Jun182017

News story: David Davis heads to Brussels tomorrow with a clear message: we are leaving the European Union

HM Government
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The Brexit Secretary David Davis heads into tomorrow’s first official talks to leave the European Union on a mission to deliver on the will of the British people.

Despite European leaders’ attempts to leave open the possibility of the UK remaining in the UK, Mr Davis will make it clear that he is determined to achieve a Brexit deal that works for the whole of the UK.

Mr Davis will lead a team of experienced negotiators to Brussels confident that he can get a positive outcome and secure a new deep and special partnership with the EU.

He will also set out a bold vision for the UK’s future after it leaves the EU and the exciting opportunities that will arise from our exit.

After ten months of planning, Mr Davis will meet with the EU’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier to agree the structure of the negotiations ahead so officials have a framework within which to discuss substantive issues.

David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union said: “As I head to Brussels to open official talks to leave the EU, there should be no doubt — we are leaving the European Union, and delivering on that historic referendum result.

Now, the hard work begins. We must secure a deal that works for all parts of the United Kingdom, and enables us to become a truly global Britain.

Leaving gives us the opportunity to forge a bright new future for the UK — one where we are free to control our borders, pass our own laws and do what independent sovereign countries do.

We will soon introduce bills for new immigration and customs arrangements, and the Great Repeal Bill will transpose all EU law into UK law, providing certainty for businesses.

There has been a huge amount of work across Whitehall to prepare us for these talks, and make sure we get the best possible deal with the European Union.

We are not turning our backs on Europe. It’s vital that the deal we strike allows both the UK and the EU to thrive, as part of the new deep and special partnership we want with our closest allies and friends.

These talks will be difficult at points, but we will be approaching them in a constructive way.

The start of the negotiations comes as work continues across the UK Government to prepare Britain for life outside of the EU.

This includes preparations for new bills on customs and immigration. It will also see the Government introduce a Great Repeal Bill which will convert existing EU law into UK statute and enable the smoothest possible transition at the point of leaving.

The Great Repeal Bill is expected to be introduced as part of the Queen’s Speech next Wednesday.

Jun182017

Surely the Chancellor does not want to mar Brexit?

John Redwood MP
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I have been reading strange stories this week that the Chancellor is going on to the Marr show this morning to seek to change government policy on Brexit. I find this difficult to believe. The Chancellor is a senior member of the Cabinet and Brexit Committee, so he would have put his point of  view strongly when the Brexit policy was decided. The government deliberated long and hard, and then produced a White Paper, several statements to Parliament, and the Article 50 letter and Act. These all made it clear the UK would be leaving the EU and its single market and Customs Union, but would be negotiating for a business friendly comprehensive free trade agreement with the rest of the EU. This approach received overwhelming support form MPs in the last Parliament who voted through the Article 50 Act on that basis. The Chancellor was in full support.

I also find it difficult to believe the stories because the policy the unnamed briefers  say we need to change to is stupid. I would be surprised if the Chancellor wanted to sign up to such a policy. It is said we need to seek associate membership of the Customs Union, with an opt out of its strict rule that a member cannot negotiate free trade deals of its own for certain UK trade in services. How on earth could that  work? The main gains from negotiating free trade agreements with other countries will come from those where the present tariff barriers are highest. These are the lower income countries with a big export industry in farm products and basic industry. In order to get access for our services we will of course have to offer zero  tariffs and reduced barriers on things like tropical and  Mediterranean  agricultural products which currently are made dearer by EU impositions. If we cant negotiate on non service trade we have  no leverage.

It is also foolish because it creates the impression with the rest of the EU that the UK is constantly changing her mind and is too busy negotiating with herself to be able to negotiate seriously with them. Such a change at this late stage would send the wrong signal, and would not leave the government with the strong position accepted by Parliament that  we have at the moment. The General election saw 85% of the voters vote for parties that stated we  will leave the EU and the single market and negotiate our own trade deals. That is incompatible with any kind of membership of the Customs Union which would prevent us feeing our trade with others.

That’s why I think it unlikely the Chancellor will oppose government policy on the Marr show. Doubtless he will say he wants a  business friendly Brexit. On that I agree with him. That much is agreed by Labour and the Conservatives. The way to achieve it is through maximum access to the EU market, and through much better trade deals with the rest of the world.

Jun182017

China warns of geological disasters in the south

East Asia
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Meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of possible geological disasters in southern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Land and Resources warned of high risks of geological disasters including flash floods in parts of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces from Saturday to Sunday evening.

The NMC revoked a blue alert for a rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, but the forecast of heavy rain in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan and Yunnan will continue.

People affected by the rain should take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, the NMC warned.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Over the past years, China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.

Jun182017

China starts 2nd scientific expedition to Tibet plateau

East Asia
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China on Saturday began its second scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to study changes in climate, biodiversity and environment over the past decades.

The last expedition of similar scale was conducted in the 1970s.

Tibet plateau 

This time, the expedition will last five to 10 years and the first stop will be Serling Tso, a 2,391-square-kilometer lake that was confirmed to have replaced the Buddhist holy lake Namtso as Tibet’s largest in 2014.

In the coming month, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will take more than 100 scientists to the lake area and the origin of the Yangtze, China’s longest river. They will be divided into four groups and make a comprehensive survey of the plateau glaciers, climate change, biodiversity and ecological changes, said Yao Tandong, an academician with the CAS.

“Great changes have taken place in the plateau’s resources and environment since the first scientific expedition,” said Yao, director of the CAS Institute of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research. “We need further research to find out ways to cope with these changes.”

China’s first comprehensive scientific expedition to the Tibet plateau began in the 1970s and covered more than 50 disciplines including geologic structure, prehistoric life, geophysics, climate, zoology and botany.

“The scientists reported major discoveries and filled many gaps in plateau research,” said Yao.

The new round of research, he said, will focus on changes.

Zhu Liping, a CAS researcher leading the lake observation team, said the surface of Serling Tso Lake, for example, had expanded 40 percent between 1976 and 2009.

Since 1990, water in the plateau’s 1,000 lakes has increased by 100 billion cubic meters.

“The volume is equal to three times the water in Three Gorges Dam,” Zhu said. Study will measure the impact on the ecology and its potential link to flooding and drought in the low-lying eastern monsoon region.

Zhu said data will be collected by scientists using automatic boats for the first time and a topographic map will be drawn.

“The plateau climate is becoming warmer and more humid,” said Xu Baiqing, who leads another team to the glaciers. The team will drill ice cores at three major plateau glacier groups. Buried in the cold interiors of glaciers, ice cores contain well-preserved and detailed records of climate change in a century.

The impact of climatic changes would be assessed and proposals for conservation and rational development of resources formulated.

On the archaeological front, scientists will look for evidence that can prove an earlier archaeological discovery of a Paleolithic ruins in the Serling Tso suggesting that humans might have been lived on this part of the world since some 30,000 years ago.

Archaeologists will try to answer why humans came to this plateau, where did they come from, and how did they adapt to high altitude living, according to team leader Deng Tao, deputy director of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, under CAS.

A fourth team will research the biological diversity on the plateau and draw up a habitat map for preservation and tourism purposes.

A national park might be set up in Serling Tso.

The expedition will also take scientists to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and a pass linking to south Asia.