed by running low-precision calculations or even integer calculations. This kind of special computer processing AI algorithm is fast and low energy consumption, which is determined by its characteristics. To sum up, we can distinguish as follows: Smart computer Is a kind of dedicated computing power, they Good at intelligent calculations such as reasoning or training , But because AI reasoning or training generally only uses single-precision or even half-precision calculations, and integer calculations, most intelligent computers do not have the ability to perform high-precision numerical calculations. This also limits its use in application scenarios other than AI computing. In contrast, supercomputer It is a kind of general computing power, and its design goal is Provide complete and complex computing capabilities They are more capable of high-precision computing and have a wider range of applications. For example, scientists often use supercomputers for planetary simulation, new material development, molecular drug design, genetic analysis, and other scientific calculations and big data processing. Chen Zuoning, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, once vividly used supercomputing for AI calculations “Big Horse-drawn Car” , To illustrate that although supercomputing is “decathlon”, it is not tailor-made for AI after all; in order to do things cheaply, intelligent computers have emerged. The fusion of AI and supercomputing, which was once hyped before, is also an improved high-performance computer “AI Specialization” Strictly speaking, they no longer belong to the category of supercomputing in our traditional discourse system. Nowadays, regardless of the completion of the supercomputing center or the intelligent computing center, they all claim the computing power “FLOPS”. In fact, this unit is “floating point computing power per second”, and the unit of some smart computers is actually “OPS” – ―The number of operations per second. If there is no distinction, it is easy for everyone to mistake it for the same calculation accuracy and the same calculation ability. This also leads to Some places think that they have spent a small amount of money to build the world’s top “big supercomputing”, which seems to have taken advantage of it; when the project was launched and introduced to the supercomputing industry, they were dumbfounded. . Sorry, it’s on stage again! Use new indicators to guide the healthy development of the industry To avoid misleading and chaos in the industry, the concepts of smart computers and supercomputers must be clearly distinguished. As mentioned above, there is another misleading in the industry, that is, the reasoning performance and training performance of fuzzy intelligent computers. Compared with inference, training performance often requires higher calculation accuracy, such as 32-bit or even 64-bit. Most AI chips with “dazzling” performance often refer to their inference performance, and may only be theoretical values. For AI computing, training performance is often more important-many intelligent models depend on this. If you want to draw a schematic diagram of the computing power required by AI, “inference” is at the bottom of the computing power matrix, because half-precision computing power (FP16) or integer computing power (such as INT8) can meet the inference needs. The top one is “training”, which generally requires the use of single-precision computing power (FP32) or half-precision computing power (FP16); the most demanding computing power is the brain-like “simulation”, which requires double-precision computing power. Both computing power (FP64) and low-precision computing power are supported at the same time. In order to achieve better guidance, A simple and effective indicator is needed to help judge the AI ​​computing power of the system and the development status of the entire high-performance AI field . November 2020, Researcher of the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Secretary General of the High Performance Computing Professional Committee of the Chinese Computer Society Zhang Yunquan Joint Professor of Tsinghua University Chen Wenguang , Researcher of Argonne National Laboratory Pavan Balaji And professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Torsten Hoefler , And the ACM SIGHPC China Committee jointly initiated the “International Artificial Intelligence Performance Computing Power 500 Ranking” (ie AIPerf500) based on the AIPerf large-scale AI computing power benchmark evaluation program. Those who are interested can look through this list, The computing power unit of the machines on the list is OPS . “Supercomputing and AI computing, one yard equals one yard, requires a new scale to guide the AI ​​computing industry on the path of healthy development.” Zhang Yunquan said. Can’t get around Nvidia?Domestic AI chips are waiting to be fought The computing power starts with the chip. On the AI ​​chip track, my country has chip design companies such as Huawei N Ten, Baidu Kunlun, and Suiyuan, but even so, domestic smart computers rarely bypass the American GPU giant Nvidia. This is a helpless reality: Nvidia is a tangible beneficiary of the many intelligent computing centers launched in China . AI chips that specialize in intelligent computing can achieve faster speeds and performance that is several orders of magnitude higher in low-precision calculations as long as the number of cores is large enough and the main frequency is high enough. However, if a computing cluster requires both high-precision calculations and low-precision calculations, the requirements for AI chips are high. This is also the killer of NVIDIA GPUs. Their computing power in various precisions is outstanding and very balanced (of course AI computing power is stronger), not to mention NV has a better software stack and application ecology. Sorry, it’s on stage again! This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for most domestic AI chips to compete head-to-head with NVIDIA GPUs. And if Nvidia finally successfully acquires ARM, it will be even more powerful and take off completely. However, domestically produced AI chips are not entirely without opportunities. first of all, At present, my country’s computing power infrastructure has a strong willingness to localize. Even if giants such as Nvidia and Intel take the lead, the tide of localization is still unstoppable due to various factors such as comprehensive cost and ecology. Secondly As far as the current development of AI is concerned, scenarios, data, models, and computing power are indispensable, which means that China will be a place where global AI computing power is rich in the future. As a core requirement, AI chips cannot be monopolized by one form or one ecology. The outstanding domestic AI chips such as Cambrian and N-Teng still have huge room for development. Furthermore Although the chip is the main source of computing power and the most fundamental material basis, the production, aggregation, scheduling, and release of computing power is a complete process that requires the cooperation of the software and hardware ecology of a complex system to achieve “effective computing power.” Therefore, we should not only pay attention to the single performance index of the chip, but also pay attention to the upper-level software application ecology. Is it impossible to develop AI without huge computing power? Finally, let’s talk about the development trend of AI. Behind the confusion of the concept of computing power is the soaring demand for computing power in AI computing like a wild horse. This is not surprising. The amount of AI training is determined by the amount of parameters. What is the scale of the parameters for training AI now? Hundreds of billions, trillions! OpenAI, an artificial intelligence non-profit organization jointly established by a number of Silicon Valley “tycoons”, launched its new generation of unsupervised translation language model GPT-3 in May 2020. It currently has 175 billion parameters and a training data volume of 45TB ( About 1 trillion words). The GPT-3 model has made major breakthroughs in semantic search, text generation, content understanding, and machine translation. Its greatest value is to verify the machine’s unsupervised self-learning ability, and to verify that performance can be improved purely by scaling up. The trillion-parameter model is already on the way. In early June, Beijing Zhiyuan Artificial Intelligence Research Institute released “Enlightenment 2.0”, claiming to reach 1.75 trillion parameters, surpassing the Switch Transformer previously released by Google, and becoming the world’s largest pre-training model. The rapid growth of the parameter volume also means higher computing requirements-some may require thousands of GPUs to provide the necessary computing power. For giant models like GPT, the demand for computing power is not a joke. Is it impossible to develop AI without huge computing power? Experts believe that in the current stage of AI development (perceptual intelligence and cognitive intelligence), computing power is still the first. In fact, the development of AI can be improved through computing power, or through the algorithm revolution, but at the current stage of “capital orientation”, Compared with the uncertainty of the algorithm model breakthrough, the increase of computing power is the easy choice. However, it must be pointed out that the use of huge computing power is not the only direction for the development of artificial intelligence. Giant models such as GPT-3 also have shortcomings, such as lack of common sense; and explore the mysterious mechanism of the human brain to realize small data learning and migration learning. It is also an important means. After all, the power consumption of the brain is only about 20W, and the realization of a smart system with low energy consumption may be a more important direction for efforts. (This article was written under the strong guidance of experts in the field of supercomputing such as Zhang Yunquan, Senior Commissioner of the Chinese Computer Society, and I would like to thank you!)

Balance for 2020 Decline among Germans Arms exports

Status: 16.06.2021 2 p.m.

The federal government approved fewer exports of German armaments last year than in the previous year. For controversial exports to Egypt, however, millions again flowed. German companies that sell armaments abroad need a permit. These are summarized in the annual arms export report, which was the subject of the Federal Cabinet meeting today. Accordingly, significantly less armaments were sold abroad in the corona crisis year 2020 than in the previous year. 2019 was still a record year for the German arms industry: the German government had approved exports of weapons, submarines and tanks worth around eight billion euros. In comparison, the total was significantly lower last year at around 5.8 billion. Of course, the sum also fluctuates because in some years major projects are approved, in others not. Around half of the arms exports approved last year are intended for EU or NATO countries, or for countries that are on an equal footing with them, such as Japan, Switzerland or Australia.

June 16, 2021

Sale to Egypt under fire

More than half of the export licenses went to so-called third countries. Armaments from Germany should actually only go to these states in exceptional cases. Expressed as a sum, the export of goods worth almost three billion euros to such third countries was approved in the past. These include in particular Egypt, which ordered submarines and patrol ships from German shipyards worth around 764 million euros – according to the report by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the highest approved value among exports to third countries last year. Exports to Egypt are criticized by the churches, among others, because of allegations of human rights violations.

07/01/2021

In some war and crisis regions no weapons are delivered, for example Ukraine. The federal government recently had the advance of the Greens leader Robert Habeck refused for the delivery of defensive weapons. Arms control does not distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons.

Decline in exports, growth in imports

According to the Swedish peace research institute SIPRI, Germany is one of the five largest arms exporters in the world. While the sale of German armaments abroad declined in the past year, the Federal Republic increased the import of military equipment by more than five percent in 2020 . Last year, according to SIPRI, Germany invested around 44 billion euros in armaments, making it seventh worldwide. With information from Hans-Joachim Vieweger, ARD capital studio

During the process of 96 years of accompanying the nation (June 21, 1925 – June 21, 2021), under the leadership of the Party, the Vietnamese Revolutionary Press has always been the core force, playing an important role in the world. ideological and cultural front, making great contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party, construction and defense of the Fatherland. The press is the most frequent and continuous means of information affecting the public; participating in solving economic – cultural – social issues through current events and issues, selecting event information, thereby influencing public perception according to the ideological orientations that have been established. plan. At the same time, information is the fastest, most popular, actively and honestly reflecting all aspects of social life, domestically and internationally. The press is the People’s forum, regularly interacting with the People, answering new problems posed by life, contributing to strengthening the close relationship with the People, serving the entertainment needs, improving the quality of life. spiritual life of the people. The press is really a sharp and effective weapon in all aspects of political and social life. At the same time, it is undeniable that the great role of the press is to enhance culture and entertainment, to make people understand and draw closer together. People here are not between people in one country, but also between different countries. In order for both sides to learn, study and share spiritual teachers and emotions, and at the same time enrich and absorb the diverse cultures of other ethnic groups to enrich their country; promote and introduce the country, culture and people of Vietnam to friends in five continents so that countries around the world can better understand Vietnam. During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out: “Our press must serve the working people, serve socialism, serve the struggle for national reunification, and for world peace. gender”. Therefore, different types of newspapers such as print press, electronic newspaper, radio and television, in each type need to perform the function of igniting and orienting public opinion properly, motivating all levels and sectors. and the masses to effectively implement patriotic emulation movements. Actively fight against negative expressions and behaviors, violating the law. Thereby preventing the phenomenon of degradation in morality, lifestyle among cadres and party members and the negative in social life that hinders the development of the renovation process and the formation and improvement of a positive lifestyle. in social life. Each journalistic work needs to bring the breath of life, so with their responsibility, the team of journalists becomes an important “bridge” to convey the Party’s guidelines and policies. , the State’s laws come into practice in close proximity to people and ethnic minorities; reflect the good and creative ways of individuals and collectives with advanced examples in productive labor and effective economic models. Actively exploiting, propagating and reflecting the leadership’s direction and administration in socio-economic development, contributing to raising people’s confidence in the leadership of the Party and State. The press in our country has made rapid and strong development steps and has made great strides in appearance, quantity and quality of publications, radio and television programs and journalism technology…. The political quality, cultural quality, orientation and technical – professional quality of the press have been increasingly improved. The number of journalists has increased rapidly, their professional qualifications for journalism have been improved, and they have mastered modern journalism technology. Promoting the achieved tradition, the press needs to promptly reflect developments in all aspects of social life; actively propagate Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s viewpoints and lines, and the State’s policies and laws; reflect the thoughts and legitimate aspirations of the people of all classes; discovering and promoting new factors, advanced examples and achievements of the renovation work; reflect the enthusiastic contributions of scientists and fellow citizens; participate in supervision, social criticism, promote the people’s right to mastery, strengthen the great national unity bloc; on the front to protect the ideological foundation of the Party. In the current period, in order to constantly promote its role as a bridge between the State Party and the People, our country’s press needs to strengthen two-way information on major policies of the Party and the State in a comprehensive manner. enough. In the process of two-way information, the press should show real demand, not because it focuses too much on orientation, but narrows down the diversity and practicality, especially in cases where, although there are some science and practicality. Timely reflect people’s opinions on social issues quickly and fully, contributing to strengthening people’s belief in good things, creating a spread, and persuading people to have more and more people. The more positive from awareness to action, negative things will have the effect of warning, reminding to deter, self-improvement. Increase the interaction between the press and readers so that the two sides become closer to each other, thereby both orienting the readers’ perception, aesthetics, interests, etc., thereby capturing the needs and aspirations. readers in particular and the public in general on social issues. As the “voice of the people”, the press needs to listen to and acknowledge the people’s opinions, as much as possible, as objectively and honestly as possible. At that time, the reflection of the new press is more convincing and attractive.

Apple cannot refuse the US government’s request for information. Photo: Getty Images. Authorities asked Apple not to disclose information. It was not until last May that McGahn was informed, the source of New York Times said. At the time, special counsel Robert Mueller was investigating allegations that Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign had ties to Russia. Don McGahn is one of the leading figures in the team supporting the US billionaire running for the White House. It is not clear from which side Apple received the request for information. At the beginning of 2018, Donald Trump himself also expressed anger at his aide. However, it is highly likely that the request comes from the Robert Mueller investigation. In addition to Don McGahn’s personal information collection, Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is also facing trial for alleged election fraud. Mr. McGahn was not aware of Apple providing his information to the authorities. Photo: New York Times. Neither Apple nor McGahn’s attorney declined to comment. A few days ago, New York Times also revealed that the US Justice Department under Donald Trump asked Apple to provide information from the accounts of two Democratic politicians Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell. All of these cases have never been officially announced by Apple. In both cases, the concern is not only with who is being investigated, but also in how authorities exploit personal information. According to the Engadget For many years, technology companies have tried to be transparent in the use of user data, however, they do not explain and provide public information about such incidents. Can Apple become the bank of the future? Technology companies are looking to enter the financial technology industry such as Paypal, Samsung. Many rumors about Apple going to bank with Apple Wallet Pay and Apple Card.

After Brexit Great Britain and Australia sign trade pact

Status: 15.06.2021 12:07 p.m. Great Britain and Australia have agreed on a free trade agreement. The deal will ensure further growth, announced the government in London. But there are also skeptical voices. For the first time since Brexit, Great Britain has signed a completely renegotiated trade agreement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reached a free trade agreement with his Australian colleague Scott Morrison. The heads of government have cleared the last stumbling blocks out of the way in the past few days, said both sides.

Boost for 3.5 million employees?

Accordingly, manufacturers of cars and whiskey would benefit from duty-free, the government announced in London. Young Britons under 35 should be given more freedom to live and work in Australia. Industries with around 3.5 million employees in the UK received a boost. The contract will ensure further growth. “Today marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, one that is fueled by our shared history and values,” said Johnson. Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan described the deal as a “gain for jobs, businesses, free trade”.

Exemption from duty for whiskey, among other things Image: dpa

“Good news for both countries”

In 2020, UK-Australian trade was worth £ 13.9 billion – around € 16.15 billion. The UK is Australia’s fifth largest trading partner. Before the British became part of the EU and with it the internal market in 1973, Australia was even the most important trading partner. Economist Gabriele Suder from RMIT University in Melbourne welcomed the British-Australian deal. This is good news for both countries. After all, it is the first agreement in the post-Brexit era. She expects the deal to bring the Australian economy 1.3 billion Australian dollars (around 830 million euros) annually. Other experts believe the pact will be more important to Britain. Australia has a strong trade focus on Asia.

analysis 04/27/2021

04/28/2021

British farmers fear imports

However, the pact with Australia is controversial in Great Britain. Farmers fear a flood of imports of lamb and beef as soon as customs duties cease to exist. This could affect British sheep and cattle farmers. The government in London stressed that the deal included ceilings on duty-free imports over the next 15 years, as well as quotas and other safeguards. Farmers’ associations called on parliament to closely monitor the contract. According to Australian data, the country’s farmers will benefit from the agreement.

Treaties with dozens of states

Great Britain is currently repositioning itself after Brexit. Since the UK left the EU, it has signed trade deals with dozens of countries. However, these were always copies of the pre-Brexit EU treaties with these states.

report March 29, 2021

INSM allegations against Greens Inaccurate to wrong

Status: 14.06.2021 10:22 a.m. INSM lobbyists want to brand the Greens as a supposed “prohibition party” – and list everything that could be prohibited under their government. But the allegations are only half done, as a dpa fact check shows. With advertisements in daily newspapers and on German media websites, the lobby organization Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM) is targeting the election program of the Greens and their candidate for Chancellor Annalena Baerbock. The company, which is financed by the employers’ associations in the metal and electrical industry, lists several topics on which the Greens allegedly wanted to tame the Germans with bans. “All bans can be substantiated by the green draft program,” tweeted the INSM. But is that really true? The German Press Agency has examined four allegations more closely.

No new registrations from 2030

ALLEGED DEMAND: “You are not allowed to drive an internal combustion engine.” EVALUATION: Wrong. FACTS: The Greens election program for the federal election in 2021 stipulates that from 2030 there will no longer be any new registrations for cars with internal combustion engines. However, the party does not call for a ban on existing vehicles of this type of drive. Such vehicles are likely to exist for much longer, because according to a study from 2020, cars on German roads are on average 9.6 years old. On the way to climate neutrality, which the current federal government (without participation of the Greens) has decided for 2045, Baerbock’s party is betting on a quota for “emission-free cars”. In addition, the motor vehicle tax should make vehicles with internal combustion engines more expensive. In its more detailed explanations of the campaign, the INSM classifies this accordingly on its website, but massively shortens the topic in its striking thesis. The Greens also encourage “car-free city centers and districts”. Driving there would actually be prohibited – regardless of the drive.

06/13/2021

Ban on night flights

ALLEGED CLAIM: “You are not allowed to fly.” EVALUATION: Wrong. FACTS: The Greens aim to reduce air traffic. The party only becomes clear in the election manifesto with regard to short-haul and night flights. Short-haul flights should not be banned, but rather become “superfluous” by the expansion of rail traffic by 2030. In mid-May, Baerbock said: “There should be no more short-haul flights in perspective.” In fact, according to the election manifesto, the Greens want to ban night flights – for reasons of noise protection. The INSM shortens the statement here too. In the explanations on its website, the initiative only speaks of a “total moral ban”. By the way: CDU Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet has recently been open to renouncing domestic German flights – if there are appropriate alternatives.

Criticism of agreements

ALLEGED CLAIM: “You are not allowed to participate in free trade.” EVALUATION: Inaccurate. FACTS: An essential part of the idea of ​​free trade is the dismantling of trade barriers, which may well include social or environmental standards. The Greens really do not want open markets without any regulations. In the party’s election manifesto, however, it says: “We want (…) trade agreements that serve the prosperity of all people, demand environmental and climate protection and strengthen relationships with our partners in the fight for democracy and freedom.” For this reason, a planned free trade agreement between the EU and the Latin American trade association Mercosur is rejected, and the Ceta agreement between the EU and Canada is not supposed to be ratified “in its current form”. But even the INSM advocates restrictions, even though it obviously sets different priorities than the Greens: According to the lobby organization, “new legal standards, for example in the area of ​​investment protection”, should be developed for free trade agreements.

Top earners should pay more

ALLEGED CLAIM: “You are allowed to keep even less of your money, even though you are already paying high taxes.” EVALUATION: Partly wrong. FACTS: According to the Greens’ plans, there should actually be higher taxes for top earners, but in return the party wants to relieve those on low to middle incomes. Specifically: The election program provides for single persons with a taxable income of more than 100,000 euros per year to raise the tax rate to 45 (instead of the previous 42) percent. For incomes of more than 250,000 euros, it should increase to 48 percent. At the same time, the basic tax-free allowance – i.e. the tax-free part of income – is to be increased, which in turn is more likely to benefit people with lower wages. According to calculations by the employer-related Institute of the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, all singles with an income of up to 80,000 euros per year would pay less tax in the future if these plans were implemented. According to IW data, this means relief for the bottom 95 percent of incomes.

Sharp criticism of the campaign

The INSM campaign has been massively criticized for days. Chancellor candidate Baerbock is portrayed as Moses, above it is written “We do not need a state religion”. The Berlin anti-Semitism commissioner, Samuel Salzborn, said of the ad: “An election campaign is an election campaign, no question – but also and especially in times when there is heated political debate, chains of associations that accept anti-Semitic allusions are fatal.” The “Moses analogy, the reference to the strict religion of the law, the term ‘state religion’ – all of this arouses anti-Jewish stereotypes in the metaphor that are fatal in the political debate – regardless of any difference in content,” said Salzborn.

analysis 06/13/2021

Criticism of China’s economic project Headwind on the “New Silk Road”

Status: 06/11/2021 12:58 p.m.

China is expanding its influence worldwide, and the “New Silk Road” is intended to further strengthen the country. But the criticism of the project is growing. At the G7 meeting, the Australian head of government wants to report on his experiences. From Steffen Wurzel, ARD studio Shanghai Ding Laisong from the customs authority of the Chinese port city of Ningbo was satisfied at the beginning of the week: Trade with the states of the so-called “New Silk Road” had increased by 30 percent, he said on the Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV. In the case of trade with the particularly committed Silk Road countries in Central and East Asia, the plus is even 50 percent.

Sri Lanka regrets cooperation

China’s state and party leadership continues to sell its controversial strategy and trade project “New Silk Road” within the People’s Republic as a great success. In numerous partner countries, however, the initial enthusiasm for the project has given way to sober insight. China’s state and party leadership has nothing to give away with the Silk Road. On the contrary: in many cases, the Silk Road partner countries have borrowed considerably – with Chinese state banks. This sometimes creates considerable dependencies. One example is the Hambantota port project in Sri Lanka. According to media reports, the expensive Silk Road port project has hardly brought the island state anything economically. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena now openly speaks of a mistake in leasing the port on the southern tip of the country to China for 99 years.

One billion euros in debt for Montenegro

In Europe, too, it is now becoming clear what the Silk Road critics have been calling a debt trap for years: the Balkan state of Montenegro, for example, had borrowed around one billion euros in China for the construction of a nearly 180-kilometer-long motorway. The autobahn is far from finished. But now the repayment is due – and the EU accession candidate lacks the money. The mood has also changed in large industrialized countries: In Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi put the Silk Road cooperation with China on hold, and the government in Canberra has also completed two projects in Australia. Only smaller, more symbolic projects were affected, but China’s communist leadership reacted angrily. She described Australia’s decision as “unreasonable and provocative”.

Australia accuses China of “extortionate behavior”

It is becoming clear that the communist leadership sees itself increasingly on the defensive in the Silk Road project, officially known as “Yi Dai Yi Lu”. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison complained at an economic conference in Perth “blackmailing behavior” by states like China. “Where compulsive acts have no consequences, there is little incentive to restrain,” said Morrison. Australia’s prime minister called for the sanctioning mechanisms of the World Trade Organization to be strengthened. Because if blackmailing behavior has no consequences, there is no reason for the corresponding states to hold back.

The G7 summit in Cornwall The heads of state and government of the seven leading industrialized countries (G7) will meet from June 11th to 13th in Cornwall, southwest England. For the first time in two years, they will meet again in person in the afternoon. In addition to climate change, the conference will also focus on trade issues and investments as well as the fight against the corona pandemic. In addition, the meeting will focus on the positioning towards Russia and China.
The G7 group includes the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Japan. Like-minded democratic states such as South Korea, South Africa, Australia and India are invited to the summit as guests. After the government in Canberra demanded a complete clarification of the origin of the Covid 19 pandemic around a year ago, Australia was de facto covered with an economic war by China’s leadership. The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to share this experience with the G7 countries. He will be a guest at the summit in England.

Introduce the concept of digital government for the first time Digital government is essentially e-government, with changes in approach and implementation thanks to the development of digital technology. Therefore, when we say that developing digital government means developing e-government, digital government includes e-government. Illustration E-Government, in simple terms, is the “four Nos”, capable of meeting face-to-face, processing paperless documents, handling contactless administrative procedures and making non-cash payments. Digital government is e-government, adding “four Yess”, having all safe actions in the digital environment, being able to provide new services quickly, having the ability to use resources optimally, and being able to ability to create development, lead the country’s digital transformation, effectively solve major problems in socio-economic development and management. The strategic vision is to raise a high flag The vision is that Vietnam has a high level of e-government and digital government development index in the world, belongs to the top 50 leading countries by 2025, and belongs to the top 30 countries by 2030 according to the ranking of the World Bank. United Nations. Raise a high flag, which means a big mission and goal, to gather forces and attract talents both at home and abroad to join. When Vietnamese people join hands and unite, difficulties and challenges will become smaller. For the first time, localities will develop plans to secure annual funding from the state budget for digital government, striving for a higher spending rate than the world average. Countries currently spend about 1-2% of total state budget spending on digital government, in particular, some countries such as Singapore and South Korea spend a higher percentage. Strategic thinking is fast action In the fourth industrial revolution, countries that pioneer, go ahead and act quickly will have the opportunity to develop breakthroughs. In other words, in the digital age, it is not the big fish that eat the small fish, but the fast fish that swallow the slow fish. The strategy sets out the basic goal of completing e-government development targets by 2021 and forming a digital government by 2025. Breakthrough solution is to use open platform and orientation The digital platform is identified as a breakthrough solution to promote faster digital government development, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. The platform was created by excellent digital technology businesses, allowing agencies, organizations and individuals to use it as a service instead of having to invest and operate it themselves. Open orientation for people, businesses and other organizations to appropriately participate in the activities of state agencies, interact with state agencies to jointly enhance transparency, improve service quality, and solve problems and jointly create value for society. Not only serving people, businesses and society As before, usually, developing e-government sets the goal of better serving people, businesses and society. This strategy also aims to equip working tools so that cadres, civil servants and public employees can best perform their tasks, that is, virtual assistants or platforms for working and collaborating on the environment. number.

This is the first time the Government has introduced the concept of Digital Government. Accordingly, digital government is essentially e-government, with changes in approach and implementation thanks to the development of digital technology. “Solving administrative procedures without contact” is one of the four criteria of e-Government. Photo: VGP. The strategy clearly states that by 2030, Vietnam is in the group of 30 leading countries in the development index of e-government and digital government according to the United Nations ranking. Digital government will transform the way people and businesses are served. From there, it helps to reduce costs, increase the productivity of businesses, create favorable conditions, and bring satisfaction to people. The ultimate goal is for people and businesses to participate more in the activities of state agencies, jointly creating values, benefits, satisfaction, trust and social consensus. The digital government also transforms the way it is organised, operated, working environment and tools so that cadres, civil servants and public employees can best perform their duties. For each stage, specific goals are set with basic targets. By 2025, the strategy sets five goals including providing quality services to serve society; widely mobilize the participation of society; optimal operation of state agencies’ activities; effectively solve major problems in socio-economic development, and make breakthrough changes in national ranking. Regarding the national key tasks, the strategy clearly states 6 tasks including: Perfecting the legal environment, developing digital infrastructure; develop digital platforms and national scale systems; develop national digital data; development of national applications and services; ensure the safety and security of the national network. These six tasks are also the key tasks of ministries, branches and localities to implement within their respective sectors, domains and localities. The strategy clearly states 10 solutions for implementation, including solutions on: Organization, apparatus, network; training and fostering digital skills; propaganda, dissemination and awareness raising; cooperation between state agencies and enterprises; researching, developing and mastering core technologies; standardization and restructuring of business processes; international cooperation… According to Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, e-Government targets will be basically completed in 2021, with a focus on level 4 online public services reaching 100%. The digital government will be formed in 2025. Accordingly, government services are provided automatically 24/7 according to demand, new public services are provided in a timely manner and on the basis of open data. Digital government is essentially e-government, with changes in approach and implementation thanks to the development of digital technology. Therefore, when we say that developing digital government means developing e-government, digital government includes e-government. E-Government, simply understood, is the “four Nos”, including the ability to meet face-to-face, process paperless documents, handle contactless administrative procedures and make non-cash payments. Digital government is e-government, adding “four Yess”, having all safe actions in the digital environment, being able to provide new services quickly, having the ability to use resources optimally, and being able to ability to create development, lead the country’s digital transformation, effectively solve major problems in socio-economic development and management.

Government advisory council proposal Will you retire at 68?

Status: 07.06.2021 6:49 p.m.

Advisors to the federal government consider it necessary to raise the retirement age to 68 years. Otherwise, the pension will soon be heading for a “financing shock”. The left reacted indignantly. Advisors to the federal government proposed a reform towards the retirement age at 68 around three months before the general election. There was a risk of “sudden increasing financing problems in the statutory pension insurance from 2025”, predicted the Scientific Advisory Board at the Federal Ministry of Economics on the occasion of its new report on the future of pensions. According to the current legal situation, the age limit for the pension without deductions will be gradually increased from 65 to 67 years until 2029. The proposal could catapult the topic of pensions more strongly into the debates ahead of the federal elections. Because the positions of the advisory board are likely to meet with rejection from the SPD, the Greens, the left and the trade unions. “This is the anti-social Oberhammer,” said left party leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow with a view to the report. Economics minister Peter Altmaier had to “cash in immediately” the corresponding report from his advisors, “otherwise the pension election campaign will start tomorrow”. The left will “defend the rights of pensioners with tooth and nail”. What would be necessary would be a clear pension guarantee that bindingly excludes pension cuts as a result of the corona pandemic, said Hennig-Wellsow.

“Dynamic coupling of the retirement age to life expectancy”

The experts emphasized that the retirement age cannot be decoupled from the development of life expectancy in the long term. “Instead, the additional years of life must be divided according to a clear rule between working more and receiving a longer pension.” To this end, there should be a “dynamic link between the retirement age and life expectancy”. The relationship between the time spent in work and in retirement should remain constant. According to current projections of life expectancy, such a rule would reach retirement age in 2042 at 68, said the director at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Axel Börsch-Supan, who was in charge of the report. The advisory board emphasized in its announcement: “Should life expectancy decrease, the retirement age may also decrease.”

“Sharply increasing subsidies from the federal budget” necessary

By calling for the retirement age to be linked to life expectancy, the committee made a proposal that has been causing waves in the pension policy debates in Germany for years. It is illusory to expect “that higher contributions and a lower pension level can be avoided in the long term”, according to the panel of experts. In the opinion of the advisory board, “sharply increasing subsidies from the federal budget” would have to flow into the pension fund if the valid holding lines for contributions and the pension level were to be maintained. “That would be at the expense of future investments, for example in education, infrastructure and climate protection, and would undermine the sustainability of our social system,” said the chairman of the advisory board, Klaus M. Schmidt, according to the announcement. The advisory board’s proposals also include making existing pensions less dynamic than new pensions when it comes to pension increases.

Phuket province is rushing to vaccinate against Covid-19 to prepare to open tourism on July 1. (Photo: Phuket News) The Thai government has officially given the green light to the plan to reopen the tourist island of Phuket to foreign tourists who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 from July 1. However, visitors to Phuket will have to stay on the island for at least 14 days before they can leave for other provinces. Under the chairmanship of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the meeting of the Center for Handling the Thai Economic Situation (Cesa) on June 4 reviewed and officially approved the reopening plan. Phuket tourism is submitted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Thailand. Accordingly, from July 1, Phuket will become the first province in Thailand to welcome back foreign tourists and exempt those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. According to Thailand’s Minister of Sports and Tourism Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, this tourism opening program called “Phuket Tourism Sandbox” will be seen as a model for the opening up of Thailand’s entire tourism industry. However, in the approved plan, foreign tourists coming to Phuket will have to stay on the island for 14 days, a week longer than previously planned, before they can continue their journey to other destinations. in Thailand. Mr. Phiphat said officials attending the meeting also agreed to reopen to tourism for Bangkok, Cha-am district of Phetchaburi province, Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Pattaya city of Chon Buri province. , Chiang Mai and Buri Ram provinces from October 1. However, at this meeting, CESA has not approved the plan to reopen Krabi and Koh Samui to international visitors from July because the agency wants to evaluate the results of the reopening of Phuket within the next two months. According to Mr. Phiphat, the main reason why these 10 provinces were selected to participate in the pilot tourism opening program in the fourth quarter of this year is because these provinces bring a huge source of income from tourism. In 2019, the total tourism income of these provinces reached 1.5 trillion baht (equivalent to 48 billion USD). There are already a number of Israeli tourists scheduled to arrive in Phuket on July 7, while visitors from the US will fly to the tourist island two days later. Mr. Phiphat also expressed confidence that at least 70% of Phuket residents and 100% of local tourism staff will be fully vaccinated before the time the island opens. As of June 2, about 60% of the 466,587 residents of Phuket have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 98,795 have been fully vaccinated.

Image of an unidentified flying object Is that a bird? An airplane? Drones? Or something extraterrestrial? The US government has been scrutinizing these unidentified flying objects. A report summarizing what the US knows about “unidentified flying objects” – aka UFOs – is expected to be published in June. However, contrary to many people’s expectations, no “alien” will appear. Two unnamed officials briefed on the report said they had found no information about a UFO connection to extraterrestrials. According to the two officials, the report does not rule out a link between the flying objects and another country. Prior to that, because of concerns about the threat to national security, congressmen pushed for investigation and public reporting of mysterious phenomena that the US government did not want to talk about for generations. At the request of Congress, the Director of National Intelligence is required to submit a consolidated report from multiple agencies within 180 days. This deadline is coming to an end. However, the intelligence office did not specify when the report was released. Republican Senator Marco Rubio (Florida), one of the senators pushing for the investigation, told Fox News : “These are flying in our airspace. We don’t know what it is. We need to find out.” “There are a lot of unanswered questions right now,” Democratic Representative Adam Schiff (California) said NBC . “If other countries have certain devices that we don’t know about, we’d love to find out. Or if there is some other explanation, we would also like to know.” Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said he does not believe the unidentified objects are the technological product of a foreign power, in part. because almost no country can keep this kind of secret. “We live in an incredible universe,” says Elizondo. There are many theories that the three-dimensional universe – where we live – has many things that cannot be explained.” But Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic magazine, is skeptical. Longtime analyst of UFO theories and other phenomena, says he has seen too many blurry images of alleged encounters with aliens. However, Shermer notes that now several billion people around the world have smartphones that take sharp pictures, and satellites can accurately display every detail on the ground. “90% to 95% of UFOs detected are actually weather balloons, flares, secret military planes, birds reflecting the sun, planes reflecting sunlight, meteors, space junk , satellites, lightning balls, ice crystals reflecting light from clouds, or light reflected in the cockpit windows…” “Show me alien bodies, show me spaceships or show me really high quality videos and photos,” he said in an interview. “That’s how I believe it.” “We need proof rather than noisy videos and blurry photos. Because this would be one of the most unbelievable claims ever, if it proves aliens are real. .” Pilots and skywatchers have long reported sightings of UFOs in US airspace. These UFOs often have unusual speeds or orbits. In 1960, the CIA reported that 6,500 objects had been reported to the US Air Force over the previous 13 years. However, the air force concluded that there was no evidence that these objects were related to “interplanetary spacecraft”. Some people who research the topic say the US government often “restricts mentioning or lying about things that cannot be explained.” However, retired Air Force Colonel Richard Weaver insists that the government does not have the authority and capacity to cover up the encounter with aliens. “Even if it’s hard for us to keep it a secret, how can we build a conspiracy theory like that,” Weaver said. In December 2017, a turning point happened when New York Times revealed the Pentagon has a five-year project to investigate UFOs. The Pentagon later released a video showing military pilots confronting fuzzy objects they could not identify. In 2019, the US Navy announced it would create a formal process for its pilots to report unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. Last August, the US Department of Defense established a task force, tasked with “detecting, analyzing, and cataloging UAPs” that may pose a danger to the United States. In an age of increasingly sophisticated drones, the US military’s theory leans more towards adversary equipment, rather than aliens. However, the creation of the task force is seen as a rare admission from the government that UFOs pose a national security concern.

Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app icon. Photo: AFP/VNA MEITy’s new rules require major social media platforms like WhatsApp to “trace” the origin of specific messages sent on the messaging service. However, according to a WhatsApp spokesperson, asking messaging apps to trace chats is equivalent to asking WhatsApp to track every single message sent on the app. This would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally compromise user privacy. The spokesperson stressed that along with civil society and experts around the world, WhatsApp has always opposed requests to violate user privacy, but the application is owned by this social network Facebook. We will also continue to work with the Government of India to find practical solutions to keep everyone safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information WhatsApp makes available. Earlier, the press reported that social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Google and Twitter could face legal action in India if they do not comply with a new regulation by the government to strengthen control. control of intermediary platforms, effective May 26. Failure to comply with the above provisions will result in the social media networks being stripped of their intermediary platform status and immunity and will face criminal action under Indian law. The above regulations also require social media companies to appoint a resident grievance officer, regulatory compliance officer and basic contact person, as well as to disclose detailed information about the company. details of these people on their website, along with physical contact addresses. The regulation also requires traceability of the originator of the message and includes a provision for voluntary verification as a way to establish user identity.

Brussels capital center on weekends when restaurants are allowed to serve customers outdoors. (Photo: Huong Giang/Vietnam+) Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on May 9 that the Belgian government could allow large festivals to be held in the second half of this summer. Writing on Twitter, Prime Minister De Croo stated: “Belgium is a great festival center of the world, we will once again prove this in the summer. In the second half of this summer, major festivals need to be allowed to resume.” Access to large gatherings, which are banned in Belgium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will depend on testing and vaccination vaccines. Advisory Committee of Belgian Government will meet on May 11 to outline the conditions for promoting reopening. According to the statistics of worldometers, as of May 10, Belgium has recorded more than 1,014 million cases of COVID-19 and 24,511 deaths due to this dangerous disease. After 7 months of observing social distancing measures to prevent the epidemic COVID-19 Since May 8, restaurants and cafes in Belgium have been allowed to reopen to welcome guests, but they must all serve outdoors. Anyway, this is also a good news for the Belgian people. According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in the Kingdom of Belgium, May 8 is the weekend that many people in this country have been waiting for a long time, because this is the day to reopen coffee shops, after 7 months the food service industry was forced to Closed to prevent COVID-19 outbreak. At the outdoor terraces in the center of Brussels, customers are very crowded. They come here to get a taste of normalcy after days of social distancing, as if to celebrate the return of freedom. “It’s great! I came here from Germany to visit my children and it is very interesting to sit at a bar like this. In Germany, the restaurant has not yet reopened, so I have to take advantage here to enjoy a beer. in a bustling space like this,” shared Ms. Monika Lueder-Pohlenz, a tourist from Germany. Belgians relax and drink coffee outdoors. (Photo: Huong Giang/Vietnam+) In areas near the Grand Square in the center of Brussels, during the weekend, customers flock to crowded eateries. After months of forced savings, many people want to treat themselves to a delicious menu. Sesa Kardo said he waited a long time for this day to return to the restaurant he has been familiar with for many years, even though he had to sit outside. “I will eat half of this dish to save my stomach for another. Maybe I will become a glutton. A delicious meal, a delicious dish like this I haven’t enjoyed in a long time. I really enjoyed it. fun,” he said. All restaurants, pubs, and cafes have tables on the sidewalk to serve customers. Mr. Aurélien – owner of a beer bar in La Bourse square, put a dozen tables in front of the door to serve guests and did not accept reservations in advance to be able to receive the most customers. “The partial reopening of the restaurant and courtyard has been prepared by us for a long time. In fact, during the lockdown, we planned. A week before opening. When the door is back, we check to be able to serve it properly,” said Mr. Aurélien. In Châtelain – another vibrant district of Brussels, many cafes have installed wooden platforms on the parking lot to save space. “It’s good to be out,” Amy Marshall, 42, smiles and is happy to feel life is “getting back to normal.” “We are also here to support traders,” she explains. A little further afield, at Supra Bailly, a group of four young men gather to drink beer. “This is our ‘headquarters’,” said Guillaume, 37. They shared a smile and clinked a cup to congratulate the fact that from now on, they could gather together to eat, drink and chat every weekend. After 16 months of being forced to close by government orders to prevent the epidemic, Mr. Thys Daniel is now able to sell goods again at a small market selling handicrafts near the Grand Square in Brussels. He was very happy to be able to welcome visitors again as before. “This market is usually open on weekends and sells handicrafts. Today is an important moment for us, marking the lifting of strict lockdown measures. This allows people to return. normal life, being in contact with each other,” said Mr. Thys Daniel happily. When I asked him, when will life really return to normal. He replied optimistically: “Very soon. Then we quickly find our old habits in a normal rhythm of life.” At restaurants, the reopening is done in a regulated manner. Each table is limited to 4 guests, except for members of the same family who may be larger. Restaurants are allowed to open to serve visitors until 10pm. Despite allowing restaurants to operate, with the condition that Belgians are still required to wear masks in public places, on public transport and implement distancing measures at shops. .

Applying IT into practice, developing smart cities with the motto of taking people as the center, TT-Hue provincial government has helped the people of the ancient capital promote their mastery role. On the morning of July 12, 2020, a group of 120 people carrying King Ham Nghi Long from TT-Hue province to Quang Tri stopped at O ​​Loi noodle shop on Le Huan Street (Hue City) for breakfast. The owner of the restaurant “hacks” each bowl of vermicelli 60,000 VND (normal price ranges from 25,000 to 30,000 VND). Mr. LHT (a person traveling with the delegation) was angry and reflected on his personal facebook with the desire that the authorities come in
inspection and correction. Upon receiving information from the interactive system of the Hue Smart City Monitoring Center, the Market Management Department of TT-Hue province sent officers to verify, make a record of administrative violations and sanction 750,000 VND for O Loi noodle shop for the act of “not listing the prices of goods and services at the price listing point as prescribed”. State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (when serving as Prime Minister) during a visit to the Hue Smart City Management Monitoring Center “I reported on July 12, but only 3 days later, the functional force of TT-Hue province quickly took action and corrected us, making us very satisfied,” said Mr. T. About 2 years ago, the streets of Hue city center became the obsession of every passerby. Hundreds of people blatantly encroached on the sidewalk to trade. Shops and vehicles are messy, creating sloppy, offensive scenes, “bad” the face of the city of Hue. A campaign to restore urban order was directed and implemented by leaders of TT-Hue Provincial People’s Committee. Smart urban surveillance system with hundreds of “magic eyes” are cameras installed on all streets, accessing data, supporting the government to thoroughly handle violations. Those are just stories, small things among thousands of events received and handled during the journey of building a smart city in TT-Hue. People at the center TT-Hue is one of the first localities to build an e-government architecture after the e-Government framework was promulgated. 300 cameras were installed, transmitting data to the center. Along with e-government, smart city development has become an inevitable trend, a revolution in the digital transformation era. Director of the Department of Information and Communications of TT-Hue province, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son said: “Its effect is that people and businesses can promote their own role. The motto is to take the people as the center. Going from “advocacy” to “sanctions” and becoming a need …”, Mr. Son said. In early 2019, TT-Hue province made a breakthrough decision when piloting smart city services (IOC) on the Hue-S application platform. The smart city management center located at the Department of Information and Communications of the province is considered the “headquarters” agency, responsible for implementing services, receiving input from the society; analyze, verify and transfer information to competent authorities. On the basis of information technology application, a series of application solutions such as field reflection; group of urban surveillance camera solutions; warning information; monitoring local press information; electronic cards of civil servants; supervision of public administrative services; electronic advertising monitoring; environmental monitoring; information security monitoring
and fishing vessel monitoring… have been integrated on Hue-S. Camera sensors detect traffic violations. On the Hue-S application platform, people use smart phones to take photos and send videos of issues that need to be reported to the system and keep their personal information confidential. Based on the images provided by the people and data recorded directly from the IOC’s image system, the Monitoring Center will classify each specific content and send it to the relevant authorities for processing. In addition to the reflected inadequacies, the application has also been responded to and deployed by the people and through which the values ​​of people, culture, humanity… have been actively promoted, many good examples of good work. good is found, many humanistic actions are developed. The software is deployed under the tracking mechanism and cannot take any action that can interfere with data deletion. All this information is publicly available on the website for people to monitor, so it is not possible to intervene to handle violations. Roadmap for building a smart city Not coincidentally, at the Digital Transformation Week 2021 taking place in Hue City from April 27, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said that, at the local level, TT-Hue Province Think of yourself as a miniature country to apply the right strategy, set the right goals and do the right things. The human resource system analyzes and streams reflections to send to the relevant authorities for handling. TT-Hue must become a destination for major national and world technology events with dual goals: Developing tourism while developing technology and becoming a model for digital transformation. “- Mr. Dung said. In the past two years, TT-Hue province ranked 2nd out of 63 provinces in terms of readiness for ICT development and application in Vietnam – Vietnam ICT Index 2020 according to technical infrastructure indicators, human infrastructure indexes, etc. force. Hue’s work is also being widely deployed across the country. The project on development of smart cities in Vietnam for the period of 2018-2025 and a vision to 2030 clearly identifies major issues including: Building a legal foundation for smart city development; Develop management tools, institutions, for example, a framework to guide criteria and evaluate smart cities of cities; Formulate specific regulations, regulations and standards on planning on smart construction in urban areas. The goal is that by 2030, the whole country will form a chain of smart cities in the North, Central, South and Mekong Delta regions with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Can Tho as the core. forming a chain linking smart cities. The results of the smart city deployment process will increase people’s trust in the government and vice versa, governments at all levels and management units will be more motivated because they must maintain that trust, to continue to improve operational efficiency. Currently, the province has 300 sensor surveillance cameras and is expected to have 1,500 cameras by 2025. Since its establishment, traffic surveillance cameras have detected and transferred 4,300 cases of violations to the police; processed 3,600 cases and 700 cases in progress. Meanwhile, with the solution to reflect the scene (Hue-S), the Center has received 30,425 complaints (there are 20,000 reports eligible to receive); 214 agencies in the province have handled 18,500 complaints, 1,500 complaints are under review. The project on development of smart cities in Vietnam for the period of 2018-2025 and a vision to 2030 clearly identifies major issues including: Building a legal foundation for smart city development; Develop management tools, institutions, for example, a framework to guide criteria and evaluate smart cities of cities; Formulate specific regulations, regulations and standards on planning on smart construction in urban areas.

Over the years, there have been numerous examples of sensitive or confidential information that has never been made public, and when it comes to ‘declassified’ information, it is often overlooked by the US government. Ky has kept it a secret. War atrocities, Bigfoot, mind manipulation, secret nuclear testing and even the creation of cyborg cats for spying – if this is what we know, you might imagine What else are they hiding? Here, we take a look at the shocking secrets declassified by the US Government. MK Ultra program US scientists tested LSD in the era of MK Ultra The MK is the CIA’s emblem for Technical Services Officers, who were in charge of a research project on mind control, which began in the 1950s. Scientists are working to figure out how to produce a ‘truth drug’ perfect for use when interrogating spies from the Cold War era. They are also hunting for a drug that can wipe someone’s mind, or make the subject brainwashed and become a “robot agent”. A series of experiments using hallucinogens including LSD were performed on people – sometimes without their knowledge or consent. One of the ‘subjects’ was a mentally ill man who was forced to take LSD for 174 days in a row. The CIA is also linked to brothels where they feed men LSD and film them having sex with prostitutes. Operators will not only record the footage, but also observe it directly through a one-way mirror. In addition, they also secretly let people use LSD then interrogated them. The experiments were not only immoral but illegal, so it’s no surprise that in 1973, all documents related to MK Ultra were ordered destroyed. However, about 20,000 documents remained after the destruction. Some of these were declassified in 2001, but the most famous – and most astonishing – came to light in 2018. The 1967 report explained that scientists had created six “remote-controlled dogs” by inserting implants into their brains, which could make them run, spin, and stop. Acoustic Kitty We’ve all heard of the unforgivable experiments to create ‘remote-controlled dogs’, but cats were no exception to the CIA scientists. In 1983, declassified documents revealed that during the 1960s the US government was interested in the idea of ​​training cats to be spies, going so far as to implant eavesdropping devices in their bodies. The plan – codenamed Acousic Kitty – involved releasing wiretapped cats near key locations, letting them roam around the Kremlin, or taking them to Soviet embassies and embassies. then listen to what’s going on around them. No wonder the cats couldn’t be trained to do what the CIA wanted and the cruel project was abandoned. According to reports, the first cat released as a ‘spy’ was run over by a taxi almost immediately. Area 51 Incredibly, the existence of Area 51 was only officially confirmed recently Surprisingly, the US government did not officially acknowledge the existence of Area 51 until 2013. That was the year that a 1992 document referring to the mysterious US Army base was declassified, sparking a wave of excitement in the ‘Truther’ community. It became one of the hottest places in America – if not the world – after a former employee, Bob Lazar, appeared on local television to announce that he had worked as an engineer. on an alien plane stored there. Sadly, the document makes no mention of the “Roswell Incident”, or general alien accidents in the unarchived file, but the document was revealed to be crucial to the development of ‘spy planes’. UFO While there is no official communication between UFO or spaceship With Area 51, the US government was forced to confirm that leaked footage of mysterious triangular strange objects ‘overwhelming’ around Navy fighters was real. The grainy footage was filmed in November 2004 and January 2015, meaning that if visiting Earth, they were fairly recently… Fuck Bigfoot Some documents about Bigfoot have been declassified by the US In 1976, a Bigfoot hunter convinced the FBI to examine hair and tissue samples that he believed could prove the mythical creature’s existence. A memo from 1976 – declassified in 2019 – reads: “The FBI analyzed hair samples in connection with the search for Sasquatch, aka ‘Bigfoot’.” Sadly, it was found that the hairs, attached to a small piece of skin, belonged to a deer. Operation Crossroads In 1946, the US Army tested nuclear weapons at Bikini Atoll, a remote part of the Marshall Islands located between Hawaii and Australia. But before they could start detonating ‘nuclear’ as part of ‘Operation Crossroads’, they forcibly displaced locals before the US took over the islands. In 2016, footage of the first explosion was released and is available in its entirety on YouTube.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide speaks at the National Assembly. (Photo: Kyodo) Congress Japan on May 12 passed a law that will create a new government agency next September, with the function of promoting digital apps . The new agency will have about 500 people, of which 120 include information technology engineers. Under the new law, the government will remove personal seals (also known as hanko) from official documents and allow the use of digital data instead of paper documents. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s government hopes that with this agency, Japan will increase the application of digital at central and local agencies to improve service quality. Under the new law, Japan will upgrade computer systems at central and local agencies, and enact a nationwide general law to protect personal information. Increased exchange of personal information can cause data leaks and other risks, so the digital application law will also provide privacy protections. Prime Minister Suga’s government has given high priority to digital reform as Japan seeks to strengthen administrative reform through the use of information technology.

Illustration. https://kinhtexaydung.petrotimes.vn The action comes as Colonial Pipeline continues to face a ransomware attack that crippled the pipeline system, leading to widespread fuel shortages along the East Coast, prompting the Biden administration to take notice. get “the response of the whole government”. The Colonial Pipeline hack is just the latest example of criminal groups or state actors exploiting US cyber vulnerabilities. Last year, IT company SolarWinds’ software was breached, giving hackers access to communications and data within several government agencies. “We simply cannot let waiting for trouble next thing that happens is the status quo we are operating in,” an official told reporters during a conference call on the evening of May 12. Biden’s executive order takes several steps to modernize the nation’s cybersecurity: Require information technology service providers to notify the government of cybersecurity breaches that may affect U.S. networks and remove certain contractual barriers that may prevent providers from doing so. provide violations. Create a standardized guidebook and set of definitions for federal responses to cyber incidents. Push the federal government to upgrade to secure cloud services and other network infrastructure, and mandate multi-factor authentication and encryption for a specific period of time. Improve the security of software sold to the government, by requiring developers to publicly share certain confidential data. Establish a “Cybersecurity Review Board” composed of public and private sector officials, which may convene after cyber attacks to analyze the situation and make recommendations. Improve information sharing within the federal government by enacting a government-wide endpoint detection and response system. News of the President’s action came about an hour after Colonial announced it had restarted pipeline operations, although it would take several days for fuel deliveries to return to normal. “Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as possible and will continue to do so until the market returns to normal,” the statement also thanked the Biden administration “for its leadership and their cooperation”. https://kinhtexaydung.petrotimes.vn

The shortage of semiconductor chips globally has a heavy impact on many industries. Artwork: Reuters Some of the world’s top semiconductor buyers, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc (Google’s parent company), are working with leading chip makers in the world, such as Intel Corp. , to set up a new lobbying group to promote the US Government to support semiconductor chip manufacturing. The Semiconductors in America Alliance, which includes Amazon Web Services’s Amazon Web Services division, said on May 11 that it urged US lawmakers to provide support for the CHIPS Act for the country. The United States (CHIPS for America Act), which President Joe Biden asked Congress to provide finances worth $ 50 billion. In a letter to congressional bicameral Democrats and Republicans, the coalition said funding for the CHIPS Act would help the United States build the necessary capacity for a more flexible supply chain. to ensure important technologies will be available in the US when needed. Global semiconductor chip shortages hit the auto industry heavily, with Ford Motor Co saying it may have to halve its car production in the second quarter. Automotive industry groups are pressing the Biden administration to secure chip supplies for car factories. However, government officials have been reluctant to use national security laws to divert the supply of computer chips to automakers because they fear it could harm other industries. The new alliance involves companies from other industries using semiconductors, including AT&T, Cisco Systems, General Electric, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Verizon Communications Inc. However, they warn that the government only supports one industry like the automobile industry. Tech giants, like Apple, are also hit hard by a shortage of semiconductors, but are less severe than automakers. Last month, the iPhone maker said it would lose about $ 3-4 billion in revenue in the second quarter (ending June 2021) due to a shortage of chips. According to Refinitiv estimates, Apple’s second quarter revenue is forecast to reach $ 72.9 billion./.

Professor Vo Tong Xuan was an international student in Japan in 1974. He studied at Kyushu University with research topics related to rice cultivation techniques in the tropics and completed his Doctoral Program ( Agronomy) here. After returning home, he continued to work at Can Tho University and together with Japanese researchers continue to do research topics related to rice cultivation techniques; publish many scientific articles, dissemination articles on agricultural techniques and policies on the mass media. Then, as a pioneer in the academic exchange between Japan and Vietnam in the field of Agronomy, he built the first foundation for cooperation between the two sides and delivered exert his best in this role. In 1997, as a research fellow and visiting lecturer of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, he came to Japan for 1 year and had many research related to the model. Japan’s agricultural cooperative, as well as acting as a focal point for arranging study tours in Japan for Vietnamese farmers and policy-makers. After returning home, based on the research results at Kyoto University, he gave many introduction about agricultural policy, especially Japanese agricultural cooperatives, Japanese agricultural techniques in Japan. conferences in Vietnam. In addition, as an agronomist, he has made great contributions to strengthening cooperation in the agricultural sector between Japan and Vietnam through Japan’s ODA Cooperation Programs. ..

Professor Vo Tong Xuan (right) was honored to receive the Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Photo: B.NG Professor Vo Tong Xuan studied in Japan in 1974, studying at Kyushu University with research topics related to rice cultivation techniques in the tropics and completed his doctoral program (Agronomy) here. After returning home, he continued to work at Can Tho University and together with Japanese researchers continued to work on topics related to rice cultivation techniques and together published many articles. science, popularization of agricultural techniques and policies. Then, as a pioneer in academic exchanges between Japan and Vietnam in the field of agronomy, he built the first foundation for cooperation between the two sides. In 1997, as a researcher and visiting lecturer at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University, he came to Japan for 1 year and had many studies related to the agricultural cooperative model of Japan, as well as acting as a focal point for study tours in Japan for Vietnamese farmers and policy makers. After returning home, he introduced about agricultural policies, especially agricultural cooperatives and agricultural techniques of Japan. He also has many contributions to strengthening cooperation in the agricultural sector between Japan and Vietnam through Japan’s ODA cooperation programs. Typically the first Japanese cooperation program on agricultural engineering training through a cooperation project with the Faculty of Agriculture, Can Tho University (1970-1975), in the framework of a tripartite cooperation. Japan’s first time in Africa in the program “African Rice Development Alliance” initiated by JICA, advised and had many contributions in the “Technical Improvement Project to improve rice yield in the region. area of ​​Nante, Zambezia province, Mozambique ”(period 2011-2015) …

The units have connected with the online payment system of the Government, allowing people and businesses to conveniently conduct Level 4 online transactions, save time and costs for administrative procedures settlement. Quang Nam builds a Smart City Monitoring and Operation Center (IOC). In 2020, Quang Nam province officially implements the important systems of the Smart Urban Monitoring and Operation Center (IOC), the provincial data sharing and integration platform (LGSP), the information system. Provincial Reporting (LRIS), contributing to perfecting the e-Government foundation. The digital transformation in the activities of state agencies in the province has recently been actively implemented, in the right direction, achieving a number of practical results, contributing to the implementation of main welding reform in the area. table. However, the province’s digital transformation still reveals many shortcomings and limitations. Technical infrastructure has not been invested synchronously, WAN network system, video conferencing, Data Integration Center have not met the requirements. The application of information technology in state agencies is not synchronous and ineffective. With the project “Developing the application of information technology, building a provincial digital government in the period of 2021-2025”, Quang Nam province aims to build and develop electronic government foundation systems. number complying with the provincial e-government architecture. Complete data integration and sharing with national information systems and databases through the province’s data sharing and integration platform. Thereby, reaching 100% of transactions on the provincial public service portal and electronic one-stop information system at the provincial, district and commune levels. Maintain connection and sharing information between provincial public service portals and national public service portals. Providing 100% of online public services related to many people, enterprises at the level 3, 4; 40% of the number of people and businesses participating in the digital government system have electronic identity authentication smoothly. Quang Nam: Approved over 900 billion to build digital government Over 50% of dossiers are received and resolved through online public services at levels 3 and 4; 80% of administrative procedures meet the requirements for deploying online public services at levels 3 and 4. 100% of job profiles at the provincial level, 80% of job dossiers at district level and 60% of job dossiers at commune level are processed on the network environment; 100% of periodical reports of state administrative agencies are updated. In addition, 80% of state agencies are involved in providing open data, in a readable machine form, to provide timely, one-time, lifecycle public services to people, businesses and social economic development; 50% of state agencies’ inspection is done through the digital environment and the information system of regulatory agencies. Quang Nam sets a target that by 2030, 100% of level 4 online public services will be provided on a variety of means of access, including mobile devices. 100% job profile at the provincial level; 90% of job profiles at district level and 70% of job profiles at commune level are handled in the online environment; 70% of regulatory agencies’ inspection is done through the digital environment and regulatory information systems. To implement the project of developing digital government, Quang Nam province has approved a budget of 901 billion VND. In which, 350 billion VND from central budget and non-business expenses, 320 billion VND from central budget.

Despite increased lockdown and persistently high incidence rates, the federal government expects higher economic growth this year than before. In his spring projection presented in the morning, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier is now assuming an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.5 percent. In January he had estimated a mere 3.0 percent. An increase of 3.6 percent is expected for 2022. “We will have regained our old strengths by 2022 at the latest,” said Altmaier. “Our economy is strong, robust and ready for a new start.” Last year it fell by 4.9 percent because of the Corona crisis.

Export is the mainstay

Nevertheless, Germany lags behind the USA and most of its European neighbors. The US economy is likely to grow by 6.5 percent this year, while France, Italy and Spain each expect an increase of between five and six percent. The recovery in Germany is said to be supported primarily by exports. These are expected to grow by 9.2 percent in view of the rapid recovery in important sales markets such as the USA and China. As a result, the ministry expects higher investments. “Catch-up effects also play a role, as investments have been postponed because of the crisis,” it said. The construction boom is also likely to continue, “due to the low interest rate environment and high demand for housing”.

Export expectations at a ten-year high

The hopes for the export industry in particular are justified. German exporters are currently as optimistic as they were last in January 2011. The barometer for industry’s export expectations climbed by 0.8 to 24.6 points in April, according to a recent survey by the Munich Ifo Institute. “In many countries, industry is hardly affected by the pandemic,” said Ifo President Clemens Fuest. “The demand for German export goods will benefit significantly from this.” The upswing in the USA and China, the most important export customers, is providing a boost. According to the ifo data, the outlook has improved across almost all branches of industry. In the electrical industry, expectations are very optimistic. In mechanical engineering, too, the indicator rose to its highest value in more than a decade; the chemical industry is also on the upswing. “The only problem children are manufacturers of clothing and other vehicle construction,” it said. “You are expecting a decline in foreign sales.”

The domestic economy is only slowly gaining momentum

The gradual easing of the corona restrictions should also gradually give the domestic economy and private consumer spending a boost. After the difficult start to the year, the labor market is expected to gradually pick up. Nevertheless, there is likely to be a decrease in the number of people in employment by 60,000 in 2021. An increase in employment of 290,000 is to follow in 2022. Altmaier’s optimism about the economy is shared by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. “The third corona wave is currently requiring all of us to make another great effort,” said the SPD candidate for chancellor. “Nevertheless, it is clear: things are slowly improving and the aid policy is working.” The council of experts for assessing macroeconomic developments, colloquially known as the “economic methods”, is significantly more pessimistic than the government. The committee had only revised its forecast downwards two weeks ago and is only expecting an increase in gross domestic product of 3.1 percent for 2021. In the autumn, the economic wise men had assumed 3.7 percent.

At the beginning of 2021, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Chaoyang District People’s Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two sides started cooperation in four major areas. The establishment of this innovation center is a major landing project after the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement. The center brings together the tripartite forces of government, school and enterprise. It will be operated by a team formed by Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Dishang Group. The core function and construction goal is to incubate new consumer brands to guide fashion trends, promote outstanding local Chinese new designers and pioneering design forces, and jointly promote The development of the fashion industry contributes to the construction of Chaoyang Fashion City and serves the construction of Beijing’s international fashion consumption center city.

Relevant leaders, guests and professional colleges, designers, professional market representatives, and business representatives from Chaoyang District, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and Dishang Group attended the launching ceremony of the day to jointly design BIFT DESIGN for Beifu. Opened and unveiled. At the event site, Beifu Innovation Park and Dishang Group signed a cooperation agreement. Many well-known designers conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on “realizing the transformation of fashion design achievements, promoting the consumption upgrade of Wangjing Xiaojie, creating a new consumer brand in Chaoyang, and helping the construction of Beijing’s international fashion consumption center”. During the event, a Beifu design exhibition full of designers’ agile creativity was also held.

The relevant person in charge of the Innovation Center introduced that the center’s landing in Chaoyang, a cultural consumption area, has received strong support from the relevant departments of the Chaoyang District government and the power of the fashion industry. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Chaoyang District formulated a number of policies to form a joint policy to support the development of the fashion industry. The center will integrate the outstanding design power of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology with the profound industrial strength of Dishang Group, focusing on fashion product design, fashion achievement transformation, and fashion event organization, and build an open and shared fashion innovation industry platform to provide emerging design talents Broad stage, transform and promote the achievements of fashion innovation, build a landmark carrier and operating base for the international fashion industry that integrates creativity, culture and modern service economy, actively participate in the construction of Beijing’s international fashion consumption center city, and help Chinese fashion go to the world.

Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology is a high-level university with a clear functional positioning for serving the capital of Beijing, serving the construction of Beijing’s fashion culture and the development of fashion and cultural creative industries. Founded more than 60 years ago, based on the development of textile and apparel, fashion and cultural and creative industries, it has formed distinctive features and unique advantages, and has gathered abundant fashion talents, education, scientific research, information and other resources. Deshang Group is committed to transforming the traditional clothing industry with new technologies such as big data and the Internet. It is a national demonstration base for innovation and innovation and a national industrial design center. Premier Li Keqiang said during his inspection of the company that “gold mines have been dug in traditional industries.” , “Old trees send new branches.” BIFT DESIGN, jointly created by the government, universities, and enterprises, will focus on exporting professional design with design, culture, and fashion resources to the society.

BIFT DESIGN is located on the sixth floor of Building B, Times Center, Wangjing Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, with a total area of ​​about 1,000 square meters. The space function is mainly divided into Beifu innovative design area, fashionable living room, advanced customization center, designer studio, etc. Among them, Wangjing Xiaojie Vanke Times Center Building B on the sixth floor focuses on the construction of Beifu Design Dishang creative fashion space, Wangjing Xiaojie shopping pavilion 13, 14 will be built into a Beifu design shop, dedicated to gathering, selecting, and cultivating high-quality Originally designed products, innovative “fashion release, see and buy” fashion consumption chain, gather trendy people, detonate fashion selling points and establish an innovative fashion consumption model.

At present, the center has exhibited more than 100 works by dozens of designers such as Chen Yehuai and Guo Ruiping. Through the works of fashion masters, emerging designers, and new designers, the center has given the space a fashion culture atmosphere and attracted fashion groups from all over the world. The Haute Couture Center will customize exclusive clothing for individuals, enterprises and governments, enhance the public’s fashion taste, spread modern fashion concepts, lead high-end fashion consumption trends, and create a vibrant, healthy and upward fashion city. On the day of the center’s operation, many guests experienced on-site tailor-made advanced customization services and spoke highly of them.

Beifu Design Store will provide a high-quality practice platform for school students. At the same time, it will also actively commit to colleges and enterprises to transform resources and promote the transformation of fashion achievements. At present, more than 10 alumni brands such as SOLKCATT, TRYNACRUSH and original works of current students have landed here, including clothing, accessories and pure art works, reflecting the new generation of design power of Beifu in a younger and more interesting form, which is the structure of the fashion industry. The upgrade continues to inject new vitality.

The investor of the BOT Binh Loi – BOT waterway project in Ho Chi Minh City, with a total investment of about 1,300 billion VND – would like to stop the project without collecting fees. The reason given is that due to capital and port problems, the project is unable to collect fees as originally planned, and has no source of payback, so it asks the state to buy back. Binh Loi railway bridge before being dismantled. Photo: VNN Looking at the above reasons, Mr. Tran Do Liem – Chairman of Vietnam Waterway Transport Team said that it is very not good. “The investor of the project is in a stuck position, unable to recover capital, so he wants to return the project, not the state to buy back,” said Liem. The jam of the project according to Mr. Liem’s ​​analysis is that there is no port for toll collection. “As analyzed by the investor, in order to payback for the project, ships must go from Binh Loi railway bridge to Ben Tuc port and vice versa, as such, a fee will be collected when the vehicle enters the ports of An Son, Ben. Cuc and Rach Bap (Binh Duong). However, at present, An Son port has been partially built, Rach Bap port has not yet invested, and Ben Tuc port is being abandoned so there is no port for toll collection. Moreover, the investor has to borrow capital for the project, the interest the bank is having, but the project does not have a port to collect fees … the investor is having a hard time, “Mr. Liem said. From the above story, Mr. Liem also raised the question: Why is a project worth trillion dong being invested but there is no specific plan, no plans to collect fees and payback but still can do it? Answering the question above, Mr. Liem said that the project is the result of “just ask for”, “just do and count”. This needs to look at the responsibilities of both sides, because the investor himself, when implementing the project, has to fully calculate the possible options, can not have anything done, can not collect. capital return, ask for repayment. Who will take responsibility? Sharing with the difficulties of the business, however, pointing out two reasons that the project implementation was wrong from the beginning, Mr. Liem emphasized the reason why the project management board had to apply for the project to return. by the “get it, take it up to it” mindset, very strange. “First of all, it must be repeated since the information that Binh Duong province has approved the BOT fee collection plan for the Saigon river channel (the section from Binh Loi iron bridge – Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tuc port – Binh Duong) at the price 70 VND / ton / km I said that this fee is unreasonable, it was wrong to start the project to renovate and upgrade the Saigon river channel and build a new Binh Loi iron bridge and collect the payback fee in the first place. It is unreasonable for the transport companies to use only part of the function of this river channel but have to bear the full fee to pay the investors back. Furthermore, water transport companies only use the Saigon River channel to move vehicles to Ben Tuc port but have to pay a payback fee for the construction of the Binh Loi iron bridge. This is like upgrading, covering a section of the road and then blocking the toll collection route as in road BOT projects. Next, the approval of the project without taking into account the plan of exploitation and reimbursement to the investor is wrong from both the investor’s side and the state management agency. The thought of applying for a project with a project or obtaining a project has led to the current confusion. Looking at the mining potential, there is absolutely no future. Inland waterway toll collection is vague, there is no specific regulation or specific price level. In addition, the source of vehicles to Binh Loi iron bridge mainly comes from Dong Nai, not much, plus the high fees will cause vehicles to find other ways. The mindset of both project execution and calculation is very dangerous, and both the investor and the management agency must be responsible, “said Mr. Liem. With this project, Mr. Liem said that it was a “good thing” and could not be stopped anymore. Therefore, both sides have to sit together, remove difficulties, find solutions to put the project into operation. It is more important, according to Mr. Liem, to handle responsibilities seriously with individuals and organizations involved in this project. “Obviously there are signs of asking – giving, a project does not have enough conditions to exploit business, has no plan to collect fees, the ability to recover capital but still deployed is emotional, irresponsible. This must be considered, clarified, responsible, wrong, wrong one must handle. The handling of responsibility is to avoid asking for messing around, causing waste, frustration, “he said. Integrity emphasized.

Gold bar at the gold exchange in Seoul, Korea. Photo: Yonhap / TTXVN According to FactSet data, for the whole week, the precious metal price is estimated to decrease by about 0.1%. In the first session of the week (April 19), gold prices went down after being traded at a much higher level than usual in the previous week. However, a weaker dollar and falling government bond yields have helped keep the metal from falling further. In the session of April 20, gold prices regained momentum, amid the decline in USD prices and US Treasury bond yields, increased demand for gold to preserve assets. This session, the dollar index fell 0.1% against major currencies after hitting a seven-week low, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell 1.6%. Gold prices continued to increase by nearly 1% high in the session on April 21, when 10-year US bond yields fell below 1.6%, reducing the opportunity cost of holding gold and unprofitable assets. , while the dollar is at a low level. OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said gold prices have been adversely affected in the past few months due to rising bond yields, but now the precious metal price has increased quite a lot. Moya added that the global economic outlook is still volatile and investors will see more cautious measures in the next quarter. However, to the session of April 22, the gold price turned to decrease due to the strength of the USD. Edward Meir, an analyst at ED&F Man Capital Markets, said both the US dollar and 10 year US government bond yields rose, thereby putting pressure on gold prices. The dollar is up 0.2% against a basket of other major currencies, making gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. Meanwhile, the US 10-year government bond yields rose to their intraday high of 1.587%. Gold prices have fallen 6% this year so far, mainly due to pressure from the rise in US government bond yields. In the last session of the week (April 23), gold prices continued to decline, when positive data on the housing market boosted bond yields and reduced the attractiveness of this precious metal. According to statistics, new home sales in the US reached 1.021 million units in March, the highest level since 2006. Experts say this data is “heavy enough” to push yields higher and put pressure on gold prices. Specifically, the price of gold delivered in June decreased by 0.2% to $ 1,777.80 / ounce. Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank, said that in order for gold prices to skyrocket to $ 1,800 an ounce, the market needs to see a reversal of the capital flow of gold exchange funds. According to the analyst, the flow of gold out of ETFs has slowed down, with April averages reaching 1.5 tons, down from a corresponding nearly 6 tons in March. Mr. Fritsch forecasts that ETFs will increase their gold holdings and that the precious metal price will rise again in the second half of the year. In addition, some market analysts also believe that gold prices are likely to increase due to increased tensions between the US and Russia. Currently, investors are waiting for a policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) expected to take place next week./.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) warns, Cambodia is on the brink of disaster, if the people and the Government do not agree to join hands to fight the epidemic, the consequences are unpredictable. More than a year ago, since the epidemic began appearing in early 2020 and until February this year, Cambodia has successfully prevented, only about 500 cases of Covid-19 and no one died. Doctors take samples of Covid-19 for people However, since the outbreak in the community on February 20 until now, Cambodia has found more than 8,100 people infected with Covid-19, more than 5,200 people are being treated and 59 people have died. Phnom Penh capital alone has about 6,000 cases. With the sudden increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitals have become overwhelmed, and some Covid-19 patients have had to self-treat at home. Facing the urgent situation, the Cambodian government had to apply drastic measures such as blocking the entire capital of Phnom Penh and the adjacent city of Ta Khmao for the first time, setting up a curfew, prohibiting travel between localities. , and the creation of “red zones” – high-risk zones in the capital, to stop the infection chain. The blockade order was issued on the night of April 14 and was applied immediately on April 15, so many Cambodians were surprised. When the blockade was executed, people’s lives were more difficult than before, both because of the loss or loss of jobs, and because of isolation and blockade, there were also some people reacting to this order. . But until now, after the propaganda of the government, a large number of people have supported the blockade order, and determined that this is a necessary step to control the epidemic. Economic activity is affected, the government implements support policies In recent years, the Government of Cambodia has used limited and phased administrative measures to ensure efficiency in preventing epidemics and minimizing the impact on the country’s economy. The government also decentralizes the provinces to decide on their own measures of travel restriction, curfew or blockade in their own areas to proactively respond. Accordingly, Preah Sihanouk province has banned people from entering and leaving the province from March 4, the capital Phnom Penh ordered a curfew from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am from April 1, many other provinces such as Kampong Speu, Sieam Reap later That also imposed a curfew in the evening, on April 7, the Cambodian government banned travel between provinces and now the capital Phnom Penh and Takhmao city are completely blocked. The curfew, travel restriction or blockade has affected economic activities, trade of people as well as made the lives of many families difficult. Especially, most affected are those who work in service, food, and unskilled jobs because most of them do not have savings or savings. However, the Government of Cambodia does not ban goods transportation, even encourages businesses to maintain food and food supply activities to ensure people’s lives. The government also has policies to support money, food, food, asking property owners to exempt or reduce rent, banks relax debts and not charge interest to reduce the burden on households suffering from effects of the disease. Coping scripts Covid-19 of Cambodia The epidemic situation in Cambodia is still in a very stressful period with hundreds of new cases detected every day despite drastic measures of the government. Up to now, there have been more than 8,100 cases of Covid-19, of which 7,648 were related to the public infection on February 20. This situation requires the Government of Cambodia to continue to take more effective measures to curb and stop the spread of the disease. After applying a blockade measure with the capital Phnom Penh and Takhmao city, the Phnom Penh government has stepped up a step further by zoning the “red zone” with some high-risk areas, people in This is prohibited from leaving the home for any reason other than medical. Food quantity and food are also transported by the government to the front door of the households. If other regions have more Covid-19 cases, these “red zones” will expand. The government also leaves open the possibility of prolonging the blockade time if the situation does not change positively. In addition to maintaining and controlling strict implementation of the blockade, the Cambodian government also resumed its Covid-19 vaccination campaign with the goal of vaccinating 1 million people a month and will soon vaccinate about 80 people. % of population equivalent to 13 million people. Up to now, Cambodia has injected nearly 1.3 million people, equivalent to 1/16 of the country’s population. Cambodia is one of the countries with the highest proportion of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the region.

Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung and delegates performing the opening ceremony of the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Defense (Photo: mod.gov.vn) An important milestone in the construction of e-Government of the Ministry of Defense The Ministry of National Defense’s public service portal has just been officially opened by this Ministry at the address dichvucong.mod.gov.vn on the afternoon of April 16. Built to meet the regulations on the implementation of the one-door mechanism, the one-stop shop for administrative procedures settlement, the website dichvucong.mod.gov.vn is the online provider of administrative procedures under the state management of the Ministry of National Defense on the principle of concentration, consistency and timeliness. According to the website of the Ministry of National Defense, the website dichvucong.mod.gov.vn provides online public services for 29 administrative procedures in 6 areas, including: journalism, defense explosives management. , civil cryptography, military policy, IT management and electronic authentication. On the website dichvucong.mod.gov.vn, the Ministry of Defense provides online public services with 29 administrative procedures in 6 fields. Public service portal The Ministry of Defense is connected to the National Public Service Portal, ready to provide online public services to citizens and businesses on the Internet. This is a reliable address for people and businesses to transact with agencies and units in the Ministry of Defense in an electronic environment. At the same time, this portal is also a channel to monitor and supervise to improve the quality of handling administrative procedures and receive and handle recommendations of agencies and units in the Ministry of Defense. According to the website of the Ministry of National Defense, speaking at the opening ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Minister of National Defense emphasized: “The official opening of the Ministry of Defense Public Service Portal into operation is a milestone. attaching importance to, affirming the determination of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense to promote administrative reform in association with building e-Government in the Ministry of National Defense, focusing on administrative procedure reform with the aim of taking the people. is the center, taking the satisfaction of the people, the organization is the measure to evaluate the service quality of agencies and units “. The Department of Defense provides 22 online public services at levels 3 and 4 Notably, data on the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Defense shows that, of the 282 administrative procedures under the management of the Ministry of Defense, 18 procedures are available online at level 3 and 4. is provided online level 4 – the highest level done entirely on the network environment. All 4 administrative procedures provided online by the Ministry of Defense at level 4 on the Ministry’s Public Service Portal are in the field of electronic authentication, they are: Procedures for new issuance of digital certificates of agencies and organizations; procedures for new issuance of digital certificates for equipment, services, and software; procedures for new digital certificates for individuals; digital certificate renewal procedures for competent persons of agencies and organizations in accordance with the law on management and use of seals, persons with state titles. Decree 130 2018 details the implementation of the Law on Electronic transactions regarding digital signatures and digital signature authentication services, stating types of electronic transactions of Party and State agencies if signatures are applied. for the number, use the digital signature authentication service provided by a specialized digital signature authentication service provider provided by the Government. The Department of Digital Authentication and Information Security under the Government Cipher Committee (Ministry of Defense) is a specialized digital signature authentication service provider of the Government. According to this agency’s data, as of the middle of last year, the specialized digital signature authentication system of the Government has ensured the provision of over 230,000 digital certificates to ministries, branches and localities in the country. According to the instructions, in order to carry out the administrative procedures provided on the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Defense, before performing the online submission, businesses, organizations and individuals need to register an account. to be able to access the system. In addition to online filing, in the system, businesses, organizations and individuals can also track the status of the application, view statistics on the processing status of the administrative documents or participate in the evaluation. system pricing through survey questions …

Over the past few years, the American electric car maker has received favor from the Chinese authorities. However, in recent months, Tesla has received fierce criticism. In March, the news agency Bloomberg citing some sources about the Chinese military’s claim that the omnidirectional cameras and ultrasonic sensors on Tesla vehicles could reveal the location. Therefore, the ban on the company’s vehicles to ensure the security of military information. Accordingly, all Tesla car users were required to park outside military complexes. In February, Tesla cars manufactured in Shanghai were also investigated by Chinese authorities for quality and safety. At the same time, Beijing is also putting pressure on technology companies operating in the country on the issue of user data. The administration’s campaign has targeted Ant Group, the financial technology company under Alibaba. Ant pledged to “strengthen the protection of personal information” after reforming its business at Beijing’s request. Tesla considers a market of 1.4 billion people to be an important part of its growth plan. Photo: Reuters. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, reassures China that his company is not doing anything inappropriate. In the interview with CCTV Musk dedicates many winged words to this country. Electric vehicle CEO pledged that China will become the “biggest market” for electric vehicle manufacturers in the long run. “I am very confident about Tesla’s future in China,” Musk said CCTV . “I believe that the Chinese economy can grow extremely well in the next decade and will become the top economy in the world. The country is also committed to a sustainable energy future,” said Tesla CEO. added. Although he doesn’t speak Chinese, Musk remains one of the most popular American business leaders in China. Earlier last year, a video of him dancing on stage during the Model 3 launch was circulated on Weibo, a popular social network in China. Musk also has about 1.7 million followers on Weibo, more than Apple CEO Tim Cook. Tesla’s revenue in China in 2020 grew 124% from a year earlier, largely thanks to Model 3 sales (137,000 units). According to the China Passenger Vehicle Association, the Model 3 is the best-selling electric car in the 1.4 billion population.

From Claudia Kornmeier, ARD legal editors

Can the federal government issue corona rules?

Yes, he can. Because the legislative competence for infection protection lies with the federal government. According to Article 74, Paragraph 1, No. 19, the “measures against publicly dangerous and communicable diseases” are a federal matter. The federal states are only responsible if the federal government has not regulated anything. So far, the federal government had set a certain framework, but then authorized the states to decide specifically which measures should be taken to combat the pandemic. That is why the corona rules have so far mainly been issued by the federal states by ordinance. But that should change now.

Could the federal government lay down even more corona rules?

Yes. The Bundestag could stipulate further concrete measures directly in the Infection Protection Act. However, it is also planned that the Infection Protection Act will in future also allow the federal government to take further measures for all of Germany by ordinance. Corona measures can be adjusted a little faster and more flexibly via statutory ordinance than in a legislative procedure.

To what extent does the Federal Council have to be involved in the reform?

The federal states are involved in the legislative process at federal level through the Bundesrat. There are laws that the Federal Council must approve in order for them to come into force. The Land Chamber can only appeal against the majority of the laws. Then a mediation committee has to be convened. In this way, a legislative process can at least be delayed. According to the Basic Law, the approval of the Federal Council is not required for protection against infection. The federal government also assumes that the current law is merely an “objection law”. However, it is controversial as to what applies when infection protection, for example, coincides with the issue of education, for example when schools are closed. Because the federal states are responsible for education. And with previous changes, the Infection Protection Act was also viewed as an approval act.

Is a curfew legally permissible?

Whether curfews are proportionate is very controversial. Critics doubt that such restrictions are even suitable for containing the infection rate. If you go for a walk alone at night, you don’t risk any infections. However, exit restrictions are more about preventing inadmissible private meetings. If you have to be home by 9 p.m., you may not even have dinner with a group of friends. In the past there were already comparable exit restrictions in some federal states. Some of them were overturned by the courts. Some courts have also questioned the effectiveness of exit restrictions. In other cases, exit restrictions were also overturned because the seven-day incidence was low at the time and continued to fall. However, the legislature also has a certain amount of leeway. In the explanatory memorandum for the law, the Federal Government expressly refers to experience in other countries and scientific studies. It may well be that the currently planned regulation will ultimately end up with the Federal Constitutional Court.

Who can overturn these new rules?

Only the Federal Constitutional Court can overturn the planned statutory rules. The corona regulations of the federal states, on the other hand, can be attacked before the administrative courts. If there are federal ordinances, things will look a little more complicated. In these cases, too, one could first sue the administrative courts. Filing a constitutional complaint directly could also be permissible. However, the hurdles are high.

Ms. Catherine DEROCHE, Chairman of the Committee of Social Affairs of the French Senate, is also the Chairman of the Franco-Vietnam Friendship Senate Group in the Senate.

Reporter: The new Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, used to be the leader of a locality with an important position in Vietnam economically. In your opinion, what are the advantages for the development of cooperation between the two countries?

Ms. Catherine DEROCHE: I believe that, when selected, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh has the necessary strengths. Local potential and wealth is an important spearhead. With deep economic knowledge and understanding of localities, he will be a good middleman for the cooperation relationship between localities of Vietnam and France. Currently, there are many localities in Vietnam having cooperation relations with localities in France.

Reporter: How do you evaluate the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France, especially the role of Vietnam in the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific region?

Ms. Catherine DEROCHE: Vietnam plays an important role in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific is also a strategically important region for France. France wants to consolidate a foothold in this region. Vietnam is an important partner in our strategy here.

We aim to ensure peace and stability in the region, while at the same time guarantee freedom of navigation, respect for international law. With its increasingly important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its pace of development, it is undeniable that Vietnam is a particularly important partner of France in this region.

Reporter: How do you assess Vietnam’s achievements in recent years, especially its success in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic?

Ms. Catherine DEROCHE: For the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam is an example because Vietnam has successfully implemented a strategic strategy since the outbreak of the epidemic, which has been recognized by international organizations. This was indeed an admiration but also a great surprise. How has a country like Vietnam overcome the pandemic, unlike many other countries. To date, only a few thousand viral infections have been recorded, with few deaths. The vaccination campaign has also been implemented very quickly. I think this is a very remarkable management approach.

Meanwhile, the slow, slow awareness of the epidemic, the slow implementation of the bureaucracy made us face problems with masks, testing, the vaccination campaign started but late. France as well as other European countries did not adopt a suitable strategy. In France, we have never been able to isolate the infected person, then proceed to trace, the decision to close the border was made too slow.

Countries like Vietnam adopt a “no virus infection” strategy, while we cannot. /.

Reporter: Would like to thank you so much!./.

Retail consultant Mary Portas was among those calling for the stimulus package.

In the UK, celebrities such as retail consultant Mary Portas, beauty magnate Charlotte Tilbury, fashion designer Charlie Casely-Hayford and Henry Holland were among the callers of Main’s stimulus package. covered. The new aid package should be structured similarly to the restaurant bailout package in the summer of 2020, they said.

Specifically, the Government has paid 50% of the cost of goods purchased at stores with less than 10 employees and capped at £ 10, with rollout times from Monday to Wednesday, taking place during round a month this summer.

Independent stores have been hit hard by the pandemic, says Ross Bailey, founder of the “Street rescue” campaign and chief executive of retail rental market Appear Here. In particular, it is estimated that retail stores of non-essential goods, mainly independent stores, lost £ 22 billion in sales by 2020, with the number of customers down 40%.

Often, family-style small businesses can’t adopt plans for employees to take temporary leave because there are still a small number of online orders that need to be processed, Bailey said.

According to statistics, the UK has more than 11,000 stores that have permanently disappeared from the streets and shopping malls by 2020. Meanwhile, online shopping, mushrooming during the pandemic. The figures show that 38% of retail sales were done online in February, up 18% from last year.

To resolve the above situation, recently, the British Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak announced, retail stores can extend the business tax reduction until July.

Previously, the British Government also announced that retail stores could reopen from April 12, 2021, and could sell until 10 p.m. and six days a week. This is a move to save the British government’s retail stores after months of closure.

However, Ross Bailey, founder of the “Street Rescue” campaign, argues that more substantial intervention is needed: “With the right support, independent stores can thrive. Otherwise, we will lose community cohesion, where transaction is based on human connection and experience, which is hard to replace online transactions, ”affirmed Ross Bailey.

Russian President and US President – documentary photo.

On April 15, the administration of US President Joe Biden intends to impose new sanctions on many Russian individuals and organizations.

The US news agency, citing some well-informed sources, said Washington would punish 30 entities in Russia and expel 10 officials from the United States.

This is part of the US response to Russia over accusations that Moscow is the culprit behind large-scale cyber attacks against US software supply chain SolarWinds in December last year.

Through that attack, the hackers gain access to the data of thousands of companies and government offices that are partners of Solar Winds.

However, the Russian side has always strongly rejected and affirmed that it had prepared the scenario to deal with the worst situations.

Official sources from the White House, the State Department and the US Treasury Department have not officially announced or responded to the leaked information.

If confirmed, this is the “pain” of the US and Russia at the moment when the tense relationship between the two countries is falling into disagreement regarding the hot spot on the Russia-Ukraine border.

Earlier, this disagreement led the US to send two destroyers to the Black Sea towards Russia to show support for Ukraine.

However, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden made a phone call and the two sides agreed to hold a summit meeting in the near future, the US stopped the plan to destroy the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS destroyers. Donald Cook into the Black Sea.

Turkey has received notification of this route change. This is a move that is expected to help cool the situation in Ukraine and ease tensions between the US and Russia.

Thus, in combination with the frigate developments and the US administration’s imposition of sanctions on Russia, it can be seen that the Biden administration probably wants to demonstrate the diplomatic stance with Moscow, which he immediately identified. from the beginning.

That is the US will react strongly to protect national interests against Russian actions such as accusations of cyber attacks, election interference … but will not make too much tension in matters related to international affairs. .

On the morning of April 15, at the headquarters of the Government, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presided over the Government meeting to deploy the work after being strengthened. This is the first meeting of the Government after consolidation, also the first meeting Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has chaired since taking office.

Before the meeting started, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh discussed some work with Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. After consolidation, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh is no longer concurrently holding the position of Foreign Minister.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Thi Hong. Ms. Hong is one of two female government members after the apparatus was strengthened.

Transport Minister Nguyen Van The and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Le Minh Hoan exchanged discussions before the meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam discussed with the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung. Mr. Dam is one of the five incumbent deputy prime ministers and one of the three who has held the position since the beginning of his term.

Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son reports some general contents to submit to the Government.

The meeting discussed the hand-over of tasks after the Government was strengthened, points of view, direction and direction and some key contents should focus on directing the implementation in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested in this meeting the Government to agree on a number of views to direct the Government’s activities in the coming time; organize the implementation of the Politburo’s Notice No. 01 on April 12, 2021, notice No. 03 of the key leaders on April 12, 2021; consider and comment on a number of other important issues.

Right after the Government was consolidated, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thoroughly grasped and instructed the Government members to promptly hand over, handle and immediately handle work, ensuring continuity and continuity; to soon consolidate Party committees, Party organizations and personnel work; review and amend working regulations.

Also in the first meeting, the Government will continue to review the legal system, propose amendments, supplements or new promulgation of legal documents; serving the election of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the term 2021-2026; the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic and vaccination against Covid-19; promote disbursement of public investment capital.

F-35 fighter jets. Photo: AFP / VNA

After President Biden came to power in January, the US State Department asked to reconsider the deal passed under former US President Donald Trump. Previously, there was a lawsuit asking to block the deal on the grounds that the UAE was involved in a conflict in Yemen and supported General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in Libya. In this regard, the US State Department said it planned to conduct a candid and continuous dialogue with the UAE.

In the statement, the State Department spokesperson stated that the US administration intends to launch the sale of fighter jets to the UAE, along with reviewing the details, consulting UAE officials to ensure said the two sides to understand the UAE obligations before, during and after delivery. The handover deadline will be in the next few years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks has expressed concern about the deal. According to this congressman, since the handover of the aircraft will not take place soon, the National Assembly will have plenty of time to evaluate whether to proceed with the deal, as well as whether to impose terms or arguments do not have any restrictions.

If the deal is enforced, the UAE will be the first Arab country to receive F-35 fighters, aircraft capable of gathering intelligence, attacking deep into the territory of the target and combat in the air. Under the plan, the UAE will receive 50 F-35s, equivalent to the fleet size of Israel.

American experts warn Russia is a nuclear power capable of killing millions of Americans in the event of a war. In his view, the United States can engage in an open confrontation with Russia only in the event of any “vital” threat to its existence.

But Mr. Lawson stressed that Ukraine is not such a case, and the situation in Donbass does not pose a direct threat to US security.

Analyst Lawson said that the US should prioritize cooperation with Russia instead of confrontation as it is now

In addition, the expert also strongly opposes Ukraine’s membership in NATO, because according to Mr. Lawson, it is Kiev that is the cause of all the problems that have arisen in Europe recently. Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance will exacerbate the situation, taking its conflict with Russia to a new level, something no one wants.

Lawson explained that continuing to confront Russia over Ukraine could be exploited by China, which is dreaming of becoming a superpower and surpassing the US on the world rankings. So Washington needs to turn to other issues, and not to conflict with Russia.

Meanwhile, the US intelligence community has released another annual report on global threats. Traditionally, Russia has been at the forefront of America’s security challenges at all levels.

The above development shows that despite opposition from domestic analysts, the administration of President Joe Biden with a tough stance is almost certain to provide military assistance to Ukraine in the event of a war. In Donbass, if you do not participate in direct combat, you will also provide weapons, weapons, and modern military equipment.

On April 15, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presided over the Government meeting to implement the work after being strengthened at the 11th Session of the 14th National Assembly.

After listening to the discussion of Government members, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh concluded that the Government decided on the following issues:

Regarding the direction and direction: The Prime Minister asked ministries, branches and localities to continue implementing synchronously, drastically and effectively the objectives, tasks and solutions set out in the fields according to the fields. Resolution of the Party, National Assembly and Resolution No. 01 / NQ-CP dated 1-1-2021 of the Government; Focusing on controlling inflation, ensuring macroeconomic stability and major balances of the economy, being more active in solving difficulties for production and business, dealing with lingering backlog problems. ; Enhance the application of science and technology, promote innovation, creativity, digital transformation, develop the digital economy, digital society, strive to achieve the highest level of goals and tasks set out in the six month and year 2021.

Continue to focus on building the Government and administrative agencies at all levels for solidarity, high unity, integrity and democracy together with strengthening discipline and discipline; action practical, effective, effective, serving people and businesses; ensuring publicity, transparency and accountability; uphold the responsibility of being an exemplary and exemplary spirit. Uphold the spirit of responsibility, self-reliance, self-reliance, innovation, creativity, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, be drastic and effective in action; continue to arouse and promote strong aspirations. The contents of directing, administering and assigning tasks must be clear and specific about the responsible subject and ensure feasibility; At the same time, it is necessary to regularly urge, evaluate, supervise and inspect. Proactively handle work according to competence, strengthen coordination, not push responsibilities. Focus on handling centralized and key jobs, do what to stop, ensure efficiency and substance, avoid show off and formality.

The Government and the Prime Minister request ministries, agencies and localities to continue promoting their recent work results, dissatisfaction, subjectivity, and being satisfied with their achievements; with the spirit of inheritance and innovation, stability and development; to thoroughly grasp and strictly observe the principles of the organization and operation of the Party and the laws of the State; all for the sake of the nation, the nation, wholeheartedly, serving the Fatherland, serving the people. Commendation and strict discipline in public duty performance; protecting cadres who dare to think, dare to do, and dare to take responsibility for the common good. To substantially and effectively intensify administrative reform, prevent corruption, waste, and negativity, first of all in the state administrative system; resolutely prevent and repel harassment, causing troubles to people and businesses. For unexpected, unexpected, important and urgent issues, it is imperative to follow the Party’s guidelines and lines, the State’s policies and laws, actively grasp the situation and require practicality to have solutions. and handle the job with the highest efficiency.

Timely remove difficulties and problems for production and business; develop domestic trade and tourism market; to develop stably and sustainably the real estate market and the stock market; continue to improve the business investment environment; effectively mobilize and use all resources for national development with appropriate and effective institutions, mechanisms and policies. Ensure social progress and equity, pay more attention to social security and people’s lives, especially in remote, border and island areas. Promote cultural values ​​and Vietnamese people to become an important resource and driving force in socio-economic development. Strengthen prevention of natural disasters, proactively respond to climate change. To firmly ensure national defense and security; social-political stability, safety and security for the people; active, proactive international integration; maintain independence and sovereignty; to build and preserve a peaceful and stable environment for national development.

The Government respectfully requests that the Party’s agencies, the National Assembly, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations, the business community and the people of the country always accompany and coordinate closely with the administrative agencies. state at all levels, strengthen supervision of public service implementation and contribute constructive ideas, contribute to creating social consensus to soon bring the Resolution of the XIIIth Congress of the Party into practice in social life.

Regarding the Government’s Action Program to implement the Resolution of the XIII Congress of the Party, the Prime Minister directed that the formulation of the Program must adhere to the Congress Resolution, the functions, tasks and powers of the Government, request development and the real situation of the country. The Ministry of Planning and Investment was assigned to expeditiously complete with concerned ministries and agencies, clearly showing the major tasks and projects to be implemented, ensuring focus, focus and feasibility; effectively implementing three strategic breakthroughs; submit to the Government at the regular meeting in April 2021 for promulgation.

Regarding the review of the working regulations of the Government: The Government agreed to early review and evaluate the implementation situation in order to amend and supplement the Regulation, ensure the inheritance of the advantages, to overcome the limitations and shortcomings. update, follow the situation and meet practical requirements of leadership, direction and administration. In the immediate future, the Government members are requested to thoroughly grasp the direction of: Solidarity and high unity; strengthen discipline, discipline, openness and transparency; The Government and the Prime Minister only deal with matters falling within their competence; promote decentralization, decentralization, clear identification of collective and individual responsibilities associated with urging, examining and supervising the implementation; upholding the personal responsibility of the members of the Government, not avoiding, pushing the responsibility, ensuring the quality and processing time of work. The Government Office was assigned to assume the prime responsibility for urgently summarizing, evaluating and amending the Regulation and submitting it to the Government.

Regarding the continued review of the legal system, proposing amendments, supplements or promulgation of new legal documents: The Government assigned the Ministry of Justice to assume the prime responsibility for continuing to carefully and comprehensively review the legal system. to propose amendments and supplements to remove difficulties and problems for people and businesses and promote production and business development in all fields, to report to the Prime Minister soon. Requesting ministries and agencies to urgently develop assigned laws, ordinances and resolutions; not let debt, slow, poor quality when promulgating documents detailing law implementation.

Regarding the election of deputies to the XVth National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the term 2021-2026: The Prime Minister asked ministries, agencies and localities to continue to seriously and effectively implement the tasks. according to the assignment in Directive No. 02 / CT-TTg, ensuring democracy, openness and transparency in accordance with the law, on schedule and in accordance with the proposed plan and selecting worthy people to join the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels. Promote propaganda about the election; take the initiative in fighting and countering wrong and distorted views of hostile forces; have plans and scenarios to prevent and fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure political security, order and safety for the election and election day.

Regarding epidemic prevention and control and vaccination against Covid-19: The Government requires ministries, branches, localities, agencies and units to continue to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures according to the motto “prevention. active, early detection, fast isolation, effective treatment, complete handling, quickly stabilizing the situation ”; for individuals implementing the formula “5K + vaccine”; for a collective that strictly implements the measure of “Covid safety”; absolutely not subjective, indifferent and ready to respond to any epidemic situation. To request production and service establishments to strictly comply with epidemic prevention regulations and strictly handle violations. Continue to strictly control immigration activities, prevent and strictly handle illegal entry. Organize vaccination urgently, absolutely safe, decisively not to prevent vaccines being injected in time, must be canceled. The Ministry of Health was assigned to urgently complete the plan and study and deploy the “vaccine passport” mechanism and create favorable conditions for the early availability of domestically produced vaccines.

Regarding the promotion of disbursement of public investment capital: The Government requires the heads of ministries, agencies and localities to be directly and comprehensively responsible for the implementation and disbursement of public investment capital according to the plan. The Ministry of Planning and Investment was assigned to assume the prime responsibility for urgently reviewing and evaluating the disbursement of public investment capital over the past time, clearly identifying difficulties, problems, limitations, shortcomings and causes, and lessons learned. ; propose synchronous, effective and feasible solutions to strive for the highest disbursement rate, focusing on key infrastructure works; at the same time, ensuring the objectives, quality and efficiency of the use of public investment capital in accordance with the provisions of law and avoiding mistakes.

Regarding the Decree extending the time limit for paying taxes and land use levies in 2021 and the implementation of Resolution No. 42 / NQ-CP on support for people in need due to the Covid-19 pandemic: The Government agrees to issue Decree extending the time limit for tax and land use levy payment in 2021. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is assigned to take the lead in urgently reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of the Government’s Resolutions on measures supporting people in difficulty due to the Covid-19 pandemic; report to the Prime Minister.

Regarding the organization of the national high school exam: The Government requires the Ministry of Education and Training to actively implement and take full responsibility for the exam; continue to improve exam regulations, ensure strict, create maximum favorable conditions for candidates. Assign the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee to take full responsibility for the organization of the test in the area, ensuring seriousness, safety, honesty, fairness, objectivity but not causing stress or pressure on candidates and parents. students and in accordance with the disease situation.

“Each member of the Government must be exemplary, truly humble, willing to listen and listen in many directions. What is clear, ripe, practically proven effective, most of them agree to continue to do it. Anything that has not been regulated or is beyond the regulations will be piloted boldly, not perfectionist but not in a hurry, determined to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party, State and People ”- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized when presiding over the first meeting of the Government after being consolidated at the 11th Session of the 14th National Assembly, discussing the hand-over of tasks after the Government was strengthened, points of view, direction and direction, and Some key contents need to focus on directing the implementation and implementation of the work of the Government in the coming time. The meeting took place this morning (April 15) at Government Headquarters.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh spoke at the meeting.

At the meeting, the Government members focused on discussing the Draft Government’s Action Program to implement the Resolution of the XIII National Congress of the Party; summarizing the working regulations of the Government issued together with the Decree No. 138/2016 / ND-CP; continue to review the legal system, propose amending, supplementing or issuing new legal documents; serving the election of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the term 2021-2026; COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control and COVID-19 vaccination; promote disbursement of public investment capital; draft a Decree to extend the deadline for paying taxes and land use levies in 2021 and the implementation of Resolution No. 42 / NQ-CP on support for people in need due to the COVID-19 epidemic; organize the national high school exam …

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the domestic, world and regional situation continues to face many difficulties and challenges. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic is complicated and has a potential risk of rebounding. This makes our country’s growth in the first quarter only reach 4.48%, lower than the set target. Therefore, the task in the coming time is very heavy and the Government will immediately get to work, without interruption, without being subjective. Urgently complete the work of consolidating the party committees and party organizations and handing over the work to agencies and units; actively reviewing and completing the lean apparatus, effective operation associated with streamlining payrolls and restructuring, improving the contingent of cadres, civil servants and public employees at all levels.

“Solidarity must be successful. This is also what Uncle Ho always admonishes. Build up the Government with integrity, discipline, discipline, decisive action, effective effectiveness, taking the people and businesses as the center of the mind.” to ensure that people enjoy social progress and justice “- emphasized the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that each member of the Government must have high determination, great effort, act decisively, effectively, with key focus, do any work to stop it. In particular, the Government will strongly strengthen the decentralization and decentralization, and at the same time clearly define the responsibilities of collectives and individuals associated with the inspection, supervision and control of power; focus on directing the building and perfecting of institutions, policies, strategies, planning and plans.

In particular, maintaining an environment of stable peace and extensive international integration for development. Adhering to the Party’s, National Assembly’s and Government’s Resolution 01. Along with that, close and effective coordination with mass organizations. Mobilize the strength of great national solidarity, steadfast the goal of controlling inflation, stabilizing the macro-economy, mobilizing the efficient use of all resources for the development of the country, especially human resources. In particular, it is necessary to drastically implement effectively objectives, tasks and solutions focusing on innovation and mobilizing non-state resources.

Referring to a number of specific tasks in the coming time, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that local ministries and agencies, especially the head, are directly and comprehensively responsible for the implementation and disbursement of capital. public investment according to the plan. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall urgently preside over, review and evaluate the disbursement of public investment capital; propose synchronous, feasible and effective solutions to overcome, strive to achieve a high disbursement rate but must be effective, for the right purposes and in accordance with the provisions of law. The Ministry of Health urgently completes the plan and soon implements the “vaccine passport”. There is a mechanism to encourage and create conditions for organizations and enterprises eligible to buy and inject vaccines; promote research and development of vaccines in the country.

Panoramic meeting

The Ministry of Finance cooperates with the Government Office in completing a draft Decree on a draft Decree extending the time limit for tax payment and land use levy in 2021 and the implementation of Resolution No. 42 / NQ-CP on support. support for the people in difficulty due to the Covid-19 pandemic submitted to the Prime Minister for signature and promulgation immediately after the meeting.

Stating that the upcoming election of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 term is an important political event of the country, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested, localities, continue to implement plans to inspect and supervise the election preparation at the central and local levels, promptly issue documents guiding and responding to agencies and organizations on election work. At the same time, to fight against and contradict wrong and distorted views of hostile forces; ensure political security, social order and safety.

The Prime Minister suggested ministries and branches to effectively implement the solutions stated in the Government’s Resolution 01. Continue to review and perfect mechanisms and policies; macroeconomic stability; drastically settle and handle according to their competence or report to competent authorities to remove difficulties, problems and outstanding problems. Closely monitor and take appropriate measures against potential risks to the economy such as the sign of hot rise in the stock market and unusually rising land prices in some localities … Proactively grasp the situation timely and effective handling of arising problems.

Finally, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that ministers, heads of branches, members of the Government, according to their functions, tasks and assignment, well prepare the contents for the 3 Central Conference of Session XIII and Ky. the first meeting, the XVth National Assembly as well as Conferences of the Politburo and the Secretariat under the agenda for 2021./.

Reuters on 14/4 said, a State Department spokesman revealed, the Biden administration has announced to Congress that they are promoting plans to sell more than 23 billion weapons to the Emirate United (UAE), including advanced F-35 fighter jets.

The US government will continue to promote the plan to sell weapons to the UAE, the spokesman said. “We are continuing to elaborate on the use of these weapons and have consulted with UAE officials.”

America’s state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft. Source: Sina.

According to reports, the plan to sell weapons to the Gulf nation was finalized before Mr. Trump left office. Before that, Mr. Biden suspended this plan to re-examine the agreement.

In the months leading up to the end of its term, the Trump administration approved numerous arms sales contracts worth tens of billions of dollars, including plans to sell 50 F-35 fighters to the UAE. .

The report mentions that some US lawmakers have criticized the UAE’s participation in the Yemen war, believing the Yemen conflict has become one of the most severe humanitarian disasters in the world. They fear that the arms sales may violate previous US commitments to secure Israel’s military superiority in the region.

In December 2020, the US Senate tried to prevent the US from selling F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, but ultimately failed due to differing stances between the parties. On January 20, 2021, just about an hour before Mr. Biden took office as US President, Mr. Trump quickly completed the sale of this large-scale weapon to the UAE.

However, at the end of January 2021, the Biden administration announced that it would re-evaluate the project, the UAE said it expected the results of the evaluation and welcomed the two sides to work together to alleviate tensions and re-start. phone area.

A spokesman for the US State Department on April 13 said that if the plan can be carried out on schedule, it is expected that weapons and equipment will be delivered to the UAE in 2025 or later.

It is known that the Trump administration wants to promote the plan to sell weapons to the UAE to help it deter potential threats from Iran. Trump’s real intention is to put Mr. Biden in a “difficult position” in the Middle East, because this plan will inevitably encounter a strong reaction from Israel, because the UAE’s F-35 will imbalance. balance of military power in the Middle East.

Along with that, Mr. Biden plans to return to nuclear negotiations with Iran, the fact that Mr. Trump pushed the plan to sell the F-35 to the UAE will make Tehran “angry” and difficult to accept again if the US do not cancel this plan.

However, the UAE side is showing little “interest” with the US F-35. Recently, the UAE has high expectations about the purchase of stealth fighter F-35 Lightning II, but due to strong opposition from Israel and the attitude of “considerations” of the US, Dubai has warned that it will change to buy Russian weapons if your requirements are not met.

Experts said that, if the Biden administration continues to “consider” this contract, it may bring the UAE back to negotiate with Moscow on the purchase of Russian fighters. Most likely buys 4.5 generation multi-purpose fighter Su-35.

“The UAE expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Washington’s actions and will most likely refuse to negotiate further with the US on the supply of these weapons due to Washington’s constantly changing position, buying a batch of Su. Russian -35 with the same large budget is quite obvious, even Su-57 fighter jets are considered, “the Russian press said.

It is still unclear exactly what the recent actions of US President Joe Biden are, since since after taking office, Mr. Biden’s policy in the Middle East can be said to be very fuzzy, and focused. into the Europe, Indo-Pacific region.

Some Russian experts believe that Biden’s move may be to prevent Russia from further strengthening its influence in the Middle East through arms exports to the region.

It is still too early to talk about the prospect of the UAE buying Russian weapons, as the US is still willing to impose sanctions under the CAATSA Act on the UAE, not to mention that they can offer upgraded versions. of the F-15 and the F-16 feature the Su-35 equivalent as an alternative.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai congratulates the new Chief Executive Officer Doan Hong Phong. Photo: PH

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai congratulated Mr. Doan Hong Phong, who was assigned by the Central Executive Committee, approved by the National Assembly and the President signed the decision to assign the tasks of General Thanh. Government inspection (TTCP).

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that in recent years, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Inspectorate have made important contributions to the performance of the functions and duties of the tasks and requests made by the Party, National Assembly and Government assigned. In a recent meeting of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Prime Minister attended and had very good assessments of the achievements of the Government Office, positively contributing to the achievement of 75 years of construction and growth of Thanh industry. investigation.

Such results are thanks to the leadership and direction of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government and the support and assistance of the local authorities, especially the great efforts of all officials in the Prime Ministerial Center. as well as the entire inspection industry. These are the praiseworthy achievements and achievements, actively contributing to the reorganization of the State management, the protection of the Party, the protection of the government, and the protection of the legitimate rights of the people.

“I returned to accept the assignment since October 2017, less than 4 years in time, the job was still very new at first, but with the care of the superiors, the help and support of the Party Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. especially the leaders of the Department, departments, units and all officials and civil servants of the Government Center and the Inspectorate during the time I undertook the task followed the tradition of the industry, and the comrades basically completed. some key urgent tasks assigned by the Party, the Government and the National Assembly ”, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai affirmed.

The new Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and the new Prime Minister sign the minutes at the handover ceremony. Photo: PH

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai also noted that a number of key tasks in the coming time to be implemented by the PMU is to continue focusing on building legal policies in general, in particular. pay attention to the activities of the Government Center and the Inspection sector as soon as completing the Draft Project on amending and supplementing the Law on Inspection to submit to the National Assembly; pay attention to training human resources to meet the requirements of assigned tasks, especially strengthen discipline when on duty; continue to speed up the implementation of approved inspections in 2021, especially pay attention to handling and resolving complex inspections, ensuring progress, efficiency and great pervasiveness , meet the mission requirements in the new situation.

At the same time, it is suggested to pay attention to the construction of facilities, income and life of officials and employees of the Inspection service in general and the Prime Minister’s Office in particular.

“I hope that with the tradition, affection, solidarity, the collective of the Party’s Civil Affairs Committee, the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam and all cadres, civil servants and public employees continue to try to fulfill well the tasks assigned by the Party and State” , Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized.

The new Chief Executive Officer, Doan Hong Phong, gave a speech to accept the mission.

Speaking of accepting the task, Member of the Party Central Committee, General Director of the Communist Party of Hong Phong congratulated Mr. Le Minh Khai, Secretary of the Party Central Committee assigned by the Party, the National Assembly approved the position of Deputy Prime Minister.

At the same time, we pledge to bring our best with the spirit of “face to face, carefree”, together with the leaders of the PRC to unite, unify and overcome difficulties; inherit and promote great achievements that the Inspectorate has achieved through the period. Determined to strive to successfully complete the tasks assigned by the Party, State, Government and people.

The New Inspector General also suggested that all officials, civil servants and employees of the Central Government Office in particular and the entire inspection sector in general continue to innovate, act with drastic, comprehensive, synchronous and effective spirit. Raising the spirit of dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility; constantly study, practice, improve public duties and ethical qualities; overcoming all difficulties and challenges, striving to complete well the assigned tasks.

On the morning of April 15, the People’s Committee of Hanoi held a conference on the implementation of Decree No. 32 dated March 29, 2021 of the Government detailing and implementing measures to implement the National Resolution No. 97/2019 / QH14. Association on the Pilot of Urban Government Modeling in Hanoi City. Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee Nguyen Thi Tuyen attended and directed the meeting.

Overview of the conference

Cautious, there are many initiatives

At the conference, representatives of the Department of Local Government – Ministry of Home Affairs disseminated the basic content of Decree 32/2021 / ND-CP with 6 Chapters and 32 Articles. In which there are some noteworthy contents such as: The Chairman of the People’s Committee of the district or town decides to appoint, re-appoint, dismiss, transfer, rotate, second, reward, discipline, suspend work. to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the ward People’s Committee; ward civil servants on the payroll of the district People’s Committee; at least 2 times a year, before the regular meeting of the People’s Council of the district or town, the president of the ward is responsible for organizing a dialogue with the people; the average number of civil servants at the ward People’s Committee is 15 people …

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan stated the points to note in Decree 32 of the Government and affirmed, organizing the urban government towards the goal of streamlining the apparatus, improving the effectiveness of the local government. the right approach to urban characteristics in Hanoi is to be managed by industry, field, and indigenous unified, centralized and cross-cutting of the City People’s Committee and the District People’s Committee; bring into full play the supervision of mass organizations, Fatherland Front …

“One of the important views to organize the urban government in the capital is that the ward People’s Committee is identified as a state administrative agency in the area, operating under the regime of heads, ensuring the principle of gathering people. master; associated with administrative reform, administrative modernization ”, Deputy Minister Tran Anh Tuan further analyzed.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan spoke.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs analyzed, unlike Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi did not organize People’s Councils in wards; In communes, districts, districts and towns, the People’s Council remains – as a level of government. “Hanoi proceeds to organize the urban government carefully. After this, there will be a review and report to the authorities for further expansion or not, ”Mr. Tuan said.

“Notably, in order to serve the people the fastest, the decree states clearly, the Chairman of the ward People’s Committee is authorized for civil status judicial officers to sign for authentication and stamp for authenticating copies of papers. , text, signature…. This is a remarkable initiative of Hanoi ”, Mr. Tuan assessed.

To concretize this important task, on April 12, the People’s Committee of Hanoi issued a detailed plan with the requirement that the organization and implementation of the urban government model must ensure compliance with the law. ; the leadership and direction of Party Committees at all levels.

After the arrangement, the organizations in the political system in the ward operate stably and normally with a lean apparatus of the People’s Committee, the administration between the district and the ward ensures synchronization, effectiveness and efficiency; well perform administrative and civil transactions.

Specific parts such as: developing and promulgating documents guiding and directing the implementation of Decree 32 of the Government; review, arrange, arrange the cadres, civil servants … specifically assigned to each unit, with clear timelines with the deadline of July 2021 …

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee delivered his speech and directing.

Soon “decode” the anxiety …

At the conference, the leaders of the districts said that most of the questions and wishes of civil servants at the grassroots level have been fully answered. Answering some more issues, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan stated: “The Ministry will discuss with the Central Organizing Committee how to implement satisfactorily, in a reasonable manner, so that ward-level civil servants will trust , Working safely”.

Directing at the conference, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Thi Tuyen said that the city has proposed many contents to build an effective urban government, in accordance with the characteristics of the capital and are all approved by the Ministry of the Interior support service.

The Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee stated a rather important content, such as whether the cadres who are currently secretaries, deputy secretaries, and heads of mass organizations, who are ward civil servants, will be transformed into district civil servants? If transferred, he / she is a civil servant of the District Party Committee or the District People’s Committee; How is the budget estimate, how to authorize the revenue …

“We hope that the Ministry of Home Affairs will discuss with the Central Organizing Committee soon so that there will be specific instructions soon,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen.

The Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee suggested the Ministry of Home Affairs and the city soon assign additional staff to the districts; has regulations on the apparatus of wards; soon regulate the civil service regime when transferring to district civil servants.

“The City Party Committee will soon work with the Central Organizing Committee to provide early guidance on issues that are still uneasy. The City Party Committee will also direct the City People’s Council Party Committee to soon issue policies related to the transition of budgets and policies with redundant cadres; directing the Fatherland Front, the city unions to direct the grassroots level in 175 wards, strengthen supervision and promote grassroots democracy with clear operating regulations ”, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee affirmed.

“The Party Committee will soon” decode “the issues that you are concerned about. It is necessary to calm down, encourage comrades at grassroots level because we are facing a very important task of successfully leading the election of National Assembly deputies, People’s Councils at all levels ”- Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen said.

Hanoi People’s Committee Standing Vice Chairman Le Hong Son.

Review grassroots staff …

Hanoi People’s Committee Standing Vice Chairman Le Hong Son emphasized that in order to carry out its tasks, the Department of Justice should coordinate with the Department of Information and Communications and the Department of Home Affairs to edit propaganda materials to send to Son Tay districts and towns. Propaganda proposed to combine with propaganda on the election of People’s Councils at all levels synchronously and effectively.

Immediately after the conference, the districts and towns reported to the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee to hold conferences at the grassroots level; especially doing well ideological work for local officials to feel secure in their work. The city will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior and relevant agencies for further guidance on staffing work.

In addition, the Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee suggested the units urgently review the contingent of cadres to develop the arrangement and arrangement plan according to the State’s regulations. This is an opportunity to review staff, change the way of working at the grassroots level. Units also need to review the team of mass organizations at the grassroots level. There is still a situation in which there is a dark workplace, a messy place, leading to disunity.

The Standing Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Le Hong Son noted that the time units for the pilot urban government are from 1-7, units need to focus on grasping and implementing urgently on the roadmap. City plan has set out, fully grasp the aspirations of grassroots cadres – along with ensuring the important task is to successfully organize the election of National Assembly deputies and People’s Councils at all levels … /.