Dunnes Stores failure to pay €21.6 million could face winding-up petition in court
The developer behind the Ferrybank Shopping Centre in Waterford City is seeking to wind-up retail giant Dunnes Stores.
The case, which is listed before the Commercial Court on Monday, concerns Dunnes Stores’ failure to pay some €21.6m due over an unpaid debt for building works.
In March this year, the High Court awarded Holtglen Limited just more than €20m from Dunnes Stores for breach of contract over the Ferrybank Shopping Centre.
The contract for Dunnes to be the anchor tenant of the centre was signed in 2007, however by the time the centre was completed in 2009, the market had collapsed and Dunnes were no longer interested in moving in.
Holtglen later became insolvent and its Bank of Ireland loans were transferred to a Nama company.
It is understood that Nama wrote to Dunnes on October 30 warning that, unless it paid the €20.4m judgment plus interest within seven days, Holtglen would proceed to publish a petition to wind-up the retailer.
Holtglen claims there is no justification for Dunnes not paying the sum due.
Connemara Galway residents now have enough of wind turbines
Connemara residents have hit out against the introduction of wind turbines in their area, saying they’ve “had enough”.
The group said they are so concerned about the impacts of wind farms that are currently under construction in the area, they will hold a protest outside the County Buildings on Monday 26 November at 1pm.
A spokesperson said that the resident feel that “this is the only way” for the local authority to address the issues as they have been “fobbing us off” for months.
“Our issues are the fact that so many turbines are being constructed in close proximity to people’s homes with little or no consultation with the communities who are affected.
“With the extensive amount of research now available (including papers published by the British Medical Journal) proving without doubt that there are repercussions to public health as a result of living too close to a turbine, you would think that Galway County Council would be interested in protecting its constituents.”
The spokesperson cited health effects, shadow flicker, noise and property devaluation as some of the major issues that need to be addressed, with 103 turbines having already been granted planning permission in an 8km radius in the gateway to Connemara.
“This current plague of wind farm development is only the beginning as Galway County Councils Wind Strategy plan allows for far more development and approximately 60 per cent of the areas they have zoned as suitable are in the most densely populated areas of the county. These communities are crying out for help to stop these developments,” said the spokesperson.
Climate change evident across Europe, says European Environment report
The cost of damage from extreme weather events is projected to increase in the future and the effects of climate change are already evident in Europe and the situation is set to get worse, the European Environment Agency has warned.
In a report, the agency says the past decade in Europe has been the warmest on record.
It adds that the cost of damage caused by extreme weather events is rising, and the continent is set to become more vulnerable in the future.
The findings have been published ahead of next week’s UN climate conference.
They join a UN Environment Programme report also released on Wednesday showing dangerous growth in the “emissions gap” – the difference between current carbon emission levels and those needed to avert climate change.
“Every indicator we have in terms of giving us an early warning of climate change and increasing vulnerability is giving us a very strong signal,” observed EEA executive director Jacqueline McGlade.
“It is across the board, it is not just global temperatures,” she told BBC News.
“It is in human health aspects, in forests, sea levels, agriculture, biodiversity – the signals are coming in from right across the environment.”
The report – Climate Change, Impacts and Vulnerabilities in Europe 2012 - involving more than 50 authors from a range of organisations, listed a number of “key messages”, including:
- Observed climate change has “already led to a wide range of impacts on environmental systems and society; further climate change impacts are projected for the future”;
- Climate change can increase existing vulnerabilities and deepen socio-economic imbalances in Europe;
- The combined impacts of projected climate change and socio-economic development is set to see the damage costs of extreme weather events continue to increase.
As it currently stands, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has set a target of limiting the rise in global mean temperature to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.
But the report’s authors warn that even if this target to mitigate warming is met, “substantial impacts on society, human health and ecosystems are projected to occur”.
To limit the impacts, experts say effective adaptation strategies need to be developed in order to minimise the risk to nations’ infrastructure, homes and businesses.
The European Commission is expected to publish its European Adaptation Strategy in 2013, outlining measures it think will help the 27-nation bloc deal with future climate shifts.
Middle aged women taking 6,000 daily steps can cut diabetes risk
Middle-aged women who take 6,000 or more steps per day are less likely to develop diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a new study suggests.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of conditions including obesity, high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels, which combine to increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Having just one of these conditions increases your risk of a serious disease. However in metabolic syndrome, when all the conditions are present together, the risk is even greater.
According to scientists, these findings are important because while it has long been established that physical activity lowers a person’s risk of developing many conditions, this study shows that it does not matter how these 6,000 steps are taken. In other words, whether these steps came from planned physical activities or just normal daily activities, such as walking to the shop, the benefits are still the same.
The study looked at almost 300 women aged between 45 and 72. All underwent health checks and wore pedometers to record their daily steps.
Those who took 6,000 or more steps per day were considered active, while the remaining participants were considered inactive.
The scientists found that the active women were less likely to be obese, have metabolic syndrome or diabetes. This was irrespective of whether they had gone through the menopause – a time when the risk of developing these conditions increases.
The results also stood whether or not the women used hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The team concluded that middle-aged women should aim to achieve at least 6,000 steps per day to help safeguard their health.
Once-a-week drug for diabetes now nearing a reality
A once-a-week medicine for diabetics — a disease that affects nearly 63 million Indians — could soon become a reality.
Studies on diabetes have seen a global upsurge, with the latest data showing that bio-pharmaceutical research companies across the globe are busy developing 221 innovative new medicines.
The drugs, which will help around 347 million patients include new therapies that target key abnormalities of pancreatic cells, increase insulin secretion without significantly reducing blood sugar, have reduced dosage, minimize painful nerve damage and prevent diabetic kidney disease.
Examples of new cutting-edge approaches to fight diabetes include a once-daily medicine that selectively inhibits the protein associated with glucose metabolism, a drug designed to inhibit an enzyme linked to diabetic neuropathy and a medicine to treat type 2 diabetes that may allow for a once-a-week regimen.
A report, released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), says that these medicines in development – all in either clinical trials or under review by the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – include 32 for type 1 diabetes, type 2 (130) and diabetes-related conditions (64).
Since 1990, six new classes of diabetes type 2 medicines have been approved by the FDA, giving patients and providers powerful new tools to treat the condition. America’s biopharmaceutical research companies continue to explore many different approaches to battle diabetes.
“Diabetes is a major public health challenge and an economic burden for patients, their families, healthcare providers and the entire nation. Future medical advancements are our best hope for lessening the burden of diabetes to patients, their families and society. The medicines in the pipeline represent an exciting new chapter in the ongoing quest to better treat this debilitating disease,” said Dr A K Jhingan, chairman of Delhi Diabetic Research Centre.
India alone has 63 million people living with diabetes, second only to China (92.3 million), according to International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The prevalence is expected to rise sharply for a variety of reasons, including an aging population more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and longer lifespan among diabetes patients.
If left untreated, diabetes can lead to severe health problems and complications, such as heart disease, stroke, vision loss and amputation. The last two decades have witnessed steady improvements in diabetes management across the world. Now, most blockbuster drugs are available within a year of their global launch in countries where industry-friendly policies exist.
Improved adherence to diabetes medications can lead to better health outcomes and reduced costs. A recent study in health affairs projected that improved adherence to diabetes medications could avert more than one million emergency room visits and close to 620,000 hospitalizations annually, for a total potential savings of $8.3 billion annually.
“Many of the human and economic costs associated with diabetes can be avoided, making improvement of patient adherence one of the best opportunities to get better results and greater value from our healthcare system,” said PhRMA president John J Castellani. “This is by no means an easy task, but stakeholders throughout the healthcare system, including biopharmaceutical research companies, must work together to tackle this shared objective,” he added.
Nearly 44 lakh Indians in their most productive years — aged between 20 and 79— aren’t aware that they are diabetic, exposing them to heart attack, stroke, amputations, nerve damage,blindness and kidney ailments.
The diabetes epidemic in the country, which killed 10 lakh last year, has also thrown up an interesting trend. Contrary to popular perception, diabetes affects more people in rural India (34 million) than affluent urban Indians (28 million).
The gap between the number of diabetic men and women in India is also diminishing. While 33 million men are diabetic, 29 million women are affected by high blood sugar.
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