Navarian

It is the end at one of the biggest steelworks in the world as the last blast furnace shuts down, leaving it unable to make its own steel.

Nearly 2,000 jobs will be lost at Tata Steel UK’s Port Talbot plant as blast furnace number four ceases production meaning it will no longer be able to make virgin steel.

The ironworks will enter a transition phase until 2027 when steelmaking will resume through a £1.25 billion electric arc furnace.

The new furnace uses electric current to melt scrap steel or iron to produce steel, whereas blast furnaces use coke, a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal to produce steel.

The latest National March for Rejoin is scheduled for this coming weekend in London, on Saturday 28 September. It comes at a time of mixed fortunes for those campaigning to take the UK back into the EU. On the one hand, the level of support for rejoining has never been higher. The social and economic effects of Brexit are becoming clearer, and Brexiters sound increasingly defensive.

On the other hand, the political outlook remains challenging. Labour in office has stuck to its red lines on freedom of movement. It talks about “resetting” the relationship, and at least – unlike its predecessors – behaves maturely when dealing with European counterparts. But it persists in its stance that there’s “no case” for joining the Single Market and Customs Union, let alone rejoining the EU as a full member. While there are some hopeful signs, its position on free movement for young people remains a barrier to substantive changes in the relationship.

A three week-long celebration of music is coming to Cardiff from tomorrow (Friday, September 27).

According to organisers the Cardiff Music City Festival is set to push the boundaries of music innovation, performance and tech.

A spokesperson said: “The Welsh capital has a rich history as an exciting and energetic music city and this autumn Cardiff’s streets will pulse with immersive music happenings, secret gigs, headline shows and inventive pop-ups.

The first minister says she has not given up on bringing HS2 funding to Wales.

Despite the high-speed rail project being entirely in England, Wales received no extra cash from the previous Conservative UK government to make up for the scheme.

So far, Eluned Morgan's UK party colleagues have been reluctant to commit to consequential funding.

Further savings and cuts may need to be found as a health board grapples with a budget deficit of just under £23 million – which could balloon to around £35 million.

The dire financial situation facing Powys Teach Health Board (PTHB) was discussed at a board meeting on Wednesday, September 25.

PTHB had initially planned to post a £24.9 million deficit budget this year, but in May they were asked by the Welsh Government to look at the figures again.

This saw the figure brought down to £22.9 million, which has yet to be agreed by the Welsh Government.

A consortium of Welsh climate activists has set out a series of measures it would like to see pursued in 2025.

Climate Cymru is an active network of 370 partner organisations from every sector of Welsh society, and a movement of over 15,000 individuals from across Wales who say they share a desire for urgent, fair action to address the climate and nature emergencies.

The network’s campaign coordinator David Kilner said: “We’d like to see the Welsh Government join the global Fossil Free Treaty – a concrete, binding plan to end the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and manage a global transition away from fossil fuels.

To imagine a Wales and a world where peace reigns is not just to imagine the absence of war. It’s to imagine a place where we all live free from fear, where our rights are respected, and where everybody is equal. It’s to imagine conducting all our relationships – with ourselves, neighbour to neighbour, stranger to stranger, community to community, country to country – with justice and fairness. Imagine if this kind of positive peace was part of our national identity, a value that drove all of what we do.

Ahead of the United Nations Summit of the Future, a global cooperation event held in New York last weekend, Academi Heddwch Cymru (Wales’s Peace Institute) worked on a paper exploring how Wales can become a ‘Nation of Peace’ – Cymru fel Cenedl Heddwch. Imagine that.

Senior councillors have backed plans to buy and set up a new waste depot, to tackle the county borough’s low recycling rates.

But the clock is ticking on a potential deal for a site, which Caerphilly County Borough Council must effectively agree to buy in October or the landowner will reportedly “pursue other options”.

The depot will be key to the council’s waste strategy, launched after it recorded Wales’ worst recycling rates in 2023.

You can read part one in the series here.

One of the most common arguments used by Unionists against Welsh independence is that Wales cannot afford to pay its own way. They repeat that Wales receives £18bn a year as a ‘handout’ from the UK, and cannot survive without this ‘subsidy’. They overlook that Wales also generates taxes and revenue, collected directly by the UK, and the £18bn is largely a return of that.

However, it’s been difficult to refute such claims as there was long a shortage of reliable data on the economic performance of Wales. There’s a huge body of economic statistics and data published by the UK Government in its National Accounts – commonly referred to as ‘The Blue Book’ – but it’s difficult for the average person to follow, let alone extract the necessary data in a Welsh context.

Reform UK is to hold events in Wales, Scotland, and across the English regions, as it eyes up representation in the Senedd and town halls, Nigel Farage has said.

The Reform leader announced a Welsh conference, a Scottish gathering, and regional events in the North East and South West, as the party rounded off its national conference.

Mr Farage on Friday laid out a plan to professionalise the party, giving its members a stake in its ownership.

A battle to save Blackwood Miners’ Institute from being “mothballed” looks set to drag on, complicated by the venue’s charitable status.

Caerphilly County Borough Council leader Sean Morgan announced today (Thursday September 19) a decision on the historic site’s future would be postponed while the local authority takes legal advice.

The council has proposed mothballing the cultural venue – which it currently subsidises to the tune of £347,000 annually – because of the need to make a further £45 million in budget savings over the next two years.

A Welsh Labour minister defended cuts to winter fuel payments for most pensioners in a debate on Wednesday.

Conservatives challenged Labour in the Senedd to back calls for the UK government to reverse the plans, warning they will have a "devastating impact" with an estimated 500,000 losing up to £300 this winter.

But Jane Hutt, Social Justice Secretary, said "difficult decisions" were being taken because of a £22bn "black hole" in UK public finances.