Author: Rhys Gregory

Ice temperatures inside the world’s highest glacier on the slopes of Mount Everest are warmer than expected, according to new research by glaciologists from Aberystwyth, Kathmandu, Leeds and Sheffield universities. [aoa id=”1″] The findings are revealed in a paper published in Nature’s respected open-access journal, Scientific Reports. Lead author Katie Miles and Professor Bryn Hubbard  from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, travelled to Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, in 2017 and 2018 as part of the EverDrill research project. Working at heights of up to 5,000 m, PhD student Katie Miles and Professor Hubbard used a specially…

The donation after circulatory death (DCD) consent rate in Wales has also improved and is now 68% compared to England 59.8%. [aoa id=”1″] Wales now has the highest combined DBD and DCD consent rate in the UK at 80.5%, when compared to England (66.2%), Scotland (63.6%) and Northern Ireland (66.7). On 1 December 2015, Wales became the first country in the UK to move to a soft opt-out system of consent to organ donation. This means that if a person has not registered a decision to become an organ donor (opted in) or a decision not to become an organ…

Swansea University has teamed up with Plastic Free Swansea and Swansea University Students’ Union to bring the Refill Revolution to the city. [aoa id=”1″] Refill Swansea – which launches on 24-25 November at the Waterfront Museum – is part of City to Sea’s award-winning national campaign Refill, which is being rolled out across Wales with the support of Welsh Government, Dŵr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy. The grassroots scheme will encourage people to ditch pointless plastic and make carrying a reusable bottle the norm by providing convenient Refill Stations in venues across the city, including Swansea University’s Bay and Singleton campuses.…

Insole Court Trust (ICT), the charity that operates Insole Court mansion and gardens in Llandaff, Cardiff, has recently appointed a new permanent Director. Graham Hill has been appointed as Director after the charity Board of Trustees carried out an external recruitment process. Earlier this year, the previous Director resigned to pursue a new role at the National Trust, and Graham has been the acting Business Manager during the interim period. He first joined Insole Court as the Marketing and Business Development Manager in 2016, bringing with him a wealth of charity communications and marketing experience from his previous role at…

Those farmers who have submitted an application for BPS 2018 via the Single Application Form (SAF) 2018 are being reminded by the Farmers’ Union of Wales, that time to apply for a BPS Loan is running out, with the application window closing on Friday, 30 November. The BPS loan facility has been put in place to help farmers who may not receive their 2018 BPS payment when the payment window opens on 1 December. As this is an opt in scheme, farmers have to apply for the loan through their RPW Online account. FUW Pembrokeshire CEO Rebecca Voyle said: “It…

The Business Wales Wrexham Enterprise Hub is set to hold its first apprentice-style lock-in event and is on the search for more participants to join the 20 already signed up. [aoa id=”1″] The event for 16-24-year-olds is free to enter and will take place at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub on Rhosddu Road across the 23rd and 24th of November. The event, in collaboration with Big Ideas Wales, will also provide food and drink to keep energy levels high. Teams of four will be given 24 hours to sketch out a viable business concept, draw up the business plan, and then…

Local Marie Curie Barbara Norbury has been recognised for her work with people living with a terminal illness, at Marie Curie’s annual Peacock Awards. [aoa id=”1″] Barbara who works as a Senior Healthcare Assistant working with the Powys team in the Community Nursing Service, is also a member of the Newtown Fundraising Group for the charity.  She was presented with the Going the Extra Mile award. Barbara has worked in the team for 8 years, having previously worked as a carer support worker with Crossroads Care. Her family had also received support from Marie Curie Nurses when her mum was…

A study using animal-attached technology to measure food consumption in four very different wild vertebrates has revealed that animals using a high-risk strategy to find rarer food are particularly susceptible to becoming extinct, as they fail to gather food for their young before they starve. [aoa id=”1″] In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers led by Swansea University used thumbnail-sized electronic tags to record the movement of a number of individual condors, cheetahs, penguins and sheep in Argentina, South Africa and Northern Ireland over a six-year period. Nicknamed the “Daily Diary”, the tags record a…

So far this month, temperatures across the country have been mild for the time of year, but from next week – it’s going to feel a lot more seasonal. As we move through the weekend, mild southerly winds will be replaced by colder easterly winds from Europe, as high pressure becomes established to the north east of the UK. Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Temperatures so far this month have been very mild, with some places this week seeing highs of 16 or 17 Celsius.  However, from Monday (19th) of next week, temperatures will fall markedly…

As online retailers gear up for their busiest time of year, this is the view insider Amazon’s fulfilment centre based in Swansea, as workers gear up for Black Friday and Christmas. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] The Amazon fulfilment centre in Swansea, which opened in 2007, is one of 17 in the UK and employs a permanent staff of 1200 employees. An additional 1000 seasonal employees will be recruited to help with the Christmas rush. Fulfilment operators can expect to earn £9.50 per hour (days) to £11.25 per hour (nights), with overtime rates between £14.25 per hour to £19.00 per hour. All employees at…