内容摘要：Severn Trent, which supplies water to households in the Midlands and Wales, said last week it

Severn Trent, which supplies water to households in the Midlands and Wales, said last week it

Trump's comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal was a "vital national asset" for the US.If shipping rates are not lowered, Trump said on Sunday, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question".

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.Up to 14,000 ships travel through it each year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.It was built in the early 1900s. The US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999.

The US reserved the right to use military force in defence of the canal against any threat to its neutrality - a threat which now appears to be coming from the US itself.The neutrality treaty guarantees fair access for all nations and non-discriminatory tolls. Different shipping companies do pay different amounts for passing through the canal - but this depends on the size of the ship and the load on board, not on the country of origin.

Canal transit costs have increased over the past year due to a historic drought, according to analysis by leading shipping industry website Lloyd's List.

Some 75% of the cargo passing through the waterway in the latest fiscal year was either destined for or originated from the US, according to the Panama Canal Authority."This is a model that has been in place and worked in Oregon since the late 1990s, and more recently in all of the states in Australia and New Zealand. It commands overwhelming public support in those jurisdictions, as well as the confidence of the medical profession.

"We need to get the detail of any bill here in Scotland right, but there is no reason we can't follow a similar path."He urged MSPs to vote in favour of the bill and help create "the most compassionate, safe and suitable law for Scotland".

In October last year, First Minister John Swinney said he had "not come to a final view" on the issue but added that the proposed age threshold of 16 was "a very significant issue in my mind" which MSPs will have to "wrestle" with.MPs in England and Wales