RTD 24
-
Air Passenger Duty Rates raised
Air Passenger Duty Rates have been raised for the new years budget announced by government in an attempt to further promote green transport. The rates at present are as follows:Air passenger duty: Economy Premium Classes Charter planes less than 15 passengers per flight 0-2001 Miles(£) £85.00 £255.00 £2,000.00 2001+miles(£) £100.00 £300.00 £2,000.00 0-2001 Miles(€) €131.75 €395.25 €3,100.00 2001+miles(€) €155.00 €465.00 €3,100.00 The rates for 2024 will be as follows with a change in how private jet APD is calculated:
Air passenger duty: Up to 32 Inch Pitch 33-40 Inch Pitch Business and 40 inch plus pitch Charter less than 15 passengers 0-2001 Miles(£) £100.00 £200.00 £395.00 £34,500.00 2001+miles(£) £115.00 £230.00 £455.00 £50,000.00 0-2001 Miles(€) €155.00 €310.00 €612.25 €53,475.00 2001+miles(€) €178.25 €356.50 €705.25 €77,500.00 The increase on flights leaving from United Duchies in APD is hoped to discourage unnecessary flights further with the private jets now paying per flight for 15 passengers regardless of how many are on the plane rather than per passenger to discourage wasteful use.The changes are also designed to encourage the most efficient use of fuel by encouraging more economy class travel with the extra funds from higher classes going to paying for more public transport and further carbon mitigation projects. The changes are hoped to increase the sustainability of the Duchies travel methods.
Population to breach 126,000,000
Projections of population show an expected increase to over 126,000,000 by January or February of 2024. The increase is expected to boost the economy by bringing in new skilled workers and vital service workers to the economy. The increase is welcomed by the Moderates and PSD who believe it is essential for public services to gain new skilled workers at a high rate while Unus and UoD expressed concerns about the scale of immigration and population growth in the United Duchies calling for drastic cuts to growth.Social Housing Targets reached
Social housing targets of over 3,000,000 to be built have been reached according the latest report on housing with 3,529,401 social housing projects delivered this year with most being family apartments , maisonettes or flats with 35% being houses that are mostly semidetached or terraced. The housing is already helping Duchians deal with the housing cost issues with Brummagem and Polderlands delivering the most. 2 Million have been delivered under the central funded DPHP construction programme with the rest being delivered by local authorities and housing associations. It is planned to further deliver another 3.5-4 million homes next year. Prefab houses made up over 55% of the current building programme. -
New TVX "superapp"
Today the public broadcasters RTD,CBN,EBS,RTW and IBS announced their new "superapp" to replace their streaming apps has launched to public. The app will feature all content for free streaming from RTD, CBN, EBS, RTW and IBS. The app will also feature all their radio stations. The app will have all the live channels and you will be able to filter by Duchy and broadcaster for content . The app is designed to centralise all public broadcasting in one place to provide a unified experience of TV media and also save on costs of running separate streaming apps. The RTD player , CBNGo , RTWi, EBSGo and IBS Player will be decomissioned by february being replaced by the new TVX superapp. The app will be available to Duchians and restricted outside of the Duchies where the broadcasters plan a TVXGo app in conjunction with other Duchian broadcasters if a public broadcaster owned service through the EUBC cannott be agreed or an alternative public service broadcaster streaming service cannot be agreed.RTD is pushing for a content library and european wide streamer for public owned tv content providers run by a consortium under the EUBC or to join with other public broadcasters abroad independently of the EUBC to offer the programmes to all of the EU. The corporation said "We are seeking the best value for money for the taxpayer and to ensure everyone watching our content pays fairly for the content or to ensure we get a good selection of foreign content for our viewers of our channels.It is dissapointing the EUBC supervisors voted against our proposal which would have benefitted consumers Europe wide by providing a centralised place for public broadcast content while ensuring broadcasters are adequately compensated for our content. We are working on solutions and compromises within or outside of the EUBC. We very much hope there will be a solution by the end of the year."
-
Roscoes court challenge overturns store expansion ban
A court case has overturned the ban on Roscoes developing new stores after Roscoes succesfully pled its case in court. The Competition and Consumer Protection Authority argued in court that Roscoes position is detrimental to the consumer and presents a threat to market competition if allowed to expand. Roscoes argued its market share was 16.01% while the threshold for uncompetitive markets is 35% and less than 4 competitors which is not the case in grocery or general retail sectors they operate in. The company argued there is plenty of competition in the market and that it is only growing because consumers choose Roscoes over other supermarkets.The company said in statement "We are happy the courts came to a sensible decision in the consumers interest. Our expansion combined with our in-sourcing programme will enable greater efficiencies and lower costs for the consumer while maintaining our ethical standards." The Competition and Consumer Protection Authority said "We are dissapointed in this court decision. We maintain expansion of Roscoes will cause harm to the consumer and threaten competition. We will look at options including appeals to block Roscoes from any expansion in the interests of protection the consumer. We believe the court made the wrong decision and maintain confidence in our assessments."
-
Renew Scheme opened for applications
The Renew retrofit scheme has opened for applications with the scheme to be given 25 billion Dux Libra(37,500,000,000 Euros) a year and increasing to operate from government. The scheme makes eligible for the retrofit of Solar and renewable energy, battery packs , electric charging systems for cars, better insulation and electric and underfloor heating or connection to district heating for old properties. The move is aimed to renovate the old home stock to modern 21st century standards and keep it in good use and affordable to occupants while saving carbon emissions from housing. The scheme will allow grants or super low interest loans from 15,000 to 30,000 Dux Libra (22,500 Euros to 45,000 Euros) per household or sing home landlords.The scheme will work to help modernise the housing stock increasing efficiency. There is also a requirement for multiple property landlords to modernise housing stock or commercial units to net zero conditions and full insulation before they are allowed to rent out any units. It is hoped the scheme will significantly help towards the net zero goal by 2030 of the United Duchies.10 Billion Euros of the scheme has been provided by the EDA though 50 billion Euros had been requested it is expected that United Duchies will be putting another request in for additional funding for the scheme this year to boost the funding level for the scheme overall.The scheme is expected to help 1.25 million households and small businesses per year.The scheme will require use of at least 50% made in Duchies products to be eligible for the scheme.
-
Harmonized quality standards, business regulations and copyright laws needed says James Mizrachi Roscoes
James Mizrachi-Roscoe has today said that Europe needs to harmonise its business laws on quality, copy right and trade. He said in a public meeting "Today Roscoes and many other businesses have to navigate over 20 different quality and safety standard laws, copyright systems and administration systems to trade throughout Europe with exports and imports hard because of this process. Roscoes size businesses find it inconvenient to meet 20 plus different standards but if its hard for bigger businesses and organisations like Roscoes and Siemens imagine how hard it is for a SME without the dedicated international trade teams large businesses have. Many businesses face significant barriers to growth or in procuring imported goods because of the multiple different standards. Exporters have to treat each country or trade bloc as an entirely different project making one off consignments hard to fulfill meanwhile getting imported parts or goods is harder as they have to be certified as safe in Duchies because there is no garuntee it meets standards domestic firms meet. The result is less international trade and specialisation than would otherwise be the case. That is why I am running on the business harmonisation platform so SME's and big business has equal footing in the market which is not the case at present."His proposals include setting a common copyright system for the whole of the EU with opt outs available for nations and also doing the same for a common minimum product safety and quality scheme and mark. He has acknowledged some product standard minimums may need to be lowered to meet a new European standard but argues this is adressed by other quality marks that most Duchian products are aligning to anyway. He argued clothes, and daily products are more expensive throughout Europe as a result of inconsistent standards and costs of compliance with mutiiple systems and individual certification of safety and quality being required in each market.
The candidate has also called for much more powers for the EU and "more efficient administration" . He's argued for localising decision making to expert panels in each nation for each agency in areas of development, agriculture and environment among other areas. He said to us in his talk with us "At the moment the three commissioners decide everything , run everything and make every decision in the EU especially in agencies like the EDA. This is highly inefficient as every application has to go through Europolis and you are essentially screwed if an incompetent or less active commissioner gets elected as has happened many times recently. My proposals would see either national or regional panels and sub-panels handling applications with experts from all sectors with some appointed by EU and some by the national governments or institutions. These would decide grants and proposals under a certain amount and be given budgets in proportion to population to allocate. The measure would ensure that people assessing projects have local knowledge and expertise resulting in better more efficient decision making. These panels would have to write reports every 6 months and be audited every 12 months to protect against corruption. This would also apply to other grant making institutions." The commissioner candidates proposals have drew praise from the business community and third sector organisations who say navigating EU funding applications is often too complex , slow and bureaucratic with over 80% of organisations saying they instead pull from either ECON operated , other international agencies or domestic agencies for their funding as this tends to quicker and more efficient. James has branded this "an embarrassment for the EU" saying if the EU wants to survive it needs to be "indispensable and costly to leave just because it is the most efficient in development of Europe and important to everyday lives." He said " I believe in the vision of the EU and the idea but the problem is that in practise there is too much obstructionism and inefficiency. Every good idea to harmonise standards or make the EU more efficient and responsive gets voted down and frankly lazy and ineffective commissioners just go in get paid for doing literally nothing of note for the European people before the next "do nothing comissioner" gets in to repeat the cycle. My prediction is the EU will see nations leaving and forming alternatives if this situation continues. We are already seeing the rise of Unus in the north in United Duchies and this concerns me , I want to see us in the EU in 10 years time but unless the EU actually changes I fear a day when we will be leaving the EU and we likely won't be the only nation to do so in that situation." His candidacy has been backed by the Moderates, PSD , Liberals and UoD while Unus have called him an "EU lackey". Unus also have put in their platform they intend to hold a referendum on the EU promoting leaving the EU over their "control over the nation and wastage of Duchies money ". The party is in line with the AfD in this policy.
-
Tarek Al-Wazir arrested and extradited to Duchies
Tarek Al-Wazir has been arrested and extradited to the United Duchies on terrorism charges. The controversial public figure has said many statements supporting extremism according to opponents but the arrest has come following new evidence of direct links to terrorism.The police said in a statement "Tarek Al-Wazir has been arrested in the Duxburian Dominions after evidence was found of direct links to terror cells in the Duchies including the cells which hit the sporting venues in 2023. We believe we have a strong case and it is likely if found guilty he will recieve life in solitary according to Duchian laws on terrorism." The news was welcomed by all parties with hope being exressed the issue of terrorism related to the Svarnan war dying down.
-
Duchies Football Association to send undercover enforcement to matches abroad to spot hooliganism and offensive behaviour
The Duchies Football Association has announced its plans to roll out the programme of sending undercover enforcement officers to matches to United Duchies matches abroad. The programme which has resulted in hundreds of bans of fans from matches with up to lifetime bans for hooliganism and offensive behaviour such as racist, sexist and homophobic chants or gestures will be rolled out to foreign matches with undercover enforcement officers set to be placed in various places around the stands. The DFA has said "We are still concerned by the potential for racist, sexist and homophobic people attending matches or people who act offensively or obscenely making the sport an uncomfortable environment for people. We intend to root this out and will be acting against so called fans who act this way abroad.They must respect other fans and people abroad or face fines or up to a lifetime ban if caught." If found guilty the person would be on a no ticket list with information on the threat they pose being shared with authorities in other countries so they can be denied tickets. The association also intends to share details those who have committed offenses in the Duchies with other countries authorities in order to help combat hate throughout the sporting world.The association is also paying whistleblowers for reporting incidents and sending in evidence of any violations of the spectator code of the DFA. The payments which ammount to 50 % of a fine if the person is sucessfully sanctioned is payed to the person on a successful enforcement operation.The programme is also in place in Cricket matches as well as Rugby matches in the Duchies with suggestions they could try to roll out programmes like it abroad as well. The programme has been praised as well as criticised with those praising it seeing it as a vital measure to stop hooliganism and hatemongering in its tracks while those criticising the programme saying it runs counter to free speech and privacy of fans.
-
Shock polls shows right wing surge
New polling figures show a surge in support for right wing parties in the Duchies with a slight boost for the Liberal Party and Moderate Party with the PSD and The Left suffering losses while UoD who have the centre right ground are continuing their polling collapse. The Moderate Party under John Peter Key look set to gain 30.72% if the election was held today holding steady on the 30.84% at last election while PSD are expected to drop to 16.43% from 20.71% at the last elections if elections were held today. The AfD are making the headlines however with projections of over 74 seats with Unus also likely for the first time to pick up over 100 seats and on course to take up the position as the second largest party in the country. Analysts have suggested the current right wing surge could easily become a trend into the future and have said factors such as immigration , security fears and the recent attacks may be playing a role in boosting Unus and AfD's popularity. The parties are also showing strength outside of Westseaxna , Doornevale , Aranvale and Albion. Dissatisfaction with the EU and a desire to leave among some is also said to be behind the rise.The rise in support for Unus risks making forming a government with existing parties impossible if the 21 majority in the upper house is reduced for the governing parties with this potentially forcing them to bring in Unus to the coalition or face the tough choice of bringing an unpopular UoD into the coalition government to stop Unus getting into the coalition.Party % Seats Now % of Seats now Projected Seats Increase Decrease % of Seats Projection The left 1.57% 29 3.57% 10 -19 1.54% IUAC 0.14% 1 0.12% 1 0 0.15% PSD: 16.43% 158 19.46% 107 -51 16.44% Liberal Party: 14.46% 102 12.56% 94 -8 14.44% Moderate Party: 30.71% 232 28.57% 200 -32 30.72% Union of Democrats: 7.21% 111 13.67% 47 -64 7.22% Unus 16.57% 90 11.08% 122 32 18.74% AFD 12.91% 88 10.84% 70 -18 10.75% Total: 100.00% 812 100.00% 651 -161 100.00% -
UoD Leader toppled
Terence Fitzcharles was today toppled as leader of the UoD in a surprise vote by UoD MP's. He was toppled amidst the lastest poll in the long term collapse in UoD political polling as they struggle to find an identity losing the centre right to the Moderate Party and the right wing of the party to Unus. The party now faces a struggle between the centre right and right wing wings of the party with the right wing supporters arguing the party needs a tougher stance on immigration and more national conservative stance to combat the bleed of voters on the right wing to Unus while the centre right argue that doing so would only increase the bleed of centre right support to the Moderate Party arguing instead there needs to be a return to the centre of politics and reduction in pro-tax cut and more austerity agenda.The party has been reported to be in civil war with analysts describing the party as a party on death row. The party has been suggested to be close to imminent collapse or split with a potential power gap appearing in the centre right of politics if that occurs.
-
Duchies government pass ban on destruction of heritage buildings
The law to ban the demolition of buildings built before 1950 has officially passed today. The Heritage Preservation Act essentially lists all buildings built before 1950 as protected buildings. The act requires that all alternative uses for housing, commercial use and community use must be exhausted before the building can be demolished with developers having to prove that any sensitive development or alternative use is impractical. The acts passing comes after years of campaigning from heritage preservation organisations in the United Duchies. The act is expected to protect entire neighbourhoods and also requires that should such a building burn down buildings built before 1950 must be rebuilt in the same location and with the same design lest the developer face jail and imprisonment. The act will also allow heritage organisations to object to redevelopment plans and propose alternative uses being able to buy the building from site owners if they can pay the market rate for the building and have funds to redevelop the site in a sensitive manner themselves.