Latest news with #434
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New Straits Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
MARKET PULSE PM MAY 2, 2025 [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: News on the latest moves on the stock and crypto markets. Bursa Malaysia closed on a positive note Friday, buoyed by the return of foreign investors and continued upward momentum, with key counters such as Sunway and IHH Healthcare lifting the index. The benchmark index edged up by two points to settle at the 1,542 level. Reach Ten remained the most actively traded stock, ending at 54 sen, up from its opening of 52 sen, with 133 million shares traded. Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar, ending the day at 4.2700. In the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin traded at RM416,434, while Ethereum dipped to RM7,852. That's it for Market Pulse.
Hans India
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
1983 WC winner, PGTI chief Kapil Dev meets UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow
Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) chief and 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence here in Lucknow on Friday. CM Yogi took to X to share a glimpse of the meeting and wrote, "Renowned cricketer and captain of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, Kapil Dev paid a courtesy visit to the official residence in Lucknow today." Kapil Dev, who had a distinguished cricket career, represented India from 1978 to 1994. Known as one of the greatest all-rounders, he played 131 Tests, scoring 12,867 runs and taking 434 wickets. In 225 ODIs, he scored 6,945 runs and claimed 253 scalps and also led India to its first World Cup win in 1983. After he retired from cricket, Kapil Dev worked in various capacities - as a coach, commentator and chancellor of the Sports University of Haryana in 2019. He also had a brief stint as India's coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000. In June 2024, Kapil Dev took over as president of PGTI from Srinivasan H R. He was elected unanimously for the position. The former cricketer, who has also excelled as an amateur golfer, has been the vice president and a member of the governing body of PGTI for three years (2021 to 2023) before being elected as PGTI chief. One of his notable contributions as a board member was the introduction of the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational tournament at the DLF Golf and Country Club. Over the past few years, Kapil's fame and passion for the sport earned him invitations to major events like the Dunhill Links, where he played alongside other global celebrities. In March this year, PGTI and Adani Group launched 'Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025. The inaugural tournament, offering a Rs 1.5 crore prize pool, successfully took place at Jaypee Greens Golf Spa Resort, Greater Noida, from April 1-4, marking PGTI's return to the venue after 11 years.
Daily Tribune
07-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
MP inquires into idle Waqf buildings amid rental boom
Rental income from Sunni Waqf properties rose by 23 per cent last year to BD5.4 million, according to the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf, which has been pressed in Parliament to explain its handling of idle buildings, unpaid rent and slow repairs. The response followed a formal question from MP Mohammed Al Rifaai, who asked for figures on vacant sites, revenue collected, leases in effect, maintenance requests and arrears. His queries focused on properties overseen by the Sunni Waqf Directorate. According to the Ministry, the Directorate manages 465 Waqf properties, including 158 plots. Figure Around 15 per cent are not in use at present. That figure changes from time to time, depending on the type of property and demand in the market. Some land remains undeveloped while awaiting planning decisions. The Ministry said income from leases reached BD5,434,368 in 2024. The rise was put down to firmer oversight and new plans for investment. Rent can now be paid through the BenefitPay app, by cheque or using a payment machine installed inside the Directorate's office. Electronic routes A deal with the SADAD service was struck to open further electronic routes. Where tenants have fallen behind, the Directorate has attempted to settle matters without court action. In some cases, terms were agreed. In others, legal action was taken and rulings issued in favour of the Directorate. Several tenants signed formal agreements to repay what was owed. The Ministry said lease contracts do not expire without action. If both sides agree, the term is renewed. Rent may be revised, depending on the state of the unit, market conditions and the tenant's means. In terms of repairs, the Directorate received 2,768 maintenance requests in 2023 and 2024. It said 2,655 were dealt with, and the remainder are either being handled or waiting for funds. Properties were grouped by the scale of work needed, and repairs were planned in line with that. Where possible, the Directorate has given tenants grace periods in their rent agreements to keep units occupied while work is under way. The Ministry said most evictions were not linked to poor upkeep, but rather to changes in demand or mismatches between rents and market levels. A financial guidebook was drawn up to govern how rent is handled, how buildings are let and how upkeep is managed. Islamic law The Ministry said all of this is done within the bounds of Islamic law and the terms set by donors. It added that the 1985 decree still forms the legal basis for its role. This places both Sunni and Jaafari Waqf councils under the Ministry's watch while allowing each one to run its own properties.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Newly-approved state study aims to codify Virginia's coastal resilience funding
Flooding in Norfolk in 2022. (Photo by Jim Morrison for the Virginia Mercury) For months, Norfolk City Manager Pat Roberts has been warning that Norfolk needs state help funding its $2.66 billion storm risk plan or it will not move forward. Norfolk's partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires a local share of $931 million over 10 years for nearly nine miles of floodwalls, natural solutions like grasses and oyster reefs, and raising houses to protect against billions in damages from a major storm. Norfolk officials signal changes are necessary for floodwall to move forward So far, the state has contributed nearly $50 million over two years to the project, half the annual amount sought by the city. There is no money for it in the state's 2026 budget. Federal funding rules require localities to pay 35% of such projects. Meanwhile, feasibility studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving forward for Hampton and Newport News, Northern Virginia, and Virginia Beach, where a draft plan recently has been shared with the public and the price tag is expected to dwarf the Norfolk cost. But the commonwealth has no plan for what projects to fund and how. Now, one is in the works. Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, and Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, successfully shepherded House Bill HJ 434, through the General Assembly. The measure, which did not need Gov. Glenn Youngkin's approval, authorizes a three-year study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to create a methodology and criteria for state contributions to the local share of federal coastal storm risk management projects like the one approved by Norfolk and in the pipeline elsewhere. The idea is to give local governments some certainty as they consider the multibillion-dollar partnerships with the U.S. Army Corps. 'I don't want to say there's no rhyme or reason, but there's certainly not a structure that everyone has sort of agreed upon, and that really is the genesis of this kind of analysis,' Hernandez said. 'Knowing that you are going to get a dedicated revenue stream for a certain number of years to help you get across the finish line is tremendously valuable and gives you confidence to move forward at the local level.' Hernandez said the study will look at the best practices in other states. For Norfolk, which is further along than other cities because it's signed a partnership agreement with the Army Corps, the study is a lifeline. 'Under the status quo, we really don't have any place to go as a local government to help us with the resources that we need,' said Bryan Pennington, Norfolk's director of government relations. 'We hope that they will be able to expedite the conclusions of the study because right now all Virginia local governments are effectively at a competitive disadvantage with all other local governments across the United States because we haven't clearly articulated what the state's role is on these federally-funded flood mitigation projects.' A state policy and fund dedicated to the projects gives localities confidence as their capital improvement budgets evolve to include infrastructure storm risk projects requiring hundreds of millions of dollars. 'Where is this money going to come from?' said Mary-Carson Stiff, executive director of Wetlands Watch, a nonprofit based in Norfolk. 'If we don't have a reality check on what future-proofing Virginia's communities from big storms is going to cost us, then we can't do the appropriate budget planning that's necessary to set us up for success in Virginia. 'Once the analysis is completed, our communities will have a better picture of what resources the state is willing to expend to support local projects, and that will then help local governments make difficult decisions about whether to move forward or not, and if they decide to move forward, where will the additional resources come from?' she added. Will cities pass bond referendums? Will they enact additional taxes or fees to fill the gap? 'These are the types of conversations that our local governments need to be having with their leadership to see if they can afford these types of projects, and then they also need to be having them with the community members if they are going to request that community members pay a share for the protection that the project will provide,' she added. 'The reality is that the future will require taxpayers to start paying for these projects if they want to stay living in a high-risk place that's protected from big storms.' Pennington noted that Norfolk unsuccessfully requested $50 million this session to cover half of its local share. 'We do not have sufficient revenue authorities to raise the funds that are required to unlock this $2.6 billion project,' he said. 'Yet we proceed, and we go every single year, asking to the best of our abilities for a reasonable appropriation from the General Assembly because we simply have nowhere else to go.' Hernandez anticipates there will be ongoing discussions about the funding policy for storm risk plans before the study's conclusion. The Norfolk project is moving toward the beginning of construction, and the Virginia Beach project is approaching the conclusion of the feasibility study. 'We're going to have to think critically with the next governor's administration to try and work toward that policy, even if we refine it in the coming years because 2028 (when the study is due) is too far out to do nothing,' he said. 'These projects are moving forward. We cannot stall out. I don't want Norfolk to be in a spot where we're first in line right now and don't figure it out and are not supporting the project and that makes it go sideways.' The bill requires JLARC to not only examine what other states are doing, but prioritize projects with nature-based approaches and address socioeconomic inequities. Those issues have surfaced in Norfolk, where the storm risk plan is the largest infrastructure project in Norfolk's history. Of the threatened waterfront cities in the U.S., Norfolk is ahead with plans to combat rising waters. The City Council approved a partnership agreement with the Army Corps in 2023, passing an additional resolution promising to seek half its share from the state. Residents of the city's lower-income, largely Black Southside, last year challenged the failure to provide them with floodwalls, noting their home values have been depressed by historical redlining. Critics have long said the benefit-cost analysis used by the Corps values property over people and grey infrastructure over green solutions to the detriment of disadvantaged communities and the environment. A year later, residents of a wealthier neighborhood on the other side of the Elizabeth River raised the opposite objection. They saw concrete walls rising 11 feet or more through their historic neighborhood as a threat to their enjoyment of the waterfront and lowering their property values. Stiff notes the focus on nature-based solutions and inequities mirrors recent changes in Army Corps policies promoting green solutions and considering social vulnerability, not just property values, when determining whether the benefit-cost analysis of a project justifies more expensive flood protection measures like concrete floodwalls. It's unclear whether those focuses will continue under the Trump administration. The JLARC requirements, Stiff said, are a reminder that resilience doesn't encompass only protection from a major storm, but from the day-to-day disruptions of tidal flooding and rain bombs created by the climate crisis. 'There are alternative ways to protect that may be more agreeable to the public and/or may provide multiple benefits,' she added. 'We're so laser-focused on the protection against big storms, but we forget that we have to be the ones to live with the project once it's completed, and if the project is only there for the big one and it doesn't do anything else for us as a community, then it's a short-sighted or lost opportunity investment.' The costs for projects like Norfolk's plan likely will rise, Hernandez acknowledged, and so will any potential state contribution. Without the project, the 2019 Corps plan estimated that all but a sliver of the city's interior would be at risk for flooding from a major storm by 2075. With the project, the feasibility study says Norfolk will reap annual net benefits of $122 million from reduced damage to businesses, homes, and critical infrastructure, including healthcare facilities. 'There's an economic cost to inaction as well, and that's the other part people need to remember,' Hernandez said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Channel Islands RNLI helped saved five lives in 2024
RNLI lifeguards and lifeboats in the Channel Islands helped nearly 600 people last year, saving five lives, according to the said lifeboats across Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney launched 103 times in 2024, helping 155 people and saving three on Jersey beaches responded to 332 incidents, helping 434 people and saving two lives, the charity White, lifeguard supervisor in Jersey, said good weather over the Easter period would be "welcome" but water users should remember the sea was "usually at its coldest at this time of the year, which increases the risk of cold water shock". The RNLI released its 2024 figures ahead of what is expected to be a "busy Easter break".Mr White said Le Braye and St Ouen in Jersey had a lifeguard service operating from 10:00 BST to 18:00 BST over lifeguards patrol six beaches in Jersey during the summer charity's lifeboats operate year-round out of St Peter Port in Guernsey, Braye Bay in Alderney, and St Catherine and St Helier in 2023 the islands' lifeboat crews launched 117 times and helped 193 people, saving one life. Meanwhile RNLI lifeguards in Jersey dealt with 272 incidents in 2023 and helped 369 people. There were no life-threatening incidents. 'Float to live' The RNLI said people using the sea should follow this safety advice:Check your vessel or equipmentWear a lifejacket and have a means of calling for helpVisit a lifeguarded beach and swim between the flagsCheck the weather forecast, tide times and read local hazard signage to understand local risksKeep a close eye on your family, on the beach and in the water, and do not allow your family to swim alone"Float to live" if you fall into the water unexpectedly by fighting your instinct to thrash around, lean back, extend your arms and legs and floatIn an emergency dial 999 and ask for the coastguard
