Health Secretary Wes Streeting has defended the Government's proposal to create a "smoke-free generation" by incrementally increasing the minimum age for purchasing tobacco, stating that there is "no freedom in addiction". If the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is passed into law, individuals born after January 1, 2009, will be prohibited from legally smoking. The Bill encountered criticism during its second reading, with Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell arguing in favour of individual choice, while the Liberal Democrats expressed concerns regarding civil liberties. On Tuesday, the Bill successfully cleared its initial hurdle in the House of Commons, with a majority of 368 votes (415 to 47) in favour of its approval. The voting records revealed that Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was among those who voted against the Bill during its second reading. Conservative MPs were granted a free vote, with 23 Tories, including former health secretary Victoria Atkins, voting in support of the Bill, while 35 voted against it. Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter The proposed legislation includes a comprehensive ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, aligning with existing tobacco restrictions, to prevent displays visible to children and young people, such as those on buses, in cinemas, and shop windows. In his opening statement for the second reading debate, Mr Streeting declared: "This Bill will come down on the vaping industry like a ton of bricks to prevent a new generation of children and young people from getting hooked on nicotine." Conservative MP Bob Blackman has urged for tougher measures on tobacco companies, including a levy on their profits to make them accountable "for the blight on our population's health". "Both of my parents died from smoking-related cancer. My late mother was only 47, and she was a very heavy smoker all her life. I was then left as a 23-year-old with three younger sisters to bring up as a family," he recounted. "I don't want any families in this country to have to go through what our family went through then. So this for me is personal, as well as political." The Harrow East MP, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for smoking and health, advocated for the "implementation of a polluter pays tobacco levy on the profits of big tobacco, addressing issues of both market prices and limiting the profitability of the industry". Romford MP Mr Rosindell countered by saying "banning things very rarely works", and argued: "Surely we should be promoting the concept of freedom with responsibility and allowing people to make choices about their own lives?" In response, Mr Streeting highlighted the unique dangers of tobacco, stating: "There is no liberty in addiction. There is no freedom in addiction, and the logical extension of the libertarian argument he puts forward would be the end of the ban on indoor smoking." Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson Helen Morgan expressed concerns regarding the gradated smoking ban, highlighting: "The introduction of a phased smoking ban is problematic and not because Liberal Democrats want to see people smoke themselves into an early grave far from it but because it raises issues of practicality and raises issues of civil liberties." She cautioned against potential implications of the Bill for personal freedoms, elaborating that it "raises the prospect of an ID card, because those people who do choose to start smoking will potentially be forced to carry an ID card or some other form of ID with them for the rest of their lives, and that is a concern for a Liberal Democrat who is strongly opposed to requiring people to carry their ID around with them for various issues of privacy and personal liberty". Health minister Andrew Gwynne reassured: "Most retailers already follow recommended practice and regularly ask customers for ID." Explaining the government's approach, he stated, "We are stopping people from ever starting smoking and 83% of smokers start before the age of 20, this means that someone who has never previously smoked is highly unlikely to want to take up smoking later in life." Gwynne further shared positive projections, noting, "And our published modelling shows that smoking rates in England for 14 to 30-year-olds could be close to 0% as early as 2050, with the measures in this Bill." Reflecting on the Government's approach, Reform UK MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock James McMurdock urged Ministers to "think very carefully" about their "remit". He said: "I would just ask everyone in the room to consider what kind of world and country we actually want to live in, one where we could send one of the kids down to the shop, pick something up for us, or one where we literally are forced to police people's behaviour in parks? And I think we should think very carefully about what our remit is as a Government." The Bill aims to curb smoking in areas popular with children. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Streeting explained plans to consult on a smoking ban outside schools, hospitals, and playgrounds. He clarified that pubs and other hospitality spaces would be exempt from the consultation. The legislation will also grant powers for authorities to licence retailers selling tobacco and vaping products across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Fines of £200 will be handed out to retailers who fail to verify the age of customers. ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice . Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community Join our Court & Crime community Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community Join our Northumberland community Join our County Durham community Join our Sunderland community Join our NUFC community Join our SAFC community Join our Great North Run communityInside Trump's new administration: From business moguls to TV personalitiesDown 17% in a month and yielding 7.39%! Is this FTSE 100 share a screaming buy for me? The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice. Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. 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Even a solid FTSE 100 share with a strong balance sheet, modest valuation, generous yield and solid profit outlook can take a beating, as housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) is showing us at the moment. The Taylor Wimpey share price has slumped 17.73% over... Harvey Jones
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Trump and NATO Chief Meet for Crucial Global Security TalksInternational assessment studies, widely discussed over the last five years, have set formidable challenges and high expectations for the new Department of Education (DepEd) team. In 2019, the World Bank reported that 70 percent of 10-year-old Filipino children suffered from “learning poverty”: they could not read and understand age-appropriate written text. By 2022, that learning poverty had deepened to 91 percent. Among 79 countries and economies participating in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests for 15-year-old children, the Philippines placed 79th in reading and 78th in both math and science. With 81 participants in 2022, the Philippines improved to 78th in science, 75th in reading, and 74th in math. It also did better in the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics assessment to measure the proficiency of 11-year-old students in reading, writing, and math. The Philippines reached Band 2-3, performing in all three areas at minimum proficiency levels. Ten percent could understand texts with familiar structure. Seventeen percent could perform basic math operations, such as fractions, and interpret simple tables and graphs. In presenting ideas in writing, roughly 54 percent could produce only a few sentences with very limited content. The majority of Vietnamese students reached the highest band in reading and math and Band 6-7 in writing. They could understand and summarize texts, solve complex math problems, and use appropriate vocabulary in well-organized texts. Students from Malaysia and Myanmar performed at all proficiency bands, with a significant number reaching mid- and high levels. Philippine students shared Band 2-3 with counterparts from Cambodia and Lao PDR. They recognized basic words, understood simple texts, wrote basic sentences, and showed foundational arithmetic skills. Of the Asean 10, only these six countries participated in the 2019 assessment, with Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, and Indonesia declining to join. Pisa results, however, appeared to register the biggest shock. Pisa was the global, gold assessment standard, covering more participants over a longer timeframe. The comparative rankings perhaps also provoked more damage to national pride and psyche. Especially when viewed from the historical perspective of the educational standards the Philippines had established as a US colony in the ’30s, rebuilt after the war, and sustained through the ’50s. Climbing out of the current education pit into which it has plunged would be a truly heroic feat such as the country has seldom achieved. It may neither be realistic nor fair to compare Philippine Pisa ratings against those of older, better-governed, and richer countries. But the DepEd mandate to demonstrate measurable improvements in learning outcomes and its continuing participation in Pisa make it difficult to escape comparisons against past ratings. It is thus some comfort to know that even developed countries have suffered setbacks in Pisa standing and have managed to recover. In the late 1990s, claims of declining, basic education standards in England became a political concern. Between 2000 and 2005, Nick Gibb followed and critiqued the ruling Labour Party’s education programs as the Tory opposition party’s shadow minister for education. With Tory electoral victories, Gibb emerged from the shadows, serving in Tory Cabinets for education issues from 2010-2012, 2014-2021 and 2022-2023. Between the 2000 and 2009 Pisa tests, England dropped from 7th to 25th place in reading, 8th to 27th in math, and 4th to 16th in science. During his first ministerial term in 2010, Gibb embarked on a program to arrest the slide and regain lost ground. By the 2012 test, the direction had been partially reversed, with improvement to 23rd place in reading and in math to 25th, though science further dropped to 18th place. But by 2022, England ranked 13th in reading, 11th in math and 13th in science. Recalling the Pisa journey at a recent forum in Australia, Gibb noted the factors that propelled the forward movement. First, the willingness of government reformers to invest in a long-term effort; there are few quick fixes to education problems. Second, high-level, political, and material support from successive prime ministers. And, third, the commitment of time and resources, and the hard-nosed determination to document and pursue only those initiatives backed by evidence-based research. Granted, DepEd bears a heavier burden over a longer distance. But the task is critical and calls for the government’s sustained commitment of effort and resources. —————- Edilberto C. de Jesus is professor emeritus at the Asian Institute of Management. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . —————- Business Matters is a project of the Makati Business Club ( [email protected] ).
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Bathinda: A total of 3,721 candidates have applied for six posts of process server in Barnala district courts, which means an average of 620 candidates for each position. Even as the minimum qualification for the post was matriculation, post-graduates and graduates too have applied. The post of a process server, which involves delivering legal documents to individuals involved in court cases, offers a basic salary of Rs 18,000 per month, along with dearness allowances. Going by the large number of applicants, the court authorities have scheduled the interviews according to alphabetical order from Wednesday to Saturday. Although the pay is considered low, the job’s stability makes it an attractive option for those struggling to find work in their fields, especially in a job market where the private sector offers little job security. A graduate working in an industrial group said that although he is earning a good salary, he preferred to apply for the lowly-paid job as it is more secure. Ashok Bharti, a job consultant in Barnala, said that over 50 applicants have applied for the job from his centre and many were post-graduates. He said 10 posts of peon too have been advertised, and hundreds have applied for the class IV post, though the complete list has not been uploaded yet on the court website. We also published the following articles recently Karnataka Bank PO Recruitment 2024: Apply Now for Probationary Officer Scale-I Post Karnataka Bank is recruiting Probationary Officers (Scale-I) with applications opening November 30th and closing December 10th, 2024. The online exam is tentatively scheduled for December 22nd. Eligible postgraduates, agricultural science grads, law graduates (5-year course), CAs, CSs, CMAs, and ICWAs under 28 years of age (with some relaxations) can apply. GIC Assistant Manager Recruitment 2024: Direct link to apply for over 100 posts here The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) is hiring 110 Assistant Managers. Applications are open until December 19, 2024, on gicre.in. Selection involves a written exam, group discussion, interview, and medical check. The starting salary is Rs. 50,925, with total compensation around Rs. 85,000 plus benefits like housing and vehicle loans. Govt staff under home dept wont need NOC to sit for exam, apply for jobs The Odisha Home Department has streamlined the job application process for its employees. A new standing order eliminates the need for No Objection Certificates (NOCs) when applying for external jobs or recruitment exams. This change aims to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and save employees from unnecessary delays and harassment. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .MILAN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - UniCredit (CRDI.MI) , opens new tab on Friday filed its buyout offer for rival Banco BPM BAMI.MI with Italy's market regulator, and CEO Andrea Orcel said the price was adequate. The filing makes the 10-billion-euro ($10.5 billion) all-share offer, which UniCredit announced on Nov. 25, binding and sets a price floor. UniCredit also applied to relevant authorities for regulatory approval. Shares in Banco BPM closed at 7.846 euros on Friday, well above the 6.657 euros a share UniCredit is offering based on the bid's exchange ratio, indicating investors are betting on an improvement of the proposal. "We consider our initial offer to Banco BPM shareholders to be fair and appropriate," Orcel said in a statement. Any deal must create shareholder value and be superior to the return from any UniCredit share buyback, he said. An M&A veteran, Orcel has said he wants any deal to return at least 15%. In announcing the bid , opens new tab for BPM, Orcel had signalled that UniCredit could consider topping it up with cash down the road. "We remain committed to our disciplined approach to all M&A, with any transaction having to prove a strategic fit and meeting, or exceeding, our core financial metrics," he said. While BPM has long been a target for UniCredit , Orcel, who built his fortune as a bank merger adviser, resisted buying BPM until now in part because of the M&A premium built into BPM's share price, sources previously told Reuters. Accelerating domestic consolidation forced his hand. Orcel said BPM investors would fare better holding UniCredit shares due to "its far greater resiliency and diversification going into a challenging year and two-times higher total distribution yield." UniCredit is offering 175 newly issued shares for every 1,000 BPM shares, a premium of just 0.5% to BPM share price prior to the bid. UniCredit says the terms are a 15% premium to BPM's share price before BPM bid for fund manager Anima Holding (ANIM.MI) , opens new tab on Nov. 6, a move that triggered gains in the stocks of both Anima and BPM. "Given the robustness of our approach, (the) premium put forward and the situation remaining the same to that existing at the time of our original offer, we are moving forward at such terms", Orcel said. UniCredit has also invited BPM's biggest shareholder Credit Agricole (CA) (CAGR.PA) , opens new tab to sit down for talks that are widely expected to focus on commercial partnerships . CA partners with both BPM and UniCredit. To strengthen its negotiating position, CA has applied to the ECB to reach a 19.99% holding in BPM and used derivatives to raise its BPM stake to 15% from just below 10%. "We are in continuous discussions with all relevant stakeholders," Orcel said. ($1 = 0.9528 euros) Sign up here. Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
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