Jonathan
Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow City Minister, commenting on RBS’s reported £7bn annual loss
today, said:

“Today’s
results show RBS still has much to do to overcome the legacy of the financial
crisis.

"Whilst
the core banking business of RBS is improving, the financial burden caused by
the errors of the past has generated a significant loss.

"British
taxpayers have had to stump up huge support for RBS – they need to know that
there has been a significant change in the regulation and culture of banking to
prevent this happening again.

"The
scale of the taxpayers’ support also means there needs to be a conversation
about what the long-term future of RBS should look like, to best protect the
public’s money.”

The BGS website and hosted sites such as OneGeology will be temporarily offline for essential maintenance from 12:00 on Monday 27 February. Hopefully normal services will resume within the hour. Apologies for any inconvenience.

China’s top legislature Friday passed a revised law to boost the transparency and credibility of the country’s Red Cross societies.

The legislation was adopted after a third reading at the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs Wednesday to Friday.

Red Cross societies in China are now required to give feedback to donors on the use of their donations, and staff who fail to do so could face civil and criminal charges.

“The revision primarily focuses on strengthening supervision on Red Cross societies and standardizing their activities,” Guo Linmao, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told a press conference Friday afternoon.

A previous clause giving Red Cross societies power to “rectify” illegal activities by their subordinate societies and staff was deleted from the new draft.

After several scandals, China’s Red Cross has grappled with trust issues in recent years.

Revision work for the law began in 2016.

The first reading of the draft suggested that independent third-party agencies should audit donations and that an information disclosure system should be put into place.

The societies should also establish a system for financial management, internal control, public auditing as well as supervision of funds and assets.

The second draft expanded Red Cross societies’ duties in stem cell and organ donation.

The Red Cross Society of China established an organ donation administration center in 2012, becoming involved in organ donations at every stage from donor registration to organ distribution.

The third reading specified that Red Cross societies could participate in and promote blood, body and organ donations, and could carry out work related to stem cell donations.

It stated that leading supervisors at all Red Cross societies must be chosen through a democratic process.

The revision will safeguard and regulate Red Cross societies in performing their duties and boost its credibility, according to Zhang Mingqi, a vice chairman of the Law Committee of the NPC.

The law will come into force May 8, 2017.

China’s top legislature Friday passed a revised law to boost the transparency and credibility of the country’s Red Cross societies.

The legislation was adopted after a third reading at the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs Wednesday to Friday.

Red Cross societies in China are now required to give feedback to donors on the use of their donations, and staff who fail to do so could face civil and criminal charges.

“The revision primarily focuses on strengthening supervision on Red Cross societies and standardizing their activities,” Guo Linmao, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told a press conference Friday afternoon.

A previous clause giving Red Cross societies power to “rectify” illegal activities by their subordinate societies and staff was deleted from the new draft.

After several scandals, China’s Red Cross has grappled with trust issues in recent years.

Revision work for the law began in 2016.

The first reading of the draft suggested that independent third-party agencies should audit donations and that an information disclosure system should be put into place.

The societies should also establish a system for financial management, internal control, public auditing as well as supervision of funds and assets.

The second draft expanded Red Cross societies’ duties in stem cell and organ donation.

The Red Cross Society of China established an organ donation administration center in 2012, becoming involved in organ donations at every stage from donor registration to organ distribution.

The third reading specified that Red Cross societies could participate in and promote blood, body and organ donations, and could carry out work related to stem cell donations.

It stated that leading supervisors at all Red Cross societies must be chosen through a democratic process.

The revision will safeguard and regulate Red Cross societies in performing their duties and boost its credibility, according to Zhang Mingqi, a vice chairman of the Law Committee of the NPC.

The law will come into force May 8, 2017.

China’s first high level biosafety laboratory has been accredited and will be fully operational soon, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Friday.

The certificate was issued by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, according to the CAS.

The lab in Wuhan, capital city of central China’s Hubei Province, will be used to study class four pathogens (P4) — the most virulent viruses that pose a high risk of aerosol transmission.

P4 is the highest biosafety level.

The lab in Wuhan will help China prevent and control outbreaks of infectious diseases and aid research and development of antiviral drugs and vaccines, said Zhang Yaping, vice president of the CAS.

All the air from the lab will go through two advanced filters before being discharged, while solid and liquid waste will also be properly processed, according to the CAS.

The Wuhan lab has undergone a trial operation since its construction was completed at the end of 2014. Some of the core research team have been trained in France and the United States.