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Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Global armada primed for yacht racing's greatest epic as Fastnet turns 100
PORTSMOUTH, England - The world's largest offshore yacht race turns 100 on Saturday, with a record-breaking fleet of more than 450 yachts from 26 countries lining up in Cowes on Britain's Isle of Wight for the Rolex Fastnet Race's centenary edition. This milestone race offers a fascinating clash between sailing's fastest technology and amateur passion, with the fleet set to cover 695 nautical miles, rounding Fastnet Rock about 13 kilometres southwest of Cape Clear Island, off the southern coast of Ireland, and finishing in Cherbourg, France. At the front, four giant 32-metre Ultim trimarans capable of 50 knots — more than 90 km/h -- will set the pace, led by last year's record-holder SVR-Lazartigue and an all-star crew of Frenchman Tom Laperche, Franck Cammas and New Zealander Peter Burling. They face serious challenges from Actual Ultim 4, the in-form Maxi Banque Populaire XI, and Thomas Coville's Sodebo Ultim 3, all eager to better the benchmark time of 1 day, 8 hours, 38 minutes. The IMOCA 60 class brings its own intrigue. Double Fastnet winner Charlie Dalin is absent, opening the door for rivals like Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkea. This year, all eight IMOCAs feature female crew, and three have female skippers - an important milestone for the class. The MOCRA multihull division is also at full strength, with 20 entries and a highlight battle between the MOD70s Argo and Zoulou. But the real backbone of the Fastnet is the diverse IRC fleet, where 385 monohulls of every shape and vintage race together under a common International Rating Certificate (IRC) rating rule handicap. IRC Four, the slowest class, has nearly 100 boats - including family crews like Richard and Sophie Palmer on Jangada, and Turkey's First 35 Express, racing to inspire at home. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Opinion With Shatec cutting back operations, what's next for the hospitality sector? Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work Life Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies by drowning at 54 Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region World UK, France and 23 other nations condemn Israel over 'inhumane killing' of civilians Last year's monohull line honours - awarded to the first monohull to finish, regardless of handicap - went to MACIF IMOCA, skippered by Dalin in two days, seven hours, 16 minutes and 26 seconds. The Fastnet Challenge Cup, for the best corrected time under IRC, was claimed by Caro, a Botin 52 skippered by Max Klink. Whether chasing records, redemption, or just the satisfaction of rounding Fastnet Rock, this centenary fleet is ready to add another chapter to the history of offshore racing when the cannon fires in Cowes. REUTERS
Indian Express
a day ago
- General
- Indian Express
‘Effectively monitor bridges & govt buildings, ensure they are built as per approved designs': Surat district in-charge secretary to officials
There should be an effective monitoring of government buildings, bridges and other structures, and it must be ensured that they are built according to the approved designs, Surat district in-charge secretary Rajiv Topno said during a review meeting with officials of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the district administration on Monday. Surat has the highest number of bridges – 121 – in the state. In the meeting, officials shared detailed information with Topno on the current status and conditions of public service buildings or government office buildings, schools and colleges, Anganwadis, and bridges in Surat city and district. During the meeting, the incharge secretary said, 'During the construction of any bridge or government building, it is necessary to effectively monitor that the construction is done as per the approved design. The officials should ensure that the inspection and monitoring of the bridges are done as per the prescribed IRC code.' IRC or the Indian Roads Congress is considered the apex body of highway engineers in the country. Topno also emphasised that officials should supervise the surface design of the highway bridges as well as Railway bridges. There should be timely checks of footover bridges at Railway stations, and a third-party agency should conduct inspections, he said. The meeting was attended by Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal along with officials from the Bridge department, Surat District Development Officer Shivani Goyal and her team, and officials from the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department, among others. Commissioner Agrawal shared a presentation on the 121 bridges along with their health card reports. She also informed the incharge secretary that the bridges are repaired periodically under the 'Bridge Rehabilitation Scheme', adding that no bridges are in a dilapidated state at present. At the district level, the officials informed Topno that inspection of bridges that come under the R&B Department, District Panchayat, Surat Canal Department, Kakrapar-Jamna Kantha (Kakrapar Right bank canal) and Ukai Daba Kantha (Ukai left bank canal) has been completed. The officials said that 25 bridges under National Highway-53 and four bridges that come under National Highway-48 have been inspected recently. Besides, seven bridges coming under Gujarat Metro, 18 under Gujarat State Road Development Corporation, seven under Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) and 45 under the Railway Department, among others, have also been inspected. The condition of government offices, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, college buildings, city and district government schools, Anganwadi centres, roads and buildings, SMIMER-Civil Hospital and District Health Department buildings were also reviewed during the meeting. Surat District Development Officer Goyal said, 'SMC officials, R&B department officials, district development officials and others had shared their reports about the condition of the bridges and government buildings in the meeting with the Surat district in-charge secretary. He laid emphasis on monitoring of government buildings and bridges and ensuring that it is done as per the approved design.'
Bangkok Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Group seeks legal work for refugees
A civil society network on Thursday urged a parliamentary committee to allow Myanmar refugees housed in temporary shelters here to work legally, as international humanitarian aid for them threatens to dry up soon. Poh Toh Ki, the network's representative, submitted a petition to opposition People's Party (PP) MP Rangsiman Rome, who also serves as chairman of the House Committee on National Security. Ms Poh said while many refugees have been able to settle elsewhere, at least 100,000 are now residing in nine shelters along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Continuing to operate those shelters will be challenging, she noted, as United States President Donald Trump has suspended funding for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as well as humanitarian aid for refugees at every level. Since most of the remaining refugees were born and raised in Thailand, the network demanded Parliament recognise them as legal workers before humanitarian aid stops. According to news website Transborder News, two major humanitarian organisations — the Border Consortium (TBC) and the IRC — will halt key aid services by the end of this month due to a lack of donor support. The network's proposals noted that refugees should be allowed to travel to work within a short distance of their shelters without having to go through a complicated process. It recommended that Thai language courses be offered immediately in the camps and outlined a process by which refugees could apply for jobs. 'Refugees can become valuable human resources for the economy if they are granted access to basic rights,' said Ms Poh. The House committee met on Thursday to discuss the potential impact of the halted aid on refugees along the Thailand-Myanmar border. The meeting was attended by representatives from the National Security Council (NSC) and permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour. Representatives from the NSC said the office would ask other ministries to allocate budgets for necessities like food, drinking water and gas, starting from the end of this month.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Program that gave Inuvialuit families $500/month for groceries ending
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) is permanently ending its food subsidy program in August. The program, which began in January, provides $500 per child, every month to families who live in one of the Inuvialuit region's six hamlets and who have school-aged children. The money can only be spent on groceries at select stores in the area. The IRC announced in July that the grocery supplement would end, saying in a news release that the corporation "will no longer have access to funding." It encouraged families to begin planning ahead for the school year, when the subsidy will no longer be available. The supplement is part of the corporation's school foods program which also provides students in the region breakfast and lunch on weekdays. CBC News contacted the IRC but it declined to comment. For some families in living in the N.W.T.'s more remote hamlets, the program has provided necessary support amid challenges with food security. Lynn Archiekasook, in Tuktoyaktuk, said the grocery subsidy program has helped take "a lot of worries" off of her family's shoulders. Archiekasook has lived in Tuktoyaktuk all her life. She has five children, aged eight to 21, and she receives $1,500 each month through the grocery supplement. She said high food prices in her community mean that only a week after receiving this month's food credit, all the money had been spent. Now her family has been slowly moving toward other methods of gathering food, and changing their diet to eat more things like caribou and geese. Once the grocery supplement is gone her family will continue to rely more on traditional ways of gathering food, like hunting and fishing, she said. With no official food bank in her hamlet, Archiekasook said the end of the grocery program will be a heavy loss for many in her community. In Ulukhaktok, where the cost of living is similarly high, many residents are also concerned. "It's so incredibly hard to get by," said Pat Klengenberg, the mayor of Ulukhaktok. "This program has probably been the best program available to our community." While the supplement can only be used for buying food, Klengenberg said it has ultimately helped families prepare for the future in other ways. "When a program like this is put in place, it really helps out the whole family," Klengenberg said. "Not just with food within the household, but also overall with keeping up with bills and being able to get ahead instead of barely getting by or falling behind in bills." Klengenberg said the hamlet will begin to look at alternative ways to provide community members with food. He suggested a possible collaboration with the hamlet's hunters and trappers committee, which could provide community members with locally-sourced meat, or ordering a lot of dry food on the barge to store in the community. "If everyone works together, the best outcome could be providing more food for our kids," Klengenberg said.
The National
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
UN conference for two-state solution rescheduled for end of July
Gaza water system has 'broken down' as Israel continues to deny fuel entry, IRC says Infant who had just uttered first words among dozens killed in Israeli strikes Lebanese President says no normalisation with Israel for now Nearly 800 aid-related deaths in Gaza since late May, UN says At least 57,762 Palestinians killed and 137,656 wounded since Gaza war began
