Author: Rhys Gregory

Detectives investigating the serious assault upon a 21 year-old man from Tremorfa in Cardiff have charged a second man with attempted murder. Kamal Legall, 25, from Fairwater, will appear before Cardiff Magistrates today (Tuesday 21st April). Two other men previously arrested in connection with the attempted murder man have been released from custody while enquiries continue. Keiron Hassan, 32, from Ely, was remanded in custody following an appearance at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on Friday (April 17). He has also been charged with attempted murder. Officers were called to Harris Avenue, Rumney, at 3.25pm on Monday, April 13 following reports of…

Transport for Wales is working around the clock to ensure the safety and wellbeing of key workers who are using their services, as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic. TfW staff are working through the day and night in an effort to ensure trains are cleaned frequently, using the best available products whilst focusing on high contact points. Over the past six weeks, additional cleaners have been employed to cover both the day and night shifts at train depots throughout the Wales and Borders network, as well as the deployment of extra onboard cleansers on trains. Leyton Powell, Transport for Wales Rail Services Safety and Assurance Director, said: “The safety and well-being of our customers…

Academics at the University of South Wales have developed a new rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19, to detect whether people are actively infected with the underlying SARS-CoV-2 virus.  The test, which is low cost and quick, uses a different method and chemicals to the current accredited tests, avoiding any supply bottlenecks for the components. In just over a week the USW researchers, led by Dr Jeroen Nieuwland and Dr Emma Hayhurst, adapted a technique that they have been developing since 2016 for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections. The new test is being evaluated in collaboration with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. Over the…

Economy, Transport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates has thanked iconic Welsh whisky and spirits brand Penderyn on diverting its expert distillers to produce much needed hand sanitiser for the NHS in Wales. As a result of the demand for hand sanitiser gels and liquids during the current Coronavirus pandemic, Penderyn is now producing hand sanitiser liquid with an 80% alcohol strength. The company was keen to help in these very challenging times and is producing 10,000 litres of hand sanitiser on a weekly basis with the first batch due in NHS hospitals and centres this month through a partner company, Lovair…

Learning Welsh is one of the ways people are entertaining and improving themselves during the lockdown, new figures suggest. When Welsh classes across the nation were forced to stop, the Welsh Government’s sponsored organisation the National Centre for Learning Welsh quickly moved their community face to face lessons online to ensure they could continue – helping their students to carry on with their learning and maintaining social contact to combat loneliness. Rather than proving a barrier, there’s evidence that attendance at the lessons has increased since they moved online. The centre also launched Facebook live lessons for beginners at 3pm on weekdays. The twelve lessons…

New e-learning resources aimed at helping workers furloughed as a result of  coronavirus to learn new skills are now live, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates has announced. The newly launched, informal e-learning provision is aimed at helping furloughed workers to improve their  knowledge levels across a broad range of areas, while supporting their  mental wellbeing and helping them to prepare for the future. Budding learners can visit the Working Wales website where they will be signposted to a range of free online resources that will help them to refresh their skill sets. Minister for Economy, Transport…

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will mark the official opening of the Ysbyty Calon y Ddraig – the Dragon’s Heart Hospital, the temporary hospital based at the Principality Stadium on Monday 20 April 2020. Ysbyty Calon Y Ddraig is the largest temporary hospital in Wales and the second largest in the UK. It has been funded by Welsh Government to support the communities of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan and potentially across other Health Boards in Wales. The official opening of Ysbyty Calon y Ddraig – the Dragon’s Heart Hospital, set in the backdrop of the stands…

Detectives investigating the attempted murder of a 21 year-old Cardiff man have made a fourth arrest. In the early hours of yesterday morning (Sunday 19th April) officers attended an address in Llanishen and arrested a 25 year-old man from Fairwater on suspicion of attempted murder.  He has been taken to a South Wales Police station for questioning. Two other men previously arrested in connection with this investigation have been released from custody while enquiries continue. A 27-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder has been bailed, while a 31-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has…

Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, has announced a three-month package of additional support worth up to £6.3m for hospices in Wales Hospice services in Wales rely on charitable fundraising for around two thirds of their income and have experienced a short-fall in funding during the coronavirus outbreak. The recent restrictions imposed during the outbreak have led to a drastic drop in that income as fundraising events are cancelled, charity shops close and campaigns paused. At the same time, the crisis is making their services even more essential. The funding announced today will enable them to continue to…

As health services across the world battle the Coronavirus, NHS Wales is stepping up its defence against viruses of the technological kind thanks to a partnership with global cyber leader Thales. The new agreement with Thales will enable the NHS Wales Informatics Services [NWIS] team to protect vital systems from a surge in cyber-attacks by accessing Thales’s technical threat analysis service, a global centre of knowledge about the latest and emerging threats.  Thales will be providing the service to NHS Wales free of charge. Thales’s intelligence service makes available its intelligence, identification, computer virus spread monitoring, threat analysis and rapid…