May292017

Tories need to come clean on social care cap before election

UKIP
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UKIP Economic Spokesman Patrick O’Flynn has demanded Theresa May and her ministers declare before polling day what cap they intend to impose on social care bills.

He has also suggested voters use Twitter to contact their local Tory candidate using the hashtag #whatisthecap to increase pressure for a further climbdown.

Mr O’Flynn last week led calls for a cap to be imposed after the Tory manifesto proposed taking bills out of the estates of deceased persons who had needed social care on a completely uncapped basis.

Following an outcry, Theresa May performed a partial U-turn by announcing there would after all be a cap. But she has so far refused to say what it will be or even give an approximate figure.

On Sunday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd failed to deny suggestions by Andrew Marr that the cap could be as high as £300,000.

May292017

Clegg: May’s approach to Brexit is a threat to national security

Liberal Democrats
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The Schengen Information System (SIS II) is an EU-wide database on organised criminal and terrorist suspects across 28 countries, including 35,000 people wanted under a European Arrest Warrant. It includes alerts on suspected ‘foreign fighters’ – people who have travelled to Syria and elsewhere to fight for ISIS.

• UK police and security services queried the database over half a billion times in 2016 – equivalent to 16 checks a second.

• 53 people are detained and questioned under anti-terrorism laws at ports and airports every day, where they can be checked against the database by UK Border Force officers.

• In April 2016, the UK received 25 hits on alerts issued by other participating countries in relation to individuals who could pose a risk to national security.

• The UK would lose access to the database under Theresa May’s plans to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Unless this position changes, UK authorities will see their access to the database cut off on 29th March 2019.
Nick Clegg has challenged Theresa May to answer three vital questions:
1. How will we maintain access to SIS II without accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice?

2. What contingency plans has she put in place to mitigate the loss of this information on the movement of terrorist suspects across the continent?

3. How will we issue instructions to other EU countries to stop and question terror suspects if we are no longer part of this system?
Nick Clegg commented:
“Theresa May’s extreme approach to Brexit will have the direct consequence of severing our ties to a fantastically useful weapon in our armoury against terrorism.

“By refusing to accept a role for the European Court of Justice in policing this European-wide database, she has ruled out our future participation it.

“It is hard to overstate the importance of this database. We check it 16 times a second, looking for security threats that have been flagged to us by other European countries. And we use it to tell other countries to stop and question people who we think are potential terrorists.

“This is euroscepticism gone mad. If she fails to back down, Theresa May’s approach to Brexit poses a direct threat to our national security.”

May292017

Ayurvedic medicine still remains an important component of our healthcare system: Vice President

India
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The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that Ayurvedic medicine still remains an important component of our healthcare system. He was addressing the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, here today. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, the President of Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, Shri Devender Triguna and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

May292017

New Chairperson of EIGE’s Management Board Prof Kalliope Agapiou Josephides takes office

EU
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The new Chairperson of the EIGE Management Board for 2017 – 2019, Kalliope Agapiou Josephides from Cyprus, took office in May 2017.

She has extensive experience in the field of gender equality at the international, national and regional level: management of institutions dealing with gender equality and human rights (former Vice-President of the European Inter University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation in Venice, EIGE Management Board Member); good knowledge of the EU policies and politics (Jean Monnet Chair Holder, University of Cyprus). As an established international expert she has been serving as academic convener/speaker in high-level international events, providing advise and training for institutions and leaders as well as teaching and research. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Paris I Panthéon – Sorbonne University.

For the complete list of Management Board members see the EIGE website.