The commemorative ceremony of the 104th Anniversary of National Victory Day and the religious title conferring ceremony were held at Tatmadaw Religious Hall near the southern corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon yesterday. Present on the occasion were monks led by Presiding Nayaka Sayadaw of Thanlyin Min Kyaung monastery YMBA(Central) Ovadacariya Aggamaha Pandita Aggamaha Ganthavacaka Pandita Aggamaha Saddhammajotikadhaja Dr Bhaddanta Candima Bhivamsa, Union Minister for Information U Maung Maung Ohn, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein, Yangon Command Commander Maj-Gen Zaw Hein, regional ministers, YMBA Chairman U Ye Tun and relevant officials. State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee Chairman Dr Bhaddanta Candima Bhivamsa delivered Ovada Gatha at the event. Then, Yangon Region Chief Minister Thiri Pyanchi Sithu U Soe Thein read out the message sent by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing to the ceremony to mark the 104th Anniversary of National Victory Day. Union Minister Zeya Kyaw Htin Sithu U Maung Maung Ohn offered donations to State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee Chairman Dr Bhaddanta Candima Bhivamsa while Yangon Region Chief Minister Thiri Pyanchi Sithu U Soe Thein to Presiding Sayadaw Bhaddanta Suwunna of the Mashi Khana Monastery in Kamayut Township, Yangon, and Commander Zeya Kyaw Htin Maj-Gen Zaw Hein to Presiding Sayadaw Dr Bhaddanta Pannajota of Natsin Taya Monastery in Thanlyin Township. YMBA Chair U Ye Tun then offered the Abhidhaja Aggamaha Mingala Dhammajotika title to State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee Chairman Dr Bhaddanta Candima Bhivamsa, and the relevant ministers, vice-chairs and officials presented religious titles to recipient Sayadaws. Union Minister U Maung Maung Ohn, Chief Minister U Soe Thein and Commander Maj-Gen Zaw Hein offered titles to one Sayadaw and lay persons. The Yangon Region government and donors made cash donations to the YMBA chairman. The YMBA chairman explained the National Victory Day and officials presented titles to recipients. YMBA was founded in 1906, and National Victory Day was celebrated on the 10th Waning of Tazaungmone every year. The objective of YMBA is to love race, respect religion, value Sasana and support education. The motto of YMBA is that YMBA is always ready for race, religion, Sasana, education and political affairs. — MNA/KTZHJimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100Ministers will not set an arbitrary cap on the number of civil servants amid reports more than 10,000 jobs could be lost as the result of a spending squeeze. Sir Keir Starmer has been warned by a trade union not to impose “blunt headcount targets” for the size of the Civil Service but Government sources insisted there would be no set limit, although the number “cannot keep growing”. Departments have been ordered to find 5% “efficiency savings” as part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review, potentially putting jobs at risk. The size of the Civil Service has increased from a low of around 384,000 in mid-2016, and the Tories went into the general election promising to reduce numbers by 70,000 to fund extra defence spending. Any reduction under Labour would be more modest, with the Guardian reporting more than 10,000 jobs could be lost. A Government spokesman said: “Under our plan for change, we are making sure every part of government is delivering on working people’s priorities — delivering growth, putting more money in people’s pockets, getting the NHS back on its feet, rebuilding Britain and securing our borders in a decade of national renewal. “We are committed to making the Civil Service more efficient and effective, with bold measures to improve skills and harness new technologies.” Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect trade union said: “We need a clear plan for the future of the civil service that goes beyond the blunt headcount targets that have failed in the past. “This plan needs to be developed in partnership with civil servants and their unions, and we look forward to deeper engagement with the government in the coming months.” A Government source said: “The number of civil servants cannot keep growing. “But we will not set an arbitrary cap. “The last government tried that and ended up spending loads on more expensive consultants.” The Government is already risking a confrontation with unions over proposals to limit pay rises for more than a million public servants to 2.8%, a figure only just over the projected 2.6% rate of inflation next year. Unions representing teachers, doctors and nurses have condemned the proposals. In the face of the union backlash, Downing Street said the public sector must improve productivity to justify real-terms pay increases. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s vital that pay awards are fair for both taxpayers and workers.” Asked whether higher pay settlements to staff would mean departmental cuts elsewhere, the spokesman said: “Real-terms pay increases must be matched by productivity gains and departments will only be able to fund pay awards above inflation over the medium-term if they become more productive and workforces become more productive.” TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “It’s hard to see how you address the crisis in our services without meaningful pay rises. “And it’s hard to see how services cut to the bone by 14 years of Tory government will find significant cash savings. “The Government must now engage unions and the millions of public sector workers we represent in a serious conversation about public service reform and delivery.”
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Progressivism and the murder of a health insurance CEOWASHINGTON — Comcast will spin off many of its cable television networks that were once at the heart of the entertainment giant, with people increasingly swapping out their cable TV subscriptions for streaming platforms . Those one-time stars for Comcast’s NBCUniversal cable television networks include USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC. Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site would also become part of the new company. Peacock will remain with Comcast, as will Bravo, which provides significant content for the Peacock streaming service. Comcast telegraphed the potential shift last month as it released quarterly earnings before confirming Wednesday that it will spin off assets that generated about $7 billion in revenue over he past 12 months ending September 30. That’s about 5.5% of Comcast’s total revenue during that period, according to the company. But there is a shrinking pool of cable subscribers as millions cut the cord and rely increasingly on streaming platforms for entertainment. “Like millions of US consumers, Comcast finally cut the cord by divesting itself of most of its cable TV channels,” said Paul Verna, principal analyst at market research company eMarketer. “The benefits are clear to Comcast. It’s dropping money-losing assets from a technology and media empire that will retain its lucrative (internet service provider) business, theme parks, broadcast networks, and Peacock streaming service.” But how this new spin-off company will fare independently is less promised, he adds — pointing again to cable’s “hemorrhaging subscribers and ad revenues” overall. Mark Lazarus, current chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will serve as the new entity’s chief executive officer. Anand Kini, the current chief financial officer of NBCUniversal, will take on the same title with the new company as well as the chief operating officer role. “As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment,” Lazarus said Wednesday. Comcast expects the new company to have the financial flexibility to be “a potential partner and acquirer of other complementary media businesses.” The spin-off is targeted for completion in about a year, the entertainment giant said, pending financing and approval from its board and government regulators. Shares of Comcast, based in Philadelphia, were essentially flat Wednesday. Like other cable companies, Comcast in recent years has shifted its business emphasis away from traditional cable toward streaming and other sources of revenue, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services. In its most recent quarter, Comcast reported that paid subscribers to its streaming Peacock channel jumped by 3 million, or 29%, to 36 million subscribers. Peacock’s revenue soared 82% to $1.5 billion in the period. Peacock was launched in 2020, and after a confusing, glitchy start, has taken off recently, boosted in part by the platform’s success and popularity during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Peacock streamed all 329 medal events and over 5,000 hours of coverage during the Games, with viewers streaming more than 23 billion minutes of Olympic coverage, led by Peacock. That’s a 40% increase over all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined, Comcast said. Comcast reported revenue of more than $32 billion and profit of $1.12 per share in its most recent quarter, boosted by the summer box-office success of “Despicable Me 4,” which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. The company expects to open its Epic Universe theme park in Orlando in May of next year. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100