Author: Rhys Gregory

A special event is to be held in the Senedd on May 12 to honour the contribution of late Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who reported on the genocidal Great Famine in Ukraine, mid-1930s tensions in Europe and the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. Jones’ exposé on the Holodomor in Ukraine, which was made deadlier by a series of political decrees and decisions, was based on his own eyewitness testimony after travelling in the region. He revealed the scale and horror of the Holodomor to an international audience. Th Senedd event, organised by the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, is being held…

The University of South Wales (USW) held its annual Impact & Innovation Awards this week (Wednesday), in celebration of research that makes an impact on the community and wider society in Wales, nationally and internationally. The fourth annual awards saw Pro Vice-Chancellor for Innovation & Engagement, Professor Paul Harrison, welcome more than 120 guests, including shortlisted nominees and their collaborative partners. This year, 26 entries were received from a wide spectrum of disciplines and from researchers at different stages of their careers. The shortlisted projects address some of the most significant challenges facing society today, from promoting community cohesion to…

Cardiff and Vale College’s Women’s Rugby Academy has got off to flying start in its first year with four players selected to take part in the first ever U18s Women’s Six Nations Tournament in Scotland. Gabby Healan, Katy Hudd, Rachel Thomas-Evans and Permit selection Grace Bellamy were selected for the squad for the week-long tournament with a training fixture against France, and full international honours versus Italy and Ireland. The Welsh team won all three fixtures. “Games were streamed on YouTube and the atmosphere in the stadium for the games was electric, seeing our students singing the Welsh National Anthem…

Cardiff and Vale College has been recognised as the best college in the UK for its work to promote fairness, respect, equality, diversion and inclusion and engagement across the communities it serves. The College has won the Association of Colleges Beacon (AoC) Award in the National Centre for Diversity Award for the Inclusive Leadership category. Widely known as the ‘College Oscars’, the prestigious Beacon Awards recognise Further Education institutions across the UK that go above and beyond in their services to learners and the wider community. CAVC was just one of ten colleges celebrated at the Beacon Awards, and the…

After nine years of providing unrivalled support and care to the kidney community of Wales, the Paul Popham Fund, Renal Support Wales, is changing its name and revamping its branding. The charity is now called: Popham Kidney Support. The re-brand signifies an important transition for the charity that includes a new name, logo and website. The charity opted to rebrand following a trustees meeting where the name was discussed. It was thought that the former name did not clearly explain what the charity offers. The new name, Popham Kidney Support, does exactly that, while also maintaining and recognising the historical…

Construction market activity continues to rise in Wales despite rising material costs and ongoing skill shortages, the Q1 2022 RICS UK Construction and Infrastructure Monitor suggests. However, the sector doesn’t expect to make a profit this year. Regarding Wales, a net balance of +40% of respondents reported a rise in workloads in the quarter, up marginally from +37% in Q4 2021. Workload growth is across the board but is firmest regarding infrastructure projects, alongside activity related to the development of public and private sector housing. 45% more respondents reported a rise in infrastructure workloads than reported a fall. The net…

Results of the ACCA UK and Corporate Finance Network (The CFN) SME Tracker show that Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are most frequently seeking accountants’ professional advice on immediate issues such as routine compliance, business planning and cashflow, rather than future plans for growth, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting and R&D innovation. For ACCA and The CFN this indicates a concerning trend amongst SMEs where they aren’t spending time thinking about the long-term survival of their businesses. The latest edition of the SME Tracker captures the feedback of 8,900 UK SME clients through their accountants, revealing what’s impacting…

Schools across Bridgend County Borough Council have been competing in the Big Walk and Wheel – a competition encouraging pupils to cycle, walk or scoot to and from school. The Big Walk and Wheel saw 13 schools taking part, clocking over 16,500 journeys. Croesty Primary School were the county borough’s highest ranking in the ‘Small Primary School’ category, finishing 181st out of 655 nationwide participants thanks to an impressive 72.64 per cent of their pupils taking part. Garth Primary School, Bryntirion Infants School, Coychurch Primary School, Cwmfelin Primary School, Cefn Cribwr Primary School and Porthcawl Primary School were also commended…

A section of the Taff Trail in Troedyrhiw is closed for the next couple of weeks to allow Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to carry out essential repairs. The bridleway between Pond Row and Lewis Square at Abercanaid will be shut to users from 4 May to 20 May, as part of Dwr Cymru’s £10m investment to repair complex leaks on the national water network.

A long-established Merthyr Tydfil taxi driver has become the first in the county borough to launch an electric vehicle service. Merthyr Council is hoping that other proprietors will follow in the footsteps of Anthony Brown, who has run Tony’s Taxis and Minibus Hire for the past 20 years, and take advantage of an initiative to help them do so. The Council’s Welsh Government-funded ‘Green Fleet’ Scheme is a ‘try before you buy’ programme which allows taxi drivers to ‘borrow’ a fully electric, wheelchair accessible vehicle for 30 days free of charge. There are two vehicles that they can use, and…