Western Mail

Welsh Cleaners Win Payout

Welsh local authorities are facing the threat of a pounds 350m bill in settlements to provide equal bonuses for catering, cleaning and care staff. As many as 2,300 staff, most of them women, at Neath Port Talbot Council are picking up cheques averaging pounds 3,500 this week. The employees, who historically have not received the same productivity bonus payments as other employees, are being awarded compensation payments by the council. Over the next two weeks, more than 200 staff each day wil...

Indecent Exposure Denied by Welsh Judge

One of Britain's most senior judges pleaded not guilty yesterday to two counts of exposure. Welshman Lord Justice Richards, who sits in the Court of Appeal, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' in central London to answer charges relating to two alleged incidents on trains in south-west London in October last year. It is claimed Sir Stephen Richards exposed himself to a woman on two separate occasions on a train between Wimbledon and Waterloo on October 16 and 24. In a 10-minute heari...

Famous Five Targeted 'with Dollops of Humour' in Drive to Bring Foreign Tourists Back to Wales:

The plan to bring foreign tourists back to Wales is revealed today. Welsh tourism chiefs are targeting specific countries in a bid to attract overseas visitors back to the country after numbers were hit at the start of the decade by the devastation of foot-and- mouth disease and fears of terrorism after September 11. Rich tourists in America, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland are being focused on through tailored campaigns highlighting the opportunities created by Wales' natural di...

Wound Research Pioneers End to Tests On Animals

Pioneering research to reduce animal suffering in scientific experiments is being carried out in Wales. Dr Phil Stephens from Cardiff University is trying to develop a model of wound healing using tissue donated by human patients. He said he hoped his work would bring to an end the suffering caused to animals in tests to improve treatment for chronic wounds. A university spokesman said, 'Animal experiments to study chronic wounds can cause substantial pain and suffering. 'Often wounds are del...

Alcohol and Drug Habit May Beingenes

Heavy alcohol and drug use may be inherited from our parents, new research shows. Although family and social experiences may determine whether teenagers try cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, their genes probably determine whether they become heavy users, the study suggests. Cardiff University researchers interviewed more than 1,200 sets of identical and non-identical twins aged 11-19 in Wales and Manchester about their alcohol and drug use. They found that 86% of them had drunk alcohol and o...

Backpackers Unlawfully Killed in Hostel Inferno

Six British backpackers were unlawfully killed when a fellow traveller set fire to their hostel in Australia, an inquest ruled yesterday. Natalie Morris, 28, and Sarah Williams, 23, both from Merthyr Tydfil, were among 15 travellers who died when fruit picker Robert Long committed arson at the Palace Backpackers Hostel, in Childers, Queensland, in June 2000. The other Britons were Michael Lewis, 25, from Bristol, Adam Rowland, 19, from East Sussex, Gary Sutton, 24, from Bath, and Claire Webb,...

Climber Falls to Death On Mountain

A climber slipped and fell 300ft to his death from the ridge of Crib Goch, in Snowdonia. Llanberis and RAF Valley Mountain Rescue teams were involved in the search for the man after the accident yesterday morning. But the middle-aged man was dead when rescue workers arrived on the scene and recovered his body from rocks below the ridge. The dead man has not been named but is believed to be from the north- west of England. A BLAZE which forced customers and staff from a large supermarket was l...

Welsh Scientists Discover Genetic Clues to Autism

Research by Welsh scientists has for the first time linked autism to genes associated with timing and biological clocks. The disability is recognised as having hereditary origins, but the study by the University of Wales, Bangor, identifies two new genes not previously thought to have been associated with the condition. The genes known as per1 and npas2 control such things as our sleep cycle, memory and communicative timing.

'Theft a Problem in Rural Wales'

Theft is a problem in rural Wales, according to research by a farmers' union. While Government statistics suggest that rural areas continue to experience lower levels of crime than urban areas, the National Farmers' Union countryside survey shows that in the past 12 months 15% of respondents have been affected by crime in Wales, with theft accounting for 59% of the crimes committed. But Malcolm Thomas, NFU countryside spokesman, stressed that on the whole, residents in rural areas of Wales ar...

Troubled Wembley Stadium Looks Ready to Kick Off at Last

The Millennium Stadium's reign as the premier venue for British football looks to be over. Cutlery and glasses are being unpacked in restaurants at the new Wembley stadium today, as the hand-over of keys to the troubled project is finally in sight. The practical completion of the pounds 800m complex is said to be imminent.

Dolphin Charity in Un Row

A welsh dolphin charity has been cut out of a United Nations campaign after speaking out against some of its sponsors. The Sea Life Trust, based in Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, has had its logo removed from the website of the UN's 2007 Year of the Dolphin awareness raising drive, and has been removed from a list of official supporters, despite having already held events in support of the cause. The charity, which runs dolphin- spotting trips, argued with organisers over claims one of the year's s...

Parenting Classes Work, Say Academics

Parenting classes can dramatically improve the behaviour of unruly children, researchers said today. A study in Wales found that a programme of 12 weekly classes for parents was very effective in reducing the chances of their children turning to crime or drugs. The research, published on bmj.com, said children's behaviour and parents' skills improved 'remarkably' after the classes.

Balaclava Comparison at Veil Case Tribunal 'Was Not Appropriate'

A muslim teaching assistant who was suspended and later sacked for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom yesterday appealed against a tribunal decision which supported her school's action. During the hearing it was claimed Aishah Azmi, who was born in Cardiff, should not have been compared with someone wearing a balaclava during her original tribunal. Mrs Azmi, 24, was suspended on full pay after staff at Headfield Church of England junior school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said pupil...

Davina Mccall Criticised for Sex Education Show

Tv presenter Davina McCall has been criticised for her part in an explicit sex education programme. McCall presents the Channel 4 programme called Let's Talk Sex where teenagers and teachers are taken to a Dutch youth centre and shown sex education in the Netherlands. Children as young as four are taught about homosexuality and shown cartoons of sex acts. The nation has one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe.

'Schools Are Failing On Sex and Relationship Education'

Schools in Wales are failing to provide adequate sex and relationship education, a damning report from official inspectors warns. Even more worryingly, teenagers at the launch of the report said there was a trend to have sex before it is legal. Teenage pupils said it was 'fashionable' to have sex before the age of consent at 16, and they would not discuss the issue with parents because of the embarrassment factor. Asked about the right age to begin sexual relationships, the pupils said that 1...

'Racial Abuse Is Normal in Army' Claim Tory Sacked

The Tories were last night embroiled in a furious row over racism after a member of David Cameron's front-bench team suggested racial abuse was part and parcel of Army life. Mr Cameron moved swiftly to sack Patrick Mercer as homeland security spokesman after he said in an online interview it was normal for an ethnic minority soldier to be called a 'black bastard'. The MP for Newark, a former colonel in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, apologised for his comments saying he 'deeply re...

Democrats Unveil Iraq Withdrawal Law

Rioters Clash with Police in Athens

ANARCHIST rioters clashed with police for over three hours yesterday, hurling petrol bombs and smashing stores while rampaging through central Athens. At least 20 people were hurt and 40 detained after the violence erupted outside Parliament during a rally of more than 20,000 students and academic staff against education reforms. Police responded with massive use of tear gas, in the worst violence since students began protests which have kept most Greek universities closed for up to 10 weeks.

Eu's Renewable Energy Targets 'Binding'

EUROPEAN UNION leaders have agreed that targets for renewable energy will be binding, the Swedish Prime Minister said last night as the leaders met to work out a green energy policy for Europe. 'We have been able to focus on a lot of objectives. We have... concluded that we need a target for renewable energy supply and that it should be binding... but there will be a discussion on what that means for each and every member state.

Tears and Tributes Flow As Television and Panto Star Inman Dies After Illness

Tributes have poured in for John Inman, star of Are You Being Served? after his death at the age of 71 early yester-day. The actor, much loved for his role as a camp, sharp-tongued salesman with the catchphrase 'I'm free!' in the TV sitcom, had been ill for some time. Actress Wendy Richard, who played shopgirl Miss Brahms in the BBC show, wept as she led tributes to the star.