22 h. ago At least 45,000 sites in Wales could be contaminated with toxic waste, study says

Campaigners say only 82 sites have been fully examined and classified as contaminated, so scale of threat not knownResearch from Friends of the Earth Cymru has found that at least 45,000 sites across Wales could be contaminated with toxic waste but have never been adequately inspected, leaving communities and wildlife vulnerable to a potential environmental crisis.Despite Wales’s extensive industrial history, Tuesday’s publication found that due to a lack of funding and oversight, only 82 sites across the country have ever been fully examined and classified as contaminated, meaning the actual scale of the threat is unknown. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Father of three who 'lived life to the full' plunged to his death in tragedy on notorious Welsh mountain ridge

Father of three Thomas Smith, who 'lived life to the full', plunged to his death from the notorious Crib Goch knife-edge ridge in Snowdonia, an inquest heard.

Events

8 d. ago Brendan Rodgers takes two Celtic outs off the Champions League table

The Irishman is preparing his side in testing conditions in Kazakhstan with the tie on a knife-edge

Sport

9 d. ago Parched England leaves wildlife and farmers living on a knife edge after drought

After experiencing one of hottest and driest summers on record, the drought has left crops withering and wildlife such as hedgehogs and owls suffering from dehydration

Politics

1 week ago UN envoy warns of renewed violence in Syria a month into a fragile ceasefire

The top U.N. envoy for Syria is warning that its transition remains “on a knife-edge” and violence could resume at any moment in the southern city of Sweida, which saw deadly clashes last month

Events

2 w. ago Tragedy on the Welsh mountains as man, 36, plunges to his death from knife

The walker, 36, fell off Crib Goch, a notoriously dangerous Mount Snowdon precipice on the approach to Yr Wyddfa, on Saturday morning.

Events

2 w. ago Fuzzy hats and a ban on swearing: the New Zealand town that bonds over curling

Scottish goldminers first brought the sport to Central Otago and the traditions live on as farmers sweep stones and catch up on the iceOn a July evening in Alexandra, a small town in New Zealand’s South Island, the temperature is a chilly 3C. While most of the town is in quiet darkness, at Ice Inline Molyneux Park, the lights are on and the banter is abundant. It’s a social curling night, and the shouts of “sweeeep!” can be heard from the car park. Players from teams with names such as the “Plonkers”, “Too Dam Cold” and “Doome and Broom” gather on the outdoor ice rink, sweeping furiously as 11kg curling stones move across the ice.L-R: A collection of enamel badges from curling competitions and tournaments. Curling stones ready to be put away after a Thursday night social curling game in Alexandra. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Bank of England under pressure to slow £586bn QT push to ease long

Its historic, knife-edge decision to cut interest rates captured headlines on Thursday, but the Bank of England could be about to make a far more consequential decision.

Economics

3 w. ago Councillor resignation could leave control of Stirling Council on a knife edge

Stirling East councillor Bryan Flannagan has stood down, citing increasing professional commitments for his decision.

Politics

4 w. ago The Guardian view on asylum myths: when truth loses, scapegoating takes over Britain’s migrant debate | Editorial

Labour’s cautious fixes for immigration and asylum policy face a toxic public mood shaped by fear, falsehoods and far-right provocationIn politics, numbers rarely speak for themselves. They must be framed and interpreted. They are often weaponised. In Britain’s increasingly toxic debate over asylum and migration, the question isn’t just how many asylum seekers arrive on small boats. It’s what those numbers are made to represent – and why polls suggest a large proportion of the public now believes things that are simply untrue.Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has staked her political credibility on restoring a sense of grip over the asylum system: reducing the backlog by processing cases, accelerating returns of those with no legal claim to stay and launching an as yet small-scale “one in, one out” returns deal with France. In balancing operational realism with symbolic reassurance, Ms Cooper walks a knife-edge between policy and perception. Continue reading...

Events