Latest news with #quota
CNA
a day ago
- Automotive
- CNA
COE quota to increase by 2.6% for August to October
SINGAPORE: The overall supply of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) for the August to October period will go up by nearly 2.6 per cent compared with the previous quarter, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday (Jul 28). The total number of COEs will rise to 18,701, up from 18,232 during the period from May to July, which had seen a 6 per cent increase. Compared with the same period last year - Aug 2024 to Oct 2024 - there is an increase of more than 22 per cent in the quota. The quota for Categories A, B and C will inch up by about 1 per cent, while that of Category E will rise by about 27 per cent. The quota for Category D will remain unchanged. Bidding under the new quota will start on Aug 4. The COE quota for the bidding period of November 2025 to January 2026 will be announced in October, said LTA. The COE quota consists of the following components: 25 per cent of the replacement COEs from vehicles deregistered in the 12-month period from July 2024 to June 2025 Provision for 0.25 per cent per annum growth for Category C based on the Category C vehicle population as at Dec 31, 2024. Adjustments for changes in the taxi population, expired Temporary COEs, Early Turnover Scheme for commercial vehicles, redistribution from guaranteed deregistrations for Category A, Category B and Category D and injection of additional COEs. LTA announced in October last year that up to 20,000 additional COEs will be progressively injected across all vehicle categories from February over 'the next few years'. The move was made in view of the implementation of ERP 2.0.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Wikipedia threatens to limit UK access to website
Wikipedia could be forced to limit access in the UK unless crucial elements of Britain's online safety rules are changed, the High Court has been told. Lawyers for the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation which helps run the online encyclopaedia, warned it could be required to introduce a 'quota-based' system for UK visitors if it is classified as a 'category one' service under the Online Safety Act. Services falling under this designation are subject to the strictest duties under the digital laws, which are intended to stop children accessing harmful online material and prevent the spread of illegal posts. To stay outside the scope of the regulation, Wikipedia could cap visitor numbers from the UK so it does not qualify as a 'category one' site, which are defined as those with seven million users. This would make it harder for British users to access the site when they wanted. The foundation has launched a legal challenge against Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, over the rules, warning they threaten to hit Wikipedia with strict regulations intended for social media giants such as Facebook and TikTok. In a filing with the High Court, Wikimedia's lawyers said such a designation would 'cripple the vital exchange of encyclopaedic information on Wikipedia', either by limiting the 'availability and functionality of Wikipedia in the UK' or by 'fundamentally changing the way in which the encyclopaedia works'. Rupert Paines, a lawyer acting for the group, told the court the rules risked 'very severe impacts' for Wikipedia and could reduce articles to 'gibberish'. The measures could also 'render it unavailable to many who wish to use it', he added, even though Wikipedia is a 'world away' from being a social network that the laws were intended to regulate. Under the category, Wikipedia has claimed it could be required to verify the identities of its anonymous volunteer moderators who edit entries. Non-verified users would no longer be able to alter posts, creating a risk that articles with fake news remain online unchecked. It also claimed the rules could also force Wikipedia to restrict access to UK users, in order to prevent the website from falling foul of the toughest measures. Alongside having more than seven million users, the 'category one' threshold says sites must also have algorithms which recommend content and allow posts to be shared or forwarded to others. The foundation argued Wikipedia would fall under these restrictions even though Ofcom, the digital regulator, had initially failed to identify it as within the scope of the rules. While Wikipedia is not a social network, its lawyers said it still used recommendation algorithms, such as a system that identifies new articles for editing. They added it also had systems that allowed its users to share or forward pages. In order to avoid the rules, Wikimedia's lawyers told the court the site could be forced to withhold access in the UK to some visitors. They wrote: '[Wikimedia] must weigh imposing a quota-based system for Wikipedia in the UK, depressing average monthly UK users below the Cat1 user number conditions.' Such a decision would 'deprive many of Wikipedia's UK users of access to the encyclopaedia as and when they want it', its lawyers wrote. The Online Safety Act threatens technology companies that fail in their duties with fines of £18m or up to 10pc of their global turnover. The Government has argued Wikipedia's concerns are 'hypothetical' and its potential inclusion under the regulations would be 'appropriate' if it meets the thresholds. Its inclusion under the rules is a matter for Ofcom, according to the Government's lawyers, and has not been confirmed.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada, New Zealand settle trade dispute regarding supply management of dairy sector
OTTAWA — Canada and New Zealand have settled a dispute over Ottawa's dairy-sector protections that regulate the cost and supply of products such as milk and cheese. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership includes certain quotas for countries to export dairy at preferred tariff rates into other member countries. New Zealand convinced a trade panel in September 2023 that Canada was unfairly limiting its quotas to protect domestic dairy processors. The panel ruled at the time that Ottawa had some discretion over how it allocates its dairy quotas, but that some of its rules violate the trade deal. On Thursday, both countries said they reached an agreement for technical changes, which the Liberals say only apply to quotas under the existing deal that won't mean more market access. Dairy Farmers of Canada said it was "aware" of the agreement, and said it has the understanding that this results in "certain, minor policy changes" that uphold the supply-management regime. New Zealand previously said that Canadian policies were costing its exporters the equivalent of $100 million Canadian over three years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
CTV News
18-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canada, New Zealand settle trade dispute regarding supply management of dairy sector
OTTAWA — Canada and New Zealand have settled a dispute over Ottawa's dairy-sector protections that regulate the cost and supply of products such as milk and cheese. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership includes certain quotas for countries to export dairy at preferred tariff rates into other member countries. New Zealand convinced a trade panel in September 2023 that Canada was unfairly limiting its quotas to protect domestic dairy processors. The panel ruled at the time that Ottawa had some discretion over how it allocates its dairy quotas, but that some of its rules violate the trade deal. On Thursday, both countries said they reached an agreement for technical changes, which the Liberals say only apply to quotas under the existing deal that won't mean more market access. Dairy Farmers of Canada said it was 'aware' of the agreement, and said it has the understanding that this results in 'certain, minor policy changes' that uphold the supply-management regime. New Zealand previously said that Canadian policies were costing its exporters the equivalent of $100 million Canadian over three years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Arab News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan seeks higher 2026 Hajj quota after 455,000 register for pilgrimage
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's religious affairs minister, Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, said on Tuesday the country has requested a higher Hajj quota in proportion to its population for the next year from Saudi Arabia, after early registrations for the pilgrimage reached 455,000 this month. Pakistan's current Muslim population is approximately 230 million, according to the latest census cited by the minister. He added the government had urged the Kingdom to raise the country's Hajj quota from 179,210 to 230,000 in a formal letter, aiming to enable more citizens to perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage. "A gazette notification has ... been issued regarding the population, so based on that population, our [Hajj] quota should be 230,000," Yousaf said during a news conference. "For this, we've written to the Saudi government and demanded [an increase], and a letter has been sent [to them] by the Ministry of Religious Affairs," he continued. "We hope they will consider this [request] and adjust our quota in proportion to our population." Yousaf highlighted that the registration of 455,000 intending pilgrims by the deadline reflected their strong eagerness to perform Hajj. The government announced the initiation of next year's Hajj process early, asking aspiring pilgrims to register themselves first. No fee was required at the registration stage. All registered applicants will now be able to choose between the government and private Hajj schemes. A large portion of the private Hajj quota for 2025 remained unutilized due to delays by tour operators in meeting payment and registration deadlines, while the government fulfilled its full allocation of over 88,000 pilgrims. Private operators attributed the shortfall to technical issues, including payment processing problems and communication breakdowns.
