Latest news with #JonathanDay
Pembrokeshire Herald
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Pembrokeshire Herald
National Road Championships return to West Wales this summer
CEREDIGION will host the 2025 Lloyds National Road Championships from June 26 to 29, bringing elite-level cycling to west Wales – and Pembrokeshire residents are being encouraged to make the short trip across the border to enjoy the action. A total of ten national champion's jerseys will be contested across three days of racing, with the time-trial on Thursday, June 26, the circuit race on Friday, June 27, and the road race concluding the event on Sunday, June 29. Entries for all events are open now and will close at midnight on Sunday, June 1. Full route details can be found at Time-trial – Aberaeron – Thursday, June 26 The opening event takes place around Aberaeron, with a challenging route beginning in Ffos-y-ffin and heading along fast-rolling roads to Ciliau Aeron before returning via a short but steep climb at Rhiw Goch. Elite women and under-23 riders will cover 27km, while elite men will face a 41km course. Circuit race – Aberystwyth – Friday, June 27 The circuit race will take place in Aberystwyth on Friday evening. Riders will race for 50 minutes plus five laps on a 1.6km loop through the town centre, including Pier Street, Portland Street and Queens Road. The start and finish line will be on the seafront promenade. Spectators will have several opportunities to see the action as riders pass iconic landmarks like the Bandstand and old college. Road race – Aberystwyth – Sunday, June 29 The championships culminate in a gruelling road race beginning on Aberystwyth's promenade and heading out towards Trawsgoed on a 23.4km anti-clockwise loop. The course includes a maximum gradient of 9.1% and a technical 13.8% descent from Moriah to the A44. The women's race will cover 128km and the men's 187km, finishing on the seafront. The finishing circuits, which loop through the old harbour and over Trefechan Bridge, are expected to deliver a thrilling end to each race. Stevie Williams, winner of last year's Lloyds Tour of Britain Men and a native of Aberystwyth, said: 'Racing on home roads is a rare opportunity which always makes it extra special, so I can't wait to get out on the roads I know so well.' Jonathan Day, Managing Director for British Cycling Events, said: 'The locations for each of the championships are stunning and provide a great test for the riders. There are multiple opportunities for spectators to see the riders pass these iconic landmarks.' Ceredigion County Council has worked closely with organisers to support the event, which is expected to bring visitors and cycling fans from across the UK. Councillor Clive Davies said: 'The routes will demonstrate all that Ceredigion has to offer, from the coast to the countryside, taking in iconic sights along the way.' Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Evans said the event was a key milestone as Wales prepares to host the Tour de France for the first time in 2027. Picture caption: Tour of Britain: When it visited Aberystwyth in 2021
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Press freedom and pluralism face ‘existential battle' across EU, report finds
Media pluralism in many EU member states is being increasingly strangled by a high concentration of ownership, even in countries with traditionally free media markets, according to a report that concludes press freedom is crumbling across the bloc. The report, produced by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) based on the work of 43 human rights groups from 21 countries, said several EU governments were attacking press freedom or weakening media independence and regulation. Along with weak ownership transparency rules, growing government influence over public media and threats against journalists, media freedom and pluralism were 'under attack across the EU, and in some cases in an existential battle', it said. 'This isn't a surprise,' said Jonathan Day, the report's lead editor. 'Governments' efforts to weaken the rule of law and democratic institutions almost always start by seeking to control their country's media landscape.' Day said the EU's attempt to safeguard media freedom, the European Media Freedom Act (Emfa), was 'already facing resistance even before it's fully in force. How successfully it is enforced may be make-or-break for media freedom in some member states.' Media ownership The report singled out an excessive concentration of media ownership as a particular concern in Croatia, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, with ownership often concentrated in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy individuals. This was exacerbated by inadequate transparency of media ownership, it said, with many member states failing to set up publicly accessible databases required by the Emfa, almost all of which is due to come fully into force in August. The binding legislation aims to guarantee the protection of journalists and sources, independence of regulatory bodies and full ownership transparency — but many member states 'seem unready if not unwilling to fully enforce' it, the report said. France faced 'significant media pluralism challenges', the report said, highlighting Vincent Bolloré's acquisition of the Hachette group and installation, at several of its publishing houses, of executives sympathetic to the conservative billionaire's views. In Italy, the report noted the planned acquisition of AGI, a leading news agency, by the Angelucci Group, headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP from the far-right Lega party who already owns Italian newspapers including Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo. Bonnier owns 43% of all subscription-based multi-day newspapers in Sweden; while Schibsted owns 13 more including Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet. The Dutch online media market, meanwhile, is dominated by websites owned by DPG Media, Mediahuis and RTL Nederland — with the former announcing plans in late 2023 to acquire the latter, a move being investigated by the consumer and markets authority. Concerns over pluralism are also rising in Germany, where many local newspapers, hit by digitisation and declining readership, are closing offices. Nearly half of all German newspaper publishers have reduced their editorial staff and 62% expect further cuts. The report also found that journalists remain vulnerable to hate speech and attacks, suffering police violence in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Spain. Guardian Read More Electricity restored to 99% of Spain and most of Portugal after massive power outage
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Press freedom and pluralism face ‘existential battle' across EU, report finds
Media pluralism in many EU member states is being increasingly strangled by a high concentration of ownership, even in countries with traditionally free media markets, according to a report that concludes press freedom is crumbling across the bloc. The report, produced by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) based on the work of 43 human rights groups from 21 countries, said several EU governments were attacking press freedom or weakening media independence and regulation. Along with weak ownership transparency rules, growing government influence over public media and threats against journalists, media freedom and pluralism were 'under attack across the EU, and in some cases in an existential battle', it said. 'This isn't a surprise,' said Jonathan Day, the report's lead editor. 'Governments' efforts to weaken the rule of law and democratic institutions almost always start by seeking to control their country's media landscape.' Day said the EU's attempt to safeguard media freedom, the European Media Freedom Act (Emfa), was 'already facing resistance even before it's fully in force. How successfully it is enforced may be make-or-break for media freedom in some member states.'. The report singled out an excessive concentration of media ownership as a particular concern in Croatia, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, with ownership often concentrated in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy individuals. This was exacerbated by inadequate transparency of media ownership, it said, with many member states failing to set up publicly accessible databases required by the Emfa, almost all of which is due to come fully into force in August. The binding legislation aims to guarantee the protection of journalists and sources, independence of regulatory bodies and full ownership transparency – but many member states 'seem unready if not unwilling to fully enforce' it, the report said. France faced 'significant media pluralism challenges', the report said, highlighting Vincent Bolloré's acquisition of the Hachette group and installation, at several of its publishing houses, of executives sympathetic to the conservative billionaire's views. In Italy, the report noted the planned acquisition of AGI, a leading news agency, by the Angelucci Group, headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP from the far-right Lega party who already owns Italian newspapers including Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo. Bonnier owns 43% of all subscription-based multi-day newspapers in Sweden; while Schibsted owns 13 more including Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet. In the Netherlands, RTL Nederland and Talpa Network own more than 75% of the TV market. The Dutch online media market, meanwhile, is dominated by websites owned by DPG Media, Mediahuis and RTL Nederland – with the former announcing plans in late 2023 to acquire the latter, a move being investigated by the consumer and markets authority. Concerns over pluralism are also rising in Germany, where many local newspapers, hit by digitisation and declining readership, are closing offices. Nearly half of all German newspaper publishers have reduced their editorial staff and 62% expect further cuts. Media ownership concentration – and state media interference – are at their peak in Hungary, where the Central European Press and Media Foundation (Kesma), run by loyalists of Viktor Orbán, the prime minister, owns several hundred media companies. Oligarchs close to Orbán began buying up major media outlets in 2010, then 'donated' them to Kesma, which since 2018 has functioned as 'a centralised, pro-government media conglomerate' relying on state advertisements for funding, the report said. Beyond Hungary, governments also exercise influence over national media through the opaque allocation of state advertising funds, or favouring government-friendly outlets, in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Slovenia and Spain, the report found. The report said public media was a 'fully captured government mouthpiece' in Hungary, and heading that way in Slovakia, where new laws have scrapped safeguards for editorial independence. Public media is also vulnerable in Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria and Italy, it said. The report also found that journalists remain vulnerable to hate speech and physical attacks, suffering police violence in 2024 in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Spain. In some countries, female journalists were disproportionately targeted. It said abusive Slapp (strategic litigation against public participation) lawsuits were a 'potentially existential threat' in at least a dozen EU countries, with the prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, instigating one Slapp case against a journalist. Public officials had also hampered journalists' work by resisting or outright refusing freedom of information requests in several countries including Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain, the report said.
Reuters
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Women's Tour of Britain to finish in Glasgow
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Glasgow will host the final stage of the women's Tour of Britain in June as the race heads for Scotland for the first time, organisers said on Wednesday. The 25th edition of the race will feature four stages, the first two in the Yorkshire Moors national park before a third taking place in the Scottish borders. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. The UCI Women's WorldTour race will conclude in Glasgow on June 8. "We are delighted to be bringing some of the world's best teams and riders to our communities this June as a part of the UCI Women's WorldTour and to showcase the very best of their character and terrain on what will be four challenging stages," Jonathan Day, Managing Director of British Cycling Events, said. "The Scottish Borders roads make for great racing, while being finishing the race overall in the heart of a major city like Glasgow will be a great way to round out this year's Tour." Belgium's Lotte Kopecky won last year's race that began in north Wales and ended in Manchester.
