Minimum Income Standard

The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) is a research method developed in the UK, and now applied in other countries, to identify what incomes different types of households require to reach a socially acceptable living standard. The term has also been used to describe political criteria used openly or implicitly by some governments to assess the adequacy of income levels. MIS is the basis for the calculation of the UK living wage.
Origins.
MIS was originally funded, in 2006, under the title of a Minimum Income Standard for Britain, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and carried out in partnership by the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University and the Family Budget Unit at the University of York. The research is now fully carried out by CRSP. MIS represents a budget standard in its specification of the level of disposable income households need in order to achieve an adequate standard of living. MIS may also be referred to as a reference budget, as it provides a costed list of items that households need to buy.
Unlike some other kinds of reference budget that draw heavily on expert input, MIS is informed by budget lists drawn up by members of the public, checked by experts, and approved by final ‘check-back’ groups of members of the public. The use of consensual focus groups was developed at CRSP in the 1990s, while the FBU focused on expert-based standards. MIS brought these two approaches together.
Detailed research with members of the public takes forward Peter Townsend (sociologist) work on relative poverty and low income, which argued that living conditions must be seen in the context of widely held expectations of the resources that members of a society should have. The first MIS orientation groups were tasked with setting a definition of MIS, which continues to be used to define the Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom: ‘a minimum standard of living in Britain today includes, but is more than just, food, clothes and shelter. It is about having what you need in order to have the opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society’.
The original research was carried out in Britain in 2007 and the findings presented in 2008 were costed using April 2008 prices. Every July, new MIS figures are published, updated to April of the same year. The updates take on board inflation and changes in minimum needs.
The most recent Minimum Income Standard Report in 2017, funded by Trust for London, found that 39% of Londoners have an income below the Minimum Income Standard. This is higher than the rate of 30% in the UK as a whole.
Method.
MIS researchers facilitate a sequence of deliberative Focus groups, all of which have detailed negotiations to come to a consensus about the things a household would have to be able to afford in order to achieve an acceptable living standard. Three waves of groups identify and check which items are to be included, with each successive group either corroborating or amending the decisions of previous groups.
Groups are made up of people from a mixture of socio-economic backgrounds but all participants within each group are from the type of household under discussion. For example, pensioner groups decide the minimum for pensioners.
The MIS method develops negotiated consensus through projection, whereby group members are asked not to think of their own needs and tastes but of the needs of hypothetical individuals or case studies. Participants are asked to imagine they are in the home of the individuals under discussion and to explain what items they would need in their everyday life to reach the living standard set out in the definition of MIS. Where groups fall short of consensus, subsequent groups help to resolve differences.
Experts check that these specifications adequately fulfil needs relating to nutrition and fuel consumption and, in some cases, feed information back to subsequent research groups that check and amend the budgets.
UK Variations.
In identifying things that everyone should be able to afford, MIS does not attempt to specify extra requirements for particular individuals and groups: for example, those resulting from living in a remote location or having a disability. So, not everybody who has more than the minimum income can be guaranteed to achieve an acceptable living standard. However, someone falling below the minimum is unlikely to achieve such a standard.
MIS was originally calculated as a minimum for Britain; subsequent research in Northern Ireland in 2009 showed that the required budgets there are all close to those in the rest of the United Kingdom, so the national budget standard now applies to the whole of the UK. This standard was calculated based on the needs of people in urban areas. Further projects have looked at how requirements differ in rural areas and in London, respectively.
CRSP has also carried out research to further understanding of additional costs of living for households with additional needs. Research that produced minimum budgets for people who are Visual impairment and people who are Hearing loss was conducted in 2015 and 2016. This was funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust.
UK Applications.
The calculation for the Living Wage is based on MIS and is used by the Living Wage Foundation to accredit Living Wage Employers. The uprating of the Living Wage figure each year takes account of rises in living costs and any changes in what people define as a ‘minimum’. The present system, using MIS to calculate living costs separately for London and the rest of the UK, was designed in 2016 under the supervision of the Living Wage Commission, to replace the previous systems in which the London and out of London rates had been set using different methods. The Commission distinguished the independent, accredited Living Wage from the so-called "National Living Wage" (a higher statutory minimum for over-25s introduced by the UK Government in 2016), as follows:
The defining feature that differentiates the independent Living Wage rates from the statutory wage floors is that they are based on analysis of the specific goods and services that employees and their families need to meet a minimum acceptable standard of living. It is important that this basket of goods is regularly updated, based on the views and experiences of ordinary people across all four nations of the UK about what is required to fully participate in society, and how social norms and needs change over time. The Living Wage Commission currently views the Minimum Income Standard research carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University as the best available source for this basket of goods.
MIS has been used in evidence in a landmark High Court ruling on asylum seekers’ benefits and in evidence put to the Welfare Reform and Work Public Bill Committee about reforming child poverty targets. The Scottish Government has used evidence from CRSP to encourage all Scottish employers to pay the Living Wage, and the Scottish Government itself has committed to paying the Living Wage as part of its public sector pay policy.
The Minimum Income Calculator is an online tool that can be used by members of the public to calculate the minimum budget for their own household.
Development in Other Countries.
Outside the United Kingdom, the CRSP team has applied the method in Guernsey and supported studies in other countries. Projects adopting the MIS method have been undertaken in the Republic of Ireland, France, Japan, Portugal and Austria. Exploratory projects in Mexico and South Africa have been supported by CRSP.
MIS and Poverty.
MIS is relevant to the discussion of poverty, but does not claim to be a poverty threshold. This is because participants in the research were not specifically asked to talk about what defines poverty. However, it is relevant to the poverty debate in that almost all households officially defined as being in income poverty (having below 60 percent of median income) are also below MIS. Thus households classified as in relative income poverty are generally unable to reach an acceptable standard of living as defined by members of the public.


Intermediate sanctions

Intermediate sanctions is a term used in regulations enacted by the United States Internal Revenue Service that is applied to certain types of non-profit organizations who engage in transactions that inure to the benefit of a "disqualified person" within the organization. These regulations allow the IRS to penalize the organization and the disqualified person receiving the benefit. Intermediate sanctions may be imposed either in addition to or instead of revocation of the exempt status of the organization.
Summary.
The "Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2" which came into force on July 30, 1996, added section 4958 to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 4958 adds intermediate sanctions as an alternative to revocation of the exempt status of an organization when private persons benefit from transactions with a 501(c)(3) public charity or 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. NOTE: 501(c)(3) private foundations are subject to similar regulations found in Section 4941 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Intermediate Sanctions may be imposed on any "disqualified person" who receives an "excess benefit" from a covered non-profit organization and on each "organization manager" who approves an excess benefit. If you are a disqualified person you are subject to having participated in an excess benefit transaction, if the transaction is so defined.
Being a disqualified person does not automatically result in a finding that a transaction involves an excess benefit. If you are not a disqualified person, then you cannot be subject to an excess benefit (your transaction with the non-profit organization is considered to be at arm's length).
If there is a finding that there has been an excess benefit, the disqualified person must reimburse the organization to place the organization back in the position it was in before the excess benefit transaction was completed. As well, there are stiff interest penalties and excise penalties in excess of 200%. The organizational managers who participated in the transaction may also be fined an aggregate of $10,000 per violation and are jointly and severally liable for payment of such penalty. These penalties are cumulative, thus an individual may be liable as a disqualified person and as an organization manager.
History.
The "Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2" (effective July 30, 1996) added section 4958 to the Internal Revenue Code. On August 4, 1998, the IRS proposed regulations to implement IRC 4958. On March 16 and 17, 1999, the IRS held public hearings on these proposed regulations. It was not until January 10, 2001 that the IRS issued Temporary Regulations, which were to be effective for up to 3 years. Then, on January 23, 2002 the Final Regulations were issued, superseding the Temporary Regulations.
On September 9, 2005, the IRS announced proposed rulemaking to clarify the relationship between penalties imposed under section 4958 and revocation of exempt status.
Who is a Disqualified Person?
You are a disqualified person if you are a person who, during five years beginning after September 13, 1995, and ending on the date of the transaction in question, were in a position to exercise substantial influence over the affairs of the exempt organization. Note: You can be an individual, another organization, a partnership or unincorporated association, trust or estate.
In affiliated organizations, your substantial influence must be determined separately for each organization but "benefits" provided by a controlled entity will be treated as being provided by the exempt organization. A person may be a disqualified person for more than one organization.
The intermediate sanction statute identifies certain persons as having substantial influence as a matter of law — such persons are conclusively presumed to be disqualified persons. The temporary regulations identify additional categories of those who have a substantial influence. The IRS considers these individuals to be presumptively disqualified.
Under the statute, the following are disqualified:
Other persons defined by the regulations as having substantial interest include:
Not a Disqualified Person.
Under the temporary regulations certain persons are deemed not to have substantial influence including:
Facts and Circumstances Test
Whether an individual or organization is a disqualified person in any cases not under the above categories is determined by a "facts and circumstances test". The regulations include two lists of facts and circumstances (1) including facts and circumstances that tend to show an individual "has substantial influence" and (2) including facts and circumstances that tend to show a person "'does not" have substantial influence.
(1). Facts and circumstances which tend to show a person has substantial influence include:
(2). Facts and circumstances which tend to show a person has no substantial influence include:
Who is an Organization Manager?
An organization manager is any officer, director, trustee, or person having similar powers or responsibilities, regardless of his or her title. A person is an officer if specifically so designated under the articles or bylaws of the organization, or if he or she regularly exercises general authority to make administrative or policy decisions for the organization. If a person only makes recommendations, but cannot implement decisions without approval of a superior, that person is not an officer. The regulations make it clear that a "contractor who acts solely in a capacity as an attorney, accountant, or investment manager or advisor is not an officer."
An organization manager includes anyone on a committee of the board (whether a member of the board), if the organization is claiming that the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness (see below) is based on the committee's (or the designee's) actions. If the committee is responsible for determining the reasonableness of a transaction, and this determination is relied upon by the organization, every member of the committee will be considered an organization manager.
When Does an Organization Manager Participate in a Transaction?
Silence or inaction can be participation by the organization manager if the manager is under a duty to speak or act, as well as any affirmative action. Abstention is considered consent to a transaction. If a manager has opposed the transaction in a manner consistent with his/her responsibilities to the organization, the manager will not be considered to have participated in the action.
Knowing Participation — "Knowing" means that the manager:
Although knowing does not mean having reason to know, under the regulations, evidence that a manager has reason to know is relevant to determine whether the manager has actual knowledge. It is up to the IRS to prove that the manager knowingly participated.
If an organization manager relies on a reasoned written opinion of an appropriate professional, his or her participation will ordinarily not be considered knowing. In addition, an organization manager's participation is ordinarily not considered knowing if the requirements of the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness are satisfied.
Willful Participation — an organization manager participation is willful if it is voluntary, conscious and intentional. It is not willful if the manager does not know that the transaction is an excess benefit transaction.
Due to Reasonable Cause — if the manager exercised responsibility on behalf of the organization with ordinary business care and prudence participation is due to reasonable cause.
Safe Harbor Provision of the Law.
Congress, in the legislative history, intended to create a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness, or "safe harbor." Under this safe harbor, compensation is presumed to be reasonable and a property transfer is presumed to be at fair market value if: (1) the compensation arrangement or terms of transfer are approved, in advance, by an authorized body of the exempt organization, composed entirely of individuals without a conflict of interest, (2) the board or committee obtained and relied upon appropriate data as to comparability in making its determination; and (3) the board or committee adequately documented the basis for its determination, concurrently with making the decision.
The disqualified person or organization manager has the initial burden of proving that the compensation was reasonable. If the three criteria above are met, the burden of proof shifts to the IRS and the IRS must prove that the compensation was unreasonable. The IRS can rebut the presumption with sufficient contrary evidence showing the compensation was not reasonable or showing a transfer not to be at fair market value.
Penalties.
The intermediate sanction provision goes on to create a penalty which is essentially a claw back of any benefits received plus a penalty as well as excise penalties that may be in excess of 200% of the benefit received. The organization must be returned to the state it was in, to the extent possible, before the person received the excess benefit. While the contract may be modified to prevent any excess benefit once any penalties are paid, organization managers may be liable for penalties up to $10,000 and held jointly and severally liable.
In order to prevent the IRS's invocation of intermediate sanctions, any individual serving on the governing body of the organization may not have a conflict of interest regarding the transaction, and if they are on the governing body and have a conflict, they may answer questions posed by other members, but they must recuse themselves in the decision-making process, including debate.
External links.
By Steven T. Miller, Director, Exempt Organizations I.R.S., expressing his "personal views" regarding the Temporary Regulations interpreting the benefit limitation provisions of Section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Steven T. Miller's 2nd article explaining (in his personal view) how to determine which officials are covered and suggesting a relatively simple process for ensuring full compliance.
Lisa Runquist, Esq. explains how to determine compliance. Intermediate Sanctions
Text of the Final Regulations effective January 23, 2002 as published in the Federal Register.


Franz Mayer of Munich

Franz Mayer of Munich is a German stained glass design and manufacturing company, based in Munich, Germany, that has been active throughout most of the world for over 170 years. The firm was very popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and was the principal provider of stained glass to the large Roman Catholic churches that were constructed throughout the world during that period. Franz Mayer of Munich were stained glass artists to the Holy See and consequently were popular with Roman Catholic clients. The family business is nowadays managed in the fifth generation and works in conjunction with renowned artists around the world.
History.
Conductor - Joseph Gabriel Mayer.
In 1847, Joseph Gabriel Mayer (1808–1883) founded the “Institute for Christian Art“ in Munich, to make ecclesiastical furnishings. Royal commissions for the Cologne and Regensburg cathedrals drew Mayer to create a stained glass department in 1860. In 1865 a branch was opened in London, and in 1888 in New York City.
"Stylistically, Mayer's windows tend to contain richly colored scenes bordered by architectural frames consisting of pilasters, columns, architrave and elaborate canopies." It represents an aesthetic that was evidently prized in its time for its craftsmanship and opulence as well as for its ability to engage the viewer emotionally and spiritually.
Broadly speaking, the Munich Pictorial Style is Romantic and "owed much to the revival of religious painting - especially fresco painting in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance masters, especially Masaccio, Raphael, and Michelangelo - in Germany early in the 19th-century."
"The studio often incorporated imagery from Great Master paintings as well as compositions of the nineteenth century, a standard practice in public decorative work of the era. For example, a window in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Charleston, South Carolina, installed in 1907 or 1925-26, shows the Transfiguration of Christ modeled after the 1517 painting by Raphael in the Vatican."
2nd Generation.
In 1882 the company was awarded the status of “Royal Bavarian Art Establishment“ by King Ludwig the II. In 1892, Pope Leo XIII named the company a “Pontifical Institute of Christian Art“. "Munich glass windows could be imported as art, i.e., glass “paintings” and—exempt from a high tariff on imported “raw” glass ... the broad aesthetic appeal, economic advantage, and papal approval made Munich glass windows the overwhelming choice among Roman Catholics in the United States."
3rd Generation - between two wars.
In 1919 the company became a workshop for free artists, such as Karl Knappe. In 1922 the neighboring properties on Seidlstraße 25/27 were purchased. The new building by the architect Theodor Fischer serves as today´s company headquarters.
In the years following 1933 the Mayer brothers successfully remain untangled with affairs of the NSDAP.
In 1939 the companies "Mayer" and "Zettler" combined, but the production grinds to a halt in 1941. In 1944 the staff had decreased from an original 500 to less than 20 employees.
Rapid post war renovations followed the war. Many of munich's cathedral windows where restorated by the company, such as the windows of the Munich Frauenkirche.
In 1961 Karl Knappe designed a mosaic for the Assumption of Mary Cathedral, Hiroshima.
4th Generation - Transition to the international artist workshop.
In 1953 Konrad Mayer took over the representation in South America. From 1970 on Gabriel Mayer pushed architecture-related works and the Middle East market, resulting in the realization of the "Heart Tent" by Bettina and Frei Otto at the Diplomatic Club Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1988 Gabriel Mayer founded a new workshop in New York with the focus on Public Art.
From 1990s many projects with artist Brian Clarke were realized, e.g. in Rio de Janeiro, New York and more.
In 2013 Gabriel Mayer pulled back from the companies management board. In 2016 he was awarded the Bavarian Culture Prize together with Charlotte Knobloch.
5th Generation - present.
Since 1994 the couple collaborated on munich projects such as the Herz-Jesu-Kirche (München)(1996), Fünf Höfe(2001) and "Path of memory", Ohel Jakob synagogue (Munich)(2005).
Around the turn of the millenium Gabriel and Michael Mayer revived the traditional stained-glass Munich/Mayer Style and thus the DNA of the house. The float glass department was newly constructed. In 2014 the company opened an office at New York City. In 2018 Petra Mayer founded the "Chamber of wonders", featuring editions and selected pieces from a selection of worldwide artist friends. In the same year Franz Mayer of Munich realized a 400m2 mosaic for the New York City-metro station World Trade Center station (PATH) with the artist Ann Hamilton.
Mayer's commissions include over seventy-six cathedrals, twenty-six of them in the United States.
Along with stained glass, about half of the company's work is in mosaics. In the fifties and sixties, Mayer developed their own fibre-glass mesh. Adhesives have also been developed to the firm's own specifications. The company provides installation and curatorial services.
Nowawdays the company fabricates and realizes mosaic and glass projects in collaboration with renowned artists, such as Georg Baselitz, Kiki Smith, Shahzia Sikander, Brian Clarke, Doug and Mike Starn, Ellsworth Kelly, Jani Leinonen, JR, William Wegman, Nick Cave, Sean Scully, Jan Hendrix, Peter Beard or Vik Muniz. Franz Mayer of Munich gives an daily insight about work at the munich studio and ongoing projects on their Instagram account mayerofmunich.
Works in Ireland.
The Mayer Co. is responsible for stained glass in at least ten of Ireland's Cathedral churches (Derry, Thurles, Letterkenny, Ballaghaderreen, Newry, Waterford, Ballina, Enniscorthy, Carlow, and Cobh). The work of Franz Mayer & Co. in Ireland is the subject of ongoing research at Trinity College Dublin. (as at January, 2020).
Works in Canada.
St. Andrews Catholic Church, St. Andrews West Ont.


Saltwater (2000 film)

Saltwater is a 2000 Irish drama film written and directed by Conor McPherson. The film stars Peter McDonald, Brian Cox, Conor Mullen, Laurence Kinlan, Brendan Gleeson and Eva Birthistle. The film was released on September 29, 2000, by Buena Vista International.


Taxation in Colombia

Taxation in Colombia is determined by the Congress of Colombia, every Department Assembly and every City Council, which determine what kind of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied.
The country inherited a harsh and diffused taxation policy from the Spanish Empire characterized by a heavy reliance on customs duties.
National taxes.
National taxes are administered by the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (, DIAN). Some of these taxes include:
VAT.
The value-added tax (VAT) is the main indirect tax. This rose to 19 percent in 2017; up to the end of 2016 the tax was 16 percent of the price of merchandise, goods and services with some exceptions: public transportation, water supply and sanitation and the transportation of natural gas and hydrocarbons. The DIAN recognizes two separate categories ("regimenes") of VAT: common and simplified. The first refers to businesses with estimated patrimony over 68 million Colombian pesos (about 34,000 USD), and the second refers to those with patrimony less than that. Although both are obligated to pay the same percentage, the simplified taxpayers are not obligated to conduct separate bookkeeping for the VAT or to generate invoices.
Financial transactions tax.
A 0.4% tax rate is imposed on all financial transactions, including withdraw money from ATM, promissory notes, wire transfers, internet banking, bank drafts and bank checks, money on term deposit, overdrafts, installment loans, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off-balance sheet exposures, safekeeping of documents and other items in safe deposit boxes, currency exchange or unit trusts.
Patrimony tax.
This tax requires the annual payment of 1% of the total patrimony of people with patrimony estimated over 5 billion pesos (about 1,4 million USD as of February 2021).
Income tax.
The table below shows the tax rate in units of UVT ("Unidad de Valor Tributario"), in which 1 UVT = $33.156 COP for 2018. See UVT.
Income declaration.
In Colombia the natural persons who must present income declaration are classified on the next table.
For 2019 are:
See UVT.
Payroll taxes.
Both the employer and the employee are subject to monthly payroll taxes from the employee's gross salary, as follows:
Local taxes.
The local taxes are fixed by Local Councils through Acuerdos. This group of taxes includes:
The local council on each city fix the rate between this parameters:
Tax Value Unity.
Tax Value Unity UVT means "Unidad de Valor Tributario" - Tax Value Unit. Instead of setting a range in Colombian pesos, DIAN has a UVT value that is updated at least every year. The next table shows the variation of index in Colombia per year.


Peter Ricketts

Peter Forbes Ricketts, Baron Ricketts, (born 30 September 1952) is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords.
Personal life.
Ricketts attended Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield, and Pembroke College, Oxford where he read English Literature. He married Suzanne Horlington; they have two adult children.
Career.
Ricketts replaced Peter Westmacott as HM Ambassador to France effective January 2012, with Kim Darroch taking Ricketts's old role as National Security Adviser.
In December 2015 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that he was to retire from the Diplomatic Service in January 2016.
Prior to his appointment as National Security Adviser, Ricketts had been the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Before he took over that position in July 2006, he served as the Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels. He was also previously the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, leading him to give evidence to The Iraq Inquiry in November 2009. He began his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1974 and served as the Assistant Private Secretary to former Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe. Apart from Brussels, he has been posted to Singapore, Washington D.C. and Paris. Ricketts retired from HM Diplomatic Service in January 2016.
Retirement.
In 2016 he took appointments as Strategic Adviser to Lockheed Martin UK.
In October 2020 a cross-party group of MPs and peers, backed by Lord Ricketts, who was the government’s first national security adviser between 2010-12 under David Cameron, and former chair of the joint intelligence committee (JIC), planned to take legal action against Boris Johnson over his government’s refusal to order an inquiry into Russian interference in UK elections. The move followed the publication in July 2020 of the Russia report by parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC), which found that the government and its intelligence services had failed to investigate Kremlin meddling in the 2016 EU referendum vote.
The high court claim named Prime Minister Boris Johnson as defendant.
Honours.
He was appointed CMG in the 1999 Birthday Honours, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 2003, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2011 New Year Honours, and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 2014.
He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was created Baron Ricketts, of Shortlands in the County of Kent, on 17 October.


Tribhuvana Mahadevi I

Paramavaishnavi Goswamini Devi or Tribhuvana Mahadevi I (Odia: ପ୍ରଥମ ତ୍ରିଭୁବନ ମହାଦେବୀ) was the first female ruler of the Bhaumakara Dynasty in ancient Odisha and the widow of king Santikara I who ascended the throne of Toshali or Utkala between the years 843 A.D to 845 A.D and ruled until 850 A.D after the premature death of her ruling son Subhakara III. Some historians believe that she might have ruled as long as 863 A.D abdicating the throne for her grandson Santikara II after he turned older and eligible to run the administration. She was a very powerful female ruler and found appreciating mentions as a beholder of lavish power and prestige by the Arab and Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh and explorer Ahmad Ibn Rustah. She rose to power despite feudal kings of coastal-central parts of erstwhile Tri-Kalinga region rebellions and with the help her powerful father. She compared herself with the Goddess Katyayani (a form of Goddess Shakti) when she ascended the throne at Guheswarapataka mentioned in her Dhenkanal charter. She is also credited for the construction of the Baitala Deula which is one of the oldest surviving temple structures standing erect to this day in old Bhubaneswar and one of the few in Odisha built in Khakara style temple architecture.
Origin and Personality of the Queen.
The origin of Tribhuvana Mahadevi I as a royalty is still disputable among historians as it is believed by some that she was the daughter the king Rajamalla I of Mysore while other historians rest their theory that she was the daughter of a king from the early Eastern Gangas from the southern neighbor of the Bhaumakara kingdom. The Dhenkanal charter of queen herself gives an indication about how the Eastern Gangas of Kalinga were first defeated by the earlier Bhaumakara king Sivakara I and then restored to power after they accepted his suzerainty, establishing relationship of good faith between the two royal families which could have ended up in matrimonial alliances. Her descendant Sivakara III mentions in his inscriptions that Tribhuvana mahadevi I was filled with three energies Mantra Shakti (the power of divine chants), Prabhu Shakti (Spiritualism) and Utsaha Shakti (energetic). She was described as a Pitrabhakta (devout child to her parents) meditating at the feet of her parents. Her Dhenkanal charter has associated full imperial epithets to her and describes that as a person she was adorned with hundreds of auspicious signs to be a superior ruler in the world. She was a devout Vaishnavite who worshiped Hari and took the epithet as Paramavaishnavi.
Ascension to the Throne.
The Dhenkanal charter issued by Tribhuvana mahadevi I describes her ascension as " "her lotus-like feet being softly kissed by the crowns and headpieces of the great vassal and feudal kings, bowing down in devoted loyalty before her and the foot-stool of her late husband became radiant with the splendor of the diamonds in those diadems of the subjugated kings"". In the preceding years before the ascension of her husband Santikara I, the Pala dynasty king Devapala had defeated the reigning king Sivakara II and subjugated the Bhaumakara rulers in Odisha. The dynasty had lost its prestige and power after this defeat which was followed by disorder in the kingdom. The subsequent deaths of Santikara I and Subhakara III as the male eligible heirs, gave rise to rebellion by feudal kings. The inscriptions of later Bhaumakara kings states that the widowed queen took upon the burden of administration of the entire kingdom and shone like Sesha, holding up the entire earth on her hood. The queen herself has credited her father to have come to rescue of the Bhaumakara rule suppressing the rebellions and helping her restore authority and order in the kingdom.
Administration of the Kingdom.
According to the charters issued by her and her descendants she is credited to have ensured an effective administration of the kingdom and prosperity of the people. Talcher plate of Subhakara IV states that during her rule the country advanced in administration, enemies were destroyed, the glory of the kingdom spread abroad and the people lived in harmony. She paid special attention in appointment of responsible and honest royal officials and the vassals of the kingdom stayed loyal to her supremacy. She exerted Mrudukara (light taxation) on her people. Her Dhenkanal charter talks about how Bhaumas exhausted treasures of their vast empire on religious works in order to enlighten their own country and others, and decorated the earth by constructing in unbroken continuity, various mathas, monasteries and temples.
During her rule and as evident from her grants and charter issued during her rule, she patronized Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism while the existence of the Jain and Buddhist ideologies in the kingdom remained uninfluenced by any kind of threat. Women in the kingdom were educated and able exert special powers and administrative rights for issuing land grants and charters. She was able to suppress internal rebellions and expel the enemy forces of the Rashtrakutas and Palas with the help of her father securing the kingdom from any external threats. She commanded a standing army of 3,00,000 men and women were also believed to have indulged in military affairs. She restored stability to the kingdom after a long era of chaos and disorder initiating a golden era of stability, economic prosperity and cultural growth. She served as an example for a line of another six descendant female rulers who ruled in the Bhaumakara kingdom in their own rights despite the availability of heirs and two of which even adopted her royal epithet as Tribhuvana Mahadevi.


Joseph Otting

Joseph M. Otting (born 1957) is an American businessman and government official. He served as the 31st Comptroller of the Currency from November 27, 2017 to May 29, 2020.
Early life and education.
Otting grew up in Maquoketa, Iowa, the son of Grace and James Otting.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in management from the University of Northern Iowa, which he received in 1981. He is also a graduate of the School of Credit and Financial Management, a multi-year program that includes four-weeks of classroom instruction offered by the National Association of Credit Management, which was held at Dartmouth College at the time he attended in 1992.
Career.
Bank of America and Union Bank.
Otting started his career at Bank of America, where he held positions in branch management, preferred banking, and commercial lending. From 1986 to 2001, Otting was with Union Bank, where he held roles including deputy regional vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, and group head of commercial banking.
U.S. Bank.
Between 2001 and 2010, Otting worked for U.S. Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp. Otting served as Market President of U.S. Bank in Oregon from December 2001 to June 2003 and as Executive Vice President and Manager of East Region Commercial Banking Group from June 2003 to April 2005. Until his departure in 2010, he served as one of eight Vice Chairman, as the head of the Commercial Banking Group. In addition, during his tenure, he led U.S. Bank's efforts in California as the senior executive responsible for expansion in the region.
OneWest Bank.
Otting was President, CEO, and a board member of OneWest Bank, N.A., from October 2010 until August 2015, when the bank merged with CIT Group, which purchased OneWest Bank for $3.4 billion, following regulatory approval. He served as President of CIT Bank and Co-President of CIT Group from August 2015 to December 2015.
At OneWest, he worked closely with the bank’s founder, Steven Mnuchin, who later became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Mnuchin led a group that purchased the California-based residential lender, IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, on March 19, 2009, from the FDIC to create OneWest, FSB. The FDIC established IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, in 2008 when IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., failed. OneWest Bank, FSB, converted to a national bank and was renamed OneWest Bank, N.A., in February 2014, as the bank transitioned from a residential lender to a full-service bank.
In 2011, Otting signed a consent order, in conjunction with 14 other large bank mortgage servicers, with the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision regarding the bank's mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices. The OCC terminated that order on July 21, 2015, after determining that the bank “satisfied the terms of the 2011 foreclosure-related consent order” and completed the independent foreclosure review in accordance with the requirements included in the original 2011 order. OneWest did not enter into a payment agreement with the OCC, and in April 2014, the OCC published a report showing that an independent consultant found a relatively low error rate in the bank’s mortgage and foreclosure activity covered by the regulator’s order. When Otting left CIT in December 2015, the "Wall Street Journal" calculated that he earned $24.9 million in compensation for 2015, including a $12 million severance payment.
During the merger of OneWest and CIT, consumer advocates who protested against approval of the merger clashed with bank supporters, based on the community redevelopment and reinvestment activities of the bank.
In May 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice reached an $89 million settlement with CIT involving a portfolio of reverse mortgage products acquired from the failed IndyMac Federal Bank and compliance with HUD foreclosure requirements, which requires banks to complete resolution and foreclosure activities within an aggressive timeline.
Comptroller of the Currency.
On June 5, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Otting to become the Comptroller of the Currency, responsible for overseeing federally-chartered banks, savings associations, and federal branches of foreign banks operating in the United States. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on November 16, 2017, and he was sworn in on November 27, 2017.
The Comptroller of the Currency is the administrator of the federal banking system and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC supervises nearly 1,400 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks operating in the United States. The mission of the OCC is to ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
During his July 27, 2017, confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Otting voiced support for simplifying regulatory capital requirements and for bank’s ability to provide short-term, small-dollar loans, which in his view had been pushed out of the federal banking system by previous regulatory action.
During his swearing-in ceremony, Otting stressed that his priorities include job creation and economic discrimination, reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, enhancing the value of the federal charter, and ensuring the OCC operates as effectively and efficiently as possible.
In his first testimony as Comptroller, Otting discussed his main priorities, which included modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act; encouraging banks to meet the short-term, small-dollar needs of their customers; making Bank Secrecy Act compliance work more efficiently; simplifying regulatory capital and Volcker Rule; and helping the OCC operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.
On May 23, 2018, the OCC published a bulletin promoting short-term, small-dollar installment loans to encourage national banks and federal savings association to help meet the credit needs of their customers.
On July 31, 2018, Otting his decision to begin accepting applications for national bank charters from non-depository financial technology (fintech) companies engaged in the business of banking. "The decision to consider applications for special purpose national bank charters from innovative companies helps provide more choices to consumers and businesses, and creates greater opportunity for companies that want to provide banking services in America," said Comptroller Otting. "Companies that provide banking services in innovative ways deserve the opportunity to pursue that business on a national scale as a federally chartered, regulated bank." Federal preemption applies to state law regarding federally chartered banks.
On August 28, 2018, Otting announced that the OCC released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit input on the best ways to modernize the regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). On December 12, 2019, the FDIC and the OCC announced a proposed rule to strengthen and modernize CRA regulations, which may require large banks "to lend more in poor areas under the new rules."
On May 20, 2020, the OCC finalized the updates to the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. On that same day, the OCC and other federal financial regulators published principles for offering small-dollar loans in a responsible manner to meet financial institutions customers’ short-term credit needs. Although community and industry groups agree that the CRA, which has gone without major updates since 1995, is in need of updates, groups from both camps were critical of Otting’s proposed changes. Community groups such as the National Community Reinvestment Coalition expressed concerns that the changes would lead to reduced lending in low- and middle-income communities. Industry groups like the American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America worried about the complexity of the updates and the lack of agreement between the OCC and the FDIC and Federal Reserve, all of which share responsibility for enforcing the CRA, on the rule changes. Otting’s proposed changes would go into effect on January 1, 2023 and would expand the criteria under which banking activities qualify as serving low-income communities. For example, a $500,000 mortgage in an area where the average mortgage size is $1 million could qualify as low- or moderate-income lending. Otting was the CEO of OneWest when the bank sought approval to merge with CIT, a process that was complicated by the bank's history of noncompliance with the CRA. Regulators approved the merger only after both banks pledged to increase their lending in low-income communities. Congresswoman Maxine Waters commented that Otting's efforts to weaken the CRA were likely informed by the challenges the law presented to the merger he presided over at OneWest.
In May 2020, it was reported that Otting would resign as Comptroller of the Currency, upon the finalization of the updates to the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. He formally announced his resignation on May 21, 2020.
Federal Housing Finance Agency.
On December 21, 2018, President Donald J. Trump designated Otting to be the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) upon completion of current Director Mel Watt's term.
Personal life.
Otting has played significant roles in charitable and community development organizations. He has served as a board member for the California Chamber of Commerce, the Killebrew-Thompson Memorial foundation, the Associated Oregon Industries, the Oregon Business Council, the Portland Business Alliance, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon. He was also a member of the Financial Services Roundtable, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and the Board and Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.
Otting and his wife, Bonnie, currently reside in Southern Highlands, Las Vegas, Nevada. His interests include golf, tennis, cross-training and reading. In addition, the Ottings are co-owners of Southern Highlands Golf Club, Tennis Facility, and Spa.


Pakki encounter

The Pakki encounter was a shootout between Punjab Police and members of the Jaipal Singh criminal gang in the Pakki village of Sri Ganganagar district in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, resulting in the deaths of fugitive Vicky Gounder along with his henchmen Prema Lahoria and Sukhpreet Singh. Vicky and Prema died on the spot, while Sukhpreet was injured in the encounter and later died at Abohar civil hospital during treatment. During the encounter two police personnel were grievously wounded.
Harjinder Bhullar, aged 28, known by his nickname Vicky Gounder was the mastermind of the 2016 Nabha jailbreak and was wanted in fifteen cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery in states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and carried a bounty of 10 lakh rupees on his head.


Uganda Development Corporation

The Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) is an agency of the government of Uganda. It promotes and facilitates the industrial and economic development of Uganda. Formed in 1952, it had some success in promoting local industrial development and was swelled with the addition of newly nationalised industries in the early 1970s. These, however, proved too much for the corporation, and it went into a slow decline before being completely phased out in 1998. The organisation was reconstituted with similar aims in 2008.
History.
Before Amin (1952-1971).
The UDC was created by the British colonial administration in 1952 to "facilitate the industrial and economic development of Uganda". Under the Uganda Development Corporation Act 1952, the objective of UDC was to "promote and assist in the financing, management or establishment of— new undertakings; schemes for the better organisation and modernisation of and the more efficient carrying out of any undertaking; and the conduct of research into the industrial and mineral potentialities of Uganda." It was given a starting equity of £5 million, which it quickly grew. According to Roger Falk <Falk, R. 1970. The Business of Management. Penguin Books Ltd.>, a UK management consultant, as a development corporation, the Uganda Development Corporation was the best of its kind in the world
At the time of Ugandan independence in 1962, a report commissioned by the outgoing British administration and incoming government and overseen by the World Bank commented that "the UDC has energetically explored a wide range of industrial possibilities" among a backdrop of economic pessimism over coffee prices, which Uganda was (and remains) heavily reliant on. By this time, the UDC was already one of the two largest public corporations of the government, a "principal instrument in the country's development program." The same report was complimentary of the UDC's performance, describing it as "presently the most important entrepreneur in Uganda and a successful one in this most difficult field of fostering development." By 1965, it had turned a post-tax profit every year since its creation (albeit with some help from tariff protection) and employed (including subsidiaries) over 18,000 people, engaged in projects as diverse as cement and cotton. State control of the economy was on the increase. The UDC, which had previously provided startup equity before selling out to private investors, was now given the legal right to retain majority shareholding in companies it had been instrumental in setting up, and with the 1970 Nakivubo Pronouncement, which allowed for stakes up to 60 percent.
Under Amin (1971-1979).
After new President Idi Amin presided over the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972, the UDC gained control over some of the largest enterprises previously controlled by those expelled, to which it added some 90 nationalised British holdings in the country later in the same year. Acquisitions from the Asians included much of the profitable Madhvani and Mehta Groups (with the exception of the sugar industry), and from the British a diverse portfolio including tea plantations, a printing firm, a cigarette factory, and a hoe factory.
Together, these gains should have provided it with a possible turnover of $100 million and doubled its assets. Both the rapid nature of the growth and the sudden lack of experienced technicians and managers, however, proved a challenge for the corporation. Uganda's industrial development strategy had been unsuccessful in promoting human resource development as the 1962 report had suggested, and local entrepreneurial capabilities "were not promoted and nurtured". Technological capabilities were also lacking. Indeed, by late 1973 such was the lack in management capability that the UDC was unable to obtain financial reports from 14 of its 52 subsidiaries, and there were tensions in the boardroom. The Nakivubo Pronouncement was revoked and in some industries the UDC was instructed to refrain from owning controlling stakes.
The UDC started to decline. It had over-extended its capacity and could not effectively control the many industries in which it now owned stakes. Because of this, the public sector was re-organised again in 1974 creating nine holding companies, further weakening the UDC - some of its original profitable industries were removed, leaving it with the same liabilities but fewer assets. By the second half of the 1970s, with all viable manufacturing units reallocated, the UDC was reduced to a skeleton staff based in its headquarters.
After Amin (1979-present).
Faced with mounting economic strife, in 1982 the incoming Obote administration opted to liberalise the economy, returning some government-owned companies to former owners, including the Asian conglomerates. Some other nationalised companies, split from the UDC in 1974, were returned to it in a futile attempt to spur innovation.
Restructuring.
By the time the law that re-created UDC wound its way through Uganda's parliament in 2015, only one legacy asset remained, "Lake Katwe Salt Works", in Kasese District.
New investments, focusing on public-private-partnerships, include the "Kalangala Infrastructure Development Project", which is a joint venture between UDC, IDC of South Africa and InfraCo Holdings, of the United Kingdom. The US$50 million investment, includes a solar/thermal hybrid power station, procurement of two surface-vessel water transport crafts to connect the island with the mainland, electrifying Bugala Island, the largest in the Ssese Islands Archipelago, developing a water supply system on the island and developing a , gravel road network on the island.
Other new projects under UDC include the Kiira Motors Corporation, Soroti Fruit Processing Factory and the new start-up; Uganda National Airlines Company. UDC also owns a 32 percent stake in Atiak Sugar Factory.
Future projects include (a) Moroto Ateker Cement Company Limited, (b) Lake Victoria Glass Works Limited and Isingiro Fruit Factory. In April 2019, president Yoweri Museveni launched commercial production at Soroti Fruit Processing Factory, a US$13.4 million investment 80 percent owned by UDC.
Investment portfolio.
The operational investments as of August 2020, are listed in the table below:


Thomas Dacre (knight)

Sir Thomas Dacre (1410 – 15 January 1448) was born in Brampton, Cumberland, England.
Dacre's father was Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre and his mother was Philippa de Neville. He married Elizabeth Bowett, daughter of Sir William Bowett of Horsford and Amy de Ufford. Elizabeth was born 1405 in Horsfordburgh, St. Margaret's, Norfolk, England.
Children of Sir Thomas Dacre:


Hubert Ansiaux

Hubert Ansiaux (Ixelles, 24 November 1908 – Ukkel, 9 April 1987) was a governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 1957 until 1971.
After he graduated from the École de Commerce Solvay, he joined the National Bank of Belgium in 1935. Before the outbreak of World War II, he accompanied the evacuation of the NBB’s last consignment of assets to England, thereby safeguarding the assets of the NBB from the Nazis.
In 1941 Hubert Ansiaux left for the United States of America, and in the same year he was appointed as director in London, where he was to succeed Camille Gutt. In London, he was in charge of the practical management of the Bank in London, together with Adolphe Baudewyns. After the war, he was in charge of the NBB's Foreign Affairs department and he was closely involved in the post-war currency reform (Operation Gutt).
Hubert Ansiaux supported the European integration, and from 1947 up to 1955 he was president of the Intra-European Payments Committee which had been created within the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation and served on the board of directors of the European Payments Union from 1950 up to 1955.
From 1944 to 1954 he worked as deputy administrator at the Bank for International Settlements, and in 1946 he became administrator of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Hubert Ansiaux was involved in setting up the International Monetary Fund where he would later advocate the creation of the special drawing rights.
Ansiaux was appointed as vice-governor of the NBB in 1954, and as its governor in 1957. He held the position of central banker during the sixties, until the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971.
As governor of the NBB Ansiaux continued to play a leading role in European monetary cooperation. In 1967 he was appointed as president of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the Member States of the EEC. In 1970 he contributed to the Werner Report with the first plans for Economic and Monetary Union. Ansiaux resigned, after a conflict with the government, as governor of the NBB in 1971.


Mashav

Mashav is Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mashav is responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the State of Israel's worldwide development and cooperation programs in developing countries. MASHAV believes that its greatest possible contribution to developing countries can be made in fields where Israel has relevant expertise accumulated during its own development experience as a young country facing similar challenges. MASHAV's development programs are conducted through workshops and training in the fields of agriculture, education and medicine and are funded jointly with multinational organizations such as the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank, the UN development plan, UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Background.
Mashav was set up in the wake of the Bandung Conference of 1955, from which Israel had been excluded at the demand of Arab countries who threatened a boycott of the conference if Israel was invited. It was established on Golda Meir's initiative, in 1958, after her visit to Africa. Meir stated that it was the expression of an empathy with victims of oppression, discrimination and slavery, but the project also blended other goals, such as escaping ‘the Arab noose’ by overcoming the boycott imposed on it by Arab nations. In the 1960s it was also very active in assistance to agricultural development projects in South America.
Since its inception in late 1957, Mashav has striven to share with the rest of the developing world the know-how and technologies which provided the basis for Israel's own rapid development. Mashav started as a modest program, focused on grassroots-level human capacity building at a time when Israel itself was still very much a developing country. It has since blossomed into an extensive program of cooperation throughout the developing world, with the aim of promoting sustainable development and social equity.
MASHAV grew gradually and organically in response to repeated requests on the part of the peoples that freed themselves from the yoke of colonialism and were seeking practical and political means of ridding themselves of poverty, hunger and disease that was the heritage of that era.
Since its establishment, over 270,000 professionals from more than 132 countries have participated in Mashav's training programs. Mashav promotes the centrality of human resource enrichment and institutional capacity building in the development process – an approach which has attained global consensus, and implements this principle by offering professional training courses in Israel and in host countries and short and long-term professional consultations.
By 2010, Mashav had trained a quarter of a million students, predominantly African, from the developing world in education, health, science and agriculture. cooperating with over 140 countries. The expertise and technology acquired in cultivating areas such as deserts affected by water scarcity has underwritten many projects.
Philosophy.
Mashav's philosophy is to encourage professionals from the developing world to find their own solutions to development issues and adapt them to the reality of their countries own specific needs and potential, guided by the international agreed principles of aid effectiveness such as demand driven programs, country ownership, improved coordination and more.
Mashav operates according to the needs and demands originating from the partner countries, as opposed to supply driven programs initiated by Israel that might not be relevant and effective elsewhere.
Methodology.
Mashav updates its professional training programs in face of current global challenges such as adaptation to climate change and food security, concentrating on human capacity building in developing countries by imparting know-how and transferring innovative technologies and tested methodologies adaptable to developing country needs. In events of natural disasters Mashav provides humanitarian assistance and participates in reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
Mashav's approach is to ensure social, economic and environmental sustainable development, joining the international community efforts of implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Since its inception, Mashav's activities in the developing world have been guided by the basic approach that development work is organic in nature. It is impossible to concentrate efforts in one area, such as food security, without providing proper attention to health care, community building and education. Only through a sustainable and comprehensive development program can measured results be obtained and the desired impact felt by those who need assistance the most.
India-Israel collaboration.
Mashav has signed a Memorandum of understanding with India in April 2015 for the collaboration and knowledge transfer, under which several Indo-Israeli Centres of Excellence have bene operationalised in several states, including the following in the state of Haryana:


Chiara Porro

Chiara Porro is an Australian diplomat who was appointed Ambassador to The Holy See in September 2020.
Porro graduated from the University of York, England with a Bachelor of Arts in politics, philosophy and economics. She subsequently completed a Master of Arts in international relations and diplomacy from Leiden University, Netherlands.


Giorgi Kadagidze

Giorgi Kadagidze () (born 10 April 1980) is a Georgian banker.
In 2001 he graduated from the Tbilisi-located European School of Management (ESM). He also received a BA at Preston University. In 2005 he earned MA from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. From February 2009 to February 2016 Kadagidze was the chairman and governor of the board of the National Bank of Georgia.


Outline of Kosovo

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Kosovo, a territory in the Balkans. See also Kosovo (region).
Geography of Kosovo.
Geography of Kosovo
Regions of Kosovo.
Regions of Kosovo
Ecoregions of Kosovo.
List of ecoregions in Kosovo
Administrative divisions of Kosovo.
Administrative divisions of Kosovo
Subdivisions of Kosovo.
Subdivisions of Kosovo
Municipalities of Kosovo.
Municipalities of Kosovo
Demography of Kosovo.
Demographics of Kosovo
Government and politics of Kosovo.
Branches of the government of Kosovo.
Government of Kosovo
Foreign relations of Kosovo.
Foreign relations of Kosovo
International organization membership.
International organization membership of Kosovo
1 Kosovo (UNMIK) membership
Military of Kosovo.
Military of Kosovo
Local government in Kosovo.
Subdivisions of Kosovo
History of Kosovo.
History of Kosovo
Culture of Kosovo.
Culture of Kosovo
Economy and infrastructure of Kosovo.
Economy of Kosovo
See also.
Kosovo


Southern Railway Co. v. United States

Southern Railway Company v. United States, 222 U.S. 20 (1911), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that under the Commerce Clause, the U.S. Congress can regulate safety on intrastate rail traffic because there is a close and substantial connection to interstate traffic.
Background.
Congress required all train cars to be equipped with couplers as a safety measure. Southern Railway argued that the requirement applied only to train cars crossing state lines, not to train cars that operated inside one state.
The Safety Appliance Act of March 2, 1893, 27 Stat. 531, c. 196:
Decision.
The Commerce Clause is plenary to protect persons and property moving in interstate commerce from all danger. No matter the source or destination, Congress may require all vehicles moving on lanes of interstate commerce to be so equipped with safety devices to avoid danger to persons and property in interstate commerce.


Outline of Uruguay

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Uruguay:
Uruguay – sovereign country located in southeastern South America. It is home to 3.46 million people, of which 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1825-1828 following a three-way struggle between Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, where the president fulfills the roles of both head of state and head of government. The economy is largely based on agriculture (making up 10% of GDP and the most substantial export) and the state sector, Uruguay's economy is on the whole more stable than in its surrounding states, and it maintains a solid reputation with investors.
Geography of Uruguay.
Geography of Uruguay
Regions of Uruguay.
Regions of Uruguay
Ecoregions of Uruguay.
List of ecoregions in Uruguay
Demography of Uruguay.
Demographics of Uruguay
Government and politics of Uruguay.
Politics of Uruguay
Branches of the government of Uruguay.
Government of Uruguay
Judicial branch of the government of Uruguay.
Court system of Uruguay
Foreign relations of Uruguay.
Foreign relations of Uruguay
International organization membership.
The Eastern Republic of Uruguay is a member of:
Law and order in Uruguay.
Law of Uruguay
Military of Uruguay.
Military of Uruguay
Local government in Uruguay.
Local government in Uruguay
History of Uruguay.
History of Uruguay
Culture of Uruguay.
Culture of Uruguay
Sports in Uruguay.
Sports in Uruguay
Economy and infrastructure of Uruguay.
Economy of Uruguay
Education in Uruguay.
Education in Uruguay
See also.
Uruguay


Seoul Tourism Organization

The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) is a public interest corporation established by local governments in Seoul, South Korea. It's also called a Seoul Tourism Foundation. The organization was established on May 1, 2018. The purpose of the organization is to make Seoul an international tourist city. It is linked with Korea Tourism Organization.
The latest activities.
The Seoul Tourism Foundation converted the existing 'MICE Comprehensive Support Center' into a 'Corona 19 Emergency Response Center' to support the emergency prevention of COVID-19 in South Korea.
Main Roles.
Tourism product and resource development Seoul's official experience tourism content portal site, Onemore Trip Seoul Tour Free Pass Discover Seoul Patt Hallyu tourism
Seoul walking tour with cultural tourism guide Tourist Information and Services
Tourist Information Center
Seoul tour guide and map Seoul 7017 Tourist Facilities
Seoul Fair Tourism International Forum Seoul Summer Sale Seoul Lantern Festival
Overseas briefing sessions and trade fair participation Vitalization of Medical Tourism


Qualified Production Activities Income

Qualified Production Activities Income is a class of income which is entitled to favored tax treatment under Section 199 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
History.
Former section 114 of the United States Internal Revenue Code excluded "extraterritorial income" which constituted "qualifying foreign trade income" under former section 941 from income. The effect of these provisions was a reduced tax burden in exchange for increased exports, creating an incentive for individuals and businesses within the United States to export. In August 2001, a panel of the World Trade Organization ruled that former section 114 of the United States Internal Revenue Code constituted a violation of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures as a prohibited export subsidy, and a WTO Appellate Body affirmed the finding in January 2002. The finding was based on the fact the provision resulted in the United States government forgoing revenue to which it was otherwise entitled and the fact the resulting subsidy was conditioned on export performance. The United States Congress repealed the exclusion in 2004. To offset the loss of the section 114 benefit, Congress enacted Section 199 regarding qualified production activities income.
Mechanics.
Section 199 allows manufacturers to deduct nine percent of their "qualified production activities income" (QPAI) in 2010 and following years. The deduction is in the process of "phasing-in," with three percent of QPAI allowed as a deduction in 2005 and 2006, and six percent allowed in 2007-2009. The effect of the deduction is to reduce the rate of taxation on QPAI.
QPAI is defined as the portion of taxpayer income which is equal to the excess of the taxpayer's domestic production gross receipts over the sum of the cost of goods that are allocable to such receipts, and other expenses, losses, or deductions which are properly allocable to such receipts.
Domestic production gross receipts.
Domestic production gross receipts is defined in the provision as the gross receipts of the taxpayer derived from any lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, or other disposition of:
1. tangible personal property, computer software, or sound recordings manufactured, produced, grow, or extracted by the taxpayer in whole or significant part within the United States;
2. a qualified film, defined as a non-pornographic film where not less than 50 percent of the total compensation relating to production is compensation for services performed in the United States by actors, production personnel, directors, and producers;
3. electricity, natural gas, or potable water produced by the taxpayer in the United States;
4.construction of real property performed within the United States where the taxpayer is engaged in actively conducting a construction trade or business in the ordinary course of that business; and
5. engineering or architectural services performed within the United States where the taxpayer is engaged in actively conducting an engineering or architectural trade or business and in the ordinary course of that business provides such services with respect to construction of real property with the United States.
However, domestic production gross receipts specifically do not include gross receipts derived from the sale of food or beverages at a retail establishment, from the transmission or distribution of electricity, natural gas, or potable water, or from the lease, rental, sale, exchange, or other disposition of land.
Effect.
The overall effect of the provision is to encourage domestic production. While this might seem to be a quite different goal than that of the provision it replaced, in theory, increased domestic production should indirectly lead to increased exports as the domestic demand is satisfied. While the QPAI deduction constitutes the United States government forgoing revenue which would otherwise be available to it, it should not run afoul of the same WTO rules because the availability of the deduction is not conditioned on export performance.
Every business in the manufacturing sector, whether small or large, should consider the manufacturing deduction under IRC § 199. While section 199 comes with a complex set of rules, it nonetheless represents a valuable tax break for businesses that perform domestic manufacturing and certain other production activities. However, businesses should weigh its benefit against the cost of calculating and supporting it. For tax years beginning in 2010 and thereafter, the benefit is fully phased in at 9% of income from qualified production activities, so more businesses may now find the effort worthwhile.


Guy Morel

Guy Morel (1933 in Seychelles - 9 November 2006) was a Seychellois accountant, economist and businessman. Morel was an influential figure in the Seychelles Government of the 1970s and 1980s when he was the Principal Secretary of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles and Chairman of Air Seychelles. He was the first governor of the central bank from January 1983 to September 1991. He is also the founder of the Seychelles Institute of Management. Morel was also an advocate of education for the poor, especially school dropouts. and is currently running a tutorial college. He was also a prolific writer and lover of the English language and in his retirement wrote a series of books on English grammar.


Joanna la Beltraneja

Joanna "la Beltraneja" (21 February 1462 – 12 April 1530) was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.
Birth and parentage.
King Henry IV of Castile married Joan of Portugal, daughter of King Duarte of Portugal and the youngest sister of King Afonso V of Portugal, on May 21, 1455. Seven years later, Joanna was born at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid.
Henry IV had previously been married to Blanche II of Navarre. After thirteen years, that marriage was annulled on the grounds that it had never been consummated. This was attributed to a curse, which only affected Henry's relationship with Blanche; a number of prostitutes from Segovia testified that they had noticed no impairment.
Henry had no other children and was rumoured to be impotent. Whether true or not, this rumor was widely circulated by Henry's opponents, who further insinuated that the little infanta (Joanna) was the child of Beltrán de la Cueva, a royal favourite at court, who was created the 1st Duke of Alburquerque in 1464. They called Joanna "la Beltraneja", a mocking reference to her supposed illegitimacy.
Joanna's mother, Joan of Portugal, was eventually banished to Bishop Fonseca's castle, where she fell in love with Fonseca's nephew and became pregnant. Henry divorced Joan in 1468.
Heir to the throne.
On 9 May 1462, Joanna was officially proclaimed heir to the throne of Castile and created Princess of Asturias. Henry had the nobles of Castile swear allegiance to her and promise that they would support her as monarch.
Many of the more prominent nobles, seeking to increase their own power, refused to recognise Joanna, preferring that Henry would have named as heir his younger half-brother, Infante Alfonso. Armed conflict broke out and in 1464 the league of nobles forced Henry to repudiate Joanna and recognise Infante Alfonso as his heir. Alfonso then became Prince of Asturias, a title traditionally held by the heir apparent. Henry agreed to this compromise with the stipulation that Infante Alfonso would marry Joanna (his half-niece), to ensure that they both would receive the crown.
But in 1468, Infante Alfonso died, and Henry divorced Joanna's mother, resulting in Joanna's displacement in the succession. Her half-aunt, Infanta Isabella, was placed before her in the succession, although Joanna was considered the heir after Isabella.
Joanna was held in custody by the Mendoza family from 1465–1470, and then by Juan, Marqués de Villena (elevated, in 1472, to 1st Duke of Escalona), and his family from 1470–1475. There were many negotiations for her marriage to someone who could defend her rights of succession. On 26 October 1470, she was betrothed and then married by proxy to Charles, Duke of Guienne, brother of Louis XI of France, and proclaimed as legitimate heir to the throne. But Charles died in 1472. After a few unsettled arrangements, which included French and Burgundian princes, Joanna was promised in marriage to her maternal uncle, King Afonso V of Portugal, who swore to defend her (and his own) rights to the Crown of Castile.
When Henry died in 1474, she was recognized as queen by some noble factions, while others preferred her half-aunt Isabella as queen. This began the four-year War of the Castilian Succession.
In addition to the King of Portugal, Joanna was supported by some of the high Castilian nobility and by descendants of Portuguese families that had settled in Castile after 1396: the Archbishop of Toledo (Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña); the 2nd Duke of Escalona, a powerful and wealthy nobleman; the Estúñiga family, with lands bordering Portugal; the Marquess of Cádiz; and the Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava, Rodrigo Téllez Girón.
Isabella was supported by Ferdinand of Aragon (whom she married), and by most of the Castilian nobility and clergy: the powerful House of Mendoza; the Manrique de Lara family; the 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia; the 1st Duke of Alburquerque; the Order of Santiago; and the Order of Calatrava, except its Grand Master.
Throne claimant.
On 10 May 1475, King Afonso V of Portugal invaded Castile and married Joanna in Plasencia, 15 days later, making her Queen of Portugal. Joanna and Afonso V held court at Toro, and she was considered a promising ruler by her courtiers, though too young. Joanna sent a letter to the cities of Castile, expounding the wish of her father King Henry IV that she should rule, and proposed that the cities vote for which succession they wished should be recognized. However, Joanna found fewer supporters than expected. Very shortly, Isabella I's husband King Ferdinand II led her forces against the armies of Joanna and her husband Afonso V.
Both armies met at Toro (1 March 1476). King Afonso V was beaten by the left and center of King Ferdinand's army, and fled from the battlefield. His son Prince John of Portugal defeated the Castilian right wing, recovered the lost Portuguese Royal standard, and held the field, but overall the battle was indecisive. Even so, the prestige of Joanna and Afonso V dissolved because Ferdinand II sent messages to all the cities of Castile and to several other kingdoms informing them about a huge victory where the Portuguese were crushed. Faced with this news, the party of Joanna la Beltraneja, who was under siege at the Royal Alcazar, was terminated, and the Portuguese were forced to return to their kingdom.
"That is the battle of Toro. The Portuguese army had not been exactly defeated; however, the sensation was that Donna Joanna’s cause had completely sunk. It made sense that for the Castilians, Toro was considered as divine retribution, the compensation willed by God for the terrible disaster of Aljubarrota, still alive in the Castilian memory."
After this, Joanna's husband Afonso tried without success to form an alliance with Louis XI of France. In 1478, the marriage of Joanna and Afonso V was annulled by Pope Sixtus IV on grounds of consanguinity, ending her tenure as Queen of Portugal. She was also forced to renounce the title of Queen of Castile.
Later life.
In 1479, Alfonso renounced his pretension to the Castilian Crown and signed a treaty with Isabella and Ferdinand. Joanna was given a choice: enter a convent, or marry Isabella's one-year-old son John when he came of age (and if he then consented). Joanna chose to enter the Convent of Santa Clara in Coimbra, and the ceremony was witnessed by Isabella, who praised her decision. She was not incarcerated in the convent, and was eventually allowed to reside in the Castle of São Jorge in Lisbon. In 1482, King Francis Phoebus of Navarre, nephew of Louis XI of France, proposed to her, with the implication of again raising her claim to Castile. This was intended as a French warning to Isabella and Ferdinand, who threatened Roussillon. But Francis died soon after. Isabella died in 1504, and it is alleged that, as a maneuver to retain control of Castile, rather than have his son-in-law Philip succeed there, Ferdinand then proposed marriage to Joanna, but she refused.
Joanna signed her letters "La Reina" ("the Queen"), until she died. She would become known in Portugal as "a Excelente Senhora" ("the Excellent Lady"). She died in Lisbon, having survived her aunt Isabella I. Joanna's claim to Castile was extinguished at her death, as her heir would have been her cousin Joanna, Isabella's daughter, who was already Queen of Castile.
References.
Articles
Books


Lin San-quei

Lin San-quei () is a Taiwanese politician. He is currently the Vice Minister of Labor.
Education.
Lin obtained his bachelor's and master's degree from the department of labor and human resources from Chinese Culture University. He then continued his study at Michigan State University in the United States and obtained a master's degree in labor and industrial relations.
Ministry of Labor.
Prior to his appointment as the vice minister of the ministry, Lin has been working with the ministry (and then Council of Labor Affairs) as an officer, executive officer, section chief, deputy director-general and director-general of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, director-general of the Department of General Planning and chairperson of the Institute of Labor of Occupational Safety and Health.
In July 2018, Lin visited the United States with Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun to visit the representatives of local labor unions in California after a conference held in Montana by the National Association of Government Labor Officials.
In October 2018, Lin led a delegation to Belgium to attend the first-ever labor-related affairs consultation meeting between Taiwan and the European Union, a meeting in which Lin described as a milestone on cooperation between the two sides.


Kenya Electricity Transmission Company

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, commonly referred to as KETRACO, is a parastatal company which serves as the Transmission System Operator in Kenya.
Location.
The headquarters of KETRACO are located at Kawi Complex, Block B,
Popo Lane, Off Red Cross Road, in South C, in the southern part of the city of Nairobi, Kenya's capital. The geographical coordinates of the company headquarters are:01°19'29.0"S, 36°49'58.0"E (Latitude:-1.324722; Longitude:36.832778).
Overview.
Before 2008, bulk transmission in Kenya as carried out by Kenya Power and Lighting Company, a private liability company. In 2008, KETRACO was formed and made responsible for bulk electricity transmission in the country. It is mandated to "plan, design, construct, own, operate and maintain high voltage electricity transmission grids, as well as the regional interconnectors". It is responsible for high voltage lines and substations with 132kV and above.
KETRACO maintains electricity grid networks and transformers of 132kV, 220kV, 400kV and 500kV. The company is also responsible for designing, building and maintaining interconnectors with neighboring foreign countries. This allows Kenya to sell to, buy from or transmit electricity between her neighbors and to participate in the Eastern Africa Power Pool.
As of December 2017, KETRACO had completed the construction of of high voltage electricity lines in the country. At that time, a total of of high voltage electricity lines were under implementation.


Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002

The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received royal assent on 7 November 2002.
This Act created a number of changes to the law including:
British Nationals with no other citizenship.
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 has also granted British Overseas Citizens, British Subjects and British Protected Persons the right to register as British citizens if they have no other citizenship or nationality and have not after 4 July 2002 renounced, voluntarily relinquished or lost through action or inaction any citizenship or nationality. Previously such persons would have not had the right of abode in any country, and would have thus been "de facto" stateless.
Overseas born children of British mothers.
The Act has also conferred a right to registration as a British citizen on persons born between 8 February 1961 and 31 December 1982 who, but for the inability (at that time) of women to pass on their citizenship, would have acquired British citizenship automatically when the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force.
In adding a section 4C to the British Nationality Act 1981, a person is entitled to registration if:
Registration under both these categories confers British citizenship by descent and hence those with permanent residence in the United Kingdom, or those with the right to take up permanent residence in the United Kingdom, may prefer to apply for "naturalisation" or "section 4 registration" instead. Both of these registration categories give British citizenship "otherwise than by descent".
Deprivation of British nationality.
Under amendments made by the Act, British nationals can be deprived of their citizenship if the Secretary of State is satisfied they are responsible for acts seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the United Kingdom or an Overseas Territory. This provision applied to only dual nationals-—it is not applicable if deprivation would result in a person's statelessness.
Prior to this law, British nationals who acquired that status by birth or descent (as opposed to registration or naturalisation) could not be deprived of British nationality.
Citizenship ceremonies.
All new applicants for British citizenship from 1 January 2004 who are aged 18 or over must attend a citizenship ceremony and take an Oath of Allegiance and a Pledge to the United Kingdom before their grant of British citizenship can take effect
Similar requirements are imposed on applicants for British overseas territories citizenship, with the exception that the Pledge is based on the relevant territory rather than the United Kingdom.
It is unusual for adults to acquire British Overseas citizenship or British subject status (application must be made before age 18 and is very rarely granted); however, in such a case only an Oath of Allegiance would be required.
English language requirements.
From 28 July 2004, English (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic) language requirements for naturalisation applicants were increased:
Life in the United Kingdom test.
From 1 November 2005, all new applicants for "naturalisation" as a British citizen must (unless exempted) prove they have passed the Life in the United Kingdom test.
Neither the language nor "Life in the UK" test requirements apply to those seeking "registration" (as opposed to naturalisation) as a British citizen.
Note that passing the test is also required for anyone wishing to remain indefinitely in the UK, whether or not they apply for citizenship. E.g., a husband or wife of a British citizen will be deported if they do not pass the test in time.
Children of unmarried British fathers.
With effect from 1 July 2006, children may acquire British citizenship automatically from an unmarried British father (or a British permanent resident if the child is born in the United Kingdom). Proof of paternity must be shown.
Children born to unmarried British fathers before 1 July 2006 are not included in this provision. However they can be registered as British citizens upon application to the Home Office (if not British some other way), provided the child is aged under 18 and would have been British had the father been married to the mother. However, the agreement of the mother is needed. If the mother refuses then policy is for the home office to enquire of her reasons for refusal. If her reasons are deemed unreasonable registration may still be granted. Also, the minor can apply in his own right on reaching the age of 17.


Nikolay Bordyuzha

Nikolay Nikolayevich Bordyuzha (, born 1949 in Oryol) is a Russian general and politician.
Biography.
In 1972, he graduated from Perm Military School of the High Command of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and later attended KGB intelligence courses in Novosibirsk.
From 1989 to 1991, he was Head of KGB human resources, and from 1992 to 1998 served as First Deputy Chief and later Chief of Russia's Federal Borderguard Service.
On 7 December 1998, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and also Chief of the Russian presidential administration. He served in this position until 18 March 1999. During this period he was viewed by some analysts as a possible successor to President Boris Yeltsin.
From 1999 to 2003, Bordyuzha served as the Russian ambassador to Denmark.
On 28 April 2003, he was appointed Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military pact of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
He holds the rank of Colonel General.


Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho

Francis Wemyss Charteris, Lord Elcho (31 January 1749 – 20 January 1808) was a Scottish nobleman and Member of Parliament.
Life.
He was the only son of the Honourable Francis Charteris, second son of James Wemyss, 5th Earl of Wemyss. The fifth Earl's eldest son David Wemyss, Lord Elcho had been attainted for his part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 so after the Earl's death in 1756 the earldom became forfeit.
Charteris was elected to Parliament for the Haddington district of burghs in 1780. From 1784 he was in opposition to the government of William Pitt the Younger.
In 1787 Charteris' uncle Lord Elcho (who but for his attainder would have been 6th Earl of Wemyss) died. As Charteris' father had not been attainted himself, he assumed the title as 7th Earl of Wemyss, with Charteris himself assuming the subsidiary title Lord Elcho. At the time eldest sons of Scottish peers were not allowed to represent Scottish constituencies in Parliament, and after a debate on the matter Charteris had to vacate his seat. Although it was later established that the Earldom of Wemyss remained forfeit and his father was not after all a Scottish peer, Charteris did not attempt to re-enter Parliament.
Charteris died on 20 January 1808 at Amisfield House, East Lothian, and was interred at St Mary's Collegiate Church, Haddington.
Marriage and issue.
Francis Charteris married in 1771 Susan, daughter of Anthony Keck and granddaughter of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton. They had one son and four daughters:
In 1818—after Francis Chateris's death—his widow Susan Chateris (by then the Dowager Lady Elcho) changed her surname to Tracy as a condition of inheriting her uncle Robert Tracy's estate, on the death of her elder sister.


A. Victor Donahey

Alvin Victor Donahey (also known as A. Victor Donahey, A. Vic Donahey, Vic Donahey, A. V. Donahey, or Honest Vic Donahey) (July 7, 1873April 8, 1946) was a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. Donahey was the 50th Governor of Ohio and a United States Senator from Ohio.
Donahey left school early to become a printer; in addition to working as a newspaper editor, he owned his own printing company. After serving in local and county government as a school board member and county auditor in the early 1900s, in 1912 he won election as Ohio's state auditor, and he served until 1921. After an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1920, in 1922 Donahey won the governorship. He was reelected in 1924 and 1926, and served from 1923 to 1929. In 1934, Donahey won election to the U.S. Senate, and he served one term, 1935 to 1941.
After leaving office, Donahey resumed his business interests, including serving as president of the Donahey Clay Products Company, which made tiles for use in home construction. He died in Columbus in 1946, and was buried at East Avenue Cemetery in New Philadelphia.
Early life.
Donahey was born in Cadwallader, Ohio. His parents were John C. Donahey and Catherine (Chaney) Donahey. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Donahey married Mary Edith Harvey on January 5, 1897. They had twelve children; ten lived to adulthood.
Career.
Donahey attended the public schools of Tuscarawas County, and left in his junior year to receive training as a printer; he worked at the "New Philadelphia Times" from 1893 to 1905, and advanced from journeyman to foreman to associate editor before becoming owner of his own printing company. He served as Tuscarawas County Auditor from 1905 to 1909 while at the same time serving on New Philadelphia, Ohio's Board of Education. After serving as a delegate to the 1912 Constitutional Convention, Donahey served as state auditor from 1912 to 1921. He did not seek re-election in 1920, running instead for governor.
Donahey lost that election but won the position two years later, serving three terms from 1923 to 1929. He did not run for re-election in 1928. Donahey earned the nickname "Veto Vic" while governor because he vetoed seventy-six bills during his first term in office.
From 1926 to 1928 Donahey was mentioned as a possible candidate for president or vice president in the 1928 election. He received five delegate votes for the presidential nomination which went to Alfred E. Smith, but was not a candidate for the Vice Presidential nomination, which went to Joseph T. Robinson.
He won election to the United States Senate in 1934, unseating Republican Simeon Fess by a wide margin (1,276,208 to 839,068) and served one term in the Senate from 1935 until 1941, before retiring. In 1940 Democrats in Ohio asked him to consider running for president as a favorite son in an effort to aid Franklin D. Roosevelt's bid for a third term, but he declined. (The plan would have had Ohio's delegates to the Democratic National Convention pledged to Donahey until Roosevelt became a candidate, at which point Donahey would release the delegates to Roosevelt.)
Donahey was president of Donahey Clay Products Company and a founder and board member of Motorists Mutual Insurance Company. He was also a director of the Ohio National Bank of Columbus, Ohio.
He died at Grant Hospital in Columbus in 1946. He is buried in East Avenue Cemetery in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
Family life.
Donahey was married to Mary (Harvey) Donahey (1879-1953). His son, John W. Donahey, served a term as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. His daughter-in-law, Gertrude Walton Donahey served as Ohio State Treasurer. His brother William Donahey was the Chicago Tribune columnist and creator of the Teenie Weenies comic strip. Another brother, James Harrison "Hal" Donahey, was the cartoonist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and designed the household tiles made by the Donahey Clay Products Company.
Legacy.
The Donahey Ag & Hort Building at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Donahey.


Michael Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme

Michael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, (born 19 June 1946) is a British politician and former diplomat. He sits as a Crossbench member of the House of Lords, and previously served as Ambassador to France and Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Education.
Jay was born in Hampshire and educated at Winchester College, Magdalen College, Oxford (at which he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics), of which he is an honorary fellow, and the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He served as a volunteer teacher in Zambia.
Diplomatic career.
Jay joined the Ministry of Overseas Development in 1969, serving in London, Washington (at the World Bank) in 1973 and as First Secretary (Development) at the British High Commission, New Delhi, in 1978. He transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981, serving as Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State. As Counsellor he served in the European Secretariat of the Cabinet Office from 1985 to 1987. He was posted as Counsellor in the Paris Embassy from 1987 to 1990, returning to the FCO as Director for European Affairs until 1994. He was appointed Director General for European and Economic Affairs 1994–96, following which he became a Senior Associate Member of St Antony's College, Oxford.
From July 1996 to September 2001 he was British Ambassador to France. During this tenure, he was the first British spokesman to speak publicly on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. In July 2001, he was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and thus Head of the Diplomatic Service, a post he took up on 14 January 2002.
In 2005 and 2006, Jay served as the Prime Minister's Personal Representative (Sherpa) for the G8 summits at Gleneagles and St Petersburg in addition to his PUS duties.
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael & St George in the 1992 Birthday Honours, promoted to Knight Commander in the 1997 New Year Honours and made a Knight Grand Cross in the 2006 Birthday Honours.
Post retirement.
Upon his retirement from HM's Diplomatic Service on 27 July 2006, he was recommended for a Life peerage, and this was gazetted as Baron Jay of Ewelme, of Ewelme in the County of Oxfordshire, on 18 September 2006.
Lord Jay was the Chair of Merlin, the British health and medical aid agency, from 2007 until 2013. He has been a non-executive director of Associated British Foods (2006-),Credit Agricole (2007-2011), EDF (2009-), Candover PLC (2008-)and Valeo SA (2007-). He is a Trustee of the Thomson Reuters Founders share company (2013-), and Chairman of the Advisory Council of the British Library (2011 -). He was Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission from 2008 until 2013). he has served on sub-committees C, E and F of the House of Lords Select Committee on European Union affairs.
Family.
Jay married Sylvia Mylroie in 1975. In 2005 Lady Jay was appointed Vice-Chairman of L'Oreal UK & Ireland, then Chairman from 2011 to 2013. She has been a non-executive director on the board of Alcatel-Lucent, and is non-executive director of St-Gobain, Lazard and Casino Group. She is Chairman of the Pilgrim Trust and has been a trustee of the Prison Reform Trust and Entente Cordiale Scholarship Scheme. In 2019 she was appointed as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire.


Taxation in Greenland

Taxation in Greenland has differed from the taxes in Denmark since the grant of home rule in 1979. The tax system is relatively simple, based on a flat-rate taxation of labor income and certain capital income.
Income taxation.
All citizens of Greenland are subject to personal taxation on the basis of full or limited tax liability. The government tax rate is up to 44%, depending on the municipality of taxation. There are some tax deductions in Greenland. Fully tax liable individuals and individuals with limited tax liability from employment and employment related income are entitled to an allowance of DKK 48,000 a year (2016 amount). Persons with full tax liability to Greenland are further entitled to an extra allowance of DKK 10,000 a year (2016 amount). A deduction for foreign workers also exists, and this deduction can be as high as 35%. Deductions are also available to students and parents.
Fully tax liable individuals and individuals with limited tax liability from employment and employment related income are entitled to an allowance of DKK 48,000 a year (2016 amount). Persons with full tax liability to Greenland are further entitled to an extra allowance of DKK 10,000 a year (2016 amount). The amounts can be subject to adjustment every year, but have been stable for a number of years.
VAT and business taxes.
Greenland is one of the very few countries in the world that do not charge VAT tax. This means that citizens of Greenland and who purchase goods outside Greenland - and taking or sending goods to Greenland - have the opportunity to get VAT refunded. It's called VAT-refund.
Tax administration.
Citizens subject to taxation use the calendar year as the income tax/fiscal year. Permission can be granted to use a 12-month period other than the calendar year, provided that the period starts on the first day of a calendar month. Generally, the income period for companies follows the accounting year, which has to be no longer than 12 months. However, the first accounting year can vary from 6 to 18 months.


Eduardo Laurencena

Eduardo Laurencena (1885–1959) was an Argentine politician. He served as governor of Entre Ríos Province and was a Senator. His father, Miguel Laurencena, was a governor of the same province.