Jun142017
On the First leg of his 4-day official visit to Republic of Korea, the Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley arrived in Seoul, capital of Republic of Korea today. After his arrival, the Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley co-chaired the Fifth India-Korea Financial Dialogue with the newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of the Republic of Korea
Jun142017
We are saddened to hear of the tragic events in West London. There are many registered charities on the ground doing what they do best to assist those who have been affected. We are urging members of the public that wish to make donations to check that they give to a registered charity in order to best support those affected, and also importantly to check with those charities what support they need – whether that is money, time or other essential supplies.
Jun142017
Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Solicitor General, responding to
calls from senior Tories to drop a key manifesto pledge to scrap the Serious
Fraud Office, said:
“This is yet more evidence of the
chaos at the heart of the Conservative Party.
“Good corporate governance is essential
to the UK’s reputation at home and abroad; the Serious Fraud Office plays a
vital part in this and should not be cast aside.
“Senior Tories are right to be alarmed
at Theresa May’s attempt to undermine the fight against big-ticket economic
crime. She urgently needs to think again.”
Jun142017
14 June 2017
As MEPs today vote on important legislation that sets binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for EU member countries, Molly Scott Cato MEP has challenged the new Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, to match or better these targets for tackling climate change once the UK leaves the EU.
MEPs will vote on the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), the EU’s largest climate instrument regulating emissions of sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), namely transport, agriculture, buildings and waste [1]. The legislation sets climate targets for each country for the period 2021 to 2030. But with the UK set to leave the EU before this time, Dr Scott Cato is demanding Mr Gove set targets at least as ambitious as those of the EU. She said:
“I can think of few people less fit for the role of environment secretary. He has consistently voted against measures to tackle climate change and infamously tried to remove the issue from the national curriculum when he was education secretary.
“However, I welcome the fact he has hit out at Donald Trump over his decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement [2]. Let’s now see if action matches words and whether this apparent new-found commitment to tackling climate change means anything in practice. Let’s see him pledge the UK to match or even better the rather unambitious targets on reducing emissions being discussed and voted on in Europe. Here is his first real test. Will he take a lead on tackling climate change or follow a climate denying US president wishing to drag us back to a bygone dirty fossil era?”
Notes:
Jun142017
14 June 2017 – A senior United Nations humanitarian official in the occupied Palestinian Territory warned today about the disastrous consequences of a further reduction in electricity supply to the Gaza Strip on the living conditions of two million Palestinians.
“A further increase in the length of blackouts is likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services, including critical functions in the health, water and sanitation sectors,” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Robert Piper in a statement.
“The people in Gaza should not be held hostage to this longstanding internal Palestinian dispute,” he added, calling on the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Israel to put the welfare of Gaza’s residents first.
This year marks 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory.
Early this week, the Israeli cabinet agreed to a reduction in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, following a decision by the Palestinian Authority to reduce its monthly payments for that supply by 30 per cent.
The reduction will bring most households and service-providers down to 2 hours or so of power per day, he said.
Hospitals, water supply, waste water treatment and sanitation services have already been dramatically curtailed since mid-April and depend almost exclusively on a UN emergency fuel operation.
An additional reduction in electricity will require the delivery of one million litres of fuel monthly, under the UN operation, to keep minimum functions operating at 186 essential facilities across the Strip.
“The UN has already appealed to the international community to support its limited humanitarian efforts to prevent the collapse of vital life-saving, health, water, sanitation and municipal services,” Mr. Piper said.