Years ago, while on a home visit to see an elderly patient with an infected leg ulcer, I realised for the first time that Britain has a blood pressure pill problem.
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The warnings affect parts of the Welsh coast including Barry Island, Penarth, and Pembrokeshire.
Discharges were reported early on August 31, after days of rain raised pollution risks.
According to Surfers Against Sewage, Jacksons Bay, Whitmore Bay, Watch House Bay, and Cold Knap in Barry were all affected by sewage discharges starting at 2.46am, with Welsh Water allegedly responsible for the discharges.
Penarth Beach was also impacted, with a discharge recorded at 12.59am on the same day.
Further west, Manorbier in Pembrokeshire was affected by an earlier discharge that began at 9pm on August 30, while Dale saw a discharge start at 6.16pm on August 31.
A pollution risk forecast has also been issued by Natural Resources Wales for Newport North on Tuesday, September 1.
Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales have been approached for a comment.
Skin tags are one of the most common skin complaints, affecting around 60 per cent of the population, mostly those over 50.
To celebrate their new album, Mayfield, Rusty Shackle have been joined by their family, friends, and Cardiff locals in the Tramshed. From start to finish, I felt like I needed to be hoisted onto a pub bench with a stein of beer, linking arms with a fellow reveller: the atmosphere is contagious, filled with joy and laughter.
The six-piece gather onstage with lounge lampshades, carpets, banjos, violins and a Welsh flag. Giving us a blend of new album songs as well as their old classics, we’re also treated to a few covers. Dolly Parton’s Jolene comes a few days after her death, and the entire crowd sing along in tribute; Fatboy Slim’s Praise You, too, sounds great adapted to Rusty Shackle’s upbeat country tones.
The band are joined on stage by two guests. The first, John, is the dad of guitarist Alex McConnachie, gracing us with a harmonica and adding to that “I need a stein in my hand for this show” feeling. The other is Todd Campbell, producer of Mayfield and son of late Motörhead member Phil Campbell. There’s also a moment of silence for Andy, a friend of Rusty Shackle who passed away last week: in that spirit, may I use a moment in this review to think of Andy.
Crowd rapport abounds all evening, including an investigation into who’s travelled the furthest to see the band play. We hear mentions of Caldicot, Oxford and the Netherlands. This chimes nicely with their song Newport Rising – as a Cwmbran girl, I didn’t think anyone else other than Goldie Lookin Chain would have the gumption to put the city in a song.
Rusty Shackle end with one this packed audience knew well, 3am, and it goes down a treat – even if, looking around the crowd, I’m sceptical too many will have stayed out past midnight.
Rusty Shackle, Tramshed, Cardiff, Sat 29 Aug
words and photos CHLOE JACKSON-NOTT
Warning signs visible days before Nepal glacier collapse, report suggests
Three months before last week’s devastating floods, experts from China and Nepal met in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, on 27 May to discuss the risk of disasters in the border area and to coordinate on how best to monitor and respond to hazards such as floods, according to the Reuters news agency.
The participants called for joint risk-reduction measures, including inventories of glacial lakes and hazard mapping, but two Nepali officials told Reuters they did not receive as much information as they wanted from China on glacier risks and water levels after the meeting.
Now, a rapid hazard assessment of the Nepal-Tibet disaster prepared by HiRISK, comprised of a group of scientists that produce risk data in the High Mountain Asia region and create guidelines for policymakers, said there were “pre-event indications” of the avalanche, raising more questions about the effectiveness of disaster preparedness.
The assessment was prepared by HiRISK on 28 August, according to ABC News (Australia), which first reported the findings. Jakob Steiner, a co-author of the report and a geoscientist with the University of Graz who has researched lake bursts in Nepal, told the outlet that early warning systems for construction workers were “very weak”.
The HiRISK report noted that no early warning system for glacier-related hazards had been established in the affected area.
“Given the rapid speed of the initial avalanche, warning time from conventional … systems would have been minimal and likely insufficient for successful evacuation at the Nepal-China border check point at Rasuwagadhi (Gyirong Port),” it said.
“Further downstream, with warning times of 10 minutes or more, comprehensive and well-capacitated systems could have saved a significant number of lives.”
It is unclear what data – if any – China had before the disaster of the conditions of the glaciers in the area, especially those lying outside its borders.
Key events
Death toll from floods rises to 1,010, with thousands still missing, Nepal’s foreign ministry says
Lok Bahadur Chhetri, spokesperson for Nepal’s foreign ministry, has been holding a press briefing on the floods, providing updates on the search efforts and scale of the disaster. Here are some of the main points from what he said:
The national priority is to save lives, locate the missing, rescue survivors and provide urgent relief to those affected.
More than 21,000 personnel from Nepal’s army, police and armed police forces are engaged in search and rescue, relief and evacuation operations while the government coordinates with its neighbours and the international community, which is providing vital equipment and expertise.
1,010 bodies have been recovered, about 4,000 people are missing and more than 11,800 people have been rescued, including about 324 foreign nationals.
Approximately 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries remain missing – these figures continue to be updated.
Specialised tunnel rescue teams are working to find those feared to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites along the Trishuli River including at the Chilime, Langtang and Upper Trishuli 3A sites.
Nepal’s prime minister Balendra Shah said that the disaster highlighted the need for action to combat the climate crisis.
“This incident has indicated that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing with climate change,” Shah said in a social media post on Monday night.
“Therefore, this region must be alert, and at the same time, it is time for us to strongly raise the issue of disasters caused by climate change before the international community.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China’s second batch of relief supplies for Nepal was expected to ship today, including drones, DNA testing and water purification equipment.
Chinese DNA testing experts will also help Nepal identity bodies, he said. Beijing has said it will continue to “strongly support” Nepal’s disaster relief efforts and safeguard the two countries’ common interests.
43,000 women and girls in Nepal need urgent humanitarian assistance, UN warns
An estimated 43,000 women and girls in Nepal are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance following the flood disaster last week, according to Christine Arab, UN Women regional director for Asia and the Pacific, who has been at a press briefing in Geneva.
Arab said women are running out of food, and safe water to drink, while facing exclusion from decisions that will shape their recovery even though they are likely to pick up more unpaid care work in the home.
She also highlighted how disasters increase the risk of trafficking, exploitation and gender-based violence while shrinking the availability of protection services for the most vulnerable.
“When there are no separate or safe latrines, adequate lighting or privacy, women and girls can face risks simply when using the toilet, bathing, sleeping, or moving around after dark,” Arab said.
“Women in the worst-affected areas tell us that food is their most urgent priority right now. Before the floods, women in Nepal were more likely to eat least and to eat last in their families, with serious consequences for their own health, particularly those who are pregnant or breastfeeding,” she added.
Warning signs visible days before Nepal glacier collapse, report suggests
Three months before last week’s devastating floods, experts from China and Nepal met in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, on 27 May to discuss the risk of disasters in the border area and to coordinate on how best to monitor and respond to hazards such as floods, according to the Reuters news agency.
The participants called for joint risk-reduction measures, including inventories of glacial lakes and hazard mapping, but two Nepali officials told Reuters they did not receive as much information as they wanted from China on glacier risks and water levels after the meeting.
Now, a rapid hazard assessment of the Nepal-Tibet disaster prepared by HiRISK, comprised of a group of scientists that produce risk data in the High Mountain Asia region and create guidelines for policymakers, said there were “pre-event indications” of the avalanche, raising more questions about the effectiveness of disaster preparedness.
The assessment was prepared by HiRISK on 28 August, according to ABC News (Australia), which first reported the findings. Jakob Steiner, a co-author of the report and a geoscientist with the University of Graz who has researched lake bursts in Nepal, told the outlet that early warning systems for construction workers were “very weak”.
The HiRISK report noted that no early warning system for glacier-related hazards had been established in the affected area.
“Given the rapid speed of the initial avalanche, warning time from conventional … systems would have been minimal and likely insufficient for successful evacuation at the Nepal-China border check point at Rasuwagadhi (Gyirong Port),” it said.
“Further downstream, with warning times of 10 minutes or more, comprehensive and well-capacitated systems could have saved a significant number of lives.”
It is unclear what data – if any – China had before the disaster of the conditions of the glaciers in the area, especially those lying outside its borders.
At least 11,814 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepalese authorities.
Emergency crews are using aircraft to reach stranded communities in areas where roads and bridges have been destroyed by the flooding and landslides.
Nepal tourism department publishes list of names of missing people
Nepal’s tourism department published a list of the names of the people still missing, as of Sunday evening, after the catastrophic flooding in the district of Rasuwa, one of the worst-hit provinces in Nepal. It said there were 164 people from Nepal that remain unaccounted for and 25 from China.
It said a total of 583 foreigners were missing, with the highest number from India (183), followed by the US (64) and then Malaysia (55). There are 33 people from the UK that have been identified as missing.
Beijing’s state media reports that 16 people died in Tibet, with 546 missing, but advocacy groups have accused China of heavily underreporting the death toll from flooding in border regions with Nepal, raising questions about Beijing’s official account of the scale of the disaster.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 93,000 people have been affected by the disaster, heightening fears that the climate crisis is destabilising the geology of mountain and polar regions.
The Nepali prime minister, Balendra Shah, said the flood was an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster” and that it was difficult to compile a complete assessment of the damage.
The flood was “caused by glacier instability under the long-term effects of global warming”, China’s state-run CCTV reported, saying it was a “new and prominent feature of cryosphere disasters” on the Tibetan plateau.
Two Nepali officials said China had not shared much information on glacier risks and water levels after a meeting to strengthen cooperation earlier this year, and they feared that could hamper future disaster preparedness.
You can read more in this story by my colleagues, Cait Kelly and William Christou, here:
Death toll from Nepal-China flood disaster exceeds 1,000, authorities say
The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal and China has passed 1,000 as of Tuesday morning, officials said, with authorities reportedly burying hundreds of unidentified victims after the flood disaster overwhelmed morgues.
Nepal’s disaster agency said in an update on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted there, with 3,916 people missing, including 583 foreigners.
Chinese authorities, in their latest update on Sunday, reported 16 deaths and 546 people still missing.
The initial 72 hours after a disaster are viewed as critical to a rescue operation and there are fading hopes that the missing will be found alive.
Rescue efforts nonetheless persist, but have been complicated by challenging terrain, persistently high flood waters and difficult weather.
The devastating floods occurred last Wednesday when a huge section of a glacier in the Himalayas came loose and crashed on to the valley floor in Nepal’s Langtang national park, unleashing a massive wall of water and mud that rushed down rivers and valleys.
The resulting floods obliterated villages and destroyed vital infrastructure such as power stations, roads and bridges.
Much of the rescue efforts are now focused on trying to reach the 900 or so missing hydropower workers, hundreds of whom are feared trapped in the tunnels and underground areas of 12 hydropower projects in Nepal.
“A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,” the Nepal army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
About 250 people were rescued from the Upper Trishuli hydroelectric project over the weekend, and army engineers began blasting operations at the site to rescue another 42 workers thought be missing, as my colleague notes in this story.
Many people are feared to still be trapped in the sprawling network of mud-filled tunnels at hydropower sites along the Trishuli River, which flows through central Nepal.
Could a two-hour operation to ‘replumb’ blood vessels in the neck stop dementia in its tracks – something no drug has been able to do?
Angle RNLI said their crews spent 22 hours at sea over two days in major multi agency search for a teenager who went missing off the coast of Pembrokeshire.
A spokesperson for Angle RNLI said: “Over the last two days the crew at Angle RNLI have spent just over 22 hours afloat as part of a major multi agency search operation at Marloes Sands following reports of a missing 14 year old swimmer.
“At 3.34pm on Sunday the 30th of August Angle All-Weather Lifeboat was tasked to immediate launch following multiple 999 calls to the coastguard reporting three persons were in difficulty in the water at Marloes Sands and although that two had now self-recovered, a 14 year old boy was unaccounted for.
“The lifeboat launched shortly after and made best speed to Marloes.
“Once on scene the crew began conducting an immediate search of the area. With nothing found the crew extended their search further along the coast before stepping out and carrying out a reciprocal search. At this point, the crew were passed their first set of formal search instructions.
“Over the next eight hours the crew worked tirelessly completing multiple search patterns covering likely areas as requested by the coastguard.
“Also in attendance were St David’s and Tenby All-Weather Lifeboats, Coastguard Rescue Teams from Dale, Broad Haven, St David’s and Llansteffan, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter R924 and Coastguard Fixed Wing Aircraft R224, Dyfed Powys Police and their Marine Unit, 3x Milford Haven Port Authority pilot vessels and multiple other leisure and commercial vessels.
“After hours of searching all assets were stood down around midnight, and following a refuel in Milford Marina the crew were back alongside and ready for further service by 2am.
“Just six hours later, at 8:16am on Monday morning the crew were tasked again to continue the search efforts.
“Working alongside Little Haven Inshore Lifeboat, Coastguard Rescue Teams from Dale, Broad Haven, St David’s and Llansteffan, a Coastguard Drone Team, Dyfed Powys Police and their Marine Unit, a Milford Haven Port Authority pilot vessel, Milford Haven Harbour Patrol and multiple leisure and commercial vessels the area was once again thoroughly saturated.
“Having conducted thorough shoreline searches from St Ann’s Head up to Broad Haven North, including Skomer and Skokholm Islands, at 4.15pm the crew returned to the jetty for a crew change and quick welfare break before relaunching.
“By 5pm the lifeboat was back on scene and recommencing searches, this time working in conjunction with the Coastguard Drone Team to conduct a low water search of the shoreline around Marloes Sands and the surrounding area.
“At 7.30pm with nothing found and no new information to go on the search was formally suspended and the crew were stood down with thanks, and the lifeboat was back alongside her berth and ready for further service by 8pm.
“A huge thank you to our crew who have shown immense dedication over the past two days, and a thank you goes to Milford Haven Coastguard for their fantastic coordination and support in what has been a lengthy and tiring incident for our crew.
“Our thoughts are with the swimmers family and friends at this difficult time.”
Scientists are exploring various uses for a drug hoped to be an ‘Ozempic for the brain’, able to target several brain-related conditions.
Since the death of her son, Liam, almost two years ago, Nicola Anderson hasn’t been able to throw away his toothbrush. His shoes are still there, too.
The Welsh Warriors, a team formed by rowers from the Barry and Mumbles Sea Rowing Clubs, will take on the Great River Race in London this September in support of Marie Curie Cymru.
The 21.6-mile race runs from Millwall in East London to Richmond in the West and passes under some of the capital’s most iconic bridges.
Lucy Walker, a Marie Curie volunteer and member of the Barry Sea Rowing Club, is part of the crew.
She said: “Our crew is made up of rowers of all ages and abilities, united by a shared goal. We will of course be flying the Welsh Flag and be very visible in our bright yellow Marie Curie T Shirts.
“We’ll be towing our two trusty boats from Barry Yacht Club to London, competing in the race on 12 September, and then making the journey home again.
“With travel on the 11th, the race itself on the 12th, and the return trip on the 13th, this is a significant three-day challenge that will test our endurance, teamwork and determination.”
The team is raising funds for Marie Curie Cymru, which provides hospice care at home and at its Penarth facility on Bridgeman Road.
Hannah Warner-Holt, Marie Curie Community Fundraiser Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, said: “A massive thank you to the team for taking part in this exciting fundraiser and helping to raise vital funds for the charity.
“While the costs of the event have already been met, the team is hoping to boost its fundraising efforts for Marie Curie by drumming up local support – and maybe even some corporate sponsorship.”
Those who wish to support the group in their fundraising efforts can donate to their Just Giving page online.
