Western Mail

Designer Babies? We're Almost There, Warns Top Welsh Doctor

A senior doctor last night warned that proposals to give couples new rights to choose their baby's gender are pushing Britain further towards Aldous Huxley's nightmare Brave New World vision of social engineering. Tony Calland, chairman of the Welsh Council of the British Medical Association, said many would view plans to allow sex selection on non-medical grounds a step on the 'slippery slope' to designer babies.

Finance Wales Back in Black

Finance wales has made a profit for the first time since its launch in 2001. In its last financial year (to the end of March 2005) the business support bank and subsidiary of the Welsh Development Agency made pre-tax profits of pounds 1.17m - compared to losses of pounds 2.7m in the previous year. During the year Finance Wales, which is part-financed with European Union Objective One funding, made 361 investments totalling pounds 12.5m - more than double that of the previous year.

Radiator Plant Is to Be the Biggest

Irish conglomerate Quinn Group said yesterday it planned to reach production of four million radiators a year at its new European headquarters in South Wales by 2008. As reported in the Western Mail yesterday Quinn Group - through its subsidiary Quinn Radiators - has acquired the former LG Philips Displays electronics factory in Newport as part of a pounds 133m investment which will eventually create 460 jobs. The site, formerly known as LG Electronics, formed part of what was once billed as ...

Asda's Slapped Bottom

Supermarket giant Tesco yesterday claimed a victory over Asda as its objections to the rival chain's adverts were upheld. Tesco objected to press adverts and a TV commercial which claimed Asda was 'officially Britain's lowest priced supermarket' based on the findings of an independent survey by trade magazine The Grocer. After an investigation, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaints and told Asda not to repeat the 'lowest price' claims.

Film About Dylan Thomas Casts the Poet in Modern-Day Swansea As a Ghost

Filming begins this week on a new screenplay about poet Dylan Thomas, from a play written by a Welsh university lecturer. Binda Singh's play Ugly, Lovely Night is being adapted for the big screen by independent company, BJB Productions. Filming will start in the United States before moving to Swansea later this month.

Radiator Plant to Heat Up Economy?

The news that Newport is about to become - potentially - the world's biggest manufacturer of radiators can only be welcomed. The Welsh Assembly Government and the WDA deserve congratulations for persuading Quinn Group, an Irish conglomerate, to establish its new base in Wales at the former LG Philips plant. Almost 500 jobs are expected to be created. Although this is fewer than the 6,100 jobs it was originally hoped would be generated at the site back in 1996, it does mean families across Sou...

'Non-Eu Goods Should Have Ethical Production Certificate'

Consumers should be given enough information to make them feel confident that the goods they buy were produced ethically, a businessman has argued. Ian Hamer believes that all companies sourcing goods outside of the EU should have to provide a 'Certificate of Ethical Audit'. 'If that were so, consumers could be better assured as to the working conditions of those making the goods,' said Mr Hamer, managing director of the Big Bottle company in Cwmbran.

Deadline for Fast Growth 50

The deadline for entries in the search to find the economy's fastest-growing businesses is this Friday. The Western Mail's Fast Growth 50 supplement, sponsored by the National Entrepreneurship Observatory (NEO) and Clay Shaw Thomas, will be published on October 26. The Fast Growth 50 is in its seventh year and is a key barometer for gauging the health of the economy's enterprise sector.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Becomes 'Oh No You're Doing It Wrong' by Ron Davies

It started so well. There they stood - five of the most powerful men in Wales - shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, arms raised in a victory salute in the early hours of the morning after Wales voted yes in the 1997 referendum. Dafydd Wigley, Peter Hain, Ron Davies, Win Griffiths, Richard Livsey - the future of Wales was in their hands.

Bigaclothing Booming to Become Bigger Business

A business supplying clothes to large men is getting bigger in Bridgend. Bigaclothing.co.uk was launched on the internet last year to provide fashionable menswear to the 10% of the British male population who need extra-large clothes. In June, the same month that the company celebrated its first anniversary, the highest monthly turnover of pounds 30,000 was recorded. The total number of orders is expected to pass the 300,000 mark next year.

Electronics Giant Insists It Is Committed to Wales As It Looks for More Staff

Consumer electronics giant Panasonic is struggling to recruit staff in Wales because of public fears that the manufacturing sector is in irreversible decline. In March the multinational sacked 60 workers from its Newport factory and blamed competition abroad. Last autumn 500 staff in Cardiff were handed redundancy operations; four years previously, 700 permanent and 600 part-time posts were axed. But yesterday a company spokesman insisted that the factory in the capital had a viable future an...

'People May Start Using Websites to Find Neighbours More Like Themselves'

Websites offering information on different neighbourhoods could deepen the divide between our richest and poorest communities, a charity warns today. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said new internet-based neighbourhood information systems (IBNIS) were increasingly helping househunters find their ideal neighbourhood. But it claimed the sites could lead to a more segregated society by not only guiding buyers to locations with the best schools and lowest crime rates, but also helping them ...

Judge Praises Police Undercover Operation As 29 Jailed for Drugs Offences

A judge yesterday praised a major undercover police operation that resulted in 29 people concerned in the supply of class A drugs being jailed. Judge John Curran at Merthyr Crown Court said Operation Grassmoor, involving 40 plain- clothed and uniformed police officers, helped to rid an area in South Wales of a significant hard drugs problem which had seen dealers openly selling heroin on street corners. The court heard that the drugs ring was smashed when an undercover officer working for Sou...

High Price of Oil Leads to Rise in Inflation

Soaring oil prices caused inflation to rise at its fastest rate in eight years last month, official figures showed yesterday. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) moved up to 2.3% in July from 2% the previous month - the highest level since records began in January 1997. Inflation was driven by higher petrol prices, reflecting the recent rise in the cost of crude oil to record levels, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Business Look-Alikes

At some time in our lives we have all probably been described as looking like someone famous. Here the Western Mail matches up a number of leading Welsh business figures with look-alike celebrities. Chairman of the Wales Millennium Centre Sir David Rowe-Beddoe and the late novelist Roald Dahl - they also both attended Llandaff Cathedral School.

Ottakar's in Takeover Talks

Book seller Ottakar's revealed yesterday that it was in talks over a possible management buyout of the high street chain. Ottakar's, which has 136 stores in the UK, said investors were backing moves by executives, including managing director James Heneage and chairman Philip Dunne, to take control. The company disclosed the takeover talks in response to a recent 9% recovery in its share price to 281p since its annual meeting last month.

Why the Car Passenger Is More Likely to Be a Welsh Woman

Fewer than two thirds of Welsh women can drive, according to official figures from the National Assembly. The Welsh Transport Statistics 2004 - produced by the Office for National Statistics - shows a huge disparity between the numbers of women and men who can legally drive. More than 80% of men in Wales hold full driving licences, compared to just 58% of women.

Original Z-Car Goes Up for Grabs

A z-cars-style police car is up for sale, 40 years after it patrolled the streets of Wales. The immaculate Ford Zephyr 6 patrol car, which was restored by enthusiast the late Brian Stuart, is believed to be one of only three former working police cars of that type registered in the UK. It could once be seen with a blue flashing light, helping to keep law and order in the Montgomeryshire towns of Welshpool, Montgomery and Newtown.

Figures Show Decline in Welsh House Prices Is Continuing to Slow

The Welsh property market has received a confidence boost as latest figures show the decline in house prices continues to slow. Figures for July showed house prices fell at a slower rate than the previous month in the housing market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The continuous trend of decline since May could kickstart the market as buyers gain more confidence in their purchases.

Public Is to Be Consulted by the Government for Fertility Review

Single women and lesbian couples could be allowed greater access to fertility treatment on the NHS as part of an overhaul of Britain's fertility laws. The Government wants to end the current postcode lottery where women are turned away from some NHS clinics because they do not have a father figure for the child. Changes within society and technological breakthroughs have prompted the Government's review of the 15-year-old Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.