Juglander Review

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Juglander Review

Sports: Hermenegild Suuma wins first stage at Kinai Grand Tour

Hermenegild Suuma, 28, takes victory in Kinai to obtain his second win this season. Suuma left behind his main rivals in the final kilometres to give AABL-Ujredi the win in the first stage.

Suuma had won last month the Gazapkhuli Grand Prix, an one-day race held in Mktvartvelo. "We knew we had a chance if we were able to shake the peloton, as if it was a difficult day to control by any team, particularly as the first stage", Suuma declared. "I was not exactly expecting to win, even if I started feeling better and better as kilometres advanced. But Kimmo [Peltonen]'s moves earlier helped to select the number of riders".

"It is true that they were not probably keeping an eye on me and that could improve my chances", the Juglander rider said. "I can't say if it was my important win but it was certainly a tougher one considered the quality of the riders I was facing".

Mktvartvelo: Football League television rights under criticism

The Mktvartvelo Premier League Association (MPPL) expects that the revenue for the clubs will grow considerably as consequence of the televison rights for the top-tier men's football division for the 2024-2027 period, which negotiation period will end on June 30. The MPPL hopes that the amount will increase two or three times compared to the previous period, as interests in the competition and quality of players have consolidated and increased. "There will be room for improvement in the next decade, we are convinced", declared Gocha Enukidze, chairman of the MPPL.

However, controversy erupted as it was confirmed that Channel 7 television channel is interested to bid for television rights for men's and women's football leagues in the Unitary State of Mktvartvelo. This has led to accusations of conflict of interests, giving that the Vice-chairman of MPPL, Zhuldys Birinseli, also owns of 25% of Channel 7.

Enukidze, however, has denied such conflict of interests. "Mrs. Birinseli is Vice-chairman as a representative of the clubs, and her role does not involve in any way the negotiation of television rights or any economic management of the assets and rights of the league. I understand the concern about those who are not familiar about the situation, but the negotiation and tender process will be done with transparency, with only the benefit of the clubs and the public as maximum priority".

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Juglander Review

Mktvartvelo: New satellite succesfully launched, Unitary State of Mktvartvelo announces

After the launch was postponed twice, the Unitary State of Mktvartvelo has announced that last night a new satellite, MKTsat, was successfully launched into space.

The MKTsat is aimed to improve communications, and to serve for civilian communication as well as national security purposes.

It becomes the first satellite launched from the Unitary State of Mktvartvelo with exclusively technology developed in Mktvartvelo.

Sports: Suuma continues to lead general classification in Kinai Tour

Despite a disappointing result at the third stage for the Juglander team, Hermenegild Suuma declared that he is satisfied after his start of the stage tour in which he will continue to lead the general classification for another day. "It has been a dreamy start for me", Suuma declared. "Yesterday, it was my best win I'd say, the kind of race than I enjoy the most".

Suuma won a second stage at the Kinai Tour yesterday with a 18-km solo attack. "As the main group was breaking apart, I felt increasingly comfortably at the descend and I even gained some considerable metres without noticing", he explained. "Then, we decided to take advantage of the situation". When main group started to organize, it was simply too late. Kimmo Peltonen, who had followed local rider Naozumi Iga's wheel in the latter late attempt to reduce the gap, left him behind as they entered in a false flat terrain shortly before the final two kilometres.

The surprising move allowed Suuma to win his second stage and increase his lead over a minute. However, AABL-Ujredi face a more disappointing result in the 18-km team time trial as they faced two mechanical problemas as well as probably the absence of their main specialist against the clock in Kinai, Mainio Salminen. Despite this, Suuma remains calm and focused. "I can only think in the next stage ", he explained with a smile. "My thoughts are not really beyond that. I will be happy to continue with my luck but I will happy to help my teammates as much as they had helped me these days if their turn comes. The important thing it is that these two wins had eased the pressure and we can ride more intelligently".

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Juglander Review

Mktvartvelo: Mixed result for education reforms in parliament

The national government education reforms faced mixed results in the National Assembly. While the Fair High Education Act, which establishes a new system of scholarships and reform of the faculty administration, was passed by a 433-155 vote, the School Autonomy Act, which would have banned tuition fees in all primary and secondary education, was rejected by a clear 177-416.

Minister of Education Gulisa Paliashvili declared to be disappointed about the result, and promised that her ministry will continue to have discussion with parliamentary groups in order to "make reality our aim to build the most advanced education system in the world". She also promised that despite the defeat, her ministry will propose to expand scholarships at the primary and secondary levels, as well as introducing free-of-charge education for children younger than seven years old.

Inga Ushkaladze, the national government spokesperson, has declared that the national government has full confidence in the person of Mrs. [Minister] Paliashvili to "deliver the required changes and reforms in the education system".

Sports: Fryda Andersen wins EMAC Time Trial

Fryda Andersen showed once again her skills against the clock by being the fastest rider in the 2024 EMAC Time Trial. The Kommuna Ladies showed her consistency and strength particularly in the last sectors of the race, as she defeated Haida Toki in a close race by only fifteen seconds.

It was the first win for Andersen this season as well as the first win by a Kommuna Ladies rider in the 2024 Mundus Cycling Cup. "I am happy to have won today. I was not too confidence at the start, to be honest", Andersen declared, "but as the kilometres advanced and they kept losing time, I knew I could do it". Andersen's teammate, Thora Bjerknes, finished fourth, same result than in the previous season.

Fryda Andersen confirmed that she will only ride in the Juglander National Championships before the start of the Tour of Ardia. "We have showed our strength as a team through these last months", Andersen declared, "even if results were not the ones we expected. We are convinced that they will arrive, hopefully in one of the most important scenarios of the season".

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Juglander Review

Mktvartvelo: Government to block streaming service merger

The Ministry of Telecommuncations and Information has decided to back the proposal from the State Commission on Markets and Competition to block the recent merger between two leading services, Tsarmoshoba Entertainment and Khval TV.

The national government argues that the merger would reduce competition in the sector, as allowing the consolidation of two of the leading streaming services, which are said to control 49% and 33% of the viewers, leading to a monopolistic scenario, stifling innovation and limiting consumer choice. The majority opinion by the State Commission on Markets and Competition has argued that the merger could potentially that the merger could potentially lead to a situation where a dominant entity could dictate terms and violate the rights of consumers through subscription fees or content restrictions, as well as reducing the chance of a thriving and diverse sector.

Tsarmoshoba Entertainment, which main shareholders are KTV and Gunia Holding, has criticized the move as "absurd and unnecessarily interventionist", arguing that giving the nature of streaming services itself, with no technological or industrial limits for the appearance of new companies and services, the argument of the need of anti-trust additional measures would be "completely bogus". A legal representative from Ujredi corporation, which owns Khval TV, has confirmed that the firm will fight this decision in the courts, and warned about "political interference" in the decision.

The national government of Mktvartvelo, however, has described those claims as "baseless".

AJK wins Jugland's 2023-2024 women's football league

AJK defeated Hiyoken United 0-2 away to win the league title two matches before the end of the league. AJK's triumph marks the end of SK Midtenstadt's four-year reign as champions and signifies an unexpected shift in the league, after a poor season by SK Midtendstadt.

In a thrilling match, AJK showed their dominance on the pitch, securing a convincing 2-0 victory over their immediate closest challengers to the title. The first goal came in the 35th minute of the match, as midfielder Nono Masako scored after a precise pass from winger Margereta Favorin. The second goal arrived in the 68th minute, after striker Elina Ahtila latched onto a perfectly delivered cross from full-back Nora Tabaam, as she rose above the defenders to powerfully head the ball into the back of the net, sealing their win and confirming their status as league champions.

It is the 13th league title for AJK, after they had won the league for last time in the 2017-2018 season. The start of their season was not too promising, as SK Midtenstadt were expected to continue their command in the domestic league with seven league titles in the last eight seasons, and AJK suffered overwhelming 6-1 defeat by SK Midtenstadt in the KSCh-NSK Cup. However, AJK showed a stronger consistency and winning mentality compared to previous seasons, beating them two weeks later in the Juglander Supercup on penalties, and showing a strong performance in the domestic league, with only two losses in twelve matches.

On the other hand, SK Midtendstadt unexpectedly endured a season marred by inconsistency and uncharacteristic setbacks, ultimately falling short in their pursuit of another league title. Despite having a talented and experienced roster and their past successes, they struggled to find their rhythm throughout the campaign, and they are currently 5th, ten points behind AJK.

In the other match of the day, EMAC Albrektberg defeated Kaeshigai FC 2-0, rising to the second place in the league, seven points behind the already league champions.