EDITORIAL 3
Campus in Brief
Emily Giblett
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A Cardiff nightclub tookon the city’s homlessness problem by encouraging revellers to donate to local foodbanks.
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smog alert was issued in regions across South Wales last week as temperatures continued to drop and light winds swept through the area. The highest risks of air pollution were located in Swansea, with Mumbles and Gower receiving a seven out of ten rating on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) pollution rating scale. Health advice states that when ratings of this level are in place, adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems should reduce physical activity as much as possible to limit air intake in polluted areas. One of thirteen new regional HMRC offices will be based in the Central Square development in front of Cardiff Central. The Government Property Unit, responsible for determining the location of UK Government offices, settled upon the redevelopment as the preferred site for the new HMRC base in Wales that will employ around 3,000 staff. The site, where work is currently ongoing on the new £120m BBC Cymru headquarters, is being developed by property firm Rightacres Property, in collaboration with Cardiff Council. When completed, the development will house up to one million square feet of office, retail and residential space. A Cardiff nightclub took on the city’s homelessness problem last week by encouraging revellers to donate to local food banks in exchange for free entry. Patch Horrocks, a promoter for the club, had the idea to help the city’s homeless population after hearing about the death of Cardiff Big Issue Seller Mark Stewart, 29. Speaking to WalesOnline, Mr Horrocks said “we asked people to bring something for Cardiff Food Bank, anything they need. I felt at this time of year when people are needing food, we could do something. People in society should be more supportive rather than shaming people going through tough times.”
National Police across the country have received almost 350 reports of child sex abuse in UK football clubs after several former players came forward to make allegations about their coaches. The surge in reports of this type is linked to the launch of a dedicated NSPCC helpline which refers cases to the police. Set up at the end of November, the helpline fielded over 860 calls in its first week. Last week, sixteen police forces across the UK including North Wales, Dorset, Hampshire and Cheshire announced that they were investigating allegations relating to the sexual abuse of children in football clubs. David Davis has come under fire after suggesting that the United Kingdom may pay for access to the single market once we leave the European Union. Answering questions on Thursday, the Brexit Secretary confirmed that the government would ‘consider’ making a contribution to the EU in order to gain the ‘best possible access [to] goods and services’. These comments caused a boost in the value of the pound as it rose by one percent to $1.26 against the dollar. In support of Davis, Chancellor Phillip Hammond the final settlement between the UK and Europe will ‘have to be a deal that works for both sides.’ The outgoing chief inspector of schools in the UK has warned that the country faces an educational ‘skills gap’ in the wake of Brexit, that could threaten the economy. Speaking to an audience of education professionals in London, Sir Michael Wilmshaw said that the decision to leave the European Union had thrown the issue of a skills deficit into sharper focus. Whilst 90 per cent of primary schools and 78 per cent of secondary schools are currently rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by ofsted, the inspector stated that ‘many further education colleges are facing a period of continued turmoil while the quality of apprenticeship programmes remains patchy.’
International Breitbart started a petition urging its readers to boycott Kellogg’s, after the cereal brand withdrew its advertising from the right-wing news website. The company ceased its affiliation with Breitbart last Tuesday, stating that site’s hard-right views were not ‘aligned with our values’. Recent controversial articles published on the site include ‘Would You Rather Your Child Had Feminism or Cancer’ and ‘Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy’. Kellogg’s is the latest in a string of companies to take a stand against Breitbart in what the news website called ‘an escalation in the war by leftist companies against conservative customers.’ A group of schoolboys from Australia have recreated the key ingredient in a $750 drug used to treat Malaria and AIDS for just $20. US pharmacy executive Martin Shrekli, also known as Pharma Bro, sparked outrage and became a national symbol of corporate greed with the decision to raise the price of potentially live-saving Daraprim from $13 per tablet to $750 last year. Available for around $1.50 per pill in the US and Australia, the drug is currently the best treatment to treat the parasitic infection Toxoplasmosis. The Sydney Grammar School pupils synthesised pyrimethamine, the active ingredient in Daraprim, in their school science laboratory. Nestle could cut the amount of sugar in its bestselling chocolate products by 40 per cent without affecting the flavour, according to new scientific research by the company. The Swiss food brand is currently in the process of patenting the findings, and, if succesful, could introduce the recipes as soon as 2018. Typically, milk chocolate has a sugar content of around 50 per cent, but changes to the structure of the sugar could create the effect of sweetness, whilst causing it to dissolve more quickly.
Pictured: Favourites such as Smarties could contain 40 per cent less sugar by 2018. (Source: Dorothy Cook via Flickr)
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Nestle could cut the amount of sugar in its best-selling chocolate products by 40 per cent
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