Latest News from North Wales Chronicle
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Single-use vapes to be banned in Wales from this weekend
The decision was made to address the environmental damage caused by their creation and improper disposal. This comes after a Welsh Government pledge to make the country's response to the climate and nature emergency integral to all actions. The deputy first minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, said: "Single-use vapes create litter and plastic pollution; this ban will help stop the serious harm these products cause to our wildlife and environment. "They should be recycled at a vape shop, or taken to a local authority recycling centre, to be disposed of safely. "Vapes should never go in the bin as they are susceptible to catching fire." Keep Wales Tidy estimates that 360,000 single-use vapes are littered on Welsh streets each year, with a further 120,000 flushed down toilets. In response, the charity's chief executive, Owen Derbyshire, said: "We warmly welcome Welsh Government's decision to ban single-use vapes—something we've been calling for in recent years. "Nearly half of all clean-ups undertaken by our volunteers last year found these harmful products. "They're a blight on our communities, a danger to wildlife, and near impossible to recycle." The Welsh Government has sent hard-copy information of the impending ban and required action to approximately 2,000 small- and medium-sized retailers across Wales. All businesses retailing single-use vapes will need to set up a take-back recycling service for used vapes, pods, or batteries. Any leftover single-use vapes must be disposed of correctly. The mental health and wellbeing minister, Sarah Murphy, said: "In addition to the environmental impacts, we know single-use vapes are being used by children and young people and are a factor in the significant increases in youth vaping that we have seen in recent years. "The single-use vape ban being introduced will help us to protect children and young people from vape products so that they never start vaping and avoid the harms caused by nicotine addiction."
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Friday's briefing: Man City want to be more ‘aggressive' in market
Manchester United's Amad Diallo said he did not regret his actions, alleging he had been reacting to insults about his mother, after the winger appeared to make an obscene gesture towards fans in Malaysia, while England boss Sarina Wiegman expressed her disappointment at no longer having Mary Earps to call upon. In his annual end-of-season interview, Khaldoon reflected City should have done more to strengthen going into a campaign that saw them relinquish the Premier League title, finishing third, and exit the Champions League before the last 16. Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan were the only major signings last summer as Julian Alvarez departed, with City subsequently spending big to bring in a number of players in January. Khaldoon told City's website: 'I think when I look back, last summer, we probably should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do. We didn't do that and that ended up costing us this year.' I have respect for people but not for the one who insults my mom… I shouldn't have reacted like that but I don't regret what I did.🤞🏾 We had a great time in Malaysia with good people😄❤️ — Amad (@Amaddiallo_19) May 29, 2025 With United on a post-season trip to Asia, footage shared on social media appeared to show Amad raising his middle finger as he passed a crowd outside the team's hotel in Kuala Lumpur. United told the BBC the gesture was in response to 'serious personal abuse', while the 22-year-old Ivorian said in a post on X: 'I have respect for people but not for the one who insults my mom. 'I shouldn't have reacted like that but I don't regret what I did.' Goalkeeper Earps on Tuesday made the shock announcement of her immediate international retirement, just a few weeks out from England starting their European Championship defence in Switzerland. The 32-year-old, who played throughout the Lionesses' triumphant 2022 Euros campaign and run to the 2023 World Cup final, had recently been on the bench behind Hannah Hampton. Wiegman told a press conference on Thursday: 'I'm really disappointed she is not part of the team because I want her part of the team. It must have been a really hard decision for her and so it is (for) us.' Skipper Leah Williamson said she was 'devastated', adding: 'If she thinks this is the best thing, I'll support her always.' The alleged driver of a car that ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool's Premier League title parade has been charged with offences such as wounding and causing grievous bodily harm against six victims. Paul Doyle, 53, is accused of seven offences following the incident on Monday, which resulted in 79 people suffering injuries. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child. Doyle, of the West Derby area of Liverpool, is due to appear at the city's magistrates' court on Friday. As well as Wiegman's England taking on Portugal at Wembley, other Women's Nations League matches see Wales face Denmark away, Scotland host Austria, the Republic of Ireland play in Turkey and Northern Ireland entertain Poland.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Donor search for boy who was told cancer had returned on 16th birthday
Reece Khan faces gruelling treatment and has been given a one-in-five chance of survival by medics. His mother Selina Niman, 51, a care worker from Lincoln, said the news has 'broken' the family. Reece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a rare cancer than affects the blood and bone marrow, at the age of 11 in March 2020, days before the first Covid lockdown. Mrs Niman said it was 'absolutely devastating' for the family, adding: 'It was horrendous. And because it was Covid, we couldn't have any visitors up here.' Reece, who loves baking and watching food programmes, also had further complications due to having type 1 diabetes. He was told he was cancer-free 18 months ago after three and a half years of treatment. However, he started getting headaches earlier this year and went to hospital for an MRI scan in April. The next day – his 16th birthday – Reece received the news that his cancer had returned and spread to his brain. His chemotherapy will be much stronger and he will need radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Mrs Niman said: 'He's scared now. I said, 'You beat it once, you can beat it again'. 'We're just broken as a family. We just don't know what else to do or where to go. Words cannot explain how we feel now. 'I just want to jump in his hospital bed and swap places with him.' As Reece is mixed race, it will be harder for him to find a stem cell donor. Reece's brother Kyle, 25, has been tested and is a half match. The family are working with the charity Anthony Nolan, which is searching worldwide registers to find a full match and give the treatment the best chance of success. Selina said: 'Reece is mixed race, white and Asian, and it's harder to find a match. 'That's why it's so important that as many people as possible join the stem cell register. Go to the Anthony Nolan website and order a swab. 'It's just a swab for the inside of your cheek. It's not painful. Stick it back in an envelope and that is all it takes. Literally a minute of your time and it would mean the world to me, to me and Reece.' Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community recruitment at Anthony Nolan, said: 'Reece's story is especially poignant because he was told about the relapse on his 16th birthday; the date that young people can join the Anthony Nolan register and potentially save a life. 'It's vital that we raise awareness of stem cell donation and encourage more people to join the register. 'We know that younger stem cell donors give patients the best chance of survival. That's why we're calling on healthy 16 to 30-year-olds to join the register now, so that people like Reece can have a second chance at life.'
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Parent intuition ‘can predict serious illness' in children
It comes after the tragic case of Martha Mills, who died after her parents repeatedly raised concerns about her deterioration while in hospital. Martha died in 2021 aged 13 after developing sepsis following a pancreatic injury when she fell off her bike. Her mother, Merope Mills, and her husband, Paul Laity, sounded the alarm about their daughter's health a number of times, but their concerns were brushed aside. A coroner ruled she would most likely have survived if doctors had identified the warning signs of her rapidly deteriorating condition and transferred her to intensive care earlier. For the new study, experts from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, analysed data on almost 190,000 emergency hospital visits for children in Melbourne. Parents or caregivers were routinely asked: 'Are you worried your child is getting worse?' In some 4.7% of cases parents said they were concerned their child was deteriorating. The research team found that caregiver concern was 'significantly' linked to the child being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) – when parents raised concerns, children were four times more likely to need ICU care, compared with children of parents who were not concerned. Researchers also found that prenatal concern was associated with a higher likelihood the child would need to be given help to breathe, or mechanical ventilation. And they found that parental concern was more strongly associated with ICU admission than abnormal vital signs were – including abnormal heart rate, abnormal breathing or blood pressure. 'Caregiver concern was more strongly associated with ICU admission than any abnormal vital sign,' they wrote in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. There were 1,900 cases where parental concern was documented along with the timing of abnormal vital signs. The research team noted that in almost one in five cases (19.3%) parents raised concerns about deterioration before vital signs indicated that the child was deteriorating. This could mean that taking parents' views into account could lead to earlier treatment, they added. Overall, they found that children of caregivers who voiced concerns were 'more unwell, they were more likely to be admitted to an inpatient ward, and stayed in hospital almost three times as long.' One of the lead authors of the paper, Dr Erin Mills, from Monash University's School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, said: 'We know that parents are the experts in their children, but stories of parents not being heard, followed by devastating outcomes, are all too common. We wanted to change that.' She added: 'We wanted to test whether parent input could help us identify deterioration earlier – and it can. 'If a parent said they were worried, their child was around four times more likely to require intensive care. That's a signal we can't afford to ignore. 'Parents are not visitors – they are part of the care team. We want every hospital to recognise that and give parents permission, and power, to speak up.' As a result of Martha's death, Martha's Rule is being piloted in NHS hospitals, which gives patients and their loved ones the right to a second medical opinion. In March the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee was told that thousands of patients or their loved ones have sought a second opinion about their NHS care under the initiative. And more than 100 patients have been taken to intensive care 'or equivalent' as a result.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Attorney General compares calls to leave international courts with Nazi Germany
Lord Richard Hermer KC said the idea that the UK can breach international obligations is a 'radical departure from the UK's constitutional tradition'. Lord Hermer used a speech in London on Thursday to say claims that international law can be 'put aside' were made in the early 1930s in Germany. In a version of his speech to the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) thinktank, published on the website, Lord Hermer suggested the Government's approach is a 'rejection of the siren song' that can be 'heard in the Palace of Westminster' in which 'Britain abandons the constraints of international law in favour of raw power'. 'This is not a new song,' he said. 'The claim that international law is fine as far as it goes, but can be put aside when conditions change, is a claim that was made in the early 1930s by 'realist' jurists in Germany, most notably Carl Schmitt, whose central thesis was in essence the claim that state power is all that counts, not law.' Lord Hermer also said that because of what happened 'in 1933, far-sighted individuals rebuilt and transformed the institutions of international law'. That is the year that Adolf Hitler became German chancellor. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has stopped short of calling for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as other Conservative figures have advocated. However, she suggested the UK would have to leave the convention if it stops the country from doing 'what is right'. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he would get rid of the ECHR, and told ITV in April that 'we have to get back the ability to decide, can we really control our borders'. In his same speech to Rusi on Thursday, the Attorney General said 'we must not stagnate in our approach to international rules' and that officials should 'look to apply and adapt existing obligations to address new situations'. 'We must be ready to reform where necessary,' he added.
