The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry plans to bring seven additional nuclear reactors back online in summer next year and later as part of efforts to ensure stable electricity supply, informed sources said Wednesday.
The ministry aims to have a total of 17 nuclear reactors online, including 10 reactors that have already been approved to operate, to better prepare for possible electricity supply shortages, the sources said.
The seven additional reactors are the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa plant, the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama plant, the No. 2 reactor at Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Shimane plant and the No. 2 reactor at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 plant.
Of them, the Onagawa, Takahama and Shimane reactors have already been given local approval to go back online.
They will be able to resume operations once work to improve safety measures is complete.
The government plans to lead efforts to win local approval for the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa and Tokai reactors.
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US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the U.S. government will forgive $10,000 in student loans for many debt-saddled college graduates, a move that could boost support for his fellow Democrats in the November congressional elections but also may fuel inflation.
Cancelling the debt will free up hundreds of billions of dollars for new consumer spending that could be aimed at homebuying, according to economists who said this would add a new wrinkle to the country’s inflation fight.
“By resuming student loan payments at the same time as we provide targeted relief, we’re taking an economically responsible course. As a consequence, about 50 billion dollars a year will start coming back into the Treasury because of the resumption of debt. Independent experts agree that these actions taken together will provide real benefits for families without meaningful effect on inflation,” Biden said as he announced the measures at the White House.
Many Democrats had pushed for Biden to forgive as much as $50,000 per borrower but cheered his action.
Republicans, seeking to regain control of Congress in November, oppose the move, arguing it is unfair because it will disproportionately help people earning higher incomes.
U.S. consumers carry a massive $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, most of it held by the federal government, the result of university tuition fees substantially higher than in most other rich countries.
Biden’s administration will extend a Covid-19 pandemic-linked pause on student loan repayment to the end of the year while forgiving $10,000 in student debt for borrowers whose income falls below $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for a married couple, the White House said. The forgiveness could impact 8 million borrowers automatically, the Department of Education said, while others would need to apply for forgiveness.
The government is also forgiving up to $20,000 in debt for recipients of federal Pell Grants, some 6 million students from low-income families, and is proposing a new rule that protects some income from repayment plans and forgives some loan balances after 10 years of repayment, the Education Department said.
Cutting $10,000 in federal debt for every student would amount to $321 billion of federal student loans and eliminate the entire balance for 11.8 million borrowers, or 31% of them, a New York Federal Reserve study shows.
Borrower balances have been frozen since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, with no payments required on most federal student loans since March 2020.
Students from across the U.S. welcomed the announcement from Biden to cancel billions of dollars in student debt.
A psychology major at Howard University, Moniest Cardell, said the weight was lifted off her shoulders as the $20,000 of erased debt would mean relief for her whole family.
James Gore, 20, a media and film major from North Carolina, told Reuters he supported the measure even though he didn’t have any pending loans, being a scholarship athlete.
Given the stress debt can cause in many people, the measure means a little bit of breathing room’ according to the computer science major Jie Reid.
Madeleine “Maddy” Clifford, 35, a writer and musician in Oakland, California, went to undergrad at the University of Washington before going to graduate school at Mills College in Oakland for her master’s in fine arts. She now has roughly $100,000 in student loan debt.
She said Biden’s announcement made her feel both underwhelmed and excited, calling the $10,000 a step in the right direction while adding more can be done.
“Biden’s announcement means that we need to continue to apply pressure because it’s great that he made that decision, but also we don’t have to accept crumbs,” Clifford said.
Clifford currently volunteers for the Debt Collective, a national organization that pushes for full student loan debt cancellation. She believes full cancellation is not too much to ask.
“I’m asking to be back at zero. I’m asking for a fair chance to actually build wealth,” she said. “Two years ago, $10K was a ridiculous thing to ask for and now we’ve just won it. So what that tells us and what that shows us is that we have to keep fighting.”
The Suprême has also caused a recent sensation on TikTok and Instagram, with customers ripping into the pastries and showing hundreds of thousands of viewers the crème anglaise-based ganache pouring out of the flaky treat.
Brendan Reilly was the first in line and waited about an hour on a hot summer day outside of Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery in New York to try the Suprême, a crème-filled circular baked croissant.
“Look at how lovely this is,” he said, as soon as he was inside and had a chocolate Suprême in his hands. “It’s so chocolatey. I’m very surprised. I thought that the chocolate would hit first. But the croissant is really something else. And do you ever get a chocolate croissant and you bite into it and it’s kind of like, ‘There’s your little bite of chocolate.’ This is obviously not the case. Oh my God. It’s lovely. This is wonderful. It’s really luscious.”
Scott Cioe, the executive pastry chef for Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery, said he had no idea his creation would go viral.
“I don’t even have a TikTok,” he said. “We knew we were going to fill it like a doughnut and glaze it, so that’s really where it came from. It’s making it a fun draw into the bakery.”
Since April, the Suprême, limited to one per customer, has usually sold out in less than an hour.
“I think the most important thing as a chef is to make sure that after the first bite, second bite, that your experience of eating it lives up to that look, like what first drew you in in the first place,” he said. “I think and hope we’ve been doing that for months now.”
The bakery makes a total of 240 Suprêmes at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. daily, always with a line of people around the block, waiting to try the $8.50 baked goods in either chocolate flavoured or the flavour of the month. For August, it’s peaches and cream.
The heart of Portuguese monarch Dom Pedro I, who declared Brazilian Independence from Portugal 200 years ago and was named “emperor” of Brazil, was on display on Wednesday in Brasilia as part of independence anniversary celebrations.
The heart is being exhibited in Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, under a heavy security guard.
Kept in formaldehyde in a glass jar inside a gold urn, the heart arrived in Brazil on Monday (August 22).
Dom Pedro I’s heart had been kept in a church in the Portuguese city of Porto since his death in Portugal in 1834 and loaned for three weeks to Brazil, where it will be put on display as part of independence anniversary celebrations.
Pedro declared Brazilian independence in 1822 and was crowned “emperor” of Brazil after his father King Joao VI returned to Portugal following the restoration of European monarchies after the defeat of Napoleon.
Though Pedro returned to Portugal nine years later, his declaration of independence on September 7, 1822, is acclaimed by Brazilian nationalists as the birth of their country.
The widow of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant was awarded $16 million by a jury on Wednesday over the sharing of photos of human remains at the helicopter crash site where her husband, their 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in 2020.
Vanessa Bryant had sued Los Angeles County, alleging invasion of privacy, after accusing members of the Los Angeles County sheriffs and fire departments of sharing gruesome images of the crash in unofficial settings, including to patrons in a bar.
Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah, 45, and daughter, Payton, 13, were among those killed in the crash and who joined Bryant’s lawsuit, was awarded $15 million, bringing the total jury award to $31 million.
Bryant, who was in the Los Angeles federal courtroom when the verdict was read out after an 11-day trial, clasped her face in her hands and wept. She and her attorney declined to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse.
Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people died in the crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020.
Vanessa Bryant has also filed lawsuits against the helicopter charter company and the deceased pilot’s estate.
The county already agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a similar case brought by families of others who died in the crash.
Kobe Bryant was 41 when he died. The Los Angeles Lakers great and 18-time All-Star won five NBA championships and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020.
Qantas Airways Ltd said on Thursday it would buy back up to A$400 million ($276 million) of shares after the lifting of Covid curbs spurred a strong rebound in travel demand, boosting its second-half performance and lowering debt levels.
The rush to travel once borders opened has been so strong that Qantas said it had been forced to trim domestic capacity by a further 10 percentage points since its last update in June due mostly to operational challenges associated with the demand surge.
The airline posted an annual underlying loss before tax of A$1.86 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, wider than the A$1.77 billion restated figure from a year earlier and slightly bigger than analyst forecasts.
The bulk of the losses was reported in the first half when domestic and international borders were closed under strict measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
While demand has improved, Qantas in recent months has been trimming its domestic capacity from earlier forecasts due to widespread staff shortages at airports, high rates of crew illness in winter and elevated fuel prices.
Qantas also plans to run a competition between aircraft manufacturers to replace its aging fleet of 28 Airbus A330 planes in the next 12 to 18 months, its chief financial officer said.
The Badminton Association of Thailand has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Czech Badminton Federation to develop badminton in all aspects.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand, signed the MoU with Petr Martinec, president of the Czech Badminton Federation, on Wednesday at Arnoma Grand Hotel in Bangkok.
Patama said that the cooperation covers every aspect, from players, training, coaches and judges, to sports science personnel. She believes the cooperation will be beneficial to both Thai and Czech people, which will lead to excellent results.
Petr said that the MoU will be the key to cooperation between the two associations. Thailand and Czech Republic are in two different continents with cultural differences too, but badminton could help the two countries come closer, he said. Therefore, this MoU lays the foundation for cooperation in sports and culture, he said.
Ban Bueng Devil Rays stunned defending champions Thung Khru Hi-Tech 73-67 to win their first professional Thailand Basketball League title.
The two teams entered the best-of-three decider on Wednesday after being locked 1-1.
Ban Bueng Devil Rays received 700,000 baht as prize money.
The team also earned a slot in the 2022 FIBA Asia Champions Cup at the end of this year.
Taishaun Johnson from the champion team was declared Most Valuable Player.
Runners-up Thung Khru Hi-Tech received prize money of 600,000 baht. Bangkok Tigers Sniper, who finished third, received 500,000 baht while fourth-place Nonthaburi TGE got 400,000 baht.
The 2022 Thailand Basketball League, organised by the Thai Basketball Professional Association, began on June 25. Ten teams were in the fray for a total prize money of 4 million baht.
ONE Championship has made a name for itself by being a passionate promoter of a multitude of martial arts. Fans can expect to see a variety of combat sports at every one of the Singapore-based organization’s events – from submission grappling to kickboxing.
However, one of the brightest jewels in ONE’s crown is its Muay Thai roster. The world’s best strikers call the promotion home, and the action that each bout brings to the circle is hard to beat.
Several intense Muay Thai battles will take place at ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on Saturday, 27 August, and before the exciting event goes down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, we take a look at why “the art of eight limbs” could steal the show.
#1 The ONE flyweight Muay Thai world grand prix semifinals
The semifinals of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix will take place on the main card this Saturday, and fans are waiting anxiously to see how they play out.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon, the reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, is set to battle Cypriot powerhouse and #4-ranked Savvas Michael in what promises to be a bout of tactics and heavy strikes.
And before that, Thai striking dynamo and #1-ranked Superlek Kiatmoo9 will take on Brazilian brawler and fifth-ranked flyweight Walter Goncalves. “The Kicking Machine” will have to use every one of his vast number of skills to try and get past Goncalves, who finished Josue “Tuzo” Cruz in his quarterfinal bout in only 35 seconds.
#2 A heavy-handed world title showdown
British striking sensation and #5-ranked Liam Harrison is coming for Nong-O Gaiyanghadao’s bantamweight Muay Thai crown in Saturday’s co-main event, and the Thai legend is ready to stop him.
“Hitman’s” last outing in the Circle saw him mount an almost unbelievable comeback against Muangthai PK.Saenchai. Harrison survived two knockdowns in the opening minutes to score three of his own and secure the win before the end of the first round.
But he’ll have to dig deep and come up with something even more spectacular if he wants to defeat Nong-O, who is on a perfect 8-0 run since debuting in One in 2018.
#3 Female striking stars on display
ONE actively promotes the talent of its female athletes across each sport under its banner, including Muay Thai.
And on 27 August, two of its fiery female strikers will take to the Circle for a catchweight showdown.
Australia’s Diandra Martin will meet England’s Amber Kitchen on the evening’s lead card in what promises to be a masterclass of Muay Thai.
Both stars are coming off the back of a loss, with Kitchen going down to Viktoria Lipianska and Martin succumbing to Smilla Sundell, so fans can expect them to throw bombs at each other in the hopes of scoring a highlight-reel finish when they square off on Saturday.
Don’t miss any of the action at ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes v Johnson II, which will be broadcast live on AIS Play at 7 a.m. Indochina Time (ICT) on Saturday, 27 August. The main card will follow on AIS Play at 9 a.m. ICT. Thairath TV32 will air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. ICT.
Also, tickets for the event are now available at onefc.com/tickets.
Six players led by former SEA Games silver medalist Witchayanon Chothirunrungruen took part in the photocall ahead of their participation in the Bt3million Thailand Mixed hosted by TrustGolf at the Thana City Country Club which starts on Thursday.
The diminutive Withchayanon, who won the team’s silver in the 2017 regional Games in Kuala Lumpur was joined in the promotional activity by 2020 Singha Masters victor Ratchapol Jantavara, Thai-Japanese Poonnavich Hirayama, 2017 Thai LPGA No 1 Parinda Phokan, and rising stars Asama McKenzie and Chonnikarn Chaiyasith in the photo shoot which took part at TrustGolf Headquarters, Imperial Samrong on Tuesday.
The concept of the photocall was defined as “City Life” which reflects different perspectives of individuals towards their work lives. According to survey in Japan, the number of working people with interest in golf is getting higher and higher every year. That signifies that the number of people in the golf community in Japan continues to grow annually.
Back in Thailand, golf sports has become more and more popular while the quantity of Thai golfers tends to rise significantly in 2022. As a result, TrustGolf has decided to hold the Thailand Mixed event for the first time in the central region in response to the growing popularity of golf in Thailand.
The fourth Thailand Mixed is due at the Thana City Country Club which measures 7,008 yards off the men’s tee and 6,281 off the women’s between August 25 – 28.
For the first time, the stableford format will be introduced in the Thailand Mixed series. In comparison to the stroke play event, in a stableford pattern, players score points based on the number of strokes taken on each hole: albatross = + 8, eagle = + 5, birdie = + 2, par = 0, bogey = – 1 and – 2 for a double bogey and more. After 36 holes, top 60 and ties will proceed into the weekend rounds. The player with the highest number of points, after four days and 72 holes, wins the tournament.
In addition, a female player with the best score (but must finish in the top five on the leaders’ board) will be granted a wildcard into the Women’s Australian Open, an ALPGA event, in December. Another slot will be given to a Thai female player on the same condition in the final Thailand Mixed next month.
The Thailand Mixed is organised by TrustGolf, an indoor training center with advanced technology. It is supported by the Sports Authority of Thailand, the National Sports Development Fund, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Bangkok Bank, B.Grimm Company, Bond Holdings, AISPLAY, Bridgestone, Trust Pharmacy, Trust Live Streaming, Adidas Golf, the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration and Thana City Country Club.
Fans can watch live coverage of the third Thailand Mixed either on AIS Play APP and TrustGolf Facebook and Youtube.
