I send my condolences to the family members of those killed by the assailant yesterday and my best wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured. The death of a policeman is especially sad. It reminds us of the risks some state employees run in the course of duty, and strengthens public gratitude for their service.
It is right that Parliament resumes its work today. The Prime Minister spoke well on how we should respond.
read moreThe Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden is providing funds to construct a willow tunnel and arbour in the Garden suitable for children to play in.This work is scheduled to take place on 27th and 28th March, and all are invited to come al… read more
It is time for us to consider how the UK should use its new won powers of self government once the notification has been sent that we are leaving. The Repeal Bill should more properly be called the Great Continuity Bill, as it will simply confirm all current EU laws and policies as good UK laws and policies. As soon as it is through the UK Parliament can then get to work amending and improving the inherited law. The most obvious place to start is fishing.
The UK as a sovereign country again can establish its territorial waters out to 200 miles from our coast or to the media line with another country’s seaside. The UK can decide what regulations to impose on fishing in these waters. Out must go the idea of quotas with discards of dead fish. The first new rule should be that the fisherman lands all his catch, rather than waste dead fish by putting them back. With modern technology the Regulator could see what is being caught and could if damage is being done to our fishing grounds require the fisherman to move on or amend his fishing practice. A local regulator should be able help fishermen choose the right net mesh and find the best locations to take more of the fish we want to catch and avoid more damage by catching too many of the wrong size and kind of fish.
The UK will of course need to discuss its new arrangements with neighbouring countries, including Iceland and Norway outside the EU, and France and the Netherlands inside the EU. There is also the issue of current rights to quota held by Spanish and other fishing interests. Do you think there should be some kind of transitional arrangement for those who have bought businesses and quota? What rights will these fishing businesses have when we decide to change our approach and are no longer under the control of the Common Fishery policy?
The UK will be a full member again of the world bodies for fishing.
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Wanda Plaza in Beijing. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
The number of headquarters of enterprises in Beijing stood at 4,006 at the end of 2016 with a net growth of 70.
A headquarter economy is mutually beneficial for both Beijing and enterprises. The latest data shows that from January to November 2016, the assets of HQs accounted for 74.2 percent of the city’s total; operation revenues 71.6 percent; and profits 89.8 percent. All the three figures are much higher than those of 2015.
Beijing enjoys many advantages as China’s political, economic, cultural and talent center, and lots of important businesses open here, said Alibaba Group President Jin Jianhang.
In the next few years, Alibaba will set up research and development bases for information technology sectors such as cloud computing, big data and the mobile internet in Beijing. Beijing will also become the operating base for innovative industries in the fields of health, film, music and others.
Cooperation between the government and enterprises has generated many benefits. For example, after becoming the top sponsor of the International Olympic Committee earlier this year, Alibaba has been promoting winter sports in Beijing. Internet company AutoNavi is working with Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport and Beijing Traffic Management Bureau to ease congestion through the “internet plus geographic information” approach.
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An aerial view of the South -to-North Water Diversion Project. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
Construction of three projects including the expansion of the Yizhuang regulating reservoir, Hexi branch and Daxing branch commenced Monday, marking the third stage of supporting projects for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
The projects, scheduled for completion in 2018 and 2020, will guarantee the water supply to the city’s sub-center, the new airport, as well as Fangshan, Daxing and Mentougou districts.
By 2020, Beijing will be able to deal with 1.5 billion cubic meters of water annually from external sources, up nearly 50 percent from now.
The regulating reservoir has storage and regulatory functions. The water arriving from the Yangtze River into Beijing first enters the Yizhuang regulating reservoir, and then flows into tens of thousands of households through the water supply network after unified allocation. When expanded, the capacity of the reservoir will balloon to 2.6 million from 525,000 cubic meters currently, which will enhance the water supply security in the southeastern region, especially in the sub-center.
The supporting projects fall into three stages slated for completion by 2020. The first two stages have been completed and phased in. Currently, the city has received 2.07 billion cubic meters of water in total, helping to significantly ease water shortages.
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