Jul12017

China launches emergency response for flood relief

East Asia

China’s disaster relief authorities launched a level III emergency response plan Saturday to help flood victims.

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has dispatched eight work teams to south China’s flood stricken areas to guide relief work, the office said in a statement.

Severe floods hit the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River in recent days, as well as some nearby rivers and lakes.

More than 260,000 people have been displaced after heavy rain in central China’s Hunan Province since June 22, said the provincial flood control office late Friday.

Under a level III emergency response plan, the office must report to the State Council within two hours and dispatch a work team to the disaster zone within 24 hours.

Jul12017

Bullet trains to travel from Beijing to Xiongan New Area

East Asia

Passengers can take bullet trains for the first time from Beijing to Xiongan New Area next week, according to the China Railway Corporation.

Two bullet trains will travel from Beijing to Xiongan New Area on July 6, a trip of about 80 minutes from Beijing South Station to Baoding Station in Hebei Province.

Tickets for the bullet trains will be available from Sunday morning.

China announced plans to establish Xiongan New Area in April.

Located some 100 km southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiongan New Area will mostly cover Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province.

Jul12017

It’s time to end Tory and SNP austerity

Scottish Labour

REVEALED: THE SNP HAS CUT COUNCIL SERVICES THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE SCOTTISH BUDGET HAS BEEN CUT

A report by independent experts has revealed that the SNP government has cut council services three times faster than the Scottish Budget has been cut.
Research by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) shows local government budgets have plummeted by 4.6 per cent between 2013/14 and 2016/17.
Over the same period, the Scottish Government’s budget has decreased by 1.5 per cent.
This shows that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to the poorest communities.
Figures published by the SNP government confirms that the majority of council spending in Scotland is on education and social work.
Instead of using the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest, SNP Ministers have slashed £1.5billion from local services since 2011.
We will continue to press the case to use the tax powers to stop the cuts and invest in public services instead. 

Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley said:
“This report proves that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to Scottish communities.
“The SNP has cut spending in local communities three times faster than the Tories have cut the Scottish budget.
“Those cuts fall on the poorest the hardest – the biggest chunk of council spending is schools, nurseries, and social work.
“This is SNP austerity, increasing poverty and leading to thousands of redundancies across Scotland.
“It is clear that Scotland is sick and tired of austerity. Only Labour is actively making the case to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts and invest instead.”