Victoria Fox's Blog, page 59

ASDA service stations are making significant changes to payment practices

Drivers may be shocked to learn that some UK petrol stations will no longer accept cash due to a radical rule change in 2024.

Earlier this year, Asda confirmed that 82 petrol stations across the UK would go cashless this year.

The retailer gave up previously manned checkouts at 14 gas stations last December, but plans to continue the move in another 68 locations this year.

It means that petrol and diesel drivers will not be able to pay for their fuel with notes and coins, as cards will become the only way to top up the vehicle at certain locations.

The move comes after Asda claimed almost all of their payments came from card or contactless payments and confirmed there would be no job losses as a result of the changes.

An Asda spokesperson previously said: “With over 90 per cent of all payments made at Superstore forecourts being made by card or contactless device, colleagues who worked at these sites are moving into the store to better serve our customers.

“These conversions began in December and we expect to complete the conversion later in 2024.”

They warned that losing face-to-face contact would be a “detriment to the service” and would make things “much more difficult” for many people.

However, paying in cash is unpopular with certain road users due to rules on tipping.

“If you go to the garage to get £60 worth of fuel, take it out of the ATM to pay the cashier.”

Another remarked: “Come on Asda. Don’t go with the status quo. You might lose the habit because we choose to stand up for freedom of choice. No control.”

Officials have also questioned the decision, with Swindon councilors Daniel Adams and Jake Chandler recently writing an open letter calling for changes.

He explained: “While we understand the need for automation and how many customers may indeed prefer it, we think there will always be someone on board for those who can’t or are genuinely concerned about the prospect of a fully automated forecourt.”

Source link

Römerpark Day: A successful festival in Aldenhoven’s summer weather

Music, participatory dancing, play equipment and mascots: the now proven concept of Roman Park Day on Saturday attracted numerous visitors to the parks in Aldenhoven and the surrounding area. Thanks to the best summer weather, families in particular enjoyed the festival, which was organized for the third time by the Aldenhoven Youth Council.

In addition to the stage where the Aldenhoven Dance Theatre and several bands performed, the playground equipment was particularly popular and was well attended from start to finish. The organizers reported in advance that they had made some adjustments, for example to optimize the distribution of drink tokens.

Also read:

When an open pit mine collapses, a lake appears. And conservation?

In addition, in the third year we were able to gain experience and benefit from the contacts we had made. “It was a very satisfying, warm and positive participation for the third time in a row, so everyone was happy to accept the effort,” says Julien Secker, Chair of the Youth Council and Chair of the Youth Committee. The Organizing Committee later.

Source link

Young, tall, impressive. Mariusz Błaszczak exposed?

Wirtualna Polska recalled that the president of PiS Jaroslaw Kaczyński In one of his last interviews, he stated that the party’s candidate for the presidential elections must be “young, tall, imposing, handsome, have a family, know English very well, preferably two languages, and have international familiarity”.

Morawiecki or Błaszczak?

In the United Surveys survey for Wirtualna Polska, the question was asked: Which PiS politician best meets these requirements?. According to 10.2 percent of respondents, the former prime minister meets these requirements Mateusz Morawiecki. Slightly less, 9.8 percent. pointed to the head of the PiS club Mariusz Blaszczakand 6.9 percent – Przemyslaw Czarnek.

3 percent of respondents believe they meet these criteria Tobiasz Bocheński2.7 percent indicated Dominik Tarczyński1.1 percent – Zbigniew Boguckiand 0.8 percent chose a former government spokesperson Piotr Muller.

The majority of respondents, up to 43.1 percent however, believe that none of the candidates proposed in the survey meet the requirements set by Jarosław Kaczyński. 19.8 percent of respondents answered “I don’t know/it’s hard to say.”

Błaszczak, however, prevails

Among those interviewed who declared support for PiS, most people – 29 percent – pointed to Błaszczak. Morawiecki came in second (21 percent of respondents). 11 percent of respondents believe that Czarnek best fits the description given by Kaczyński. 7 percent nominated the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, Karol Nawrocki, 6 percent each. Bocheński and Tarczyński received the nominations. Bogucki and Müller received 1 percent each. votes from the PiS voters interviewed. 15 percent of those who support this party would not support any of the proposed candidates, and 3 percent do not know who to nominate.

The United Surveys for Wirtualna Polska survey was conducted from August 30 to September 1, 2024 using the combined CATI and CAWI method (50/50%) among a representative group of 1,000 adult Poles.

Source link

On-Chain Data Suggests More Pain Ahead for ETH Price

Following continued low demand from institutional investors, Ethereum (ETH) price remained bearish last week. The top-tier altcoin had its lowest weekly close since early February at around $2,294. However, the bearish momentum is expected to fade significantly in the short-term after it nearly retested the August 5 lows.

Furthermore, the expected economic shift in the United States amid the upcoming general elections is likely to increase crypto liquidity in the following months. Moreover, Bitcoin’s dominance is on the verge of a macro reversal, which will accelerate the rate of cryptocurrency rotation into altcoins.

Ethereum Whales Lose Appetite

According to on-chain data analysis from Glassnode, Ethereum whales have drastically reduced their accumulation rate in early July and have been taking profits since then. For example, US-based spot Ether ETFs have recorded just one weekly net cash inflow since their historic approval in July.

In total, US spot Ether ETFs, led by Grayscale’s ETHE, recorded net outflows of approximately $568 million.

Meanwhile, on-chain data shows that more Ether whales have increased their selling pressure, even at a loss.

Increasing network activity

Ethereum just hit a 4-month high in network growth, on a day (Sunday) that is traditionally the least active day of the week. The 126,210 new wallets created are indicative of increasing network utility and expected price increases of $2,200-$2,300. photo.twitter.com/zQaKbBdznK

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) September 9, 2024

Despite the increased bearish sentiment, the Ethereum ecosystem has registered significant growth in recent times. According to on-chain data analysis conducted by Santiment, the Ethereum ecosystem reached a four-month peak in network growth, indicating a potential bullish rebound in the future.

On Sunday, Ethereum welcomed over 126,000 new wallets. The Ethereum network is greatly strengthened by its rollups, which help to seamlessly onboard more users in specific niches, including gaming and real-world assets tokenization.

Medium-term price expectations

From a technical standpoint, it is likely that Ether price will retest the support level around $2,163 in the near term before bouncing back to its all-time high. However, a consistent close below the established support ascending trendline over the past year will result in further bearish sentiment in the coming months, possibly below $2k.

Source link

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce battle it out in the US Open final.

On Sunday, September 8, American singer Taylor Swift (34) and her boyfriend, NFL pro Travik Kelce (34), appeared deeply in love at the US Open final held in New York. The two American stars watched the final between Taylor Fritz (26) of the US and world number one Yannick Sinner (23) of Italy, arm in arm. The couple recently made headlines with allegations of a fake romance and the announcement of a ‘media plan’ regarding their separation.

" data-fcms-embed-type="glomex" data-fcms-embed-mode="provider" data-fcms-embed-storage="session" data-fcms-embed-consent-callback="embedConsentCallback" data-fcms-embed-await-loading-external-js="true">

At this point you can find external content (Glomex). You can show and hide content from this provider with one click.

Show

Hide external content

Advertising for provider Glomex has been rejected through the consent provider.

Separation scheduled for September 28th

The alleged “plan,” which appeared to be written on a piece of paper produced by Kelce’s PR agency, called for the pair to separate on September 28. In the meantime, the NFL pundit, through his publicist, has issued a statement to “People” declaring the published paper “completely false and fabricated.” The contract “was not written, published or authorized by this agency,” he said. “We have instructed our legal team to commence legal action against any individual or entity responsible for the unlawful and damaging forgery of this document.”

According to the alleged “plan,” an official statement about Swift and Kelce’s split would have been scheduled for later this month “to curb initial media hype and provide clarity,” the Daily Mail reported. According to the plan, the couple “have decided, after careful consideration, to go their separate ways,” and “both value and respect each other’s privacy and thank you for respecting that during this time.”

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been together for a year.

The first rumors of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship surfaced in the summer of 2023. About a year ago, in late September 2023, the singer attended the first Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears. The sports star and musician confirmed their relationship shortly after they were spotted holding hands at a Saturday Night Live party.

notification: This report is part of an automated service from the news agency field, which operates under strict journalistic rules. The AZ online editorial team does not edit or check it. Please send questions or comments to Feedback@az-muenchen.de.

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fb... fbq('initialize', '2523508247947799'); fbq('track', 'pageview');

Source link

Behind TikTok, How to Use the Most Popular Sites Mobile Apps, August 2024

According to Media Panel Search In August 2024, Google Group websites and online applications were visited by 28.83 million users, i.e. 96.6%. of all Internet users in Poland. Each spent an average of 21 hours, 12 minutes and 55 seconds there. A month earlier, the publisher recorded 28.69 million visitors, 96.61% reach and 20 hours, 50 minutes and 26 seconds of average usage time.

In August, each user was engaged in Meta Platforms’ websites and apps (excluding WhatsApp, ranked separately) for more than 20 hours. They were visited by 25.9 million Polish internet users (giving a reach of 96.79 percent), spending an average of 21 hours, 23 minutes and 25 seconds. Meanwhile, 13.76 million users (reach of 46.11 percent) used TikTok, spending an average of 17 hours, 55 minutes and 20 seconds.

Two traditional publishers registered over 20 million visitors. Grupa Wirtualna Polska attracted 20.41 million Internet users, each for an average of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 53 seconds, and Ringier Axel Springer Polska Group – 20.13 million userseach lasting an average of one hour, 54 minutes and 24 seconds.

>>> Praca.Wirtualnemedia.pl – thousands of media and marketing ads

Slightly below the 20 million user threshold was the Polsat-Interia Group, whose websites and applications were visited by 19.12 million Internet users, each spending an average of one hour, 13 minutes and 10 seconds.

More than 3 million users behind the Allegro Group

The leader among e-commerce publishers is the Allegro Group, which mainly includes Allegro, Allegro Lokalnie and Ceneo. In August, it attracted 18.83 million Internet users, each with an average duration of one hour, 45 minutes and 36 seconds.

On the other hand The Asian platform Temu, which provides all traffic to the Whaleco Group, was visited by 15.67 million Polish users, spending an average of 44 minutes and 9 seconds on it. The site breaks its records in our country: in July it surpassed the 15 million visitor ceiling for the first time (there were 15.19 million), and in the first months of this year it registered more than 14 million of them (14.92 million in January).

Mediapanel estimated the total number of Internet users in Poland in August at 29.6 million, and those using the Internet every day at an average of 25.3 million. A month earlier they were 29.7 and 25.1 million, respectively.

Onet before WP.pl, on computers with more than 8 hours on Netflix

Newsletter WirtualneMedia.pl in your mailbox

Google.com was visited by 26.81 million Polish Internet users in August, spending an average of one hour, 22 minutes and 43 seconds.

Two Polish portals have been attracting users for the longest time. Onet.pl recorded 15.72 million users and one hour, 40 minutes and 23 seconds of average usage time, and WP.pl – 15.23 million Internet users and one hour, 47 minutes and 18 seconds of average time.

On desktop only Google Group has a huge reach advantage over its competitors. In August, it recorded 20.29 million Polish users and 6 hours, 6 minutes and 13 seconds of average time spent by each, while second-placed Meta Platforms had 11.24 million visitors and 4 hours, 21 minutes and 13 seconds of average usage time.

On the other hand Each of the 2.69 million Polish internet users spent an average of 8 hours, 24 minutes and 35 seconds on Netflix.

19.18 million Polish users visited Google.com on desktops, spending an average of one hour, 18 minutes and 58 seconds. However, browser-based YouTube recorded 12.17 million visitors and 7 hours, 52 minutes and 42 seconds of average usage time, and the analogous version of Facebook – 10.31 million users and 4 hours, 33 minutes and 3 seconds of average time.

On smartphones and tablets, TikTok has been attracting Polish internet users to websites and apps from leading publishers for a similar period. Last month, it was visited by 13.03 million users, each of whom spent an average of 18 hours, 52 minutes and 47 seconds.

Only Meta Platforms had a longer average visitor usage time (20 hours, 49 minutes, and 37 seconds), and Google Group (18 hours, 16 minutes, and 46 seconds) was slightly shorter.

Each of the 12.47 million mobile users spent an average of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 24 seconds on YouTube in the browser. Google.com attracted 21.95 million Internet users, Onet.pl – 14.76 million, and WP.pl and Interia.pl – almost 14 million each.

Almost 10 million Poles use the Temu app

Among mobile apps, the top ten are consistently those owned by the Google Group and Meta Platforms. 24.22 million Polish internet users used the Google application, spending an average of one hour, 19 minutes and 11 seconds.

The 20 million user mark was also surpassed by the Facebook (21.03 million) and Messenger (20.08 million) applications. Each of the 10.5 million internet users spent an average of 23 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds on the TikTok app.

In turn, last month the application went from 9.24 to 9.78 million users.

Among the mobile applications audited by Mediapanel, the undisputed leader is Allegro, which in August attracted 8.02 million Internet users as an application, each with an average duration of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 6 seconds.

(function (d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/pl_PL/sdk.js#xfb... fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Source link

The trial begins with the Texas ‘Trump Train’ highway showdown

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal trial will begin Monday over allegations that supporters of former President Donald Trump threatened and harassed the Biden-Harris campaign bus in Texas four years ago, disrupting the campaign’s final day of early voting.

The civil trial over the so-called “Trump train” begins as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris compete in November in their final two-month battle for the White House.

Democrats on the bus said they feared for their lives as Trump supporters in dozens of trucks and cars nearly caused collisions, disrupting the motorcade for more than 90 minutes, crashing into the car of a Biden-Harris campaign worker and forcing the bus driver to repeatedly swerve for safety. .

“The defendants terrorized and threatened the driver and passengers for at least 90 minutes,” according to the lawsuit. “They were playing a crazy game of highway ‘chicken’ that came within 3-4 inches of the bus. They were trying to run the bus off the road.”

The freeway confrontation prompted an FBI investigation that prompted then-President Trump to declare that he believed “these patriots did nothing wrong.”

Among those suing is former Texas state senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who was on the bus that day. Davis rose to prominence in 2013 with her 13-hour anti-abortion demonstration at the state Capitol. The other three plaintiffs are a campaign volunteer, an employee and a bus driver.

The lawsuit names six defendants, accusing them of violating the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” an 1871 federal law to end political violence and intimidation tactics.

The same law was used in part to impeach Trump for federal election meddling in the run-up to the January 6 U.S. Capitol uprising. Enacted by Congress during Reconstruction, the law was created to protect the right of black men to vote by outlawing political violence.

Videos of the October 30, 2020 confrontation shared on social media, including some recorded by Trump supporters, show a group of cars and pickup trucks, many decorated with large Trump flags, driving alongside the campaign bus as it travels. San Antonio to Austin. Trump supporters at times punched the bus, slowed it down, blocked it from exiting the highway and repeatedly forced the bus driver to make evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision, according to the suit.

In the previous two days, Biden-Harris supporters received death threats, and some Trump supporters displayed guns, according to the lawsuit. Those threats, along with the highway standoff, prompted Democrats to cancel the event later in the day.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, alleges that the defendants were members of local groups based near San Antonio that coordinated the clash.

Francisco Canseco, the lawyer for the three accused, said his clients acted legally and did not violate the freedom of speech of those on the bus.

“It’s more of a constitutional issue,” Canseco said. “It’s more about who has more right to speak behind their candidate.”

Judge Robert Pitman, a presiding judge appointed by former President Barack Obama, is scheduled to preside over Monday’s trial. He denied the defendants a preliminary hearing to obtain summary judgment in their favor and ruled last month that the KKK Act prohibits physical intimidation of people traveling to political rallies, even if racial prejudice is not a factor.

While one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, argued that his group had a First Amendment right to show support for its candidate, the judge wrote that “assaulting, intimidating or directly threatening others with force is not protected expression.”

“Just as the First Amendment does not protect a driver waving a political flag from running a red light, it does not protect defendants from allegedly threatening plaintiffs with reckless driving,” Pitman wrote.

An earlier lawsuit filed over the “Trump Train” alleged that the San Marcos Police Department violated the Ku Klux Klan Act by failing to send a police escort after several 911 calls and the bus driver said his life was threatened. It accused officials of privately laughing and joking at 911 calls. San Marcos settled in a 2023 lawsuit for $175,000 and a requirement that law enforcement be trained to respond to political violence.

___

Lathan is a member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on classified issues.

Source link

1.5 Degree Goal: The World Is Running Out of Time

The TAZ Climate Clock has been changed and the world now has less than three years to keep the temperature at 1.5 degrees. We must act to protect our climate.

Time is running out: On September 8, 2024, the environmental clock year jumped from 3 to 2. Photo: taz/screenshot

Berlin Taz | Sunday morning is here, early: the first number of taz-CO2– The clock has run. On the taz website, she counts down the years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds until the global CO starts.2– The budget is exhausted. There are still three years left until Sunday to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but only two are left.

Starting point of taz-CO2– The clock is on the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2015, signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change pledged to “work to limit” global average temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The world has now long since temporarily traveled beyond that point. The past 12 months have been the hottest ever measured, with the global average already 1.64 degrees Celsius above late 19th-century levels, the observation service Copernicus reported Friday.

The Tazz CO2– The clock points to the whole world. If it was made for Germany, it would have expired long ago. At least that’s what the Environmental Advisory Committee assumes: “Germany, in particular, accounts for a significant share of global CO2.2“We have recently exceeded the budget available to keep warming to 1.5 degrees,” a government advisory panel wrote in March.

Fairness in accounting means, among other things, that every inhabitant of the planet is given the same amount of CO .2 Granted, that means not only do we divide the global budget into nearly 200 countries around the world, but we also take into account the number of people living there. In that way, the US has a calculated CO.2– The remaining budget was exhausted by the end of 2021. India, on the other hand, is likely to emit at least some greenhouse gases for decades to come.

Ensures reduced emissions through rounding effect

This “budgetary approach” is popular in the scientific community because it exposes many politicians’ claims as false. “If we set the right course for the next ten years, we will be on the right path,” says CDU leader Friedrich Merz.

CO2-uhr der taz shows the opposite. Anyone who has been watching this clock closely will probably have noticed that the clock has actually already gone down less than three years ago, last fall, and has been reset in the meantime. So does that mean humanity doesn’t need to rush to protect the climate as much as it did in 2023?

Unfortunately, this is just a rounding effect. The clock is regularly reset and adjusted to the latest scientific publications, including indicators of global climate change, which scientists there finalize when calculating global CO.2-Budgets are always set in units of 50 gigatons of CO.2This means that the budget remained unchanged after the update, even though more emissions were emitted last year than the previous year.

The Tazz CO2– I’m not the only one who sees the drama of the situation. For example, the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change also has a ticking climate clock (although with slightly different data).

Of course, there are criticisms of this way of presenting the problem. After all – now – in two years, 11 months and a few days, a giant tidal wave will not sweep across the country and destroy all life. Roland Emmerich’s classic film “The Day After Tomorrow” from 2004. Somehow, it will be the same even after taz-CO.2-Keep going. Still, do you really have to rely on it?

Source link

Transfer pricing – challenges awaiting taxpayers

Most obligations in this area will have to be met by the end of the year, so today we present more answers to questions about transfer pricing.

►Our company recently acquired another affiliated company. This company is required to file a TPR – who is responsible for this now? I would like to point out that the books of the acquired company have been closed.

The acquisition of a company does not exempt it from complying with transfer pricing documentation and reporting obligations. If, at the date of its acquisition, transactions with related entities exceed the legal limits, the acquired company must prepare transfer pricing documentation for such transactions and report data on those transactions in the TPR form. The form in which this TPR form must be filed depends on whether its (the acquired company’s) books have been closed.

In the event of the closing of the books of the acquired company, the form is submitted by its legal successor – i.e. the acquiring company – taking into account the transactions carried out by the acquired company during the year. The transactions carried out by the acquired company in the period up to the date of registration of this merger in the register are reported in separate TPR forms relating to it. The deadline for submitting the TPR form (which covers the period up to the closing of the books) is 11 months after the end of the shortened fiscal year. The transfer pricing information on behalf of the acquired company is submitted to the head of the competent tax authority of the acquiring company. In section A, the acquiring entity indicates the head of the tax authority responsible for it, and the period and purpose refer to the acquired entity. The acquiring company indicates its identification data in section B of the form. However, in sections C, D and F it indicates data relating to the acquired entity. At the same time, in Section E “Additional information”, the acquiring entity must include the following information: “TPR information submitted for the acquired entity (Taxpayer Identification Number, name, address, prevailing PKD)”. In this case, the NIP is written as a sequence of digits (without spaces or dashes). This TPR information is signed by the acquiring entity.

Source link

Breakthrough thorium-229 nuclear clock could reveal changes in fundamental constants

A major breakthrough in atomic physics came with the development of the first nuclear clock. This clock, based on the thorium-229 nucleus, achieved a level of precision that could help test whether the fundamental constants of physics change over time. This remarkable advance was achieved by a research team led by Jun Ye, a distinguished physicist at JILA in Boulder, Colorado.

Discovery

On a fateful night in May 2024, graduate student Chuankun Zhang of JILA detected a long-awaited signal from a thorium-229 nucleus, a key moment in the search for a nuclear clock. The signal, which shows the nucleus switching between two states, was celebrated by Zhang and his lab colleagues after rigorous verification. Jun Ye, known for his work creating the world’s most accurate atomic clock, was moved to tears when he saw the results.

The Importance of the Nuclear Clock

The unique properties of the thorium-229 nucleus make it exceptionally sensitive to changes in the fundamental constants of nature. These constants, such as the speed of light and the gravitational constant, are fundamental to our understanding of the universe. A precise measurement of the thorium-229 transition, which is a million times more precise than previous attempts, could reveal whether these constants change over time.

Scientific context

The discovery of the thorium-229 nuclear clock has its roots in earlier research. In the 1970s, scientists discovered an unusual nuclear state of thorium-229 that required less energy to excite compared to other nuclei. This property makes it a prime candidate for a highly sensitive clock that can probe the stability of fundamental constants.

Future Consequences

This groundbreaking discovery opens up new avenues for exploring fundamental physics. Scientists like Eric Hudson of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Hannah Williams of Durham University have noted that the precision of the thorium-229 nuclear clock could eventually allow scientists to detect subtle changes in the laws of physics that were previously undetectable.

Source link