The Army Medical Chief, Lt. Gen. Bipin Puri called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy & Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today and discussed several issues related to healthcare services in the country.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the interactive session Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saath has lauded the efforts of Senior Citizens of India for giving up subsidy for travel in Indian Railways.  While interacting at the event in London, PM recounted his days spent at Railway Station & the enriching experience he gathered there from.

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Kowloon City yesterday evening (April 19) in which a 50-year-old man died.

     At about 9.05pm, a private car driven by the 50-year-old man was travelling along Argyle Street towards Mong Kok, while a taxi driven by a 60-year-old man was travelling along Argyle Street towards Kwun Tong. When approaching near Waterloo Road, the private car and the taxi reportedly collided. At the same time, a private car driven by a 29-year-old man and a motorcycle driven by a 39-year-old man were following the taxi in sequence. The motorcycle failed to brake and collided with the private car driven by the 29-year-old man.

     The 50-year-old private car driver was trapped inside the car and was rescued by fireman. He was rushed to Kwong Wah Hospital in unconscious state and certified dead at 9.57pm. A 39-year-old female passenger on his car, the 60-year-old taxi driver and a 32-year-old female taxi passenger were also trapped inside the vehicles and were rescued by fireman. The motorcyclist was injured in the accident. The taxi driver and his female passenger were rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in unconscious state while the female passenger of the private car and the motorcyclist were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in conscious state.

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, Kowloon West is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 9000 or 3661 9058.

​The European Committee of the Regions is drafting an opinion on “Clean Ports, Clean Seas – Port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships” on the European Commission’s legislative proposal to revise the port reception facilities Directive (COM(2018)33).

The topic is of high relevance to the CoR: Local and regional authorities are important stakeholders for the management of their ports and the reduction of waste in the various regional sea basins is also in the interest of maritime regions.

If you have any position papers relevant to the subject or any valuable input based on the rapporteur’s questions below, you are welcome to send them to us before the 1st of May at coter@cor.europa.eu.

Questions of CoR rapporteur Spyridon to the stakeholders on the revision of the port reception facilities Directive (COM (2018)33).

 

1. It is important to examine the consequences of the proposed directive to small ports. The costs generated may be too high for the Port authorities and, when transferred to the users, this may result to higher prices, with a possible effect on port competitiveness. This is particularly important for regions closer to non-EU member states, where the Directive will not be applied. Could the ships thus prefer the non-EU ports, where the costs may be lower?
2. The IMO has no definition of the “Green ship”, and the Commission is proposing to define it, according to international certification standards that are used privately. Wouldn’t it be preferable to coordinate with other international stakeholders, in order to define an international definition?
3. Wouldn’t it be preferable to further align the regulation with international standards, and define the obligation to deliver in accordance with the storage capacity of a vessel, and not conditioned on it approaching in a port?
4. The obligation for delivery at every EU port of call, even is Short Sea Shipping, is maintained in the new directive. That means that, short sea cargo with frequent calls (ie. Ro-Ro) will have to deliver waste, even if, by IMO/MARPOL standards, the generated waste between the two port calls is very limited. Such an obligation is increasing the costs for these ships, which, according to the proposed definition, may not be covered by the exemptions that are given to regular traffic (it will be at the port’s discretion).
5. Concerning the application of the indirect fee, mainly in ships engaged in regular traffic, the cost may be too high in periods of reduced traffic, especially during the winter. Therefore, wouldn’t it be preferable to see a clearer definition of the Cost Recovery System, mainly the formal interdiction of profit from the activity? This is also combined with more transparency and consultation.Simultaneously, would setting a limit in how much waste is included in the “No Special Fee” be an option in order to reduce costs for regular traffic?
6. The Parliament is proposing to extend the period for revision of the Port Reception Programmes from three to five years. The necessary adjustments should be sufficient in-between. What is your opinion on this?

He criticised the effective monopolies enjoyed by the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon – comparing their market dominance to that of big oil companies in the past – and suggested ways they could be broken up.