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Australian general insurers welcome `Bushfire Funding’, say Tax Rise ‘Unsustainable

The federal government’s allocation of A$1.2 billion (US$931 million) over five years to improve Australia’s capability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters and now the Victorian government’s A$517 million investment in bushfire specific resilience initiatives will protect communities vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather and natural disasters,the ICA said in a statement.

“This welcome news is tempered, however, by the Victorian budget’s projections that revenue from insurance stamp duty will increase by almost one-third over the budget estimates, rising 29% from A$1.517 billion in 2020-21 to A$1.959 billion [US$1.519 billion] in 2024-25,” the ICA explained.

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Yaas intensifies into very severe cyclonic storm: IMD; eastern states evacuate more than 12 lakh people

`Yaas’, which was positioned 160 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 240 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal over north-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on Tuesday evening, is likely to gain a maximum speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph during landfall, the Met department said.

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Air India unions seek forensic audit of PF trusts

”It has come as a shock to all of us unions, many of whom were not involved or aware of the day to day functioning of the Provident Fund trusts of Indian Airlines and Air India that huge losses have been incurred by both trusts, due to questionable investments in companies like ILFS and Dewan Housing, among others, which collapsed,” the unions said in the e-mail, accessed by PTI.

The Forum claims representation of over 10,000 Air India staff members comprising pilots, engineers, cabin crew and ground staff.

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Biden doubles U.S. spending on preparations for extreme weather

The $1 billion will help communities prepare for hurricanes, floods and wildfires, with a portion allotted specifically to disadvantaged communities, the White House said.

It said the United States had 22 separate weather- and climate-related disasters in 2020 costing a total of nearly $100 billion in losses.

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