British Millionaire Killed in Swiss Alps Plane Crash

THE TELEGRAPH: Light aircraft crashed into mountainside near resort town on Wednesday afternoon

A millionaire British businessman has been named as one of three people killed in a plane crash in the Swiss Alps.

Owain Davies, 55, from west Wales, was on board the Cirrus SR22T with two friends when it crashed in the southern canton of Valais near the town of Leukerbad on Wednesday morning.

Formal identification of the other two victims is under way, including another Briton who is yet to be named.

Paying tribute to Mr Davies, his engineering firm Amcanu said the father-of-two was an “unstoppable force” and a “very good friend”.

The firm was founded by his father, Spencer Davies OBE, in Burry Port in 1975 and he took over the business in 2000. » | Abbir Dib. Samuel Montgomery News Reporter | Thursday, September 17, 2026

Ex-DUP Leader Mocks Wales, NI & Scotland Independence Pact!

Sep 16, 2026 | Arlene Foster just called the break-up of the UK “nonsense” and “performance art.” The former DUP leader dismissed Welsh independence, Scottish independence, and a united Ireland in one clip — and the contempt is the story.

Was it a distraction… or did Brexit already crack the union she claims to defend?

This week the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland met in Cardiff to talk self-determination, just as Donald Trump backed a united Ireland.

Foster went on The Jeremy Kyle Breakfast Show and said none of them have a majority, the pact is a “destruction charter,” and it “isn’t going to happen.”

Reform’s Leader in Wales Resigns after Arrest for Assault

THE TELEGRAPH: Dan Thomas said he was standing down for ‘personal reasons’

Reform UK’s leader in Wales has stepped down after being arrested by police on suspicion of assault at the weekend.

Dan Thomas was named Welsh leader in February and led Reform to become the second-largest party in the Senedd at an election in May.

In a statement, he said: “It has been the honour of my life to have been the leader of Reform Wales and see this party go from zero to 34 elected members and become the largest opposition group in Welsh history.

“With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons. Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge. » | Telegraph Reporters | Tuesday, September 16, 2026

Why the United Kingdom Is Facing New Calls for Independence | DW News

Sep 14, 2026 | Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are challenging London's authority, saying its days of control running out. We explore what is at stake for the UK's various nations – and how serious the challenge to the union really is.

The UK Is a Voluntary Union, So There Must Be a Mechanism to Leave | Stephen Gethins

Sep 14, 2026 | “Let’s figure out what the mechanism [to leave the UK] is so we can get on with the debate about the substance.”

The last Scottish independence vote was “a long time ago” and the current union doesn’t properly serve the people of Scotland, says minister for Europe, external affairs and energy for the SNP Stephen Gethins.

Burnham Cannot Stop End of United Kingdom, Says Sinn Fein

THE TELEGRAPH: First ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sign pact insisting on ‘right to self-determination’

Screenshot taken from this Telegraph article. | John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday Credit: Adrian Dennis/AFP
Andy Burnham cannot stop the United Kingdom from breaking up, Sinn Féin said after signing a pact with the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

The first ministers of the UK’s three devolved nations – John Swinney, the SNP leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, and Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s vice-president – signed a memorandum of understanding during a meeting in Cardiff on Monday.

The deal aims to pile pressure on the Prime Minister after Donald Trump, the US president, said he would “love” to see a united Ireland.

Ms O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, said Mr Burnham “will not be able to hold back the tide” of nationalism in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Speaking at a joint press conference by the four leaders, she said: “We’re certainly living in times of enormous change, change that is unstoppable, change that – no matter what is said by any British prime minister – will not be able to hold back the tide of what’s happening in front of our eyes right now.

“Our common cause here is the understanding that Westminster does not and will never serve our people well. Our common cause here is that we have the right to self-determination, and the common cause that we have here is that we need to collectively ensure that that message is heard in Westminster.” » | Simon Johnson | Scottish Political Editor | Monday, September 14, 2026

LIVE: Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders to Call for Independence from UK

September 14, 2026

Irish, Scots and Welsh Leaders Meet to Plan Break-up of United Kingdom

THE TELEGRAPH: Pro-independence first ministers will sign ‘memorandum of understanding’ at Cardiff summit and demand referendums

The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will gather on Monday to sign a deal designed to kick-start the break-up of the United Kingdom, The Telegraph can disclose.

At an unprecedented summit in Cardiff, the three first ministers will put pen to paper on a joint declaration demanding the right to hold independence referendums.

The meeting comes after Andy Burnham suggested to MPs that he would authorise another Scottish referendum if there were a “clear consensus” in favour of one.

The summit will come two days after Donald Trump declared that he would “love” to see a united Ireland. During a visit to Dublin on Saturday, he said Northern Ireland joining the Republic would be “a great thing” and asked: “How can it be bad?” » | Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent. Simon Johnson Scottish Political Editor | Sunday, September 13, 2026

Bring it on! The English have so badly managed the UK economy over decades that these three Celtic nations would be able to achieve greater prosperity as independent nations within the European Union. Northern Ireland only has to join the rest of Ireland and become united anyway. England itself could join the corrupt USA as a US state under Trump. It would be welcome with open arms. Trump will take the English to the cleaners, and he might even steal the Crown Jewels to get himself crowned king, but the English will get used to it and I’m sure they will enjoy their new life in Cowboyland. — © Mark Alexander

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler Fans Gather to Pay Respects as Coffin Brought Home

August 16, 2026 | Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans gathered in Swansea to pay their final respects as the beloved Welsh singer's coffin was brought home.

The emotional procession through Mumbles became a powerful tribute as mourners lined the streets, shared memories, and even sang one of her most iconic songs.

Known around the world for legendary hits including Total Eclipse of the Heart, It's a Heartache, and Holding Out for a Hero, Bonnie Tyler built a career spanning more than five decades while remaining deeply connected to her Welsh roots.

Her journey from South Wales to international stardom made her one of the most recognizable voices in music. Fans travelled from across Europe to witness her final journey, while floral tributes appeared outside her home.

The scenes in Swansea showed just how deeply her music had touched generations of people. Her passing at the age of 75 left millions of fans heartbroken, but the massive public tribute demonstrated that her voice and legacy will continue to live on.

From her early days as Gaynor Hopkins to becoming an international music icon, Bonnie Tyler's extraordinary story has left an unforgettable mark on the world.

This video looks at the emotional homecoming, the fans who gathered to honor her, her incredible career, and the final tributes planned in her memory.


Related video and article here »

ALSO READ:

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans line the streets as coffin taken to Swansea home: Legendary singer Bonnie Tyler has made a final journey to her Mumbles home, with thousands of emotional fans lining the streets to pay their respects. »

'She was just Gaynor from up the road' - villagers ready for emotional Bonnie Tyler goodbye: There aren't many villages where you can walk into a jewellers, a hardware shop, or a cafe, and hear stories about one of the world's biggest music icons. »

LESEN SIE AUCH:

Emotionaler Trauerzug durch Mumbles: Fans ehren Bonnie Tyler: Unter Tränen und Applaus verabschieden sich zahlreiche Fans in Mumbles von Sängerin Bonnie Tyler. Zu ihren Ehren singt die Menge einen weltberühmten Song. »

Abschied von Bonnie Tyler: Tausende Fans säumen in Wales die Straßen, als der Sarg von Sängerin Bonnie Tyler durch die Stadt gefahren wird. Ein Abschied, kurz bevor die Popikone am Montag endgültig beerdigt wird. »

Gänsehaut bei Abschied von Bonnie Tyler: Tausende Fans singen Welthit bei bewegender Trauerprozession: Tausende Menschen säumten die Straßen von Mumbles – und sangen gemeinsam. Der Abschied von Bonnie Tyler wurde zu einem unvergesslichen Moment. »

À LIRE AUSSI :

Mort de Bonnie Tyler : des milliers de fans chantent « Total Eclipse of the Heart » pour ses adieux : VIDÉO - Plusieurs milliers de fans de Bonnie Tyler se sont rassemblés samedi à Mumbles, au Pays de Galles, pour rendre un dernier hommage à la chanteuse morte le 8 juillet. »

Au Pays de Galles, des milliers de fans accompagnent le cercueil de la chanteuse Bonnie Tyler : Quelques milliers de fans de la chanteuse britannique Bonnie Tyler, star des années 80 décédée en juillet à 75 ans, se sont rassemblés samedi dans les rues de Mumbles, son village au Pays de Galles, applaudissant au passage de son cercueil, avant ses funérailles lundi. »

Fans Say Goodbye to Bonnie Tyler as Coffin Is Brought Home

Aug 15, 2026 | Hundreds of people have lined the streets in Mumbles to pay tribute to Bonnie Tyler as her hearse is driven to her home.

The Total Eclipse of the Heart singer, born Gaynor Hopkins, died in a Portuguese hospital on July 8 at the age of 75. On Saturday, members of the public lined Newton Road in Mumbles as the cortège travelled from William Pressdee Funeral Care in Mumbles, returning to her home in Llwynderw.

Some fans had travelled from as far as the US to watch the procession pass through the Mumbles.

A celebration of Bonnie's life, for family and friends, will take place at Swansea Minster on Monday, before the singer makes a final journey through her hometown of Skewen.



ALSO READ:

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans gather to pay respects as coffin brought home: Fans line streets, singing Total Eclipse of the Heart ahead of Welsh singer’s Swansea funeral »

Wildfires Break Out across UK amid Record High Temperature

Aug 13, 2026 | Thursday’s amber extreme heat warning from the Met Office covered a huge area of central England, stretching from London to Sheffield.

The temperature at Kew reached 38.1 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Across the country, the tinder dry conditions have seen fire crews having to deal with numerous wildfire outbreaks.

The Royal College of Nursing has warned that hospitals and care homes are getting so hot, they aren't just causing difficulties for patients; even some of the nursing staff are passing out while on shift.

And this latest heatwave, made more extreme by fossil fuel pollution, is not just causing problems for humans; zoos are also having to adapt to care for their animals.

Wildfire in Suffolk, UK, Not Yet Under Control, Fire Service Says | BBC News

July 30, 2026 | A UK wildfire the equivalent size of 140 football pitches is not yet under control, the fire service has said.

The blaze broke out on Dunwich Heath in Suffolk on Wednesday, with a major incident declared "due to the size and complexity" of the blaze.

Meanwhile, Greece is also among many European countries facing devastating fires and drought.

Several fires have continued to burn in Spain and Portugal, although Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared an end to the national emergency for wildfires in the Ávila and Madrid regions.

In south-west France some residents have been able to return to their homes after a major wildfire in the Gironde region.

Wildfires in the UK and Europe as Heatwaves Continue | BBC News

Jul 13, 2026 | Wildfires of 'exceptional scale' have taken force in Paris, as neighbouring Spain still tackles flames across the country following its own devastating fires.

Now the UK is also experiencing wildfires in England and Wales, as its third heatwave of the year is set to intensify again this week.

Here’s what we know so far about the extent of wildfires in Europe and the UK, and how heatwaves are impacting them.

Rhun ap Iorwerth to Become Wales' New First Minister within Days

Screenshot taken from this BBC article. | Rhun ap Iowerth could be first minister as early as Tuesday | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: Wales is set to be led by its first Plaid Cymru first minister, after three other Senedd parties indicated they would either back Rhun ap Iorwerth's nomination or not oppose him.

Plaid, with 43 seats, and Reform, with 34, are now the only big parties in Cardiff Bay.

In the Senedd vote, which could be as soon as Tuesday, ap Iorwerth needs more votes than any other candidate, rather than a majority of all Members of the Senedd (MSs), to be the winner.

Ken Skates, interim Labour leader after Eluned Morgan lost her seat, has indicated that his group will abstain, as will sole Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds.

But the Green Party, with two MSs, will back ap Iorwerth, meaning he cannot now be blocked. » | Adrian Browne | Wales political reporter | Sunday, May 10, 2026

Why Welsh Voters Turned Their Backs on the Labour Party after 100 Years

THE GUARDIAN: Disregard from UK Labour and struggling public services are just some of reasons behind ‘astonishing’ collapse

This screenshot has been taken from this Guardian article. | Former first minister Eluned Morgan became the first leader of a government in the UK to lose their seat while in office. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
By Friday night, Keir Starmer and much of the Westminster Labour group were quietly relieved that the local election results in England hadn’t been quite as bad as feared. In Wales, however, Labour’s collapse in the Senedd was even more total than the most pessimistic predictions.

For more than 100 years, Welsh Labour was the democratic world’s most successful election-winning machine, but the political behemoth limped into third place this week with just nine seats in a 96-seat parliament. A new chapter in Wales’s political and cultural history has opened: pro-independence Plaid Cymru is set to form a minority government.

“For those of us who’ve only known Labour domination … the fact that it could collapse with such dramatic completeness – it’s quite hard to convey the shock. It was just astonishing. Labour was absolutely mullered,” said Richard Wyn Jones, the director of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University.

“We’ve known Labour was in deep trouble in the post-industrial valleys … but the fact that Plaid could win half of the 12 seats in Cardiff? Genuinely everywhere you look, it’s hard to identify any solid territory they can actually rebuild on.” » | Bethan McKernan and Jamie Grierson | Saturday, May 9, 2026

Plaid Cymru Ready to Run Wales, Leader Says, after Labour's Historic Senedd Election Collapse

BBC: Plaid Cymru's leader Rhun ap Iorwerth says he is ready to run the Welsh government after a stunning Senedd election victory left his party the largest group in Wales' parliament.

The historic vote saw Reform UK come second, pushing Labour into third and ending a century-long run of election success in Wales.

Plaid fell short of a majority in the 96-member Senedd, but with 43 seats has a better chance than anyone of forming a government with the help of at least some opposition politicians.

Ap Iorwerth said he would begin the process of speaking to other parties, and that the pro-independence party would put him forward to be first minister.

The Senedd will need to confirm who will lead the Welsh government in a vote, which could happen as early as Tuesday.

The dramatic day of results saw the current first minister, Eluned Morgan, lose her seat and resign as Welsh Labour leader.

Labour has won every general election since 1922 in Wales and, until this week, every Cardiff Bay election since the Senedd's predecessor the National Assembly was established in 1999.

It had been in charge of the Welsh government for 27 years. » | David Deans, Wales political reporter and Adrian Browne, Wales political reporter | Published: Thursday, May 7, 2026. Updated: Friday, May 8, 2026

The Guardian View on Welsh Language Learning: Cultural Shifts Can Deliver a Bright Future for Cymraeg

THE GUARDIAN — OPINION: As Plaid Cymru leads in polls ahead of Senedd elections in May, grassroots enthusiasm for one of its historic causes is growing

In Putting Wales First, a recently translated history of Plaid Cymru’s political ideas, Prof Richard Wyn Jones references a 1940s newspaper editorial satirising the party’s then preoccupations. Poking fun at its focus on language, and nostalgia for a rural society of small-scale landowners, the Western Mail waspishly summed up the vision as “three acres and a Welsh-speaking cow”.

It was a caricature at the time, of course. And it certainly bears no relation to the modern-day Plaid, which launched its Senedd campaign this week from a position of strength at the top of the polls. But Plaid’s historic commitment to safeguarding and promoting Welsh language and culture remains a defining cause. If – as currently seems highly likely – it goes on to lead the next Welsh government after 7 May, it has promised a raft of measures to embed the use of Cymraeg more deeply in everyday life. » | Editorial | Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Farage Called Welsh People ‘Foreign Speakers’ in Paid-for Video Message

THE GUARDIAN: Reform UK leader’s remarks in Cameo clip risk damaging party’s ambitions in upcoming Welsh elections

Nigel Farage described Welsh people as “foreign speakers” in a paid-for personalised video message that could prove awkward for Reform UK in forthcoming elections in the country.

Farage made the remarks in a video he was paid to make on Cameo, a personalised video platform, to celebrate a wedding.

The video was unearthed by the Guardian among a tranche of more than 4,000 clips the Reform leader has produced on the platform, which enables public figures and celebrities to sell recorded messages for members of the public.

Farage’s use of the platform has already come under intense scrutiny after a Guardian investigation revealed he had recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeating extremist slogans, and endorsing a neo-Nazi event. » | Henry Dyer and Michael Goodier | Thursday, March 19, 2026

One of UK's Richest Men Wants German Citizenship over 'Hostility' to Jews

BBC: "Britain is an uncomfortable place for Jews today," Cardiff-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz has said.

The Welsh investor said Britain was "far more hostile than the US" towards its Jewish community, citing the attack on Manchester's Heaton Park synagogue in 2025.

Sir Michael, who has written about his family's experience of the Nazis, said "antisemitism is always in the air" and there were modern parallels to the persecution they had faced.

He said he was applying for a German passport, which is what he calls an "insurance policy" that would allow him the opportunity to flee the US or the UK in a way that some of his ancestors were unable to escape persecution.

He also argued that the UK was a less attractive place to do business compared with the US and China, and that the growing use of AI could be "deeply disruptive" for white-collar workers.

The 71-year-old, who holds both UK and US passports, is the richest Welshman who has ever lived. with a wealth built on investments in companies like Yahoo and Google that made him billions during the dot-com boom of the early 2000s.

In a memoir called Ausländer – the German word for foreigner or outsider – Sir Michael charts his family's treatment under the Nazis.

His paternal grandparents, Max and Minnie Moritz, were among swathes of relatives killed during the Holocaust.

Using public archives he found that two of his relatives, his great-uncle Oskar Moritz and his cousin Mira Marx, were photographed by the Gestapo as they were forced onto buses that transported them to their deaths.

Sir Michael's parents had escaped Germany and settled in Cardiff, where he attended the now-closed Howardian High School in Penylan. » | Huw Thomas | Wales business correspondent | Monday, March 2, 2026

St. David's Day, the National Day of Wales: Daffodils – William Wordsworth (An Inspirational Poem)

Jun 20, 2020 | A powerful poem on finding pleasure and comfort in nature.

Read by Victor Vertunni

William Wordsworth was a revered English poet who was, in part, responsible for kick-starting the Romantic movement in English literature.

Inspired after finding a surprising number of daffodils during a countryside walk, Daffodils (or 'I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud') serves as something of a reminder that humanity is a part of nature and not an opposing force.


Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus I chwi gyd! / Happy St. David’s Day to you all! — © Mark Alexander

Image Source: With thanks to Plantlife.org.uk.