Category Archives: Wales

Firebombs and death threats: councillors need more protection, say UK bodies

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Dozens of seats going uncontested as candidates step down due to ‘truly toxic’ environment

More must be done to protect councillors from abuse, according to local government bodies, as those on the frontline of local democracy describe a “truly toxic” political environment where online aggression spills over into real-life behaviour.

Candidates for council elections on Thursday across the UK have shared their experiences of escalating hostility as the chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillorJames Jamieson, warned that “an increasing number … are being subjected to abuse, threats and intimidation both online and in-person, undermining the principles of free speech, democratic engagement and debate”.

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Could Anglesey’s tidal energy project drive a new energy revolution?

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Experts say Wales has huge potential for generating renewable marine power, yet, so far, ambitious schemes have been ignored

On the stunning and craggy coastline of Holy Island in north Wales, work has started on a construction project to generate energy from one of the world’s greatest untapped energy resources: tidal power.

The Morlais project, on the small island off the west of Anglesey has benefited from £31m in what is likely to be the last large grant for Wales from the European Union’s regional funding programme. It will install turbines at what will be one of the largest tidal stream energy sites in the world, covering 13 square miles of the seabed.

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Logan Mwangi’s murder: major review of Welsh social care needed, says expert

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Senior social worker calls for action in the only country of the UK that has not had a recent review

A root and branch review of children’s social care in Wales is needed after the case of five-year-old Logan Mwangi, who was killed by his mother and stepfather after being removed from the child protection register, a leading social work expert has said.

Prof Donald Forrester said the case highlighted critical issues affecting many children’s social services in Wales, ranging from social worker capacity and staffing shortages to high and increasing numbers of children being taken into care.

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Strong winds in north Wales were a tornado, experts confirm

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Tornado with speeds of up to 114mph swept up sheep and caused extensive damage to farm in Pennal

Strong winds that caused “at least £100,000” of damage to a farm in north Wales have been confirmed as a tornado by experts.

The extreme weather struck Gogarth Hall Farm in Pennal on Wednesday, uprooting trees and lifting a ewe and lambs into the air.

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UK temperatures to plummet to as low as minus 6C over weekend

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Gardeners warned of frost damage to blooms on Saturday night ahead of a week of unsettled weather

The UK is braced for more wintry weather across the weekend with frost creeping in overnight and temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 6C in some areas.

Forecasters said the “peaks and troughs” of spring will hit most of the country over the next week, with sunny spells and windy intervals expected in most regions.

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‘Even snow or sleet’: wintry weather forecast for UK this week

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A cold front will push down from the north in midweek and temperatures will plummet, Met Office says

Snow could fall in parts of the UK this week, with temperatures set to plummet over the coming days, forecasters say.

The Met Office said the country would see colder, cloudier and more unsettled weather from Monday, with the risk of wintry weather in the middle of the week.

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Weekly Covid cases in UK increase by 1m, figures show

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ONS says one in 11 people in Scotland had coronavirus in week ending 20 March – country’s highest figure since survey began

The number of coronavirus infections across the UK rose by an estimated 1m compared with the previous week, with figures in Scotland at a record high, data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed.

According to the latest information from the ONS, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, an estimated 9% of the population in Scotland had Covid in the week ending 20 March, about one in 11 people. The figure is the highest recorded by the survey since it began looking at the situation in Scotland in October 2020.

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Wales to drop mask-wearing law in shops and on public transport from Monday

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Masks will remain mandatory in health and care settings as cases rise across country

People in Wales will no longer be legally required to wear masks in shops and on public transport from Monday and the legal obligation to stay at home after a positive Covid test is to be scrapped.

Mask wearing will still be mandatory in health and care settings, however, and businesses will have to continue to carry out coronavirus risk assessments and put “reasonable” mitigation measures in place.

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Wales introduces ban on smacking and slapping children

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Welsh government hails ‘historic moment’ for children’s rights amid calls for England to follow suit

Smacking and slapping children has been outlawed in Wales, with people told to contact social services or police if they see a parent or carer meting out physical punishment.

The law change, which came into force first thing on Monday, was hailed as “historic” by the Labour-led Welsh government and a number of child protection champions, who called for England to follow suit.

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UK city of culture 2025: Southampton and Bradford among those on shortlist

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Contenders hope to use the status as a springboard for social and economic recovery

Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham county borough have been shortlisted to become the UK next city of culture, it has been announced.

The finalists were whittled down from a record 20 bids to eight longlisted regions, which also included Cornwall, Derby, Stirling, and the district of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

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Outdoor weddings legalised permanently in England and Wales

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Temporary measures introduced during Covid crisis will be made made permanent from April

Outdoor weddings and civil partnerships are to be legalised permanently in England and Wales, ministers have announced.

Since last summer, couples have been able to hold their civil wedding or ceremony outside under temporary measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Severn Trent and Anglian Water pledge to do more to protect rivers

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Water firms commit to improving sewage discharge practices after government pressure

Severn Trent and Anglian Water say they will accelerate efforts to protect rivers after the government and regulators called on the sector to do more.

Last month, the environment minister Rebecca Pow called on water companies to significantly improve their practices in England and Wales to support the local environment.

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Scotland and Wales want to act as Ukrainian refugee ‘super sponsors’

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Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford tell UK government they want to ‘maximise’ their contributions

Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have said Scotland and Wales are willing to become “super sponsors” for Ukrainian refugees.

The UK government is to launch a scheme where individuals and organisations can sponsor refugees to come into the country, but the Scottish and Welsh first ministers told Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, they wanted to “maximise” their contribution and act as “super sponsors”.

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Roughly the size of Wales: four reflections on Welsh identity in the 21st century

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From addressing the grievances of history to making ancient music modern, four writers consider what it means to be Welsh today

History helps people feel they belong. This is why people can feel angry when history is reinterpreted or retold in ways that make them feel uncomfortable. And yet that is not always a bad thing, since so many comforting views of the past are deeply flawed. History should not just exist to serve the present, but to challenge it, too.

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Storm Eunice: London added to red weather warning amid ‘danger to life’

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Major bridges closing and millions told to batten down and not go outside as authorities warn of ‘significant disruption’

The east of England including London has been added to the red weather warning for wind issued by the Met Office because of Storm Eunice, which has prompted rare danger-to-life warnings, with millions of people told to stay indoors at home to avoid 90mph winds.

The rare highest alert – meaning a major impact is very likely – was widened just before 4am, to run from 10am until 3pm on Friday, due to fears of the storm “causing significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds”, the Met Office said.

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Port Talbot says bye-bye to its Banksy as art dealer brings in a crane

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Much loved work that appeared in 2018 on a steelworker’s garage heads to England on the back of a lorry

It appeared one winter’s night on a steelworker’s garage, a wondrous piece of street art making points about the innocence of childhood, industrial decay and air pollution.

After a three-year sojourn in the town of Port Talbot, Season’s Greetings, Wales’ first and only Banksy, was craned on to the back of a flatbed lorry and trucked out of the country.

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Calls for protection of LGBTQ+ people after spate of hate crimes in Cardiff

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Homophobic murder of a consultant psychiatrist in July 2021 was among several crimes recorded at that time

Campaigners in Cardiff are calling for the police and other authorities to do more to protect LGBTQ+ people after it emerged the sadistic homophobic murder of a consultant psychiatrist was only one of a spate of hate crimes recorded at the time.

A vigil is to be held near Bute Park in the city on Sunday after a 17-year-old girl and two men were found guilty of murdering Dr Gary Jenkins by beating him and stamping on his head for 15 minutes in the early hours of a morning in July last year.

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‘Incredible’: from Wordle’s Welsh beginnings to the New York Times

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The puzzle’s global success has turned Josh Wardle into a megastar in the gaming world and bemused his family

He is the toast of New York, of London – and of a small village called Llanddewi Rhydderch.

Just four months after Josh Wardle invented the wonderfully simple and soothing puzzle Wordle, he is a megastar in the world of games and is a great deal wealthier after the New York Times acquired his creation for a seven-figure sum.

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Wordle creator overwhelmed by global success of hit puzzle

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Josh Wardle developed game to play with his partner – and now more than 2m others have joined in

Wordle, a deceptively simple online word puzzle, has had a meteoric rise since its launch last autumn, from 90 daily players in November to 300,000 at the beginning of January, to 2 million last weekend. But, for its creator, the game’s rapid success has resulted in as much anxiety as excitement.

The game has become an unexpected grassroots hit for Josh Wardle, who developed it for his puzzle-loving partner. The pair played it for fun on their sofa, and other users slowly began to join them.

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