влада, вибори, народ
Microsoft, Mastercard Sign on to VP Harris’ Central America Strategy
Twelve companies and groups including Microsoft, Mastercard and Nestle’s Nespresso said Thursday that they would commit to making investments in Central America, a win for Vice President Kamala Harris as she aims to lower migration from the region into the United States. President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with leading U.S. efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Since then, Harris has taken a series of steps aimed at improving conditions and lowering migration from the region. Harris, who met with officials from these companies and groups Thursday, said economic opportunities in the region could be boosted via partnerships with the private sector. “In order for us as an administration, the United States government, to maximize the potential of our work, it has to be through collaboration, through public-private partnerships,” Harris told reporters at the start of the meeting. The meeting was attended by top executives from yogurt maker Chobani, food giant Nestle’s Nespresso unit, financial companies Bancolombia and Davivienda, as well as language-learning website Duolingo. Commitments by the companies include Microsoft’s agreeing to expand internet access to as many as 3 million people in the region by July 2022 and Nespresso’s plans to begin buying some of its coffee from El Salvador and Honduras with a minimum regional investment of $150 million by 2025, a White House official said. Chobani has agreed to bring its incubator program for local entrepreneurs to Guatemala, while Mastercard will aim to bring 5 million people in the region who currently lack banking services into the financial system and give 1 million micro and small businesses access to electronic banking, the official said. Areas of focusThe U.S. vice president’s push to spur regional economic growth will focus on six areas. These include expanding affordable internet access, combating food shortages by boosting farm productivity, and backing regional efforts to fight climate change and make a transition to clean energy. The plan will also aim to expand job training programs and improve public health access. In April, Harris unveiled an additional $310 million in U.S. aid to Central America. She is expected to visit Guatemala and Mexico on June 7-8, her first overseas trip as vice president. U.S. officials see corruption as a major contributor to a migrant exodus from the region, along with gang violence and natural disasters, issues that represent hurdles for companies investing in the region.Anti-corruption strategySome Central American leaders recently pushed back on the Biden administration’s anti-corruption strategy, which included releasing a list labeling 17 regional politicians as corrupt. On his trip next week to Costa Rica, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to use meetings with his Central American and Mexican counterparts gathered there to address corruption, governance and rule-of-law issues, said Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. “These are some of the issues that are the drivers of why people leave their homes in the first place,” Chung told reporters in a briefing ahead of Blinken’s June 1-2 trip. “They don’t have confidence in their governments.”
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By Polityk | 05/28/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Budget to Propose $6 Trillion in 2022 Spending
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will ask Congress for the authority to spend nearly $6 trillion in 2022, which would give him the resources to begin implementing an ambitious agenda of infrastructure investment and expanded social programs. However, the blueprint would also increase federal spending to a nearly unprecedented share of the U.S. economy and drive the national debt to new highs. The budget request will forecast continued increases in federal spending over the next decade, eventually rising to $8.2 trillion in 2031, according to The New York Times. Much of that increase reflects the $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan and $1.8 billion education and families plan the president wants to begin rolling out, though neither has yet passed Congress. Much of the new spending would be paid for with proposed tax increases on the wealthy and on corporations. However, the administration projects that the federal government will still run deficits of more than $1.3 trillion per year over the coming decade before the budget begins to trend back toward balance. FILE – A concrete pump frames the Capitol Dome during renovations and repairs to Lower Senate Park on Capitol Hill, May 18, 2021. President Joe Biden hopes to pass a massive national infrastructure plan.The budget is an important statement of the president’s policy goals and ambitions, but it’s up to Congress to determine how much will actually be spent in the coming year and how that government spending will be financed. Democrats currently hold slender majorities in the House and Senate, but Republicans will have an important say on spending and tax decisions in the coming months. In remarks delivered Thursday in Cleveland, Biden made the case for what he describes as an investment in the country’s future. “Now is the time to build [on] the foundation that we’ve laid to make bold investments in our families and our communities and our nation,” he said. “We know from history that these kinds of investments raise both the floor and the ceiling over the economy for everybody.” No big surprises The budget request is not expected to contain many surprises when the full details are released Friday. In April, the administration released a detailed description of its plan for fiscal 2022 discretionary spending — that is, funds the government is not obligated to spend under existing law as it must for entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The budget will reflect a sharp divergence from the priorities of former President Donald Trump’s administration, which sought major cuts in many government agencies shortly after Trump took office. For example, the Department of Education budget would grow by 41% under Biden’s plan, the Commerce Department would get a 28% increase, the Department of Health and Human Services would get a 24% increase, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget would jump by 21%. Next year’s budget beginning October 1 will be free of spending caps, in place since 2013, which had kept discretionary defense spending and discretionary nondefense spending growing at approximately the same rate. The administration is expected to propose a 16% increase in nondefense outlays to $769 billion next year, but only 1.7% more in defense spending, bringing the Pentagon’s annual budget to $753 billion. Some priorities omitted There are a number of items on Biden’s broader agenda that are conspicuously absent from the proposal, including a pledge to forgive up to $10,000 per person in federal student loans. Also left out are funds for a “public option” health insurance plan that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare coverage, and measures to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. However, in presenting the budget, Biden is expected to encourage Congress to authorize such a program. Critics note that those programs would entail further government spending that would have to be paid for by tax increases, more deficit spending or reduced spending elsewhere. Approaching WWII spending levels The extraordinary efforts by the government to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 temporarily drove government spending as a percentage of economic output to the highest level since World War II. FILE – A woman walks past the signs of an employment agency, in Manchester, N.H., March 2, 2021.While the Biden budget will gradually reduce government spending as a share of the economy from the current highs, it still anticipates spending well above average levels for the past 70 years. The budget plan relies on economic growth forecasts that see the U.S. economy growing at a rapid pace in the near term as it recovers from the pandemic, but then reverting to a growth rate of less than 2%. Biden’s plan would have the government spending nearly 25% of GDP on average over the next decade. Soaring national debt The total federal debt held by the public was already in excess of 100% of GDP when the pandemic struck, and the combination of lower output and even more borrowing drove it higher. However, even when the economy has recovered, the Biden budget forecasts a decade in which the debt stays well above the size of the GDP, cresting at an estimated 117% in 2031. “That’s a big debt number,” said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “Prior to the Great Recession, debt was 40% of GDP. Prior to the pandemic, it was 80%. This year, it started the year at 100%, and 106% is our World War II record — 117% just blows past that. That’s a lot more borrowing.” He pointed out that in addition to ignoring some of the administration’s other stated goals, such as student loan forgiveness and unemployment insurance reform, those numbers also assume no more crises that require government spending, such as another pandemic, a recession or military conflict, potentially leaving the country without the fiscal space to respond. “I don’t think that their plans are going to do enough to reduce our long-term structural debt, which is really going to require getting the costs of health and retirement programs under control and or fully financed,” Goldwein said.
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By Polityk | 05/28/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Republicans Set to Block Capitol Riot Inquiry Panel
Republicans in the U.S. Senate are expected Thursday to block legislation calling for the creation of a panel to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol aimed at preventing the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory over Donald Trump.Trump implored thousands of supporters who had come to Washington for a protest rally “to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat shortly before the riot that left five people dead, including a federal police officer.Republicans are expected to use a procedural tactic known as a filibuster to block the bill which would launch a bipartisan investigation into the insurrection. If Republicans get their way, it would be the first successful use of a filibuster in the Biden presidency to stop Senate legislative action.The filibuster requires a super majority of senators, meaning 60 of the upper chamber’s 100 members must support blocking the measure. Because the 100-member Senate is equally divided, Democrats would need 10 Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.That is unlikely because many Republican senators remain loyal to Trump and are expected to follow Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell, who once said Trump was responsible for “provoking” the riot, has more recently dismissed the legislation as nothing more than a “political exercise” since Senate committees are already investigating security shortcomings.The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, which has 435 voting members, previously passed the legislation with some Republican support.
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By Polityk | 05/28/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
В.о. директора Голосіївського парку звинувачують у хабарництві – адвокатка вважає справу «замовною»
Кононець заперечує, що дії Андрія Хрутьби мають будь-які ознаки складу злочину
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By Gromada | 05/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Відтепер в інстаграмі можна приховати кількість лайків
Відтепер інстаграм дозволяє приховати кількість лайків у всіх публікаціях у стрічці користувача
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By Gromada | 05/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Blinken Works to Build More Lasting Bridges as Israeli Palestinian Cease-fire Takes Hold
Antony Blinken has wrapped up his first visit as U.S. secretary of state to the Middle East, where he aimed to shore up the Gaza cease-fire. He also sought to cement relationships and ensure the delivery of aid after a violent flare-up between Israel and Hamas that killed more than 250 people, most of them Palestinians. For VOA, Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem.
Camera: Ricki Rosen
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By Polityk | 05/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Уряд пропонує збільшити до 50 тис грн виплату при народженні або усиновленні дитини – Шмигаль
Із 2023 року і в подальшому пропонується збільшення розміру такої допомоги на прогнозний показник інфляції
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By Gromada | 05/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
First Openly Gay Black Woman Delivers White House Briefing
Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefed reporters at the White House Wednesday, only the second Black woman to do so and the first openly gay one. “It’s a real honor to be standing here today,” said Jean-Pierre from the White House podium, adding that she appreciates “the historic nature” of the occasion. “Being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building, is not about one person, it’s about what we do on behalf of the American people,” she added. Jean-Pierre has briefed reporters in press gaggles aboard Air Force One when accompanying President Joe Biden on his travels, but this is the first time she took the podium at the James F. Brady briefing room. The first African American woman to do so was Judy Smith, deputy press secretary under then-President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Smith was the inspiration for Olivia Pope, a character on the popular television political drama series Scandal, played by actress Kerry Washington. Karine Jean-Pierre A young Karine Jean-Pierre celebrates with her parents in this undated photo from Facebook.Jean-Pierre, 43, has been principal deputy press secretary since January 2021 and is the first LGBTQ Black woman to hold a White House press briefing. Her partner is American television journalist Suzanne Malveaux. The couple has a young daughter. Prior to working in Democratic administrations, Jean-Pierre was a national spokesperson for the liberal group MoveOn.org. She was regional political director for the White House Office of Political Affairs under former President Barack Obama. She served in the Biden presidential campaign as senior adviser and as chief of staff to Kamala Harris after she was tapped to be Biden’s running mate. She is one of several women of color holding senior positions in the all-female White House communications team, including Symone Sanders and Pili Tobar. Tobar is a Latina lesbian. President Joe Biden has pledged to staff his White House and administration with people that reflect the United States’ diversity. “I promise you, you’ll see the most diverse Cabinet representative of all folks, Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ, across the board,” Biden said in December 2020 during the transition. While Biden has been criticized for not appointing enough Latinos and Asian Americans in high-level positions, his cabinet is more gender balanced and racially diverse than his predecessors. Almost half are women, and half identify as Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, or multiracial. “Clearly, the president believes in representation matters,” Jean-Pierre said to reporters Wednesday. “And I appreciate him giving me this opportunity.”
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By Polityk | 05/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Український фільм «Стоп-Земля» отримав нагороду Берлінале
Ця стрічка – про сучасних підлітків та їхні проблеми: перший досвід дружби, кохання, відповідальності
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By Gromada | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
«Українська правда» повідомила про нового власника
За умовами укладеної між Томашем Фіалою та редактором-засновником інтернет-видання УП Оленою Притулою угоди, 100 відсотків корпоративних прав видання та всі його активи переходять до групи компаній Dragon Capital
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By Gromada | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
У Фонді соцстрахування розповіли, скільки людей скористалися путівками до санаторіїв під час карантину
У 2019 році путівками на санаторно-курортне лікування забезпечено 10 058 потерпілих
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By Gromada | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Confrontation in Congress Raises Civility Concerns
A confrontation between two members of U.S. Congress is the latest flash point of political incivility in America. VOA’s Steve Redisch examines the issue.Producer: Kimberlyn Weeks
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By Polityk | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
У МОН назвали велику кількість контрольних на «дистанційці» не найкращим шляхом оцінювання знань
Раніше у Міносвіти казали, що 70% учнів і педагогів задоволені організацією дистанційного навчання
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By Gromada | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Трек «Шум» гурту Go_A лідирує в рейтингу світових трендів Spotify
23 травня в Нідерландах завершився пісенний конкурс Євробачення-2021. Представники України, гурт Go-A, фінішували на п’ятому місці з піснею «Шум»
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By Gromada | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Republicans Denounce Congresswoman Taylor Greene’s Holocaust Remarks
U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy denounced fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday for likening COVID-19 masks to the badges the Nazis forced Jews to wear in the Holocaust, but did not suggest any disciplinary action against the firebrand ally to former President Donald Trump.”Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling. The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling,” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement.”Let me be clear: the House Republican Conference condemns this language,” McCarthy said.His statement followed a Tuesday morning rant on Twitter by Taylor Greene, of Georgia, who had already drawn a backlash from Jewish groups for comparing the Democratic-controlled chamber’s mandate that members wear a mask on the House floor to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the yellow badges that Nazi Germany required Jews to wear.The United States has been experiencing a spate of physical or verbal attacks against Jews in New York, Los Angeles and South Florida, amid an escalation earlier this month of the conflict between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.It is the latest eruption between Republicans in the House, where McCarthy and other party leaders have sought to forge unity after ousting fellow Representative Liz Cheney from her No. 3 leadership role for denouncing Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.Lauren Fine, a spokeswoman for No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise, said in a statement that the congressman “does not agree with these comments and condemns these comparisons to the Holocaust.”The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, also blasted Taylor Greene’s words, saying “these are sickening, reprehensible comments, and she should stop this vile language immediately.”Earlier this year McCarthy and the House Republican caucus refused to take action against Taylor Greene for her prior incendiary remarks. When the party declined to act, the House did, with just 11 Republicans joining Democrats in the February vote stripping her of her committee assignments.
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By Polityk | 05/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
ЗНО з англійської мови складали майже 130 тисяч людей
Наступне тестування основної сесії ЗНО-2021 – з математики – відбудеться 28 травня
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
З початку року надійшло 1357 повідомлень про порушення мовного закону – Кремінь
Продовжує зростати кількість скарг на порушення закону представниками органів державної влади та місцевого самоврядування
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
У Києві протестують проти забудови на території старовинного маєтку Барбана
За словами учасників акції , будівлю планують знести, а на її місці побудувати багатоповерхівку
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
В Україні у вівторок пануватиме помірно тепла і переважно бездощова погода – синоптики
Лише у західних областях очікується короткочасний дощ, подекуди гроза
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
З початку року в басейні річки Тиса виявлено понад 40 стихійних сміттєзвалищ – Мінприроди
Після цьогорічних весняних паводків Тису та її притоки знову заполонили пластикові пляшки, пакети, засоби індивідуального захисту
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Аналізи переможця «Євробачення» не підтвердили підозри у вживанні наркотиків – EBU
Перевірку ініціювала італійська делегація, а сам Даміано Давід (на фото) добровільно здав тест, щоб «розвіяти чутки»
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By Gromada | 05/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
У ЗНО з іноземних мов взяли участь 75,96% зареєстрованих на тестування
За оперативною інформацією регіональних центрів оцінювання якості освіти, участь у тестуванні взяли 2433 особи
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By Gromada | 05/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Одеські білоруси підтримали затриманого в Мінську журналіста
В Одесі білоруси вийшли на підтримку затриманого у Мінську опозиційного журналіста Романа Протасевича. Півтора десятки людей розгорнули банер із гаслом «The World protect Belarus» («Світе, захисти Білорусь») біля пам’ятника Дюку, повідомляє кореспондент Радіо Свобода.
За словами однієї з організаторок акції, яка попросила не називати її імені, частина учасників живе в Одесі давно, частина – переїхала після протестів влітку 2020 року.
Читайте також: «Це дуже небезпечно»: Данілов про причини припинення авісполучення з Білоруссю
У грудні 2020 року уряд збільшив термін максимального перебування громадян Біларусі в Україні – з 90 до 180 діб, і це є гарним способом підтримати біларусів, вважає активістка.
«Я можу трохи помилятись, але, за нашими даними, з Білорусі після протестів 2020 року втекло близько 40 тисяч людей. Простіше всього їм їхати до України – сюди не потрібна віза. Ми бачимо, що багато європейських країн думають, щоб припиняти авіасполучення із Біларусью, припиняти літати над її територією. Було б чудово, якщо б термін перебування в Україні ще збільшили та спростили механізми легалізації», – заявила вона.
Ще одна учасниця акції, також неназвана, подякувала президенту Володимиру Зеленському за готовність закрити авіасполучення між двома країнами. На її думку, Протасевичу зараз загрожує реальна небезпека.
Читайте також: Європейська рада розгляне резолюцію щодо Білорусі на саміті
«В Білорусі досі дозволена смертна кара, але я не думаю, що до неї дійде. Втім, вона може відбутись за нібито природних причин – серцевий напад, чи ще щось. Сьогодні, в 21 сторіччі, в середині Європи вбивають цілий народ», – каже дівчина.
Білоруські міліціонери 23 травня затримали опозиційного журналіста та блогера Романа Протасевича. Він був на борту літака Ryanair, що екстрено приземлився в Мінську через повідомлення про мінування, яке не підтвердилося. Також затримали його дівчину, росіянку Соф’ю Сапегу.
«Мене тут стратять!» – сказав Роман Протасевич під час затримання.
Протасевич – відомий білоруський журналіст і блогер, автор телеграм-каналу «Білорусь головного мозку».
Правозахисний центр «Весна» вже визнав його політичним в’язнем.
Країни Заходу розкритикували затримання Протасевича. Міністерство закордонних справ Білорусі водночас було «вражене поспішністю відверто войовничих заяв з боку низки країн і європейських структур». У відомстві заявили, що «правила авіаційної безпеки – це абсолютний пріоритет, до того ж скрізь і для всіх». При цьому у своїй заяві міністерство не згадало про затримання Протасевича.
your ad hereBy Gromada | 05/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Key Impeachment Witness Sues Pompeo Over $1.8M in Legal Fees
Gordon Sondland, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings, sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday in an effort to recoup $1.8 million he racked up in legal expenses.
Sondland alleges in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, that Pompeo had committed to reimburse his legal expenses after he was subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in an impeachment case that accused then-President Donald Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine while demanding an investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Instead, Sondland says, Pompeo “reneged on his promise” after learning the details of Sondland’s testimony.
“With the contractual commitment of Pompeo having been abandoned apparently for political convenience, Ambassador Sondland turns to this Court to reimburse his attorneys’ fees and costs and make him whole,” Sondland’s lawyer, Mark Barondess, wrote in his lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Pompeo called the lawsuit “ludicrous” and said Pompeo was “confident the court will see it the same way.”
In testimony that Sondland’s lawsuit describes as “highly fraught, highly charged and highly risky with tremendous consequences,” he described for investigators how Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, explicitly sought a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine, leveraging an Oval Office visit for political investigations of Democrats.
Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted in February 2020 by the Senate.
Sondland was fired days after Trump’s acquittal “simply for telling the truth,” according to the lawsuit. He says the unwillingness to cover his legal fees not only represented a breach of commitment and “normal convention” but was also “especially problematic in this instance because the amount of preparation needed to comply with the subpoenas was staggering.”
“Ambassador Sondland retained a Washington, D.C. law firm well experienced in Congressional investigations that possessed the capacity to assist him, along with his long-time personal counsel, in preparation for his critically important testimony,” the lawsuit states. “Ambassador Sondland continued to rely on Pompeo’s individual promise, on behalf of himself and the Government, in seeking outside counsel and incurred nearly $1.8 million in attorneys’ fees and costs.”
The lawsuit was first reported by The Washington Post.
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By Polityk | 05/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
У Держекоінспекції розповіли, скільки стягнули штрафів через незаконне збирання первоцвітів
За даними Мінекології, щороку в Україні за сезон знищують 20 мільйонів первоцвітів
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By Gromada | 05/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Українських роботодавців можуть допустити до управління вишами – Шкарлет
Шкарлет: на балансі державних вишів дуже багато соціальних об’єктів, на які потрібні кошти. МОН виступає за передачу їх у комунальну власність
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By Gromada | 05/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
