The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space
Jul182017
Jul182017
Friends of Wighton event this Saturday
From Sheena Wellington :
Bruce Davies – The Other Great American Songbook
Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library
Saturday 22nd July at 11am (doors open 10.30am)
Bruce Davies, award winning singer/songwriter, whose rich voice and guitar style has won him friends on three continents, is delighted to present this celebration of songs and stories that shaped an inspired him!
Expect to hear the songs of Bob Dylan; Tom Paxton; Peter, Paul & Mary; Judy Collin; Phil Ochs; Joan Baez; John Denver; Gordon Lightfoot and many more.
Admission £5. Tea/coffee available for a small donation.
Jul182017
‘China’s Jack the Ripper’ stands trial
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Police detained suspected serial killer Gao Chengyong in the city of Baiyin, Gansu Province, on August 26, 2016. [Photo/thepaper.cn] |
A high-profile criminal case has been heard at the Baiyin Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in Gansu Province on Tuesday.
Alleged serial killer Gao Chengyong, detained in the city of Baiyin last year, is on trial for intentional killing, rape, robbery and desecrating a human corpse.
If convicted, the 53-year old Gao could face the death penalty. A verdict is expected later this week.
Gao Chengyong is accused of raping and murdering 11 people from 1988 to 2002. He was arrested in August, 2016, after a lengthy investigation in the city of Baiyin, where 9 of the 11 killings took place.
Prosecutors have alleged Gao would target young women dressed in red, then follow them home, where he would subsequently rape and kill them, normally by cutting their throats. The victims’ bodies were also mutilated after their deaths, leading to the killer being dubbed ‘China’s Jack the Ripper’ in Chinese media.
Jul182017
8th Soong Ching Ling Int’l Summer Camp opens in Beijing
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An international summer camp opens in Beijing on July 17, bringing over 200 children from 16 countries. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] |
An international summer camp opened in Beijing on July 17, bringing over 200 children from 16 countries.
Under the theme of “In China, Be Friends,” the camp is sponsored by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF), a Beijing-based NGO named after the late wife of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
The week-long event, already in its 8th year, aims to further promote the consensus achieved during last May’s Belt and Road Forum (BRF) to enhance communication between the younger generation of various countries and strengthen people-to-people exchanges through various group activities, exhibitions, talent shows, cultural carnivals as well as sightseeing around China, the foundation stated.
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Young people from different countries play games during an ice-breaking session of the 8th Soong Ching Ling International Summer Camp in Beijing on July 17. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] |
Hang Yuanxiang, CSCLF’s standing vice chairman, speaking at the camp’s opening ceremony, declared: “Through this event, we hope young people could get closer, promote exchanges of different civilizations and contribute to a better and peaceful world when they grow up.”
Aimar Poom, a team manager of four Estonian teenagers, said it would be a very exciting experience for youngsters being in China along with peers of different skin colors and cultural backgrounds.
Beside their stay in Beijing, participants will go on separate trips to north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jiangsu Province and Shanghai to experience the country’s traditional culture and development.
Jul182017
UK’s first Development Bank to open in October in Wales
The Development Bank of Wales will provide the necessary growth finance and business support to attract, and retain micro businesses and SMEs within Wales.
It will seek to generate more than a billion pounds of investment to the Welsh economy over the next five years and, as the first of its kind in the UK, will provide Wales with a competitive business edge over the rest of the UK.
And today the Economy Secretary has confirmed that a further £35m of EU funding will be added to the £136m Wales Business Fund that was announced last year to support both start-up and existing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Wales.
This takes the new total of the fund to £171m and the Economy Secretary signalled that further funding for the Development Bank would be announced later in the year.
Ken Skates said:
“I am delighted to confirm that following Welsh Government approval of the business case, the Development Bank of Wales is set to be up and running by October.
“The Development Bank will be the first of its kind in the UK, addressing current market failures within business finance and providing focussed support for micro, small start ups and innovative businesses across Wales enabling them to become fitter, bigger and stronger.
“It will increase the availability of funding to SMEs to £80m per annum within five years and we anticipate that taking into account private sector leverage this will have a potentially transformational impact on the Welsh economy of over £170m per annum by 2021/22.
“To support the Bank we are extending the Wales Business Fund by a further £35m with EU funding. This will take the total of the fund to £171m, and we will have news of more money to support the Bank’s work later this year.
“The Development Bank will have its headquarter in North Wales with a strong presence across the whole of Wales and I look forward to the formal launch in October.”
Giles Thorley said:
“The creation of a development bank is innovative in approach and represents a significant step change in the way Government backed funding is delivered in Wales. It will be built on the solid foundations of the skills and experience already in place within the team.
“A thriving SME population across the whole of Wales is critical to ensuring a prosperous economy. We are proud to have worked with some fantastic, ambitious businesses and entrepreneurs over the last 15 years and look forward to supporting even more as we transition to the new organisation.”
The Development Bank is a key part of the Welsh Government’s strategy to deliver a more prosperous and secure Wales. It will differ from Finance Wales not only in terms of the increased scale of funding available but also in the way it develops new products. This will be informed through the creation of an intelligence unit tasked with conducting research into the needs of Welsh businesses, ultimately enabling an improved response to changes in supply and demand in the market.
It will increasingly become self funding with the business model assuming that it will no longer need grant support for operational costs from next year onwards.