School property tax debates past, present and yet to come will once again haunt the state’s elected officials in the new 109th Legislature. One of western Nebraska’s five state senators will push for millions of dollars in extra tax relief after the Unicameral’s summer special session “frontloaded” a 30% K-12 school income tax credit onto December’s 2024-25 property tax bills. Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering cites a State Capitol argument whether doing so deprived property owners of their 2023-24 income tax credit. Gov. Jim Pillen, who failed to win enough support for sweeping tax changes in the extra session, meanwhile renewed his efforts with a “2024 School Property Tax Report” released Nov. 8. It included data on 2024-25 K-12 districts’ aid and property tax requests. Lowering the former typically boosts the latter, it said. Senators need to seek “predictability of aid given to school districts,” it added, to “allow Nebraska to have sustained property tax reductions for the first time in its history.” Star-Herald analyses found mixed pictures on both questions for western Nebraska property owners, at least regarding the 2024-25 tax bills they’ll get in the mail next month. A formula provided by state budget officials shows the K-12 income tax credits — which thousands of Nebraskans never claimed — will refund 30% of all property owners’ eligible 2023-24 school taxes as a second direct discount on 2024-25 property tax bills. But it won’t equal a 30% break on their latest school taxes for the three Scotts Bluff County agricultural operations and two of the three Scottsbluff-Gering area homes the paper tracks each “budget season.” Why? It’s mostly because LB 34’s K-12 school tax credit will continue to run one year behind, as the income tax credit did from its debut in 2020. It also excludes the schools’ portions of the older but smaller 2023-24 Property Tax Credit Fund break — also taken off December tax bills — and the homestead exemptions some homeowners receive, said Lee Will, director of the state Department of Administrative Services. Those factors yield effective 2024-25 school tax discounts from 24.8% to 27.8% for a ranch southeast of Lyman and farms with mixed soil types northwest of Mitchell and southwest and southeast of Melbeta. They’ll be worth 27.9% for the Star-Herald’s Home 1, located in Scottsbluff’s Westmoor neighborhood, and 28.2% for Home 2 in Gering’s Legion Park neighborhood. The picture is more complicated for Home 3 in east Terrytown, which has received a full homestead exemption since 2019. The Nebraska Taxes Online website won’t report parcels’ 2024 homestead exemption status until final tax bills are sent out. If the Terrytown home’s full exemption was renewed for 2024, that most likely will again cancel out the home’s tax bill. But if not, it won’t get the new K-12 tax credit this year — because its owners didn’t have to pay taxes in 2023. A trio of term-limited lawmakers, including Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, contend that property owners are being shortchanged by the school income tax credit’s transition to a direct discount. LB 34 dealt them a “missing year” of tax relief, the lawmakers argued, if they paid their 2023 school taxes during 2024. Hardin said he’ll introduce a bill to make up the perceived shortfall. “We took the 2023 monies and flipped them end for end and said we’ll get them in 2024,” he said. But LB 34 didn’t deprive any property owner of a 2023 school tax break, countered North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson. Instead of claiming it when they do 2024 income taxes after New Year’s, he said, they’ll get it before Christmas off the top of their 2024 property taxes. In fact, Jacobson added, Nebraskans who paid their 2023 property taxes last December can get both the 2023 K-12 income tax credit — if they claim it — and the direct 2023 discount next month. “We told people it’s not that anybody lost out,” said Jacobson, who hopes to join the Revenue Committee in 2025. “It’s that some people double-dipped.” Even if there were a “missing year,” he said, it’s highly unlikely the Legislature can find $560.7 million — the amount allocated for K-12 income tax credits for 2023 — on top of the $750 million for the new direct discount. The Legislature’s Tax Rate Review Committee told senators Wednesday that the state’s budget balance by 2026-27 could be more than $432 million below its legal minimum reserve if lawmakers make no changes. “If anybody thinks a bill’s going to pass the Legislature that will cost $500 million to ‘make people whole,’ that’s not going to happen,” Jacobson said. The same cloud hangs over Pillen’s renewed call for even higher property tax relief, acknowledged as Nebraska’s largest single budget item in the governor’s Nov. 8 report. It lauded the 244 school districts for holding statewide growth in their 2024-25 property tax requests to 2.8% — the slowest pace this century. Senators slapped a basic 3% lid last year on how much K-12 districts can charge. But four fast-growing metro-area districts — Lincoln, Millard, Papillion-La Vista and Gretna — accounted for 82% of the $76.1 million in school property tax growth over 2023-24, the report said. Those four also lost a combined $56.3 million in state aid. The aid formula founded in 1990 “has become a large reason as to why some local school districts continue to need to increase local taxes,” the report said. The correlation between school-aid cuts and higher tax requests didn’t hold up universally, according to the Star-Herald’s analysis of Pillen’s report. Four of the Panhandle’s 20 districts — Gering, Morrill, Bayard and South Platte — both absorbed state-aid cuts and raised their tax requests by more than the 2.8% statewide average. Bayard’s situation was specifically referenced in Pillen’s report. But six others, including Scottsbluff, Mitchell and Minatare, held their tax-request growth below the average despite losing ground in state aid. Scottsbluff Public Schools’ 2024 school aid fell by 0.6%, but the district slashed its 2024-25 property tax request by 15.5%. The school board voted in June to pay off its Bluffs Middle School renovation bonds five years early. Pillen’s report acknowledged that state-aid levels don’t explain all K-12 tax increases. They “could be due to a loss in state aid ... increasing needs in the community or simply from overspending,” it said. Stuart Simpson, who will retire in June as North Platte’s executive director of finance, said the aid formula is meant to adjust for each district’s unique circumstances. It steers “equalization aid” to districts with educational “needs” that cost more than their “resources,” mainly property taxes. But Simpson said it’s how the school-aid formula measures “needs” — largely student populations, family incomes and families for whom English isn’t their first language — that so often frustrates taxpayers and lawmakers. “You can’t compare North Platte to Scottsbluff or Lexington or Alliance or McCook,” he said. The formula “is trying to address the needs of school districts compared with the economic development in the community.” If the Legislature “pushes down the property taxes” with more dollars, “they’ll push more into equalization aid to support a school district,” said Simpson, who became Alliance’s school finance director the year the current aid formula was founded. “But how can you do it when you have a shortfall?” The Star-Herald's final "tax tracker" story for Scotts Bluff County's 2024-25 "budget season" shows unofficial gross and net tax bills for three sample Scottsbluff-Gering homes and county agricultural operations apiece. The Star-Herald's second "tax tracker" story of the 2024-25 local "budget season" accounts for final taxable values and the Legislature's making a K-12 income tax credit an automatic tax-bill discount. A summer 2024 Unicameral special session changed a potential 30% income tax break on Nebraska property owners' 2023 school taxes into a direct discount on December's 2024 property tax bills. Schools' share of other 2023 property tax credits, including homestead exemptions, are excluded from the new direct credit. Here's the estimated 2024 school tax breaks from "frontloading" the former income tax credit for the Star-Herald’s sample Scottsbluff-Gering homes and Scotts Bluff County agricultural properties: • Home 1 (Scottsbluff): 27.9% • Home 2 (Gering): 28.2% • Home 3 (Terrytown): zero* • Ag 1 (ranch, southeast of Lyman): 27.8% • Ag 2 (farm, northwest of Mitchell): 24.8% • Ag 3 (farm, southwest and southeast of Melbeta): 27.6% *Received a full homestead exemption in 2023, canceling out potential school property tax credit. Home 3 likely will pay zero in 2024 property taxes if its full homestead exemption is renewed. Sources: State of Nebraska, Scotts Bluff County; Star-Herald analysis We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.STILLWATER, Oklahoma: What do Blackpink’s Rose, a coastal town in Perak and a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur have in common? All of them were recently at the centre of disinformation in Malaysia, no thanks to the viral nature of social media. In August, after a tourist fell into an 8m-deep sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur and disappeared, false claims surfaced on social media alleging that the city was built atop a “giant cave” and was unsafe for residents and visitors. A viral TikTok post even tagged this content as “AI-generated news for entertainment” accompanied by manipulated images of the skyline perched over a cavernous void. Despite geologists and the authorities dismissing these claims as impossible, such misinformation fuelled public fear and distrust, allowing sensationalism to overshadow factual reporting. In October, Malaysia’s Health Ministry refuted reports that it had called Rose's and Bruno Mars’ song APT “morally harmful”, saying that statements attributed to the ministry by K-pop entertainment sites were not issued by the government. And just earlier this month, the Manjung Municipal Council in Perak filed a police report over allegations in a viral video on TikTok that claimed it cruelly captured, shot and dumped stray dogs into a rubbish pit. DISINFORMATION AN ENTRENCHED ISSUE Disinformation is an entrenched issue in Malaysia, and polarisation remains a major concern. This is especially rampant during elections. For instance, during Malaysia’s 2022 general election, politically motivated falsehoods spread rapidly through social media platforms, stirring up ethnic and religious tensions. TikTok became a hotbed for ethnoreligious hate speech, with incendiary narratives targeting different communities. Alongside this, the usual rhetoric and recycled misinformation about “ghost voting” (undi hantu) circulated without any solid evidence, while baseless allegations of corruption against various politicians flooded social media platforms. A study by Kuala Lumpur-based non-profit Centre for Independent Journalism found that, during the peak of the election period between October and November 2022, the number of social media posts containing hate speech nearly doubled, with over 99,000 unique messages compared to 55,000 in the previous period. This shows how disinformation thrives on social media, often in local languages, making it harder to combat false narratives. The spread of misleading narratives during election campaigns can create an environment where facts are increasingly obscured by racially charged rhetoric. This damages both the integrity of elections and social cohesion, making it more challenging for the public to discern what is true amidst a sea of manipulated information. PLAYING CATCH-UP Malaysia’s regulatory framework has struggled to keep pace with the rapid spread and sheer volume of digital disinformation. While the country has a rather robust set of laws to address false information, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the newly introduced Cyber Security Act 2024, the enforcement of these laws has historically been slow. Legal cases often take years to process, while false information can spread on social media in a matter of minutes and hours, which makes these laws less effective in real-time. Another problem is that state affiliated fact-checking agencies like Sebenarnya.my and MyCheck have explicitly stated that they do not verify political content, which leaves a big gap in countering political disinformation. While independent fact-checking groups attempt to bridge this gap during politically charged events like elections, the sheer volume of information across multiple languages and dialects makes it extremely difficult for fact-checkers to keep up, leaving these efforts insufficient and often ineffective. This is particularly concerning in the fast-paced context of elections. During these times, rapid verification of political claims is crucial to ensure informed public discourse. Yet, without real-time fact-checking and given the sluggish pace of legal enforcement, false political narratives can spread unchecked, shaping public perception and potentially swaying electoral outcomes. Additionally, the lack of comprehensive media and information literacy training across different age groups exacerbates the problem. Without the skills to critically evaluate digital content, individuals are more vulnerable to disinformation, especially as AI-driven technologies continue to advance. With deep fakes and manipulated images becoming increasingly sophisticated, the risk grows that public trust in the media and democratic institutions will erode because people won’t know how to distinguish between real and fabricated content. THE DEBATE OVER PLATFORM RESPONSIBILITY As Malaysia navigates the challenges of disinformation, the spotlight has turned onto the role social media platforms play in moderating user-generated content. Platforms like Telegram and X have adopted a “hands-off” approach to content moderation, prioritising free speech over the control of harmful content. This laissez-faire attitude allows disinformation, hate speech and divisive narratives to flourish. In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Malaysia, where sensitive issues can easily escalate, this hands-off approach can fuel social instability and exacerbate polarisation. To address this, Malaysia will from January 2025 require social media companies with at least eight million users in the country to apply for an annual operating licence . Conversely, there is also perceived bias in content moderation by tech giants like Meta. In August, Meta faced criticism in Malaysia when it removed posts by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressing condolences over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, labelling the content as problematic. While Anwar’s posts were later restored, the incident highlights broader concerns about selective censorship, particularly when politically or religiously charged content is involved. In a society like Malaysia’s, where discussions around race, religion and politics are both common and sensitive, the perception of bias in content moderation can deepen societal divisions. On one hand, the removal of certain politically significant content could stifle one side of the conversation, further polarising public opinion. On the other hand, platforms like Telegram and X that allow inflammatory content to go unchecked could fan the flames of ethnic or religious discord, leading to greater instability. BALANCING DISINFORMATION MITIGATION AND FREE EXPRESSION The ongoing debate over social media accountability in Malaysia is particularly urgent, as disinformation and hate speech pose serious threats to public trust and social cohesion. Social media platforms wield significant power in shaping narratives, yet their inconsistent approaches to content moderation - whether hands-off or perceived as biased - complicate efforts to maintain balanced public discourse. The preservation of free expression is essential in any democracy, but so is protecting society from the damaging effects of disinformation. Striking the right balance between these two goals remains a critical challenge for Malaysia as it contends with the complex dynamics of its diverse society. Dr Nuurrianti Jalli is Visiting Fellow at the Media, Technology and Society Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Assistant Professor at the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University.From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure
Costco Wholesale Corp. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors despite daily gainsAverage rate on 30-year mortgage hits 6.6%, its third straight weekly declineA man hired at $250 an hour to help the St. Helens School District’s communications team deal with its ongoing “crisis” has resigned from the job after it became known that he had a felony conviction for embezzlement. The Northwest Regional Education Service District, which contracted with Thomas DeLapp, acknowledged it never did a background check on DeLapp. It said it only conducts background checks for its contractors or consultants who work directly with children, said Kelsey Soltysiak, the education district spokesperson. DeLapp, 73, spoke to reporters last week during a video news conference to announce the name of an independent investigator tapped to look into the St. Helens School District’s mandatory reporting policies and training in the wake of the arrests last month of two high school teachers on sexual abuse allegations and the arrest two weeks later of the high school principal accused of failing to report sexual abuse complaints involving the teachers. DeLapp introduced himself as a new communications assistant hired to help the district deal with its “crisis,” after having worked in school communications for nearly 50 years. By Monday afternoon, DeLapp submitted his resignation, writing in an email to the St. Helens acting superintendent and the Northwest Regional Education Service District that his “personal indiscretion involving financial mismanagement” in his local school foundation had become “an unfortunate distraction.” “My continued presence will draw too much negative publicity and undercut the credibility of your efforts to improve the reputation of/ and trust in the school district,” DeLapp’s email said. A PR specialist hired by the St. Helens School District has resigned after a prior felony conviction for embezzlement came to light. The regional education district had signed a contract with DeLapp, paying him $250 an hour, from Nov. 15 through June 30, 2025, according to the contract obtained through a public records request. “We had hoped his expertise would help St. Helens School District take its initial steps toward restorative and corrective action, especially given the overwhelming feedback the district was getting from community members about the lack of information and transparency,” Soltysiak said by email. “Instead, his engagement is a distraction and undercuts the district’s credibility.” DeLapp was charged in Placer County Superior Court in Roseville, California, in February with embezzlement, accused of stealing $52,000 from the Rocklin Educational Excellence Foundation where he is listed as a founding chairperson. The foundation supports local schools in the Rocklin Unified School District. In July, he pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to two years of probation, according to court documents. Reached Wednesday afternoon, DeLapp said he is working to pay back the $52,000 in restitution owed. He declined to discuss the embezzlement, other than admitting he was sentenced after issuing a plea. He said the Northwest Regional Education Service District sought him out on behalf of the St. Helens School District, “simply because I dealt with these kinds of situations before.” DeLapp had not disclosed his felony conviction to the Oregon regional education district, and did not until a community member alerted the school district this week after it circulated on social media. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Man United coach Amorim says argument between Hojlund and Diallo a 'very good sign'
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FILE – Author Percival Everett attends the 75th National Book Awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File) FILE – Taylor Swift performs during “The Eras Tour” on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) FILE – Riley Keough, left, and her mother Lisa Marie Presley arrive at the 24th annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards on Oct. 16, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) FILE – First lady Melania Trump stands next to the 2020 Official White House Christmas tree as it is presented on the North Portico of the White House, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – This cover image released by FSG shows “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney. (FSG via AP, File) FILE – This cover image released by Random House shows “From Here to the Great Unknown” by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. (Random House via AP, File) FILE – This cover image released by Simon & Schuster shows “War” by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster via AP, File) FILE – This cover image released by Dey Street Books shows “Cher: The Memoir, Part One,” releasing on Nov. 19. (Dey Street Books via AP, File) FILE – This cover image released by Random House shows “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder” by Salman Rushdie. The book, about the attempt on his life that left him blind in his right eye, will be published April 16, 2024. Rushdie’s first book since the 2022 stabbing he thought might end his life is both explicit in the violence Rushdie sustains and heroic in the will to live that Rushdie retains. (Random House via AP, File) FILE – Author Percival Everett attends the 75th National Book Awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File) By HILLEL ITALIE NEW YORK (AP) — Even through a year of nonstop news about elections, climate change, protests and the price of eggs, there was still time to read books. Related Articles Nikki Giovanni, poet and literary celebrity, has died at 81 Trivially Speaking: Novel suggestions for Christmas gifts with meaning Percival Everett, 2024 National Book Award winner, rereads one book often Gift books for 2024: What to give, and what to receive, for all kinds of readers Our critic’s picks: Best mystery fiction books of 2024 U.S. sales held steady according to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the print market, with many choosing the relief of romance, fantasy and romantasy. Some picked up Taylor Swift’s tie-in book to her blockbuster tour, while others sought out literary fiction, celebrity memoirs, political exposes and a close and painful look at a generation hooked on smartphones. Here are 10 notable books published in 2024, in no particular order. Asking about the year’s hottest reads would basically yield a list of the biggest hits in romantasy, the blend of fantasy and romance that has proved so irresistible fans were snapping up expensive “special editions” with decorative covers and sprayed edges. Of the 25 top sellers of 2024, as compiled by Circana, six were by romantasy favorite Sarah J. Maas, including “House of Flame and Shadow,” the third of her “Crescent City” series. Millions read her latest installment about Bryce Quinlan and Hunter Athalar and traced the ever-growing ties of “Maasverse,” the overlapping worlds of “Crescent City” and her other series, “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” If romantasy is for escape, other books demand we confront. In the bestselling “The Anxious Generation,” social psychologist Jonathan Haidt looks into studies finding that the mental health of young people began to deteriorate in the 2010s, after decades of progress. According to Haidt, the main culprit is right before us: digital screens that have drawn kids away from “play-based” to “phone-based” childhoods. Although some critics challenged his findings, “The Anxious Generation” became a talking point and a catchphrase. Admirers ranged from Oprah Winfrey to Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, who in a letter to state legislators advocated such “commonsense recommendations” from the book as banning phones in schools and keeping kids off social media until age 16. Bob Woodward books have been an election tradition for decades. “War,” the latest of his highly sourced Washington insider accounts, made news with its allegations that Donald Trump had been in frequent contact with Russian leader Vladimir Putin even while out of office and, while president, had sent Putin sophisticated COVID-19 test machines. Among Woodward’s other scoops: Putin seriously considered using nuclear weapons against Ukraine, and President Joe Biden blamed former President Barack Obama, under whom he served as vice president, for some of the problems with Russia. “Barack never took Putin seriously,” Woodward quoted Biden as saying. Former (and future) first lady Melania Trump, who gives few interviews and rarely discusses her private life, unexpectedly announced she was publishing a memoir: “Melania.” The publisher was unlikely for a former first lady — not one of the major New York houses, but Skyhorse, where authors include such controversial public figures as Woody Allen and Trump cabinet nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And its success was at least a minor surprise. Melania Trump did little publicity for the book, and offered few revelations beyond posting a video expressing support for abortion rights — a break from one of the cornerstones of GOP policy. But “Melania” still sold hundreds of thousands of copies, many in the days following her husband’s election. Taylor Swift was more than a music story in 2024. Like “Melania,” the news about Taylor Swift’s self-published tie-in to her global tour isn’t so much the book itself, but that it exists. And how well it sold. As she did with the “Eras” concert film, Swift bypassed the established industry and worked directly with a distributor: Target offered “The Eras Tour Book” exclusively. According to Circana, the “Eras” book sold more than 800,000 copies just in its opening week, an astonishing number for a publication unavailable through Amazon.com and other traditional retailers. No new book in 2024 had a better debut. Midnight book parties are supposed to be for “Harry Potter” and other fantasy series, but this fall, more than 100 stores stayed open late to welcome one of the year’s literary events: Sally Rooney’s “Intermezzo.” The Irish author’s fourth novel centers on two brothers, their grief over the death of their father, their very different career paths and their very unsettled love lives. “Intermezzo” was also a book about chess: “You have to read a lot of opening theory — that’s the beginning of a game, the first moves,” one of the brothers explains. “And you’re learning all this for what? Just to get an okay position in the middle game and try to play some decent chess. Which most of the time I can’t do anyway.” Lisa Marie Presley had been working on a memoir at the time of her death , in 2023, and daughter Riley Keough had agreed to help her complete it. “From Here to the Great Unknown” is Lisa Marie’s account of her father, Elvis Presley, and the sagas of of her adult life, notably her marriage to Michael Jackson and the death of son Benjamin Keough. To the end, she was haunted by the loss of Elvis, just 42 when he collapsed and died at his Graceland home while young Lisa Marie was asleep. “She would listen to his music alone, if she was drunk, and cry,” Keough, during an interview with Winfrey, said of her mother. Meanwhile, Cher released the first of two planned memoirs titled “Cher” — no further introduction required. Covering her life from birth to the end of the 1970s, she focuses on her ill-fated marriage to Sonny Bono, remembering him as a gifted entertainer and businessman who helped her believe in herself while turning out to be unfaithful, erratic, controlling and so greedy that he kept all the couple’s earnings for himself. Unsure of whether to leave or stay, she consulted a very famous divorcee, Lucille Ball, who reportedly encouraged her: “F— him, you’re the one with the talent.” A trend in recent years is to take famous novels from the past, and remove words or passages that might offend modern readers; an edition of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” cuts the racist language from Mark Twain’s original text. In the most celebrated literary work of 2024, Percival Everett found a different way to take on Twain’s classic — write it from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. “James,” winner of the National Book Award, is a recasting in many ways. Everett suggests to us that the real Jim was nothing like the deferential figure known to millions of readers, but a savvy and learned man who concealed his intelligence from the whites around him, and even from Twain himself. Salman Rushdie’s first National Book Award nomination was for a memoir he wished he had no reason to write. In “Knife,” he recounts in full detail the horrifying attempt on his life in 2022, when an attendee rushed the stage during a literary event in western New York and stabbed him repeatedly, leaving with him a blinded eye and lasting nerve damage, but with a spirit surprisingly intact. “If you had told me that this was going to happen and how would I deal with it, I would not have been very optimistic about my chances,” he told The Associated Press last spring. “I’m still myself, you know, and I don’t feel other than myself. But there’s a little iron in the soul, I think.”After nearly three months in office, the outlook for the Paetongtarn Shinawatra government is likely to be influenced by several anticipated new stimulus proposals that are expected to be revealed in unison. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) last week forecast a Thai GDP growth rate of 2.3-3.3% in 2025, with an average of 2.8%. Despite a more promising outlook for next year, the NESDC warned that household debt is soaring, coinciding with concerns from the business sector that the government needs to improve in a number of areas to achieve the growth rate projected by the planning agency. Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said the government has yet to effectively stimulate economic growth as expected. He said the tourism industry next year should continue to be a major driver of GDP with 40 million foreign tourists expected to arrive, while growth in other industries may remain stagnant. Mr Thienprasit said there are gaps that could be filled to increase the number of arrivals and spending by tourists, such as promotions during the low season that include attractive programmes and campaigns. Regarding the hospitality sector, he said the government could support the market during the low season by increasing the budget available to organise governmental and public sector meetings and conferences across the country. Foreign investment should also be accelerated, including large projects such as the proposed Land Bridge and the development of comprehensive entertainment complexes that include casinos, said Mr Thienprasit. He said the government's initiative to lure technology investment to Thailand is a good idea, as data centre projects would help create jobs and business opportunities. With the government's priority the 10,000-baht handout aimed at lifting domestic consumption, Mr Thienprasit said the outcome of the scheme remains unclear when compared with investments in major infrastructure projects. He said it would be more productive and practical if the government instead worked to ease the debt burden of many Thais, as this would eventually increase people's spending power. Exports will continue to play a key role in driving Thailand's GDP next year, but the country needs to ensure products labelled as made in Thailand are actually produced by Thais, said Tanit Sorat, vice-chairman of the Employers' Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry (EconThai). If these goods are produced by Chinese manufacturers, this may negatively affect the export sector, he said. This could become a serious issue if Chinese companies try to avoid the higher tariffs US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose on Chinese products by exporting goods to the US via Thailand, Mr Tanit said. A close examination of goods that are produced, processed and packed in Thailand both for domestic sale and export may be required to ensure the products were actually manufactured by Thai companies. "They may be made by Chinese entrepreneurs in Thailand," he said. "We don't know whether this will become an issue, which could cause the Trump administration to launch retaliatory measures against Thailand." Trump announced he would impose tariffs of 10-20% on all imported products, with tariffs of between 60-100% on goods imported from China, according to media reports. Thailand and other countries, especially those that have a trade surplus with the US, are likely to face tariffs of 10-20%, said Mr Tanit. The new US foreign trade policy will likely have a limited impact on Thai exports to the US, he said. EconThai believes exports and tourism will continue to drive the Thai economy next year. A glance at growth forecasts from various state agencies led Mr Tanit to predict a rate of 2.9% next year. "Our economy is growing, but its growth rate will be lower than those of neighbouring countries," he said, adding Southeast Asia is expected to grow by 4-5% in 2025. He applauded the new government for its stimulus efforts. "The 10,000-baht handout should help the economy somewhat as it indirectly helps some businesses to maintain their employment," said Mr Tanit. Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said he believes Thailand's GDP will grow by 3% in 2025, based on the NESDC forecast, as the economy gradually recovers next year. The fiscal 2025 budget was already approved, so the implementation of various policies, including government stimulus measures, will be able to proceed smoothly, he said, helping to drive the economy forward during the coming year. Thai exports were affected by baht strength earlier this year. The value of exports for the first nine months of 2024 tallied US$223 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year, indicating the export sector continues to be a key driver of the economy, said Mr Sanan. Officials expect Thailand will start to register more investments in new S-curve industries, propelling the export sector and GDP growth next year. The tourism sector is projected to fully recover in 2025 as Thailand recorded more than 30 million foreign arrivals during the first 11 months of 2024, which represents 85% of the target of 35 million arrivals set for 2025. If the government can accelerate the promotion of Thailand's soft power through various events and position the country's festivals on the global calendar, he said it will help raise awareness among foreign tourists, attracting high-income tourists to visit or live here. This would increase tourism revenue and create jobs, improving income distribution, said Mr Sanan. In terms of consumer spending, the government already started disbursal of the fiscal 2025 budget and implemented various stimulus measures. In addition, the government's recent debt relief measures should help generate liquidity in the economy, he said. Moreover, the government needs to accelerate efforts to attract foreign direct investment into Thailand by leveraging the opportunities presented by Trump's foreign trade policy, said Mr Sanan, which could restore confidence among both Thai and foreign investors. Chak Reungsinpinya, head of research at Maybank Securities (Thailand), said the brokerage is feeling more bullish and hopeful regarding Thailand's economic future following recent discussions with Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira. According to Mr Chak, the finance minister said some policies are short-term but much-needed, including the cash handout and debt restructuring schemes addressing the economic slowdown. "Mr Pichai emphasised the need to maintain fiscal discipline and expects the budget deficit to fall below 4% of GDP in the fiscal 2025 budget, keeping government debt-to-GDP below 70%, compared with 65% now," he said. Mr Pichai also said the investment budget must exceed the deficit level, meaning that current expenditure needs to be financed solely by government receipts. Over the longer term, tax reforms are needed to help close the fiscal gap, said Mr Chak. "This includes potentially lower personal and corporate income taxes, but higher value-added tax with excess government receipts going towards low-income earners via social programmes," he said. Following the initial 10,000-baht handout in October, Maybank expects Thai GDP growth to reach 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing full-year growth to 2.6%. The brokerage maintained its 2025 GDP projection of 2.8%, with public investment and public consumption remaining the key drivers. "We are mindful of risks to growth from rising trade barriers, especially if the US trade policy targets exporting nations that are closely integrated with China's supply chains," Maybank said in a research note, adding consumer indebtedness need to be reduced to a more manageable level for private consumption growth to recover. "The authorities are planning to implement debt restructuring programmes to address household debt, but these will take time to take effect and support consumption." Prakit Siriwattanaket, managing director of Merchant Partners Asset Management, said the government recently introduced policies to address persistent problems such as high debt levels, in addition to short-term stimulus. In his view, increased government budget disbursement is the main reason Thai GDP exceeded the market forecast of 2.7% in the third quarter this year. "The government deserves credit for increasing budget disbursement from 50 billion baht in August to 89 billion in September. This is what prior administrations wanted to do, but could not accomplish," said Mr Prakit. He said the market expects the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee to further trim the policy rate in December to spur economic growth. Amonthep Chawla, chief economist at CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT), described the 3% year-on-year GDP growth in the third quarter recently as unexpectedly strong, exceeding the bank's forecast of 2.2%. According to the NESDC's latest data, public spending and domestic consumption exceeded the bank's expectations. Foreign tourist arrivals aligned with the bank's forecast and remained a key driver of Thailand's economic growth, he said. Following the NESDC's announcement of third-quarter results, CIMBT's research centre is revising its growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025. The centre is also awaiting updated economic data from the central bank. However, Mr Amonthep said the bank does not expect the country's growth rate for the fourth quarter to reach 4% year-on-year, citing the central bank's assessment that weaker purchasing power among low-income groups, particularly vulnerable and agricultural households, will weigh on economic performance. He said the second phase of the government's 10,000-baht cash handout is unlikely to significantly boost economic growth in the final quarter, as the target beneficiaries, primarily elderly individuals, are expected to spend conservatively. "Initially, we planned to revise our GDP growth forecast for this year to 2.6-2.7% from 2.3%, but the new projected figures are likely to fall just short of 3%," said Mr Amonthep. Thitima Chucherd, head of economic and financial market research at SCB EIC, said the centre plans to slightly boost its 2024 Thai growth projection to 2.6% from 2.5% following the NESDC's third-quarter report. EIC predicted third-quarter GDP growth of 2.6%, aligning with forecasts by other research houses in a range of 2.4-2.6%. The government's various stimulus initiatives, including the second phase of the cash handout programme, are expected to contribute 0.6-0.8 percentage points to growth. As a result, the country's GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 could potentially reach 4% year-on-year, noted the research centre. For 2025, Ms Thitima said the Thai economy is expected to face greater challenges, particularly from potential changes in US foreign trade policies under the new administration, which could negatively impact exports in the second half of the year. As a consequence, Thailand's economic growth next year may fall below the current projection of 2.6%, noted EIC. She said EIC is awaiting further details on the implementation of stimulus packages and US economic policies before making final adjustments to its forecasts. Surrounded by leaders and members of coalition parties, Ms Paetongtarn, centre, makes a point ahead of a meeting to discuss the controversial Koh Kut border issue and referendum bill at Government House on Nov 4. Chanat Katanyu Tourists and locals make their way around Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. Nutthawat Wichieanbut A woman collects plastic bottles to be sold for recycling. A CIMBT economist believes the second phase of the state's cash handout is unlikely to significantly boost growth in the final quarter, as the target beneficiaries, primarily elderly individuals, are expected to spend conservatively. Apichart Jinakul
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Sports on TV for Wednesday, Nov. 27China pledged on Thursday to increase the budget deficit, issue more debt and loosen monetary policy to maintain a stable economic growth rate as it girds for more trade tensions with the US as Donald Trump returns to the White House. The remarks came in a state media readout of an annual agenda-setting meeting of China’s top leaders, known as the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), held on December 11-12. “The adverse impact brought by changes in the external environment has deepened,” national broadcaster CCTV said following the closed-door CEWC. This year’s meeting came with the world’s second-largest economy stuttering due to a severe property market crisis, high local government debt and weak domestic demand. Exports, one of the few bright spots, face the threat of higher US tariffs. A separate readout from state news agency Xinhua, watched by financial markets for references to the yuan currency, kept a pledge to “maintain the basic stability of the exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level”. CEWC summaries from 2020, 2022 and 2023 also contained this line, which was not included in those from 2019 and 2021. Reuters reported on Wednesday that China’s top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken next year to mitigate the impact of punitive trade measures. The CEWC pledges match the tone of one of the Communist Party leaders’ most dovish statements in more than a decade, which was released on Monday after a meeting of the Politburo, a top decision-making body. The Politburo said China would switch to an “appropriately loose” monetary policy stance and “more proactive” fiscal levers, as well as stepping up “unconventional counter-cyclical adjustments”. In the same vein, the CEWC summary flagged a higher budget deficit and more debt issuance at a central and local government level. Leaders also vowed to reduce bank reserve requirements and cut interest rates “in a timely manner”. “The direction is clear, but the size of stimulus matters, which we probably will find out only after the US announces the tariffs,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. This dovish shift in messaging shows China is prioritising growth over financial risks, analysts said. At CEWC, Beijing sets targets for economic growth, the budget deficit, debt issuance and other variables for the year ahead. The targets are agreed at the meeting, but won’t be officially released until an annual parliament meeting in March. Reuters reported last month that government advisers had recommended that Beijing keep its growth target of around 5% unchanged next year. The CEWC readout said it was “necessary to maintain steady economic growth”, but did not mention a specific number. “Maintaining 5% will be quite challenging in 2025, given that the extra ‘Trump shock’ will hit exports” and capital expenditure, said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “However, a good level of stimulus will prevent a freefall, and I don’t think growth will tank below 4.5%.” Trump’s tariff threats have rattled China’s industrial complex, which sells goods worth more than $400bn annually to the United States. Many manufacturers have been shifting production abroad to escape tariffs. Exporters say the levies will further shrink profits, hurting jobs, investment and growth in the process. They would also exacerbate China’s industrial overcapacity and deflationary pressures, analysts said. If exports take a hit, China needs to look internally for a new growth engine. But consumers feel less wealthy due to falling property prices and minimal social welfare. Low household demand poses a key risk to growth. Related Story Qatar-China linguistic, cultural exchange celebrated Beijing objects to EU's additional tariffs on Chinese EVs
Just a week before Thanksgiving, shoppers at Stop & Shop stores across Massachusetts were forced to leave empty-handed after a cyberattack against the supermarket chain's parent company led to inventory shortages. Parent company Ahold Delhaize said in a statement earlier this month, that it had alerted law enforcement about the cyber breach and had taken some systems offline. "While there may be some limited inventory for certain products, we are working to re-stock our shelves and anticipate item availability to continue to improve over the next few days," the company said. But the incident may be a sign of things to come during the holiday season, when cybersecurity crises are likely to peak. Already this year, corporate giants like AT&T , Ticketmaster and United Health have suffered paralyzing cyberattacks, and now, businesses are bracing for the holidays, a time when many cybersecurity operations rely on skeleton staffing. But the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning that it's no time for them to be taking a "cyber vacation." The vast majority of ransomware attacks that hobbled businesses and organizations over the past year — 86% — occurred on a weekend or holiday, according to a new global study of 900 IT and security professionals released this week by cybersecurity firm Semperis . But researchers also found that 85% of surveyed organizations — 90% in the U.S. — reduce security staffing by as much as 50% during those same periods. "This study would say that we're not making thoughtful choices," former White House "cyber czar" and Semperis strategic adviser Chris Inglis told CBS News. "If you realize that most of these attacks take place on holidays and weekends and you reduce your manning, you take away your opportunity to essentially have parity with your adversaries," said Inglis. He added, "The advantage goes to the attacker, because they're not taking a day off. They never take a day off." According to the report, organizations consistently overestimate their defenses, with 81% of respondents reporting that they believe they have the necessary expertise to safeguard their digital identities from threats. Still, 83% of participants suffered a successful ransomware attack within the past year. Organizations are beginning to sense they're more vulnerable around the holidays, but Inglis suggested consumers, too, need to be vigilant. Technologies like smart phones and tablets are now cheaper and nearly ubiquitous, but safety measures have not kept up. "We've not actually made the necessary investments to make it such that these technologies — or this system of technologies — is defensible and well defended," he said. According to the survey, mergers, acquisitions, stock launches or layoffs also functioned as "magnets" for ransomware attacks, with a majority of respondents – 63% – also experiencing a cyber attack following what's known as a "material corporate event." With financial executives predicting that President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House could usher in a wave of bank mergers and acquisitions, cybersecurity experts worry that cybercriminals will be able to take advantage of these "moments of distraction." "Our adversaries – be they criminal or foreign, rogue nations – they test the waters every day. They're conscious of the fact that our attention waxes and wanes," Inglis said. "If there's a merger or an administration transition, those are moments of distraction. So we can expect that they will do what they always do. It's not that they search at this moment, it's that they see their opportunities being perhaps more productive at this moment." In February, UnitedHealth Group suffered the biggest hack in U.S. healthcare history after its acquisition of Change Healthcare meant it inherited outdated technology , with digital systems not yet safeguarded by multi-factor authentication. Beyond an anticipated onslaught of big bank deals, changes in administration – regardless of politics – have historically enticed foreign adversaries to test the defenses of new leadership in Washington. In 2021, President Joe Biden inherited fallout from a sophisticated Russian cyberattack leveled against Texas software-maker SolarWinds and used to breach roughly 100 top U.S. companies and a dozen government agencies. In June 2017, the Russian military waged the devastating 'NotPetya' cyber attack during Trump's first year in office, unleashing a virus that crippled parts of Ukraine's infrastructure and ravaged computer systems worldwide, amounting to billions in damages. Security staffing also remains a widespread challenge across industries, with just 85% of organizations maintaining a year-round, 24-hour Security Operations Center, according to Semperis, and staffing challenges prompted by higher overtime costs when most employees are typically out of the office around the holidays. Contributing to cybersecurity staffing headaches, cybersecurity workforce growth worldwide has flatlined for the first time since 2019. With growth of just 0.1% year-over-year in 2024, budget cuts, layoffs and hiring freezes have exacerbated a global staffing shortage of cybersecurity professionals, according to a recent report released by ISC2 . The former U.S. national cyber director said that he's routinely asked what keeps him up at night. "It's not the attackers, the Russians, the Chinese or any kind of ransomware actors. It's us," Inglis said. "Sometimes, it's the complacency and the proactive ambivalence on our side that is actually, I think, more determinative of our future." Nicole Sganga is a CBS News reporter covering homeland security and justice.College Football Playoff projections: Will just three SEC teams be in the field ahead of Week 14?
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HP Inc. Reports Fiscal 2024 Full Year and Fourth Quarter ResultsPartway through Donald Trump’s first presidency, Richard Grenell , the newly minted U.S. ambassador to Germany, made the extraordinary announcement that the Trump administration was hoping to boost the forces of the hard right throughout Europe. This was in keeping with Trump’s oft-stated dislike of the supranational principles of the European Union (EU), his support for Brexit, and his very public efforts to get leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel to clamp down on immigration from outside of Europe. Indeed, shortly after Grenell’s comments, media reports circulated that Trump was keen to see Merkel ousted as the German Chancellor. This fall, nearly seven years after his comment about the European hard right, Grenell, an avatar of an Internationale-styled alliance for the hard right globally, was, apparently, on the shortlist to become Trump’s new Secretary of State. While he wasn’t ultimately selected, losing out to Florida Senator Marco Rubio and his more “establishment” credentials, Trump’s victory is nevertheless emboldening far right political groups and leaders throughout Europe and beyond. Indeed, immediately after the election, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — long feted by Trump, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and other MAGA denizens for his championing of what he calls “illiberal democracy,” and his belief that liberals are pushing a “great replacement” of white, Christian Europeans and Americans — announced that he had downed vodka in celebration of Trump’s win . The admiration is mutual: Orbán’s willingness to clamp down on the free press, his populism (which is defined by racism, sexism and homophobia), and his manipulation of the electoral system to ensure the success of his hard-right Fidesz Party have largely made him an outlier in the EU, even as he has become a hero of the U.S. right. In 2022, he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the premier gathering of the U.S. right wing. Three years on, in a Trumpified Washington, the Hungarian leader will almost certainly be toasted as a great defender of “European values” — even as Trump is set to pull back from U.S. commitments to European defense and, in a move demonstrating a distinct lack of solidarity, to impose tariffs on imports from Europe. In the days after November 5, global far right political figures from across the word — including Argentina, where the new president, Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist , has been busily breaking apart his country’s democratic institutions — have been rallying to Trump’s cause. Around Europe, other far right figures similarly reveled in Trump’s victory, including Alice Elisabeth Weidel and Björn Höcke, the leaders of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has its roots in Nazi ideology; Geert Wilders, the politically powerful far right leader in the Netherlands; and many other fascist and nationalist figures. Writing in all capital letters, Wilders posted on X , “CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT TRUMP! CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! NEVER STOP, ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING AND WIN ELECTIONS!” Wilders’ post is indicative of the far right’s shared sense that Trump’s win pushes them, too, that much closer to assuming power within Europe. Earlier this year, the AfD won state elections in the old Eastern Germany, in a seismic shock to the mainstream political parties. Trump’s win further emboldens these far right forces in Europe, which are cynically deploying rhetoric about protecting working people in order to push an anti-immigrant, sexist, white nationalist and anti-environmental agenda. The European far right’s joy at Trump’s win also dovetails with their sympathies for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia and their antipathy to the Ukrainians. In recent months, members of the European Parliament who caucus with the hard right Europe of Sovereign Nations group have boycotted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the European Parliament, as have far right and far left figures in Germany and in Austria , in a similar move to GOP figures on Capitol Hill freezing out Zelenskyy. In the U.K., the fiercely anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage — on whose behalf Trump once lobbied as Farage sought to become the U.K. ambassador to the U.S . and whose Reform Party is currently making a serious run at replacing the Conservative Party as the main party of the right — lost no time in offering his services to the Labour government as something of a Donald Trump whisperer. Because of his friendship with Trump, Farage argued, he was in a prime position to mediate trans-Atlantic deals with the incoming Trump administration and blunt the edge of Trump’s pro-tariffs sword. To its credit, the Labour government quickly sent Farage packing. I’d bet, however, that this isn’t the last of the issue; it ought to surprise no one if over the coming months Trump pressures Keir Starmer’s U.K. government to appoint Farage either as ambassador or as liaison with the new administration in D.C. I’d also wager that far right agitators such as Tommy Robinson — the founder of the racist English Defense League, and a man who, during Trump’s first presidential tenure, approached the Americans to ask for political asylum in order to avoid a prison sentence in the U.K. — may increasingly be feted by Trump administration stalwarts such as Elon Musk (whose X site gave Robinson back his platform after he had previously been banned for making racially inflammatory comments). Trump has shown that he views everything, including bedrock alliances, as being transactional. Thus, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if the U.S.’s 47 th president conditioned security agreements and reduced tariffs on European countries. If and when he does so, Brexit-era Britain, self-exiled from the EU, desperate to retain its relationship with the U.S. and, in its isolation, peculiarly vulnerable to the threat of tariffs, will likely be particularly pressured to embrace hard right stances on immigration and culture war issues similar to those pushed by the Trump administration. How Europe responds to this stress test emanating from its erstwhile ally and security guarantor across the Atlantic will determine the viability both of social democracy and of the European Union over the coming years. Now that Trump — a man whose own former chief of staff says is an admirer of Hitler and is “fascist to his core” — is leading the GOP, we can expect the U.S. Republican Party to do everything in its power to seed discord and to boost the European far right in the years ahead.Romania's pro-European Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was leading in the first round of presidential elections Sunday according to exit polls, with the far right not yet assured of a place in the second round, despite a breakthrough in support. With 25 percent of the vote according to two exit polls, Ciolacu appeared to be well ahead of far-right challengers looking to capitalise on this EU member's concerns about inflation and the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The same exit polls gave second place to centre-right former journalist turned small-town mayor Elena Lasconi at 18 percent, with two far-right candidates scoring 15 and 16 percent. In the absence of an outright winner in the first round -- scoring more than 50 percent -- the top two candidates go through to a second-round run-off in the poor NATO member on December 8. Ciolacu, a Social Democrat, is leading a field of 13 contenders in the race to take over from President Klaus Iohannis in the largely ceremonial post. He welcomed the exit polls putting him in the lead, but said all the votes would have to be counted before he knew who he would face in the second round. Lasconi too, was cautious. "The scores are very tight, it's not yet time to celebrate," said the 52-year-old politician. Far-right leader George Simion, 38, who some had forecast might take second place, is for the moment in fourth. Exit polls put him just behind the 62-year-old pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu. But Simion said Sunday evening: "We'll see the results of the ballot boxes at 11:00 pm (2100 GMT)." Ciolacu's party has shaped Romania's politics for more than three decades, and as he voted Sunday he promised stability and a "decent" standard of living. But political analyst Cristian Parvulescu told AFP: "The far right is by far the big winner of this election." Simion saw his popularity surge by tapping into voter anger over record inflation while promising more affordable housing. Looking for a new election breakthrough for European far-right parties, Simion warned of possible "fraud" and "foreign interference" when voting. But he added: "I am happy that we are giving Romanians hope and the prospect of a better future." The stakes are high for Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022. The Black Sea nation now plays a "vital strategic role" for NATO -- as it is a base for more than 5,000 soldiers -- and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said. Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election has further "complicated" Romania's choice, political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP. Known for his fiery speeches, Simion is a Trump fan who sometimes dons a red cap in appreciation of his idol. Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, wants a "more patriotic Romania" and frequently lashes out against what he calls the "greedy corrupt bubble" running the European Union. Having campaigned hard to win over Romania's large diaspora working abroad, he said the country had only "minions and cowards as leaders". Pirvulescu predicted that if Simion reached the second round his AUR party would get a boost in the December parliamentary election. "Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989," he said. "I'm really afraid we'll end up with Simion in the second round," 36-year-old IT worker Oana Diaconu told AFP, expressing concern about the far-right leader's unpredictable nature and attacks on the European Union. The campaign was marked by controversy and personal attacks, with Simion facing accusations of meeting with Russian spies -- a claim he has denied. Ciolacu has been criticised for his use of private jets. Some observers had tipped Lasconi, now mayor of the small town of Campulung and head of a centre-right opposition party, as a surprise package. Sunday's exit polls appeared to suggest they were right. During campaigning, she had said she wanted a future "where no one has to pack their suitcases and leave" the country and for "institutions that work". bur/js-jj/