• Vehicles stuck on a street as floodwaters submerge the city of Gympie, in Australia. Getty Images
    Vehicles stuck on a street as floodwaters submerge the city of Gympie, in Australia. Getty Images
  • People play on a waterlogged street in Maroochydore, Queensland state. Getty Images
    People play on a waterlogged street in Maroochydore, Queensland state. Getty Images
  • Australia's Queensland state and other regions have experienced several days of intense rain, with flooding expected to continue. Getty Images
    Australia's Queensland state and other regions have experienced several days of intense rain, with flooding expected to continue. Getty Images
  • A father and his daughter watch people take to floodwaters in their boat in Logan, south of Brisbane. Getty Images
    A father and his daughter watch people take to floodwaters in their boat in Logan, south of Brisbane. Getty Images
  • People walk in the rain past a sign warning the public about a road closure due to flooding, in Logan. EPA
    People walk in the rain past a sign warning the public about a road closure due to flooding, in Logan. EPA
  • A partially submerged house in Ipswich, Queensland. EPA
    A partially submerged house in Ipswich, Queensland. EPA
  • A car is towed from a flooded road in Oxley. EPA
    A car is towed from a flooded road in Oxley. EPA
  • A car stuck in floodwaters near Lismore, New South Wales. EPA
    A car stuck in floodwaters near Lismore, New South Wales. EPA
  • A woman takes pictures of the overflowing Parramatta river in Sydney. AFP
    A woman takes pictures of the overflowing Parramatta river in Sydney. AFP
  • A lorry moves through a flooded road in Brisbane, Australia. AFP
    A lorry moves through a flooded road in Brisbane, Australia. AFP
  • Intense rains and flash floods have affected Brisbane and other parts of the region. AFP
    Intense rains and flash floods have affected Brisbane and other parts of the region. AFP
  • Residents walk past a flooded creek in the Cannon Hill suburb of Brisbane. AFP
    Residents walk past a flooded creek in the Cannon Hill suburb of Brisbane. AFP
  • A closed road sign at the flooded Bulimba Creek at Cannon Hill. AFP
    A closed road sign at the flooded Bulimba Creek at Cannon Hill. AFP
  • Floods inundate roads in Rocklea, Brisbane. AFP
    Floods inundate roads in Rocklea, Brisbane. AFP
  • Resident Jai Connors fishes in rising floodwater from the swollen Bremer river in front of his home in the city of Ipswich. AFP
    Resident Jai Connors fishes in rising floodwater from the swollen Bremer river in front of his home in the city of Ipswich. AFP
  • A man looks at floodwaters from the balcony of his home in West Ipswich. AFP
    A man looks at floodwaters from the balcony of his home in West Ipswich. AFP
  • Flash floods have cut off many roads in the region. Emergency services have been carrying out rescues in various areas. AFP
    Flash floods have cut off many roads in the region. Emergency services have been carrying out rescues in various areas. AFP
  • A resident watches floodwaters from his house in Ipswich. EPA
    A resident watches floodwaters from his house in Ipswich. EPA
  • People walk in rain near a flooded road in the city of Logan. EPA
    People walk in rain near a flooded road in the city of Logan. EPA
  • Residents look at floodwaters from the balcony of their home in West Ipswich. AFP
    Residents look at floodwaters from the balcony of their home in West Ipswich. AFP

World

Australasia

Australia hit by 'rain bomb' as flooding death toll rises

Heavy rain has battered Queensland and New South Wales for most of this week

The National

February 27, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

A severe storm system pummelled Australia's eastern city of Brisbane on Sunday, leading to evacuations, power cuts and school closures as the death toll from accompanying flash floods climbed to seven.

More than 1,400 homes in the capital of Queensland were at risk of flooding while more than 28,000 homes were without power across the state, as pristine beaches on the Gold and Sunshine coasts, which are key tourist attractions, all closed.

Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Adrian Schrinner, described the weather system as a "rain bomb above south-east Queensland".

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk pleaded with people living in Brisbane to stay home as the weather system moved south into major residential areas.

It's just coming down in buckets
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

"We never expected this rain," she said. "This rain bomb is just really, you know, it's unrelenting ... It's just coming down in buckets."

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for vast parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, with more than 300 millimetres falling in some areas in the past 24 hours.

More than 100 schools across south-east Queensland will be closed on Monday. State rescue services said they received 100 requests an hour for help in recent days.

Among the people killed in the flooding were a 34-year-old man who tried to swim to safety after the waters submerged his car, and another whose vehicle was swept away in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Police continue to search for a man in his 70s who fell into the Brisbane River on Friday.

About 700 people were asked to leave the city of Gympie in Queensland on Saturday after the Mary River system surged beyond 22.06 metres to create the town's worst flood since the 1880s.

Huge downpours have battered eastern Australia for the better part of a week. Meteorologists said the deluge and thunderstorms would continue through Monday, before starting to ease off in Queensland, but moving south to New South Wales, where some communities at risk in its north-east have been told to leave.

The risk of riverine and flash flooding was "very real over coming days", said Steph Cooke, the Emergency Services Minister in New South Wales.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

US PGA Championship in numbers

1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

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Ponti

Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

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