Western Mail

New Year's Eve Crash Kills 3

Plans for a New Year's Eve party ended in tragedy when two young men and a teenager were killed in a road collision on Saturday night. The three friends were heading to the shops to pick up last- minute supplies for a celebratory night in to mark the start of 2006.

After the Office Party, Here Comes the Legal Hangover

One of Wales' leading law firms has warned that hundreds of employers throughout Wales will face a hangover of the legal kind when they return to the office in the New Year. Swansea-based JCP Solicitors said most applications to Employment Tribunals stemmed from incidents over the Christmas period and the most frequent are cases concerning sexual harassment at the office party.

Worldwide Partying Tempered by Terror Threat and Memory of Disaster

Revellers throughout the world partied, visited places of worship and gathered with families to welcome 2006 yesterday. Edinburgh and London saw the UK's biggest events with the Scottish - the Home of Hogmanay - drawing 100,000 for the fireworks set against the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

Wales Celebrates Peaceful Start As Revellers Make Most of Party Mood

Tens of thousands of people enjoyed a trouble-free start to 2006 yesterday as they thronged into Wales' city and town centres to see in the New Year. Police said the celebrations passed with relatively little incident despite the large number of revellers out on the streets.

'Put World Heritage Site On M4 Signs'

A town designated a UN World Heritage Site five years ago is missing out because there are no signs on Wales' busiest road to inform passing motorists of its special status. Blaenavon's designation puts the Valleys town in the same category as Venice, the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge. There are only 812 World Heritage Sites in the world, but the Welsh Assembly Government has no policy for highlighting the five in Wales on road signs. It says brown tourism signs are not meant to publicis...

Children 'Should Visit the Nation's Cultural Jewels'

Children should be taken on school trips to Wales' cultural jewels, one of the country's leading teaching unions demanded yesterday. The NUT Cymru has called for a complete overhaul of the school curriculum so that 'individual needs of each child and young person are paramount'. This could mean guaranteed entitlement to a minimum number of outdoor activities as well as visits to museums, galleries and theatres.

Royal Mail's Monopoly Comes to an End

The Royal Mail's 350-year monopoly of the UK letters market came to an end yesterday. New rules now allow rival companies to compete for a share of the multi-million- pound market.

New Year Offers Hope for Welsh First-Time Buyers

Housing experts have predicted Welsh property prices will see little or no growth this year. In what will be seen as some consolation for first-time buyers, average prices were expected to grow by between 0% and 4%, well down on the double-figure rises seen this year.

Heads Back Banning Badly-Behaved Pupils From School Buses

Many pupils could be banned from using school buses next year in a bid to tackle misbehaviour which puts safety at risk. Previously, school bus contrac- tors were required to carry known troublemakers because councils or head teachers were reluctant to act decisively.

Council Signs Deal Worth Millions to Talk to Public

A council has signed a multi-million-pound contract to computerise its links with the public. Swansea City and County Council has brought in IT firm Capgemini to mastermind a pounds 170m change in the way the council operates and delivers its services.

Proud Mum Invents Baby-Kick Counter

Like many modern mothers, Caroline Baker continued to work almost to the end of her pregnancy. But the 28-year-old, who runs a design consultancy in Denbighshire, found it was hard to keep a record of her baby's kicks while attending meetings.

Wales News Bulletin New Stadium's Soil Problem Raised

Plaid CYMRU's group leader on Swansea City and County Council wants to know why the city's pounds 25m new Liberty Stadium has not been equipped with under-soil heating. Darren Price will question council leaders at the next meeting, following the postponement of Swansea City's crucial League One fixture with Gillingham last Wednesday.

Surge in Demand for Energy Advice

SWANSEA Council's energy advice team is gearing up to help families vowing to make their homes more comfortable while cutting fuel bills and environment-harming CO2 emissions. More householders than ever before are switching on to energy- saving tips available through the Craddock Street service.

Long-Distance Call Catches Cruise

COASTGUARDS in Holyhead have contacted a cruise ship in the Canaries, off the coast of Africa. A man living in Conwy county needed to contact his mother, on the liner Thomson Celebration on a Christmas trip around the Canary Isles. She was unaware that her sister, who lives in Canada, had been put on a life-support machine.

Praise for Gold and Silver Chefs

FIRST Minister Rhodri Morgan has congratulated a team of top Welsh chefs who won gold and silver medals at the World Culinary Masters competition in Switzerland. The Welsh team finished sixth overall in the Swiss competition and move up to seventh in the world rankings, which was a target set by manager Graham Tinsley, co-owner of the Castle Hotel, Conwy, and Nant Hall, Prestatyn, at the start of the year.

Rubbish Decision

A council which gave its refuse collectors a week's holiday at the busiest time of the year for rubbish, has defended its decision. Some residents in Conwy county are unhappy with a fortnight's gap between refuse collections over Christmas and the New Year, and fear Llandudno's notorious seagulls could tear open bin bags and spread refuse around the resort.

Shoppers 'Driven Away From High Street by the Freeze'

Fears that consumers deserted the high street as the country was hit by freezing weather were confirmed by industry figures yesterday. There was a more than 12% drop in the number of people hitting the shops during the week after Christmas compared with the comparable period of 2004, retail monitor FootFall said.

Welsh Wind Farm Praised

A huge Welsh wind farm has been named one of the UK's top 10 green energy projects. The 39-turbine site at Cefn Croes, near Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion, which became operational in June, is among the best new projects to have cut carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, according to the Government's Department of Trade and Industry.

Climbing Centre Birthplace of Mountain Medicine Degree

The UK's first approved course in mountain medicine is to be run out of a Welsh mountain centre. An explosion in the popularity of mountaineering and trekking holidays across the globe has led to a huge demand for doctors who can use their skills at high altitude and in tricky terrain.

Description of Girl Snatcher Issued

Police hunting a paedophile who snatched a six-year-old girl issued a description yesterday of the man they want to talk to and details of where he may have taken her. Officers are looking for the abductor who took the child from her bath, drove her away in a car, then dumped her, naked, about 15 minutes later in a snowy back lane in North Tyneside.