Thousands march in Cardiff calling for Welsh independence

Demonstrators say Brexit and austerity have increased support for leaving the UK

Thousands have demonstrated in Cardiff to call for an independent Wales in what organisers said was the first such march in Welsh history.

Some protesters said they had been lifelong supporters of independence, while others said they were converted by Brexit and austerity. A recent poll for ITV Wales showed that 12% of people support self-government.

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Anti-abortion activists harassing women at UK clinics during Lent

Clinic staff say protesters are calling women ‘murderers’ and giving out misleading leaflets

Anti-abortion protesters are harassing vulnerable women at UK clinics as they ramp up demonstrations for Lent and are giving out leaflets suggesting that having a termination is harder to deal with than being raped, it has been claimed.

Hardline religious activists, some of whom are part of a so-called “40 Days for Life” campaign, have been targeting women in increasing numbers at 10 clinics across the country in the run-up to Easter, the Guardian has been told.

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Welsh health board criticised after worker killed woman while under investigation

Independent review into ABMUHB highlights string of concerns about Kris Wade

A health board has been criticised over the case of a nursing assistant who murdered a neighbour in a sexually motivated attack while under investigation for abusing three patients with learning disabilities.

Kris Wade had been suspended from work for three years after the allegations of sexual abuse when he murdered his neighbour, Christine James, at her flat on Cardiff Bay in south Wales.

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Thai film-maker wins UK contemporary art prize Artes Mundi

Apichatpong Weerasethakul to receive £40,000 for his political artwork Invisibility

The Palme d’Or winning film director and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul has won one of the UK’s most important and lucrative contemporary art prizes.

On Thursday evening, Weerasethakul was named winner of the eighth edition of the Artes Mundi prize, a biennial competition rewarding political art from across the world. It comes with a prize of £40,000, the largest visual art prize in Britain.

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