Klity residents win Bt36m in decade-long fight over mine

national September 12, 2017 01:00

By SUPOJ KAEWKASEE,
PUMIPONG JONGSAKUN,
YOSSARAN SUPHAN
THE NATION

MORE THAN 150 people living near a now-deserted mine in Kanchanaburi province have won a decade-long battle against the mining firm.

The Supreme Court’s Environmental Division yesterday upheld the verdict in favour of the 151 plaintiffs suing Lead Concentrates (Thailand) Co for violating environmental laws.

Due to the violations, the environment near Klity Village was polluted, causing harm to local residents.

“The firm is ordered to pay Bt36.05 million in compensation to the plaintiffs. The annual interest rate of 7.5 per cent applies from the date this lawsuit was filed with the court,” said Surapong Kongchantuk, of the Lawyers Council of Thailand. “The court also requires the firm to rehabilitate the polluted Klity Creek.”

The lawsuit was filed with the court on October 19, 2007, after residents living near the creek saw clear adverse impacts from the mining operations that started in their hometown in 1967.

Initially, residents demanded Bt1 billion in compensation. However, they said they were content with the court’s ruling.

“What we care most about is the rehabilitation of the Klity Creek,” Yaser Nasuansuwan said.

Pinan Chotirosseranee, who heads a Kanchanaburi women’s group, said she was happy after hearing the verdict.

“We have been fighting against the pollution by the firm alongside residents for 19 years already. We hope the court ruling today will set a precedent in other pollution cases,” she said.

Surapong, who confirmed the Klity villagers had won all of their court cases, said: “Last year, eight local people won their case at the Supreme Court, winning Bt20 million in compensation.”

He added that four years ago the Supreme Administrative Court had also ruled in favour of Klity villagers and ordered the mine to pay Bt4-million compensation to residents who could not use water from Klity Creek.

“The Supreme Administrative Court has also ordered the firm to restore the creek to its original, unpolluted state. But to date, rehabilitation at the creek has not yet started because the Pollution Control Department has still not approved the rehabilitation plan,” Surapong said. He added that if the rehabilitation work did not start in the near future, he would talk to local people about the next step.

 

Source  :  Nation Multimedia

Mosul governmental buildings under Iraqi army’s control

Nineveh/ Iraq TradeLink: Security reports from Mosul city said that the Iraqi forces retrieved the

governmental complex in the city, which is regarded the last headquarter for Da’ish (ISIS) organization.

The storm into the complex was done last night which resulted in killing tens of Da’ish gunmen.

On the other hand, local reports said that orders were issued to Da’ish gunmen to “immediately” withdraw to the Syrian Riqa city.

The orders included evacuating and burning all Da’ish centers.

Da’ish organization lost all its defence fortifications on the right side of Mosul city, as reported.

Source  :  iraqtradelinknews.com

Iraqi 2018 national budget under final preparations, advisor

Baghdad/ Iraq TradeLink: Iraqi Premier’s Economic Advisor Mudh’hir Mohammed Saleh disclosed

that the 2018 national budget is under the final preparations and will be submitted to the Cabinet by the next month, according to constitutional schedules.

He added that the Iraqi government is discussing with the International Monetary Fund matters related to enhancing the budget financially, reducing expenditures and increasing revenues.

Saleh stressed that the budget is stressing to increase non-oil revenues, increasing work opportunities to the private sector and encouraging youth’s projects with simplified loans.

 

Source  :  iraqtradelinknews.com

Re-pricing Iraqi oil is a “disaster”, Kuwaiti newspaper

Kuwait/ Iraq TradeLink: Kuwaiti Al-Rai daily attacked the Iraqi decision to re-pricing its oil for Asia,

describing it as “reckless and un-studied move”.

The paper expected that a “crisis” will occur between Iraq and its Asian clients.

It added that the Iraqi move was “unexpected to the market”, pointing that many losses will occur in the market.

 

Source  :  iraqtradelinknews.com

 

Thick fog engulfs parts of UAE, humidity to touch 90%

Web Report

Filed on September 11, 2017

The temperature in the day will hover around 46°C

The morning started on a foggy note as thick fog engulfed parts of UAE this morning.

The weather department shared notification about fog over Al Maktoum International airportm Al Minhad among other places.

For today’s weather update, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said the day will be hot in general and partly cloudy, hazy at times.

Clouds will form over some eastern areas, becoming convective at times during afternoon and might associate with rainfall, it said.

Light to moderate winds in general, freshening at times during afternoon. This may cause blowing dust over some exposed areas.

The relative humidity is likely to increase during night and early morning over some coastal and internal areas, with a chance of fog/mist formation.

The temperature in the internal areas could hover between 42°C to 46°C during the day. Humidity levels could be as high as 90 per cent.

Sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and Oman sea.

 

Source  :  Khaleej Times

UAE royals visit Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island

Wam/Abu Dhabi

Filed on September 12, 2017 | Last updated on September 12, 2017 at 12.04 am

They viewed the museum’s art installations in preparation for its official opening on November 11, 2017.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island on Monday, where they viewed the museum’s art installations in preparation for its official opening on November 11, 2017.

A first of its kind in the Middle East region, with a selection of works that are of a cultural and artistic significance spanning various historical periods and human civilisations, the Louvre Abu Dhabi embodies the spirit of tolerance and intercultural dialogue, while celebrating the region’s multicultural heritage.

To date, the museum has acquired more than 620 works of art, including important artworks on loan from 13 leading museums in France within the walls of the architectural masterpiece designed as an homage to the Arab city.

Their Highnesses were received by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, and Tourism Development and Investment Company, TDIC, and Saif Saeed Ghabash, Director-General of TCA Abu Dhabi, along with a number of officials.

During the tour, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed were briefed on a number of art works, including an ancient statue of the Sphinx dating back to the 6th century BC, funerary practices of ancient Egypt illustrated by a set sarcophagi of Princess Henuttawy, the ‘Bonifilius’ basin from Northern Italy dating between the late twelfth-early thirteenth century, 13 fragments of a frieze detailing Surah al-hashr from the Holy Quran, and the bust of Alexander the Great on loan from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Their Highnesses were also acquainted with Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first site-specific works, installed in the outdoor areas by renowned contemporary artists, including American artist Jenny Holzer (1950 -) who created three engraved stone walls named ‘For Louvre Abu Dhabi’, 2017. These cite important historical texts from Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah, the Mesopotamian bilingual (Akkadian / Sumerian) Creation Myth tablet, and the 1588 annotated edition of Michel de Montaigne’s Les Essais.

Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by the Pritzker Prize winning French architect, Jean Nouvel, who envisioned a museum city, or Arab medina, under a vast silvery dome. Visitors will be able to walk along promenades overlooking the sea beneath the museum’s 180-metre dome, comprised of almost 8,000 unique metal stars set in a complex geometric pattern. When sunlight filters through, it creates a moving ‘rain of light’ beneath the dome, reminiscent of the overlapping palm trees in the UAE’s oases.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi will showcase its own art collection and other works of art on loan from one of France’s oldest museums. These span the entirety of human existence from prehistorical objects to commissioned contemporary artworks, highlighting universal themes and ideas and marking a departure from traditional museography that often categorises according to origin. In addition to the galleries, the museum will include exhibitions, a children’s museum, a restaurant, a boutique and a cafe.

The museum was built in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement signed between the UAE and France in 2007, that includes the loan of the Musee du Louvre’s name for 30 years and 6 months, temporary exhibitions for 15 years, and loans of artworks for 10 years.

 

Source  :  Khaleej Times

Emirati woman sells handmade toys to save her cat

Sherouk Zakaria/Dubai

Filed on September 11, 2017 | Last updated on September 11, 2017 at 11.09 pm

Medical bills piled up to Dh5,000, and another surgery for the six-year-old cat cost an additional Dh3,600.

The toys cost anywhere between Dh30 to Dh200

An Emirati woman is selling handmade cat-shaped crochet items to help raise funds to get her pet discharged from a veterinary clinic. Fatma Sawas’ cat, BigHead, was diagnosed with fatty liver three weeks ago and had to undergo surgery to place a feeding tube, before being hospitalised for a week at Modern Veterinary Clinic.

Medical bills piled up to Dh5,000, and another surgery for the six-year-old cat cost an additional Dh3,600.

“BigHead removed the tube on her own. Through x-rays and ultrasound, vets found a strange object in her stomach, which required another surgery last Wednesday,” said Sawas, who owns seven other rescued cats.

Currently unemployed, the 24-year-old needs over Dh4,500 to be able to take her cat back home. The bill keeps piling up with every day of the cat’s stay at the clinic.

To clear the bills, Sawas is selling her handmade cat-shaped crochet designs and toys. The toys cost anywhere between Dh30 to Dh200. So far, she said, she has made just Dh500.

“BigHead is my rescue and has been with me for six years now. She is like my baby and a part of my family. I will do all I can to help and make sure she is healthy again,” said Sawas.

The Emirati started her crochet work about two years ago, designing different items for babies including blankets, cocoons, hats, shoes and crochet mug holders. “I also make customised items based on people’s requests,” said Sawas.

She noted that she fosters cats whenever she can since she has good housing space.
“We are in a world that’s focused on humans and we forget about animal welfare. As humans, we are supposed to care about other animals as they are part of our society and life,” said Sawas, noting that such small gestures make a big difference.

 

Source  :  Khaleej Times

Australian housing market built on $500 billion of ‘liar loans’: UBS

Half a trillion dollars’ worth of “liar loans” are propping up the Australian banking sector, new research from UBS suggests – a powder keg in an economy where interest rates are expected to soon rise from record lows.

About one-third of Australians were not completely truthful on their home loan application over the past 12 months, marking a significant increase on the previous year, according to a 907-person survey, which UBS presents with a 95 per cent confidence level.

UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott said 26 years of unbroken GDP growth had led to “a large level of complacency within the economy” and that “more needs to be done” by banks to address the problem.

The UBS survey showed an increase in factually inaccurate loan approvals. Photo: UBS

The banking analysts also took a shot at, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), saying tighter policy aimed at stabilising capital city housing markets is having little on-the-ground effect.

“Many mortgagors have overstated their income and assets, while others have understated their living expenses and liabilities,” Mr Mott said.

“Many mortgagors have overstated their income and assets, while others have understated their living expenses and liabilities.”UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott

“In the event that household income growth remains subdued or interest rates continue to rise (via the RBA or bank mortgage repricing) this is likely to place pressure on many households. While this could be offset by reduced spending by leveraged customers this would have a broader economic impact.”

UBS suggested that $500 billion worth of mortgages may be based on factually inaccurate. Source: ABS as at 31 July, UBS Evidence Lab, UBS estimates. Photo: UBS

Meanwhile 46 per cent of respondents said it was easier to get a mortgage approved this year than in previous years, compared with just 17 per cent saying it is harder – figures that bring the work of APRA into question.

“When asked about the amount of supporting documentation/verification required participants stated there has been no increase, also consistent across brokers, banks and level of factual accuracy,” Mr Mott said.

“Despite recent macroprudential policies, the findings of this survey and the fact that mortgage approvals remain at record levels implies that there is little evidence mortgage underwriting standards have been tightened through the eyes of the consumer.”

With national household debt sitting at record highs and income growth continuing to crawl, a lack of clarity on mortgage strength could throw severe concerns over Australia’s red-hot housing market.

The research is made considerably more troubling following statements made by the Reserve Bank of Australia in April that as many as one-third of Australian borrowers have little or no financial buffer against higher interest rates, and that most economists now believe the next from the RBA will be up rather than down.

Meanwhile the gap between the official RBA cash rate and real mortgage rates has doubled in the past decade and is the widest it has been since 1994.

ANZ is named as the bank with the worst record, according to the survey, which showed just 55 per cent of respondents with a mortgage from the bank were completely accurate, which compares with the industry’s official 99 per cent confidence level.

The ANZ figure compares with 66 per cent in the 2016 report and sits below the 62 per cent result from the survey’s NAB respondents.

An ANZ spokesperson told Domain the 907-person UBS survey was “extremely limited” given ANZ has more than one million home loans and that the bank has processes in place designed to asses home loans “conservatively”.

However, the bank did say the survey reinforces the need for the introduction of Comprehensive Credit Reporting, which ANZ “strongly supports”.

APRA chairman Wayne Byres hit out against banks on Friday, saying financial giants should “talk about problems and what you’re doing in response to them, rather than hoping no one finds out”.

“If you think about many of the issues that now are generating headlines and public debate, many of them happened three or four years ago. No one revealed them,” Mr Byres said.

 

Source :  All Homes

Lucky Canberra shopper wakes up millionaire in Monday night’s Lotto

SEPTEMBER 12 2017 – 11:19AM

Han Nguyen

A lucky Canberran has woken up a millionaire this morning after winning Monday night’s Lotto draw.

The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, held one of four division one winning entries across Australia in Monday and Wednesday’s Lotto draw, each taking home a guaranteed $1 million.

Lucky Canberra shopper wakes up millionaire in Monday night’s Lotto Photo: Supplied

The winning ticket was purchased at Jamison Centre News, Macquarie. Owner Graham Donovan was overjoyed when he heard he had a winner.

“I was shocked when I first heard the news. The best part is knowing that one of our customers has become an overnight millionaire,” Mr Donovan said.

It’s the second time in 10 days a division one win has happened in the ACT.

 A group syndicate saw 10 ACT and NSW residents win a total prize of $1.717 million in Saturday Lotto’s $20 Million Superdraw.

Remarkably, Jamison Centre News sold a share in that division one winning syndicate.

“It’s very interesting, considering it’s two in the space of two weeks it’s great. We need more of it,” he said.

“They say these things come in threes, so hopefully there’s another win on its way.”

It is unknown what the winner will do with their winnings, but with more than $1 million under their belt, they could line one million $1 coins side-by-side around Canberra’s Capital Hill more than eight times.

 

Source  :  The Canberra Times

Korean Air first operator of Boeing 747-8I to Australia

Korean Air has become the first airline to operate the latest passenger variant of Boeing’s evergreen 747 to Australia.

The Skyteam alliance member’s Boeing 747-8I HL7642 touched down at Sydney Airport in the early hours of Saturday morning as KE121 from Seoul Incheon.

The aircraft was on the ground for about one hour and 40 minutes before taking off as the reciprocal KE122.

While Cathay Pacific has used the 747-8F freighter to Australia for a number of years, including to Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport, Korean Air is the first airline to operate the 747-8I to Australia.

The only other 747-8I flights to Oceania have been occasional Korean Air flights between Seoul Incheon and Auckland and Air China services between Beijing and Auckland.

In addition to the 747-8I now on the route, Korean Air has also previously used Airbus A330s and A380s for its Sydney service, depending on the time of year.

Korean Air is one of just three airlines flying the 747-8I passenger variant alongside Air China and Lufthansa, while there are 10 operators of the 747-8F freighter.

The Boeing website shows the 747-8 program has garnered 133 orders, comprising 88 -8F freighters and 45 -8I passenger aircraft. Of those 115 aircraft have been delivered, with 18 orders (17 freighters and one passenger variant) outstanding.

In July, Boeing said it was “reasonably possible” the company could end production of the 747 should new orders not materialise.

Further, the production rate of the iconic aircraft was being cut to six frames a year beginning in September.

 

Source  :  Australian Aviation