Author: Rhys Gregory

The North and Mid Wales Growth Deals are due to reach major milestones over the next few days, which will mean every region of Wales will be covered by a growth deal. The final deal agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal is to be signed today (Thursday, 17 December) in a live streamed virtual event.  The Deal is backed by £120m each from the Welsh Government and UK Government. A few days later, on 22 December, progress on the Mid Wales Growth Deal  is expected to be announced involving representatives of Powys and Ceredigion county councils as well as…

Education Minister Kirsty Williams has this week (Wednesday, December 16) provided further details of how the system put in place to replace examinations for general qualifications in 2021 will work. In November, when confirming there would be no end of year exams for learners taking GCSEs, AS levels or A levels next year, the Minister said she would establish a Design and Delivery Advisory group that would support ‘wellbeing, fairness and progression’ for learners in 2021. The group, chaired by Geraint Rees and made up of head teachers and college leaders nominated by regional consortia, ColegauCymru and local authorities, has…

Residents across Swansea Bay are being urged not to go to festive parties or meet friends and family this Christmas season. With Christmas Day less than a fortnight away Covid-19 cases locally are at record levels and rising fast. Local councils and public health chiefs are seriously worried the virus will bring misery to many thousands of families this festive season if people do not act to cut their contact with others right now. Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council, said: “We’re pleading with people to realise the pandemic isn’t over, that the risks are greater now than they have…

Newport City Council’s cabinet is seeking the public’s views on a plan to transform leisure facilities in the city centre. A proposed new leisure and well-being centre would include a pool, fitness studio and health and well-being areas as well as modern changing facilities and a café. It is planned to put the new state-of-the-art centre on a key brownfield site on the riverfront This would enable the vacated Newport Centre site to be used by Coleg Gwent for a £90m further education campus creating the Newport Knowledge Quarter and bringing hundreds of students and staff to the city centre…

A designated care home in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will be the first in Wales to receive the vaccine, with teams in additional Health Boards taking the vaccine to care homes later this week. The initial roll-out of the vaccine to care home staff, health and social care workers and those aged 80 and over began on Tuesday 8th across the UK, based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Wales and other UK administrations are guided by these recommendations. There had been concerns about maintaining the stability of the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine outside…

Five men and a woman have been arrested in connection with the kidnap of a 20-year-old man from Cardiff. Three of the five men were arrested in Hemel Hempstead. Two other men, and a woman, were arrested in London. The victim, who has no serious injuries, has been safeguarded by police and enquiries are continuing. We are appealing for witnesses to any suspicious activity in the Clifton Street area of Roath and Odet Court in Pendwyallt Road, Whitchurch, during the evening of Friday, December 11. Detectives are working with colleagues from Hertfordshire Police, the Metropolitan Police Service and National Crime…

It wasn’t long ago that fans of Cardiff City and Swansea City were on cloud nine, watching their heroes lock horns with the best of English football in the Premier League. Both now find themselves in English football’s second tier, but are doing everything in their power to return to the top flight. Both teams came close to returning to football’s promised land last season when they both reached the playoffs. The Bluebirds lost the eventual champions Fulham while The Swans came unstuck against Brentford, who lost in the Wembley final. The 2020-21 Championship season is in full swing with…

CBD or cannabidiol is a growing trend in the United States. It is a substance extracted from the cannabis plant and it has many medicinal benefits. There are two major cannabis plants. They are hemp and marijuana. These two plants are versatile and have many different uses as well as brimming with several substances. Asides from CBD which is a type of cannabinoid found in these plants, other popular substances that you can find there include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), terpenes, flavonoids, omega-fatty acids, essentials oils, etc. Although the two plants look alike physically and contain almost the same kind of substances,…

Before COVID-19 brought so many disasters to humanity, the online gambling market was already a global phenomenon and growing rapidly despite all this pandemic stuff. However, the coronavirus has significantly accelerated the development of online gambling. People who could not visit real casinos, racetracks, or bookmaker offices switched to online casinos, betting sites, and gambling sites in large numbers. Amid the loyalty of gambling sites only in the United Kingdom, according to Analytics Insight, the number of people playing slot machines 2increased by 25%, and in online poker — by 38%. However, it is still difficult to define reliable English…

Higher-level restrictions will come into force to control rapidly accelerating coronavirus rates across Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford said today (16 December). The First Minister today confirmed the current conditions mean Wales has met the criteria in the new traffic-light Coronavirus Control Plan to move to alert level four. The new restrictions will apply to all of Wales. All non-essential retail, including close contact services and all leisure and fitness centres will close at the end of trading on Christmas Eve. All hospitality premises will close from 6pm on Christmas Day. Tighter restrictions on household mixing, staying-at-home, holiday accommodation and…