Beijing to better manage household garbage

Dust cabins in a resident community. [Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing plans to take new measures to better manage household garbage.

The city management committee, which was set up in 2016, will combine the previously separate systems of recycling household garbage and recyclable resources this year, in order to better sort and recycle garbage.

Citizens used to sell their reusable garbage and throw away other household garbage directly in their neighborhoods, often resulting in a mixture of all garbage in the community. With the new measures set to be introduced this year, residential garbage will be sorted at the beginning and the recycling work will be improved.

At a trial site of the city’s Chaoyang District, residents are encouraged to sort and sell their kitchen waste and recyclable garbage to a recycling company which will give them daily necessities or services in return. The garbage is then either sent to the city’s sanitation unit for further disposal or to companies that can reuse garbage as resources.




Beijing further improves infrastructure

A rendering of a planned airport in Beijing. [File photo] 

Beijing made much headway in infrastructure construction last year highlighted by the building of its new sub center, a new airport and a one-hour commuting circle, according to a press conference held by Beijing Municipal of Commission of Development and Reform.

The construction of the new airport, including a terminal and a takeoff area, scheduled to be finished in 2019, is proceeding smoothly. Highways, railways and transit lines that serve the area surrounding the new airport are under construction.

An intercity railway network that will connect Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding cities is expected to create the one-hour commuting circle in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

With the opening of Beijing-Taipei Expressway, highways in Beijing have an operational length of more than 1,000 kilometers.

Xingyan Expressway, Beijing-Qinhuangdao Expressway, the Capital Ring Highway (Tongzhou-Daxing Section), Yanqing-Chongli Expressway, New Airport Highway and the widening project of Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway are under construction, with a combined length of 184 kilometers.




Press release: Training for the Energy Sector discussed during college visit

The minister will be updated by Dafydd Evans, CEO Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and Dr Ian Rees, Grŵp Executive Director Business Development on how the college is progressing in its mission to ensure local people are equipped with the skills to benefit from opportunities in the Energy Sector.

The update will be followed by a tour of the college’s Construction and Energy Centres and an energy sector round table involving Bangor University, Snowdonia Enterprise Zone and Orthios Eco Parks before the minister moves on to the Wylfa Newydd Site.

A myriad of opportunities are expected to come to Anglesey in wake of the anticipated Wylfa Newydd Nuclear Power station and other energy based projects, such as wave power and a biomass plant at the former Anglesey Aluminium site.

A likely topic of conversation during the visit is the work already undertaken with Horizon Nuclear Power.

Just this week in a launch event at Coleg Menai (06/02/2017) Horizon Nuclear Power announced that they would recruit another 12 Apprentices to join their training scheme, bringing the number of Horizon Nuclear Apprentices already in training to 22.

The college has also submitted a planning application for the development of its Llangefni campus that would see college’s Engineering provision relocated to a new £15m Engineering Training Centre in Llangefni.

We look forward to a constructive meeting this morning at Llangefni with Guto. It essential we update our representatives in Westminster on the work that’s being done here in North West Wales to develop Engineering and other Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills. With Brexit looming large it’s essential that we have these talks now so that we can prepare for the future.

Guto Bebb, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales, said:

I’m delighted to visit Coleg Menai and Wylfa today to see the innovative technology that is set to make a positive impact to Anglesey’s economy. It’s important to hear from Welsh institutions and businesses about the issues and opportunities that they face following Brexit, and continue the conversations that we’ve been holding throughout the summer.

The UK’s Industrial Strategy provides a joined up approach to policy, aiming to deliver a highly skilled and competitive economy that benefits people right across the country. Coleg Menai is a fantastic example of an institution in the North West of Wales working to ensure that young people have the essential employability skills for the global market and to work in an industry that is being developed within their local area.

Greg Evans, Safety & Generation Director at Horizon said:

Coleg Menai and Horizon have already shown how we will work together through paving the way for the new Engineering Training Centre and providing Horizon apprenticeship opportunities for local young people. We will continue to move forward in partnership, with the active support of both the UK and Welsh Governments, to deliver the huge benefits Wylfa Newydd will bring for Anglesey and North Wales for many decades.




Somalia: UN mission pledges support as new President will face ‘daunting challenges’

8 February 2017 – Congratulating former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ on his election as Somalia’s new President, the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country (UNSOM) said the UN and the wider international community are ready to assist him in addressing the myriad challenges that await his Government.

“We […] look forward to working with him and his Government in tackling the many economic, political, security and humanitarian challenges facing Somalia,” UNSOM Spokesperson Joseph Contreras told UN News after the presidential polling, which followed a nearly 18 month exercise that included an extended parliamentary electoral process.

“It’s an historic milestone in the country’s emergence from years of chaos and civil war. We feel the process, though flawed in some respects by allegations of corruption and manipulation of some of the parliamentary voting, overall, produced some very positive results,” he said, noting that the new Federal Parliament that was elected is the most representative and legitimate national legislature in the history of the country.

The new president, known as ‘Farmajo,’ was declared the winner after two rounds of voting by the Somali Parliament in the capital, Mogadishu. The runner-up, the incumbent, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, chose to withdraw from a third and final round of voting and congratulated the former Prime Minister on his victory.

Mr. Contreras said that the voting today, held under “very, very tight security,” was conducted in a peaceful, orderly and transparent manner according to the rules stipulated by Somalia’s provisional Federal Constitution. “Voting was held at the airport and there had been some questions raised about security, but I take it everything went smoothly,” he said, stressing that had been no attempted attacks on the venue whatsoever.

He went on to say that the Mission also thanked the outgoing President and his government for the achievements they registered over the past four years “and for the very good working relationship that we enjoyed as the United Nations with President Hassan Sheikh and his team.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Contreras said that what is next for Somalia first of all is for the new Federal President to name a prime minister. The prime minister then in turn will appoint a cabinet.

“And then they will get down to business. The new President […] faces a daunting list of challenges in the coming months and years. There is of course the ongoing drought crisis in many parts of the country where over six million people are facing varying degrees of food insecurity,” he explained.

Furthermore, Mr. Contreras continued, there is a presumption of the constitutional review process that needs to take place, and that process needs to be completed this year. “Also, the new Federal President will need to promote reconciliation among various communities across Somalia who have disputes over resources, land and other matters.”

In all this, the international community, led by the UN, stands ready to work closely with the new Government and help it promote the State-building process and consolidate the peace and promote the development of the country, he stated.




Colombia: UN chief Guterres welcomes start of peace talks with ELN

The city of Quito, Ecuador, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in the late 1970s. Photo: © UNESCO/Francesco Bandarin

8 February 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed yesterday’s launch of formal peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, his spokesperson said today in a statement.

In the talks with the second-largest opposition group, the Government seeks an agreement similar to the one reached last year with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to end a five decade-long conflict.

“Resolving this conflict is essential to achieving a comprehensive peace in Colombia, to saving lives and to advancing sustainable development across the whole country,” said the statement.

“The Secretary-General takes note of the commitment of the parties to listen to the voices of the communities affected by the conflict,” it stated, adding that the UN chief commended Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Norway and Venezuela for their commitment as guarantors, as well as the other accompanying and supporting countries.