Latest from North Wales Chronicle
North Wales Chronicle
31 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Smoking ban introduced on three North Wales beaches
Cared for by National Trust Cymru, the beaches are part of a new scheme launched in partnership with ASH Wales aimed at protect wildlife, nature, and public health. The 'smoke-free' zones were introduced on June 19 to mark National Clean Air Day and include Porth Dafarch and Cemlyn on Anglesey, as well as Porthor on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd. The shores of Porth Dafarch, Anglesey, North Wales (Image: National Trust Images/John Miller) Dewi Davies, project manager for National Trust Cymru in North Wales, said: "We are delighted to partner with ASH Wales Cymru on this initiative which will benefit both people and nature. "All three locations we've chosen as voluntary smoke-free zones have been selected because they are environmentally significant. "We work hard to look after these special places and are requesting that people who visit these beautiful locations help us to care for them by not smoking and disposing of harmful smoking materials which could pose a risk to these special habitats and the wildlife that lives in them, or spark a wildfire. "As a conservation charity, people and nature are at the heart of everything we do, and we all have a role to play in helping to protect our natural environment for future generations to enjoy." Cemlyn, Anglesey (Image: National Trust Images/Paul Harris) The scheme aims to reduce cigarette litter, which poses a threat to marine environments and wildlife. Cigarette butts break down into microplastics and release toxic chemicals into the water, and discarded smoking materials can also pose a wildfire risk. The beaches were chosen for their environmental importance. Porth Dafarch, on Holy Island, is home to a colony of choughs, the rarest member of the crow family, as well as seals and porpoises. Cemlyn supports one of the UK's largest colonies of Sandwich terns, with around 1,500 pairs, and is part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a National Nature Reserve. Porthor, known for its 'whistling sands,' is a haven for birds and marine life, including choughs, razorbills, guillemots, and seals. Notice boards have been placed at each site to inform visitors of the scheme. Suzanne Cass, chief executive of ASH Wales, said: "Smoke-free spaces are not only popular—they're essential for protecting our wildlife, natural landscapes, and future generations. "Expanding smoke-free outdoor spaces sends a clear message: smoking is not the norm - people, wildlife and the planet come first." According to National Trust Cymru, public opinion shows 'strong support' for the scheme, with 56 per cent of Welsh adults supporting a smoking ban on beaches. In Anglesey, support for the ban rises to 87 per cent. The launch was marked with a beach clean at Porth Dafarch, involving pupils from Kingsland Primary School on June 19.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Coldplay to reissue albums on records made from recycled plastic bottles
The EcoRecords are claimed to reduce carbon emissions during the manufacturing process by 85% compared with traditional vinyl production. Jen Ivory, managing director of the band's label Parlophone, said: 'We are incredibly proud to partner with artists such as Coldplay who share our commitment to a more sustainable future for music. 'The shift to EcoRecord LP for their releases is a testament to what's possible when innovation meets intention. 'It's not just about a new product, it's about pioneering manufacturing that significantly reduces environmental impact, providing fans with the same high-quality audio experience while setting a new standard for physical music production.' Each 140g LP is made up of approximately nine recycled bottles, after they are cleaned, processed into small pellets and then moulded into records. Coldplay will re-release debut album Parachutes (2000), A Rush of Blood To The Head (2002), X&Y (2005), Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), Ghost Stories (2014), A Head Full Of Dreams (2015), Everyday Life (2019) and Music Of The Spheres (2021) in the series. The band's latest album Moon Music, released last year, has already been released on an EcoRecord LP. It comes after Coldplay claimed they had exceeded their climate change target while attempting to put on one of the greenest tours in history. In 2024, the group claimed its CO2 emissions were 59% less for the first two years of their Music Of The Spheres Tour compared to their stadium tour from 2016 to 2017, surpassing an initial 50% target. The group used rechargeable batteries fuelled by renewable sources for the shows along with other efforts. Coldplay have long campaigned for climate action, with frontman Chris Martin saying in 2019 they would not launch a globe-trotting tour for their album Everyday Life due to environmental concerns. In October last year, Martin claimed his band would stop making albums after their 12th record, with Moon Music being their 10th. All of the London-formed band's albums have reached number one on the UK albums chart and the group have also had two number one singles in Viva La Vida and Paradise. The latest series of reissues will be released on August 15 with pre-orders open on Coldplay's website.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Met Police introduces patrols to protect women and girls at concerts
It comes ahead of 51 large-scale music events planned in London this summer, with more than three million people set to attend shows at Wembley Stadium alone. The Met has introduced new violence against women and girls (VAWG) patrols alongside the V100 project, a new data-driven approach to identify serious sexual offenders and prevent crimes. The operation began on June 5 at US singer Beyonce's concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and led to the removal of an individual on suspicion of stalking and threatening behaviour, as well as the arrest of a man for upskirting, who remains on police bail. Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The V100 is our approach to identifying those men who are at the top end of carrying out the most serious and harmful attacks against women and girls – that's multiple serious sexual assaults. 'Thankfully, there are a relatively small number of offenders who we believe are behind the most serious crime. 'In the short time we've been running this initiative, we've already arrested 177 of our V100 nominals and 129 of them have been convicted for a range of serious offences. 'And this is about identifying through our data the men posing the biggest risk of women and girls in London and taking action in a very targeted, precise way.' He added: 'With our VAWG patrols, there's two parts to them: Firstly, it's about engagement, so our officers talk to the public, really engage with them, having conversations, helping people to feel safe, and letting them know that if they've got concerns, they can come and speak to us. 'But the other part to it has a much harder edge, which is looking at the crowd and saying, 'who should not be here?' 'So that will not be so visible to normal concert-goers, but we will approach people we think should not be there and we will make sure they leave venues and leave the areas as quickly as possible.' An additional 565 officers and staff have been drafted into public protection roles across the force, aimed at enhancing the domestic abuse, rape and sexual offence investigation teams. The Met has also increased its live facial recognition tools to locate those wanted for offences and those subject to court orders, including sexual harm prevention orders. Mr Russell added: 'For us and the Met, protecting women and girls has been one of our number one priorities for a while now, and we're working really closely with the Government on that, and we're supportive of the mission to try and halve violence against women and girls, over the life of this parliament. 'Part of the way we look at our success is trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police, so we track on a regular basis how much people feel that they think we're doing a good job, and that's something working with the mayor's office, we track regularly. 'It's also about just getting out and arresting people at these events. We think if we spot people in the crowds who are committing these offences and are making arrests, that's a good result. 'Equally, if we recording and these crimes, that tells us that the public have the faith to come forward with over three million people coming to these events in the summer, we know that some crime will take place, a relatively small amount, but when we're able to track it to identify it, to record it, and arrest suspects, that for us is a good result.'
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Kylian Mbappe discharged from hospital after case of ‘acute gastroenteritis'
The 26-year-old France international missed Wednesday night's 1-1 Club World Cup draw with Al Hilal through illness, with head coach Xabi Alonso revealing he had a fever. Real Madrid subsequently confirmed Mbappe was suffering from 'an acute case of gastroenteritis' and had been admitted to hospital for further tests and treatment. Later on Thursday, the LaLiga club revealed Mbappe had been able to return to the team's training base to continue his recovery. Nuevo parte médico de Mbappé. — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 19, 2025 A statement on Madrid's official website said: 'Our player Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital this afternoon and has returned to the Real Madrid training camp. 'Mbappe will continue receiving specific medical treatment and will gradually return to team activity.' Los Blancos are due to play their second Group H fixture against Mexican side CF Pachuca in Charlotte on Sunday. Real Madrid are second in their group after the opening round of fixtures, two points behind Red Bull Salzburg, who beat Pachuca 2-1 in Cincinnati during the early hours of Thursday morning.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
£28 family sunscreen among brands to fail safety testing, Which? finds
Ultrasun Family SPF30, which costs £28 for 150ml and is marketed as being 'perfect for the whole family' and 'especially suitable for children and those with sensitive skin', failed to meet minimum UVA protection levels in two separate tests by Which?. Ultrasun passed the UVB SPF part of the test but failed on UVA testing, scoring 9.1 and then 9.5 in a retest. Which? required a score of 10 or more for a pass. Morrisons Moisturising Sun Spray SPF30 also failed to meet minimum SPF protection levels in two tests. The product passed UVA tests but failed the UVB/SPF tests with scores of 25.7 and then 20.7 – short of the 30 or more needed to pass. UVA and UVB rays both cause different types of damage, and not all sun creams protect against them in the same way. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB to cause long-term damage, including all types of skin cancer, and play a role in the ageing process, such as causing wrinkles, sun spots and leathery skin. UVB rays are mostly responsible for sunburn and skin reddening. They do not penetrate as deeply as UVA rays but they are just as damaging, and can play a large part in the development of skin cancers including melanoma. SPF stands for 'sun protection factor', and indicates the level of protection a sun cream provides against burning rays. SPFs range from 2 to 50+, with 50+ offering the most protection against UVB. Which? tested 15 popular sun creams this year, including Boots, Garnier and Nivea as well as supermarket own-brand products. Aldi's Lacura Sensitive Sun Lotion SPF50+, which costs £2.99 for 200ml, was found to protect the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Cien Sun Spray 30 SPF High (£3.79/200ml), from fellow discounter Lidl, also passed all SPF and UVA testing, with Which? describing it as a 'solid option for affordable and reliable sun protection'. Some 11 other products, including Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Suncare Spray SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml), Nivea Sun Protect & Moisture Lotion SPF30 (£7.90 for 200ml) and Sainsbury's Sun Protect Moisturising Lotion SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml) passed SPF and UVA safety tests. Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: 'It's really concerning that widely available sunscreens could be putting families at risk by failing to offer the level of sun protection claimed on the packaging. 'While shoppers should avoid buying our 'don't buys', our results prove that there's no need to splash out to keep you and your loved ones safe in the sun as we've found cheap reliable options at Aldi and Lidl.' A spokeswoman for Ultrasun said: 'Ultrasun is fully confident in our testing protocols. As an independent brand delivering very high UVB and UVA protection options for over 30 years, our detailed testing processes, independent and peer reviewed, continue to not only meet but surpass industry standards. 'Our chosen testing protocol is one of the strictest available. Further detail and clarification from Which? on their testing protocols would also be helpful, particularly on how these resulted in two different results from the same sample.' Morrisons told Which? that it was looking closely at the data and working with its supplier to carry out additional independent testing. A Morrisons spokeswoman added: 'We work closely with our supplier and conduct extensive efficacy and safety testing during product development. As such, all our sun care products are tested to the relevant industry test standards and are not approved for launch until they meet these standards. During development and production all tested variants consistently achieved an SPF of 30. 'In direct response to this report from Which? we have retested the SPF against the British and International Standard BS EN ISO 24444:2020 and can confirm the product has achieved an SPF value of 34.5 and can therefore be labelled as SPF 30.'
