Daily Archives: July 30, 2015

Αφορά, τι άλλο (;), την κτηματαγορά

Με την εποχή του χρυσού παρομοίασε κτηματομεσίτης την αγορά εμπορικών κτιρίων σήμερα, μετά την πώληση κτιρίου στο κέντρο της Μελβούρνης, με $82.278 το τετραγωνικό.

Πέντε ομάδες ενδιαφερομένων επενδυτών από την Κίνα, Μαλαισία και Ινδονησία έφθασαν ειδικά για να παραστούν στη δημοπρασία του ιστορικού κτιρίου στη γωνία Swanston και Little Lonsdale Streets, ακριβώς απέναντι από την Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη.

Το κτίριο πωλήθηκε σε επενδυτή από τη Μαλαισία αντί $26 εκ.

“Πρόκειται για την πιο ανθηρή αγορά που έχουμε δει μέχρι τώρα, μετά την εποχή του χρυσού” λέει ο κτηματομεσίτης, Clinton Baxter.

Να σημειωθεί ότι το λιγότερο $3.84δις έχουν εισρεύσει στην αυστραλιανή κτηματαγορά -σε εμπορικά κτίρια- από την Κίνα μόνο, αυτόν το χρόνο.

Να αναφέρουμε και το πρώην Brooks Building στο 319-325 Swanston St. το οποίο ξαναχτίστηκε πριν 18 μήνες, διατηρώντας την ιστορική του πρόσοψη. Από ενοικιάσεις αποφέρει $1.013.000 το χρόνο.

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

Ανησυχητικό το ποσοστό εκείνων που μένουν πάνω από έναν χρόνο χωρίς δουλειά, καθώς σπανίζουν οι θέσεις εργασίας και υποχωρεί το κράτος πρόνοιας

Άνοδο σημειώνει ο αριθμός των μακροχρόνια ανέργων στην Αυστραλία, οι οποίοι αποτελούν το 75% του συνόλου των ανέργων στην χώρα. Αυτό προκύπτει από τα στοιχεία του Συμβουλίου Κοινωνικών Υπηρεσιών, σύμφωνα με τα οποία τα τρία τέταρτα των πολιτών που εισπράττουν επίδομα ανεργίας, περνούν περισσότερο από ένα έτος σε αναζήτηση εργασίας.

Εξάλλου, τα τελευταία στοιχεία της Αυστραλιανής Στατιστικής Υπηρεσίας αποκαλύπτουν ότι οι μακροχρόνια άνεργοι έχουν αυξηθεί κατά 10% το τελευταίο έτος, ενώ το 69% των ανθρώπων που εισπράττουν το Newstart Allowance συμμετέχουν στο πρόγραμμα για περισσότερους από δώδεκα μήνες.

Οι ειδικοί αποδίδουν την αύξηση του ποσοστού στη σταδιακή αδρανοποίηση των θεσμών του κράτους πρόνοιας τόσο από την παρούσα κυβέρνηση, όσο και από την προηγούμενη, και θεωρούν ότι οι ενδείξεις θα έπρεπε να προκαλέσουν ανησυχία στους ιθύνοντες, όσο και στους πολίτες της χώρας. Η μακροχρόνια ανεργία προκαλεί επιπλέον εμπόδια σε όσους αναζητούν δουλειά, καθώς τους απομακρύνει από την αγορά εργασίας, στερώντας από τους ανέργους την πρόσφατη επαγγελματική εμπειρία που μπορεί να τους βοηθήσει στην αναζήτηση εργασίας, ενώ δημιουργεί χάσμα ανάμεσα στις δεξιότητες που διαθέτουν και εκείνες που απαιτεί η αγορά.

Επιπλέον, θα πρέπει να προστεθούν οι ψυχολογικές επιπτώσεις της ανεργίας καθώς και το στίγμα που συνοδεύει τους ανέργους – και το οποίο ενισχύεται από την ρητορική των ΜΜΕ και της κυβέρνησης για «τεμπέληδες» που ζουν εις βάρος των φορολογουμένων. Σχεδόν 884 χιλιάδες άνθρωποι εισπράττουν επιδόματα ανεργίας -το Newstart ή το ‘youth’ allowance- οι περισσότεροι από τους οποίους είναι μακροχρόνια άνεργοι. Πολλοί από αυτούς (περίπου το 25%) είναι άνθρωποι με αναπηρίες ή πρώην δικαιούχοι άλλων επιδομάτων τα οποία καταργούνται, κάτι που τους εντάσσει στην στρατιά των ανέργων, αντιμέτωπους με την δυσκολία εύρεσης εργασίας, επιπλέον των άλλων ευθυνών τους. Σύμφωνα με το Αυστραλιανό Συμβούλιο Κοινωνικών Υπηρεσιών, η άνοδος της μακροχρόνιας ανεργίας είναι δομικό φαινόμενο της Αυστραλίας και πρέπει να αντιμετωπιστεί με επενδύσεις στην κατάρτιση των ανέργων και την υποστήριξή τους στην απόκτηση δεξιοτήτων και στην ανεύρεση της ανάλογης θέσης εργασίας.

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

Harry Kewell during his Liverpool days in 2006. Photo:AP Photo/Dave Thompson.

Former Australia and Liverpool star Harry Kewell was appointed as the Under-21 coach of Premier League club Watford on Thursday

Former Australia and Liverpool star Harry Kewell was appointed as the Under-21 coach of Premier League club Watford on Thursday.

Kewell retired last year after a short spell with Melbourne Heart and has returned to England for his first major coaching role at Watford, who won promotion to the top-flight last season.

The 36-year-old ex-Leeds and Galatasaray winger, who has established his own youth academy in Australia, will take care of Watford’s Under-21 side in the Under-21 Professional Development League Two South.

Kewell, who won 56 caps for Australia and played in the 2010 World Cup, will bring a wealth of experience after winning the 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup in his five-year spell at Liverpool.

“We are delighted that Harry has agreed to join us as our new Under-21 coach,” Watford’s sporting director Luke Dowling told Watford’s website.

“Harry enjoyed an extremely successful career as a player, and he now has a proven track record when it comes to working with and nurturing gifted young footballers.

“His knowledge and experience will be of great benefit to the club’s youth setup as a whole, and the talented players we have within our Under-21 group.”

Source: AFP

Μετά την ανεύρεση συντριμμιών στο νησί του Ινδικού Ωκεανού La Reunion που εκτιμάται ότι συνδέονται με την πτήση MH370 της Malaysia Airlines, επανέρχονται οι θεωρίες γύρω από την αιτία που προκάλεσε τη συντριβή του αεροσκάφους.

Η DailyMail εξετάζει 7 από τα κορυφαία σενάρια αναφορικά με το τι μπορεί να συνέβει το μοιραίο βράδυ της 8ης Μαρτίου 2014.

1. Έριξε την πτήση ο πιλότος Zaharie Ahmad Shah

Η πιο δημοφιλής θεωρία κατά τις πρώτες εβδομάδες μετά την εξαφάνιση του αεροσκάφους ήταν πως ο πιλότος Zaharie Ahmad Shah είχε προγραμματίσει μαζική δολοφονία λόγω προσωπικών προβλημάτων.

Σύμφωνα με τις φήμες είχε χωρίσει με τη σύζυγό του Fizah Khan και ήταν έξαλλος λίγο πριν επιβιβαστεί στο αεροπλάνο επειδή καταδικάστηκε σε 5 χρόνια φυλακή για σοδομισμό ο συγγενής του και αρχηγός της αντιπολίτευσης Anwar Ibrahim.

Η γυναίκα του αρνήθηκε οποιαδήποτε προσωπικά προβλήματα και άλλα μέλη της οικογένειας και φίλοι του έκαναν λόγο για έναν αφοσιωμένο οικογενειάρχη που αγαπούσε τη δουλειά του.

Στη θεωρία αυτή κατέληξε και η πρώτη ανεξάρτητη μελέτη του ερευνητή αεροπορικών δυστυχημάτων Ewan Wilson. Ο πιλότος και ιδρυτής του Kiwi Airlines κατέληξε σε αυτό το συμπέρασμα λαμβάνοντας υπόψη κάθε πιθανό εναλλακτικό σενάριο. Ωστόσο δεν μπόρεσε να παράσχει πειστικά στοιχεία που να υποστηρίζουν τη θεωρία του.

Φημολογείται ότι ο Zaharie Ahmad Shah χρησιμοποίησε έναν προσομοιωτή πτήσης στο σπίτι του για να σχεδιάσει μια διαδρομή σε ένα απομακρυσμένο νησί. Αξιωματούχοι στην Κουάλα Λουμπούρ και τεχνικοί εμπειρογνώμονες του FBI δεν βρήκαν τίποτα στον προσομοιωτή του που να υποδηλώνει ότι σκόπευε να ρίξει την πτήση.

2. Το έριξε ο συγκυβερνήτης Fariq Abdul Hamid

Τα βλέμματα στράφηκαν και στον ρόλο του 27χρονου συγκυβερνήτη Fariq Abdul Hamid που θεωρήθηκε ύποπτος για τη συντριβή της πτήσης. Το σενάριο τον ήθελε να εξουδετέρωσε τον πιλότο και να απενεργοποίησε τον αυτόματο πιλότο, με το πλήρωμα και τους επιβάτες να μην μπορούν να ανοίξουν την κλειδωμένη πόρτα του πιλοτηρίου.

Οι υποστηρικτές αυτής της θεωρίας εκτιμούν ότι είχε προβλήματα στη σχέση του επέλεξε να αυτοκτονήσει με αυτόν τον δραματικό τρόπο. Το σενάριο ενισχύθηκε όταν έγινε γνωστό πως ήταν ο τελευταίος άνθρωπος που επικοινώνησε από το πιλοτήριο προτού διακοπεί το σύστημα επικοινωνίας.

3. Το έκλεψαν οι Ρώσοι και το προσγείωσαν στο Καζακστάν

Ένα από τα σενάρια που κυκλοφόρησαν ήθελαν τον πρόεδρο της Ρωσίας Βλαντιμίρ Πούτιν να έχει δώσει εντολές για κατάληψη και προσγείωση του αεροσκάφους στο Καζακστάν.

4. Χρησιμοποίησαν το αεροπλάνο για επίθεση αυτοκτονίας

Αυτή η θεωρία προέκυψε από τη 41χρονο Βρετανή ιστιοπλόο Katherine Tee που έγραψε στο blog της ότι έγινε αεροσκάφος καμικάζι για να πλήξει στόλο κινεζικών πλοίων.

5. Έγινε προσθαλάσσωση στη θάλασσα Andaman

Σε πτήση που περνούσε πάνω από τη θάλασσα Andaman, στις 8 Μαρτίου, η 53χρονη Raja Dalelah πίστευε ότι είδε αεροπλάνο να κάθεται στην επιφάνεια του νερού.

Η κατάθεσή της χλευάστηκε από πιλότους που ισχυρίζονται ότι θα ήταν αδύνατο να δει μέρος του αεροσκάφους στο νερό από ύψος 35.000 ποδιών.

6. Καταστροφικό γεγονός και αναγκαστική προσθαλάσσωση

Εκτιμάται ότι συνέβη κάποιο καταστροφικό γεγονός, όπως η εκδήλωση πυρκαγιάς, και οι πιλότοι προσπάθησαν να γυρίσουν προς τη χερσόνησο της Μαλαισίας με την ελπίδα να προσγειώσουν την πτήση στο πλησιέστερο αεροδρόμιο.

Οι υποστηρικτές αυτής της θεωρίας ισχυρίζονται ότι δεν υπήρχε λόγος να αλλάξει πορεία το αεροσκάφος εάν δεν υπήρχε κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης.

Εκτιμάται ότι ξέσπασε πυρκαγιά στο πιλοτήριο και αυτό ήταν που οδήγησε στη συντριβή του αεροσκάφους.

7. Οι ΗΠΑ κατέρριψαν το αεροσκάφος

Το σενάριο θέλει τις ΗΠΑ να καταρρίπτουν το αεροσκάφος φοβούμενοι αεροπειρατεία και τρομοκρατική επίθεση στη στρατιωτική βάση Diego Garcia στον Ινδικό Ωκεανό.

Πηγή:madata.gr

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ power-sharing acrobatics look harder to perform by the day.

Opposition parties are propping up his left-wing government long enough to negotiate a new bailout and keep the country in the eurozone, while senior members of his own party, SYRIZA, have revived a campaign to bring back the drachma.

On Thursday, lead bailout negotiators are due in Athens. They will intensify a new round of talks for a massive third rescue package after Athens and lenders from other eurozone countries reached a bitterly fought compromise.

But Tsipras has a more pressing priority. He will be battling to keep control of Syriza at a meeting of the party’s 200-member executive, facing dissenters who argue the Left has abandoned its principles over the past six months under the country’s popular prime minister.

The uncertainty has renewed questions over whether Greece can – or should – endure two more years of austerity and bailout policies that have battered its economy and the political parties that implemented them.

“Tsipras doesn’t have many options,” said Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos, an associate professor of political science at the University of Athens, who sees a snap election in November as a strong possibility.

“One is to strengthen his position in his party … but he is not fond of seeking confrontation,” he said. “The other is to call an early election. The timing is sensitive: It would have to be after the bailout talks are concluded, but before opposition parties can regroup.”

In a vote three weeks ago, Tsipras effectively lost his majority in parliament, when nearly one-fourth of SYRIZA’s lawmakers refused to back new austerity measures. Pro-European Union opposition parties were left to save the bill.

Since then, far-left dissenters have grown more defiant.

Panagiotis Lafazanis, recently fired as energy minister in a reshuffle, called on the government and country to prepare for a national currency.

“An exit from the euro … in spite of all the dark propaganda, would in no way be a disaster,” he told cheering supporters packed into an Athens theater this week, celebrating five years since the launch of his political website “Iskra” – a name inspired by the Bolshevik underground newspaper once run by Vladimir Lenin.

Fully named the Coalition of the Radical Left, SYRIZA was formed as an alliance that eventually included about a dozen left-wing and anti-establishment groups who voted to become a unified party in 2013.

Before Thursday’s party executive meeting, Tsipras acknowledged that SYRIZA was still adapting to becoming a party of government.

“We must admit that SYRIZA has not become a unified party,” he said in a two-hour radio interview Wednesday.

“It’s been described as a violent maturing process: SYRIZA went from a party that received 4 percent (in past elections) to one that now carries the hopes of the majority of the Greek people.”

The 40-year-old Tsipras, despite the looming hardship for Greeks, has increased SYRIZA’s lead in opinion polls since the January general election. He wants to hold a party conference after the bailout negotiations while dissenters want one immediately.

At the moment, said Athens University’s Sotiropoulos, a party split still looks unlikely.

“Being in power has a binding effect … and (dissenters) will not want to be held responsible for a break up,” he said, before adding: “But ideology and emotion remain strong forces in Greek politics. And that can lead to the wrong decisions.”

source:ekathimerini.com

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday called for his SYRIZA party to hold an emergency congress next month to overcome divisions but said a snap party referendum would be acceptable if leftist dissenters wanted a quicker solution.

In a speech to SYRIZA’s central committee, Tsipras said a decision on the party’s strategy should not be made in a hurry but proposed a referendum on Sunday if needed.

“I propose to the central committee to hold an emergency congress to discuss being in power as leftists, our strategy in the face of bailout conditions,” he told the party.

“But there is another view, which is respected, that doesn’t accept the government’s analysis and believes there was an alternative available in the early morning hours of July 13,” Tsipras said, referring to the day he accepted the bailout agreement to avoid a Greek eurozone exit.

“If this is the case….then I suggest the party hold a referendum on this crucial question.”

source:ekathimerini.com

Four frontbench Liberal MPs have told Sky News they believe Bronwyn Bishop should resign from her position as speaker.

Sky News understands Mrs Bishop has been calling parliamentary colleagues to examine whether they still support her over expenses claims surrounding the chartering of a luxury helicopter to a fundraiser last year and travel to the weddings of two colleagues in 2006 and 2007.

Liberal ministers are also testing opinion among backbench MPs to see whether they think the speaker should remain in the role.Education Minister Christopher Pyne defended Mrs Bishop, while other senior Liberals have so far declined to say publicly whether they have confidence her.

Mr Pyne told Sky News Mrs Bishop was doing a ‘superb’ job as speaker and said he would not ‘jump on the bandwagon’ of people calling for her removal.Speaking from New York, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Labor would use the issue to ‘destabilise’ the first parliamentary question time after the winter break on August 10.

‘And I’m sure Speaker Bishop will take that into account as she considers her position,’ she said.’But I believe it’s important the Department of Finance be able to carry out an investigation.’Social Services Minister Scott Morrison declined to say whether he had confidence in the Speaker when asked by reporters on Wednesday.

‘There is a Department of Finance process that’s underway,’ he said on the Gold Coast.’If I have anything to pass on to the Speaker I will do it privately and not offer public lectures on these things.’The Finance Department is investigating Mrs Bishop’s expenses claim relating to the chartering of a luxury helicopter to a fundraiser in Victoria in November last year.

The Speaker signed a document saying it was ‘official business’, but Labor says she should be sacked for misusing taxpayer money. Mrs Bishop is also facing questions over her use of taxpayer-funded expenses to attend the weddings of Liberal colleagues in 2006 and 2007.

The Speaker’s office says that on both occasions she had parliamentary business in areas near the weddings.Prime Minister Tony Abbott paid back the money he claimed to attend the wedding of former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella.

Mr Abbott has expressed his disapproval over the helicopter charter, saying Mrs Bishop was ‘on probation’ over her expenses.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the ‘soap opera’ over Mrs Bishop has to end.’

Put simply Mr Abbott has to act – Bronwyn Bishop has to go,’ he told reporters in Melbourne.He said respected veteran Queensland Nationals MP Bruce Scott should be appointed in her place.’I think it’s now time perhaps for the coalition to look at putting in a more reasonable face, someone who’d respect the independence of the Speaker’s position, so we can restore the standard of parliamentary democracy in this country,’ Mr Shorten said.Labor is expected to move a motion of no confidence in the speaker if no action is taken before parliament resumes, as will two lower house MPs, Clive Palmer and Andrew Wilkie.

A spokeswoman for the Finance Department told AAP the department did not comment on its dealings with individual parliamentarians.

source:skynews.com.au

Police officers inspecting a piece of debris on Wednesday that appeared to be an airplane part found on the western Indian Ocean island of Réunion. Credit Prisca Bigot/Zinfos974, via Reuters

SYDNEY, Australia — Government officials and families of passengers lost on a Malaysian jet that vanished last year with 239 people aboard responded warily on Thursday to the discovery of possible wreckage from the aircraft, reluctant to fan hopes after more than a year of fruitless searching and false rumors.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss of Australia, whose country has led the search for the jet, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, said that the discovery of an airplane part thousands of miles from the search area was “a very significant development” but cautioned against concluding that it was from the missing aircraft.

“It is too early to make that judgment,” Mr. Truss said at a news conference in Sydney. “But clearly we are treating this as a major lead and seeking to get assurance about what has been found and whether it is indeed linked to the disappearance of MH 370.”

American investigators have concluded, based on photographs and videos, that the object discovered on Wednesday on Réunion, a remote French island off the coast of Madagascar, is from a Boeing 777, making it likely that it came from Flight 370. No other Boeing 777 is known to be missing, investigators said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said the debris would be sent to Toulouse, France, the site of the nearest office of the French aviation safety bureau, known as BEA. “A Malaysian team is on the way to Toulouse now,” Mr. Najib said in a statement, adding that a second team was en route to Réunion.

“We have had many false alarms before, but for the sake of the families who have lost loved ones, and suffered such heartbreaking uncertainty, I pray that we will find out the truth so that they may have closure and peace,” Mr. Najib said in the statement. “I promise the families of those lost that whatever happens, we will not give up.”

The object, which a French official said appeared to be a wing flap about nine feet long and three feet wide, was discovered by workers cleaning a beach on the island, which is thousands of miles from the area off Western Australia where the search for debris from Flight 370 has been underway.

That search area was determined by analyses of satellite images and signals automatically transmitted from the plane. Australian officials said that the search in that area would continue, and that it was possible for ocean currents and winds to have carried debris to Réunion from there.

The French Justice Ministry and the Réunion authorities said in a joint statement on Thursday that “at this stage, the origin of the debris is not identified.”

“No hypothesis can be ruled out, including that it originates from a Boeing 777,” the statement said.

Mr. Truss said that a number found on the part, BB670, was not a serial number or a registration number but could be linked to the maintenance of the aircraft, which would help identify it. He said scientists had been asked to examine photographs of barnacles that were on the object to try to establish how long it had been submerged.

Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. It inexplicably went off course midflight and flew south for hours before running out of fuel and crashing into the southern Indian Ocean, according to investigators. The pilot stopped communicating with air traffic controllers about 40 minutes into the flight.

Jason Middleton, the head of the aviation school at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said that if the debris was confirmed to be from Flight 370, it could provide some clues to what happened to the plane, but not to the whereabouts of the rest of the wreckage.

“Depending on the nature of the damage to that part, they will be able to tell how it separated from the rest of the plane,” Mr. Middleton said. “The twisted structure and the technical aspect of how it separated will give a reasonable indication of how violent the impact was.”

Joe Hattley, a spokesman for Australia’s transportation safety bureau, cautioned against raising hopes for family members of those aboard the jet.

“We have had lots of debris reported to us,” Mr. Hattley said. “This one is more promising. Any piece of information is good information, but I am mindful of the next of kin and how difficult this could be for them.”

Jiang Hui, a telecommunications engineer in Beijing whose mother was on Flight 370, said that relatives were treating the development with caution. “We’ve often had these reports that are overstated or incorrect, saying they’ve found something,” he said.

“After more than a year of this our hearts are broken, and after last night’s news, a lot of family members were really agitated,” Mr. Jiang added.

Most of the passengers on Flight 370 were Chinese. Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the government in Beijing was paying close attention to the news, but he offered no other details about the possible wreckage from Flight 370.

“We have taken note of the report, and further verification is being conducted with relevant countries,” Mr. Hong said in a statement issued on the ministry’s website. “The Chinese side will follow closely how this plays out and properly handle relevant follow-up matters.”

Paul Kennedy, the search director for Fugro Survey, a division of a Dutch company hired by Australia to conduct the seabed search for Flight 370 off Western Australia, said the work there was continuing as usual.

“There’s no substantial change to where we are looking,” said Mr. Kennedy, who for months has pored over images from the ocean floor. “We’ve just got to all be patient right now. And fingers crossed.”

source:nytimes.com