Xi Jinping was elected delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by a unanimous vote at the 12th CPC Guizhou provincial congress.
A total of 2,300 delegates to the national congress, slated for the second half of 2017, are being elected by 40 electoral units across the country. The election will be completed by June.
A court in east China’s Shandong Province has accepted a telecom fraud case involving the death of a teenager, which sparked a national outcry last year.
The trial against seven defendants will be held at the intermediate people’s court of Linyi City for the lawsuit filed Monday by the city’s procuratorate.
Xu Yuyu, a high school graduate in Linyi, died of cardiac arrest in August last year after losing 9,900 yuan (1,440 U.S. dollars) of her university tuition fees to telecom fraudsters.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has issued a circular urging procuratorates at all levels to tighten crackdowns on telecom and Internet fraud.
Chinese police caught 19,345 telecom fraud suspects last year.
Yesterday I was phoned to be asked onto the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning. They said they wanted me to answer questions about how the election would change the UK’s ability to negotiate a good new relationship with the EU. I was happy to do so, and said I could make any time at their studio. It seemed like a good topic, and central to what the PM said about her reason for calling the election.
They then proceeded to ask me a series of questions all designed to get me to disagree with the UK negotiating position and Prime Minister. I explained that I supported the PM, agreed with her Brexit White Paper and stated aims, and suggested if all they wanted to do was to criticise her they should approach the Opposition parties. They continued to try to get me to disagree. They did not seem to have read the White Paper or the PM’s speech on the topic, so I had to tell them what was in them and why I agreed with them.
I explained again that their thesis that the Leave supporting MPs were in disagreement with the PM and were “rebels” was simply untrue. We are not in disagreement with the PM and we have been strongly supporting the government’s statements and legislation on Brexit. She said she would get back to me about the invitation to go on, with the details.
She did not of course bother to, as it was clear I was unwilling to feed their view of what the news should be.
I then found another Leave supporting Conservative MP had been given the same treatment, and he too had thought the BBC were trying to change the news rather than reporting the position. When I came to do a live interview on some other BBC programme I was faced with the same stupid thesis and had to explain on air how wrong their idea was.
I do not know who is feeding the BBC this nonsense, but it is frustrating that they do not accept the truth from those whose views they claim to be reporting, and do not bother to get back and openly say they do not want you on because you won’t say what they want you to say.
The Turnbull and Hodgman Governments will begin expanding the Tasmanian Hydro System to provide affordable, reliable electricity as we transition to a lower emissions future.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will work with Hydro Tasmania on feasibility studies to assess several new pumped hydro energy storage schemes that could deliver up to 2,500MW of storage capacity for the National Electricity Market, as well as examining expansion of the Tarraleah and Gordon Power Stations.
ARENA will examine four large projects: Mersey Forth-1, Mersey Forth-2, Great Lake and Lake Burbury – with capacity of around 500-700 MW each – and an alternative of nine small scale sites totalling 500MW.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said an expanded hydro system in Tasmania could provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. Federal Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and his Tasmanian counterpart Matthew Groom will continue to work on the project.
The proposed expansion comes on the back of plans for Snowy 2.0 and supports the Turnbull Government’s technology neutral approach to affordable, reliable electricity.
Enhancing Tasmania’s considerable hydroelectric and renewables potential will provide new economic opportunities.
Pumped hydro can further stabilise the National Electricity Market and underpin additional wind investment in the State.
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman said the opportunity to expand the hydro system is enhanced by the fact that over the next 10 years Tasmania will invest around $1 billion in maintaining and refurbishing the State’s existing hydropower assets.
This will maximise renewable energy potential in Tasmania helping the national electricity market transition to a low carbon future. The Hodgman Government’s vision is for Tasmania to become the renewable energy battery for Australia and it will continue to actively promote further renewable energy opportunities in Tasmania.
The ARENA supported work builds on the study by Dr John Tamblyn, released today, into a second interconnector. Dr Tamblyn’s report finds another interconnector might be beneficial, but will depend on the ongoing development of the electricity system in Tasmania and the National Electricity Market.
After taking into account all these changes, the Tasmanian Government will consider the recommendation to accelerate a detailed business case for a second interconnector.
The Commonwealth, Tasmania and Launceston City Council have signed an historic City Deal to create jobs, boost wages and drive a strong economic future for the North.
The centrepiece of the deal is the $260 million commitment to move the University of Tasmania’s main Launceston campus to Inveresk near the city centre.
This goes hand-in-hand with the City Deal’s $19.4 million support for Launceston’s City Heart project, which will rejuvenate Launceston’s historic CBD. The first milestone payment is expected in August 2017.
These projects will deliver more than 480 local jobs and apprenticeships, 225 university positions and the capacity for 10,000 more student places. The new university campus will boost the local economy, support industry-led research and development, and help establish Launceston as a vibrant university city.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the City Deal will maximise Launceston’s potential through more than $280 million in investment across all three levels of government and the University of Tasmania.
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman said the five-year plan builds on Launceston’s strengths—its heritage heart, family-friendly community, unique natural environment, high quality university and research sector.
Launceston’s Mayor, Albert van Zetten, welcomed the Deal’s focus on delivering jobs and growth and shaping a vibrant, confident city. Importantly, the City Deal reflects the views and ideas of the community and will be implemented with key local partners.
The City Deal marks the start of the next positive chapter for Launceston—enhancing the city’s reputation as an attractive place to live, work, invest in and visit.