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West Australian
5 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
What the State Budget means for the Pilbara
The Pilbara has once again been heralded as the 'powerhouse' of WA, with the 2025-26 State Budget outlining investments in health, housing, education and economic infrastructure for the region. Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson addressed a crowd at the KDCCI and Pilbara Development Commission State Budget Breakfast, breaking down the State Government's key Pilbara priorities. In healthcare, the State Budget outlined $1 million for an eight-bed Karratha Renal Dialysis Facility and Hostel and $18.5m to increase the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) fuel subsidy from 26c per kilometre to 40c per kilometre. Also allocated is $55m to the Tom Price and Paraburdoo hospital redevelopment projects. 'I'm very pleased to say that Paraburdoo is out for tender, and the Tom Price tender has been awarded,'Ms Sanderson said. 'The tenderer is finalising with the local government on some of the resilience required, particularly around extreme weather events, and they'll be getting on with that construction. 'One of the things that we did with the Tom Price tender is we tendered it as a region; all of the government projects, including schools, hospitals, police stations. 'So rather than just going project by project, we actually tendered as a region, and that has made those projects viable. Without the work that this government has done, these projects would not be getting off the ground.' Pilbara housing was another hot ticket item, with $43.2m allocated to the Mulataga housing development in Karratha, $13.7m for regional staff accommodation costs to attract and retain staff (mainly across the North West) and $103.8m to double Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH). Cost of living support for Pilbara residents was also outlined; including $250 for every secondary student and $150 for every primary and kindergarten student, a $100 top up for regional pensioner travel card holders, $337m towards the WA Residential Battery Scheme and $3.5 billion over the next four years to keep regional water and power prices in line with metropolitan prices. The Regional Airfare Zone Cap Scheme will continue, caping airfares at $299 one way for Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman and Paraburdoo residents travelling to Perth. The education sector will also have a share, with a handful of Pilbara primary and high schools receiving a boost along with a stake in the School Breakfast Program to provide free breakfasts five days a week. Around $277m per annum will be invested to deliver Vocational Education and Training, career and employment advice, and TAFE support services across regional WA. Funding will also be allocated to regional roads, with $250m over five years to expand the Regional Road Safety Program to local roads across the State, however, Ms Sanderson did not specify which Pilbara roads would see an upgrade. 'Main Roads will work with the local governments across the Pilbara to identify the pipeline of work over the next four years, and how we prioritise that,' she said. $35 million has been allocated to progress road works at the Utah Point Bulk Handling Facility in Port Hedland and an additional $20.6m for the Onslow Seawater Desalination Plant. The State Government is also upping the ante for regional police and security with more than $480m per annum for regional WA Police, including 123 police stations and around 1900 police officers and staff. $2.3m has been allocated for additional CCTV across the State to help combat antisocial behaviour including additional cameras in Karratha, Newman, Port Hedland, South Hedland, Roebourne and Wickham. $11.5m has also been put aside to expand the Safe at Home program that supports victim-survivors of family and domestic violence, including expanding the service to Karratha. Clean energy investments are on the table, with $1.6 million towards the Pilbara Energy Transition Plan. Pilbara sporting and recreation groups haven't been forgotten, with $22.5m towards the construction of a new aquatic facility in South Hedland, $100,000 for the Norwest Jockey Club for key infrastructure upgrades and $7.5m for the Newman Youth and Community Hub. 'We want the Pilbara to be a vibrant region in which to live, work and raise a family,' Ms Sanderson said. 'At the same time, we are investing in major infrastructure projects including common-user transmission infrastructure as part of the Pilbara Energy Transition Plan that will unlock the region's clean energy potential, help major proponents to decarbonise, and generate benefits for the entire Pilbara community.' For the full State Budget outline, visit:
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and Regional officials. "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Iran has said it is targeting military and defense-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said. The role of the United States, meanwhile, remained uncertain. In Washington, Mr Lammy met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal. Mr Witkoff has spoken with Mr Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Mr Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Mr Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Mr Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they're unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Burns Harbor receives a lone bid for land it owns and hopes to be developed
Burns Harbor hopes to sell land it owns off Ind. 149 so it can be developed, two years after a developer withdrew from a $32 million project in partnership with the town. The Redevelopment Commission on Wednesday opened a bid from one company to buy 25 acres the town owns at Haglund Road and Ind. 149. The property is located across the road from the current Town Hall. Sloane Avenue Group and Redstone Group of Grand Rapids, Michigan, proposed to pay $25,000 for the land and to assume all costs of infrastructure, engineering, soil analysis and potential wetland mitigation. It was the only company that responded to the town's Request for Offer (RFO). Commission members didn't discuss the proposal because they wanted time to review and evaluate it. The proposal will also be reviewed by the town's consultant, Tina Rongers, and Town Attorney Clay Patton. A decision may be announced at the Redevelopment Commission's July 11 meeting. Councilwoman Roseann Bozak, who is the commission president, wouldn't release a copy of the proposal, citing that it hasn't been reviewed yet by the legal counsel. Bozak said they are looking for a mix of residential and commercial on the land, like the town intended to develop with its prior partner, Holladay Properties. 'We intend on sticking with that,' Bozak said. She wouldn't share what the Sloane Avenue Group and Redstone Group are proposing, beyond taking care of infrastructure, engineering, soil analysis and potential wetland mitigation. A BP pipeline does go through the property. The relationship between Burns Harbor and any party that buys the property will be different than the last time. 'The project will be developer-driven as opposed to a public-private partnership,' Rongers said. Burns Harbor and Holladay Properties had originally reached their agreement in 2019, but plans were then delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Holladay Properties announced in June 2023 that they couldn't go forward because of economic conditions. As a result, the town had to decline a $960,000 state grant from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI), which would have been used to install underground utilities. The town also spent money on a property master plan, Rongers said. The plan's goal was to create a new town center, which would have been anchored by a 22,800-square-foot town hall and community center. Another key amenity was that a section of the Marquette Greenway trail would be built on the property. The development also would have had 40 single-family townhouses, five multi-family luxury apartment buildings with 138 units, along with 5,800 square feet of commercial space in the ground floors of three of the apartment units. During the past two years, a 0.8-mile section of the trail has been built on the property. The Marquette Greenway, when finished by multiple communities, will eventually stretch 60 miles from Chicago to New Buffalo, Michigan. Rongers said that the property is currently zoned residential. Burns Harbor will still retain a 4-acre parcel off of Ind. 149 neighboring the 25 acres to be sold. The vacant lot, which once was the location of a community center, could be the future location for a new town hall. The town in 2018 purchased 28 acres at Haglund Road and Ind. 149 for $250,000 from the Duneland School Corporation.
See - Sada Elbalad
2 days ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Leaders' Breakfast in Malabo: Africa discusses its economic integration and regional mobility
Yara Sameh The African continent turns its attention to Equatorial Guinea. On Sunday, July 13, under the patronage of H.E. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the Malabo Leaders' Breakfast will be held, a high-level meeting also organised by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and Invest Equatorial Guinea, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The event, which precedes the 7th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, will bring together Heads of State, AU Commissioners, leaders of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), global financial leaders, and strategic stakeholders from the continent, with a common goal: to break down the barriers that impede the free movement of people, goods, and services in Africa. A clear agenda: connecting Africa from Africa The main theme of the breakfast will be "Financing and facilitating the movement of people, goods, and services in Africa," seeking to generate real proposals to accelerate continental integration. Under the theme "Financing and Facilitating the Movement of People, Goods, and Services Across Africa," the event will address the challenges that still hinder continental integration, such as insufficient cross-border infrastructure and regulatory restrictions affecting the mobility of people and goods. "Malabo takes us from diagnosis to practice. We will translate commitments into concrete financing and implementation of policies for free movement, starting with the Dollar a Day Fund," said Sidig El Toum, executive director of APN. A simple idea, a continental impact One of the key highlights will be the launch of the Integrated Infrastructure Growth Fund for Africa, an initiative championed by H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma during the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2025, whose leadership of the AU Commission launched Agenda 2063. The proposal invites the African middle class to contribute as little as $1 a day, with the goal of generating more than $20 billion annually to finance roads, digital networks, airports, bridges, and other strategic projects that connect people and markets. With the participation of just 50 million African citizens, the initiative would accelerate key continental connectivity projects. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean News 3 Killed in Shooting Attack in Thailand
STV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
American Affair takes ‘magical' King Charles sprint glory for Scotland
Scottish challenger American Affair finished best to land the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot for Jim Goldie and Paul Mulrennan. Successful in valuable handicaps at Musselburgh and York, the five-year-old was perhaps unfortunate not to finish closer than he did when fifth in the Temple Stakes at Haydock and was an 11-1 chance for this Group One debut. Settled in midfield as the likes of Regional and Night Raider blazed a trail, American Affair was produced with his challenge inside the final two furlongs and found plenty for pressure to get the better of a protracted duel with Frost At Dawn by a neck. Lanarkshire-based Goldie said: 'I've trained the family for two generations, so it's very sweet. 'He's just getting faster, we went seven furlongs at Wetherby in his maiden, we've learnt to run him over the right trip, we took him back to five and he's just getting better and better. 'I was quite confident he could do it today, he had the talent, we got it wrong at Haydock. I knew he was probably one of the fastest horses in the race, but it's how you control that. We've come down a day early and got him relaxed and it all fell into place. It means a lot. 'You're never sure, but I could see he was travelling well. He's just getting faster and faster, we trained his family and they were the same – they just got quicker. 'We brought him here yesterday to settle him in and it's all worked out perfectly. It's just terrific. 'Paul really believed in this horse and we knew he had it in him. It's magical, he's a very good horse. 'We're living the dream, so to speak. To win here is probably a career highlight. Well, it's not 'probably', is it? It's definitely a career highlight.' Mulrennan added: 'I was just saying there, at this stage of my career I've probably got more years behind me than I have in front of me, it's extra special. 'It's hard enough to get rides here, it's nice to come down here and have a ride, to win a Group One here is very special and Jim's been very good to me the last few years. 'He's a master trainer at tweaking around with these horses and he can really, with the ammunition he has, he can get the best out of them on the big day.' John McGrandles, breeder and part-owner, said: 'He's probably the only horse here with a Glasgow postcode in his passport! 'I've been involved with horses since I was six. My wife is a veterinary surgeon – and we're off to the Highland Show tomorrow with sheep! 'This horse is the biggest winner we've had, yes. And the horse's stable name is Charlie and he's won the King Charles!' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
