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UK Covid inquiry finds surveillance weeks late; regeneration plans revised as council approves £20m seaside funding; Udo Kier dies at 81; toddler’s Selfridges Disney surprise; Welsh Conservatives unveil farmer support
UK Covid-19 inquiry says early pandemic surveillance lagged by weeks
UK Covid-19 inquiry says early pandemic surveillance lagged by weeks, finding that a lack of effective data flows and years of reduced scientific investment left the country flying blind just when speed mattered most. Confirmed cases took up to three weeks to appear in the national health database, hampering decision-makers and blunting the early response to Covid-19.
Revisions Announced for Major Regeneration Project
Revisions announced for major regeneration project: Swansea’s £28.7m Lower Swansea Valley Programme has been “re-profiled” in a closed cabinet session to funnel the money into the former Hafod‑Morfa Copperworks, where physical refurbishment is due to start in the coming months. Translation: one site gets the cash, the others get mood boards and optimism. The museum expansion (with the much-teased cafe), retail units at The Strand’s Victorian arches, improved links, and two River Tawe pontoons will now hunt “alternative funding,” though design work is done. The scheme was kickstarted by a £20m Levelling Up grant in 2023 plus £8.7m from the council, with rising costs cited. Planning permission to restore two engine houses at Hafod‑Morfa was approved in February; completion is targeted by March 2028, with some elements earlier.
Council approves £20m regeneration funding for seaside town
Council approves £20m regeneration funding for seaside town, as Denbighshire’s cabinet unanimously backs a 10-year plan to revitalize Rhyl from 2026—starting with a four-year push on high streets, heritage, housing, jobs and skills, health and wellbeing, plus transport, safety, education and opportunity. The cash comes via the UK Government’s Pride in Place programme, with an “independent” community-led Our Rhyl board setting priorities while the council receives the funds and officers sign off—bureaucracy meets actual local input, a rare duet. Officials admit £20m won’t remake the town, but pitch it as a catalyst to leverage more public, private and community investment, with ongoing engagement to keep the programme community-led.
Udo Kier, prolific German actor and frequent Lars von Trier collaborator, dies at 81
Udo Kier, prolific German actor and frequent Lars von Trier collaborator, dies at 81: The magnetic performer, whose career encompassed more than 250 films—including memorable turns in Suspiria, My Own Private Idaho, and multiple von Trier projects—has died, leaving a singular imprint on international cinema.
Toddler’s visit to Selfridges’ Disney display leads to an unexpected moment
Toddler’s visit to Selfridges’ Disney display leads to an unexpected moment of wonder, as journalist Samantha Bartlett’s London lights outing turned into a wide-eyed pause at the department store’s lavish, genuinely magical windows—proof that, for once, retail spectacle actually delivered the holiday sparkle it keeps promising.
Welsh Conservatives unveil plans to support farmers
Welsh Conservatives unveil plans to support farmers, rolling into the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells with a pledge-a-thon led by party leader Darren Millar and shadow rural affairs chief Samuel Kurtz. The package promises a £100m boost to the farming budget, a campaign against the UK Government’s agricultural property relief reforms that would tax inherited farm assets over £1m at 20% from April 2026, and the outright axing of Wales’ Sustainable Farming Scheme—despite Labour already binning its most contentious 10% tree-cover rule. In its place, the Tories tout a food security–first model, a science-led TB eradication programme targeting disease in livestock and wildlife, and the scrapping of the all-Wales Nitrate Vulnerable Zone in favor of targeted catchment rules. They’ll also push new procurement rules to put more Welsh food and drink on the public menu. Translation: fewer blanket green mandates, more cash and market muscle—plus a swipe at Cardiff Bay and Westminster in one go.
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