05/10/2011 BBC Wales Today


05/10/2011

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Welcome to Wales today. Our top story: a scam is exposed, offerings

:00:10.:00:13.

overseas students the chance to cheat their way to degrees

:00:13.:00:22.

validated by the University of Wales. It is clearly trying to

:00:22.:00:27.

create and exploit a loophole in the immigration system. Tonight,

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five of Wales' largest universities have demanded that the University

:00:29.:00:39.
:00:39.:00:45.

Our other headlines: teachers go on strike over pensions. Thousands of

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children get a day off school. Waste usually goes up in smoke.

:00:50.:00:53.

Tonight, Anglesey's plans to build a power station that helps produce

:00:53.:00:58.

food. Eirian Jones feeding his chickens,

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one of more than 60,000 people in Wales diagnosed with diabetes. Are

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we heading for an epidemic? And so often the scourge of Welsh

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rugby, Ronan O'Gara is named in the Ireland team for the World Cup

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Good evening. The UK Border Agency is investigating after BBC Wales

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exposed a scam in which overseas students are offered the chance to

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cheat their way to get a UK visa and degrees validated by the

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University of Wales. Special two- year work permits for graduates are

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being phased out in April, and foreign students are being tempted

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by offers to fraudulently obtain degrees before that deadline. The

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University has referred the matter to the police.

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London, a magnet for overseas students. It is a multi-million

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pound business and Wales has a stake. Private colleges offering

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University of Wales courses. The price for graduates is a highly

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sought after two year work permit. But they are being scrapped.

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There is another way to a University of Wales degree and at

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eight these are. It does not take a lot of hard work just hard cash and

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a willingness to cheat. This is the registrar at a college

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in London which offers University of Wales courses in business. He

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also runs an exam board. He is offering 15 months of study for

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under a week. We will give you the questions and

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answers and you can bring the books and just write everything the same.

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We put the system to test. In another private college, electoral

:03:13.:03:23.
:03:23.:03:33.

is helping students to cheat. He We paid our findings to the

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immigration minister. That is fraught. It is clearly

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trying to create and exploit a loophole in the immigration system.

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We are aware of the investigations. If people are committing these

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scams, they should be worried because we are after them.

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Last year, BBC Wales revealed a pop star with two bogus degrees was

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running a university of Wales BABA course in Malaysia. These

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revelations increased the pressure on the university. They have now

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:04:24.:04:24.

said they will stop validating overseas degrees.

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This is a new kind of circumvention, a scam. It is something that

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concerns the University greatly. The University of Wales says it has

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referred the allegations to the police and the UK Border Agency and

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that it would be inappropriate to comment further. This college has

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said it wants to do so Associated Self from any alleged wrongdoing.

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We have some breaking news on this story.

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And the last hour, five of Wales' largest universities, Cardiff,

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Swansea, Aberystwyth, Glamorgan and Bangor, have demanded that the

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University of Wales brand should be scrapped altogether following the

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BBC's investigation. We talked rather Welsh Affairs Editor. What

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is the significance of this? It is enormously significant. What

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we are witnessing in the past hour this perhaps the final nail in the

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coffin of the University of Wales. What that means for the people of

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Wales is perhaps the loss of a national institution. This has been

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the university for the people of Wales since 1893. It is a national

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institution. Prince Charles is the Chancellor of this institution. The

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fact that the five biggest universities in Wales have gang of

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up on the university in this way is tremendously significant. These

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universities were part of the University of Wales for more than

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the last five years with the exception of Glamorgan. Now they

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are saying the whole of the University of Wales should be

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disbanded and light of what we have revealed today.

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Is that it? What future now for the University

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of Wales as a brand and as an institution?

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Passport to the Chancellor, who said they would go on as the

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University of Wales. He was adamant that they would go on as the

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University of Wales although they would only be based in a few sites.

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Clearly, Wales's biggest universities are having none of

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that. They will say there will be considerable confusion on the world

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market. Can a university still call itself a university for the whole

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of Wales when it is only based in the rest of Wales?

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And what reaction has there been? A brief reaction from the new vice

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chancellor of the University of Wales. He says the university is

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going through transformational change at the moment. He says be

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transformed university will be built on the highest standards of

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governance with uncompromising regards to standards. He seems to

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think the university will go on but the other five universities do not.

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You can see more on this investigation on week in week out,

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tonight at 8:30pm on BBC One Wales. Teachers could be out on strike up

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to once every half-term for the next year. That is the warning

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today from schools as more than 300 with either fully or partially

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closed today because of strike action by the Welsh teaching union

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UCAC. They are protesting against the UK government's plans to cut

:08:07.:08:17.
:08:17.:08:23.

pensions. In June, the NUT. Today, another

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union's members due to the picket lines. They say they have not

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balloted for strike action for 25 years and this decision was not

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taken lightly. Nothing has come from the

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government for the past three months. We would have liked to have

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seen or heard about the changes before now.

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It is one of the smallest unions in the UK with around 5,000 members.

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In Wales today, action by the union affected more than 300 schools.

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We have sympathy for the parents and pupils this will affect. But we

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have concerns about the future of the profession. About recruitment

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retention of teachers in the future of these changes go ahead.

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At the school, 22 members of staff far end -- are in the Union. The

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school had to close. The head says he is confident today will not have

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a lasting effect on the children's education but he is concerned about

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what could follow. This process of striking and

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concern over the pensions will continue, there could be a series

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of long-term strikes affecting the schools. This might happen every

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half-term for the rest of the year which would be a problem.

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In Swansea, families who we spoke to were sympathetic although some

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said that would where Ben have more strikes went ahead.

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A at least they are trying to do something about it. Lot of other

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places are not. At my work, we are not in the position to strike. We

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have to lie down and accept it. If you ask me in a couple of weeks,

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I would, but today, I agree. I have a -- I am lucky to be of work today.

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They have my sympathy because it is only fair they do not lower the

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pension. Pay and pensions are not devolved

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issues. A spokesman for the Government said today's action was

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disappointing. He said that discussions were still going on and

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the unions had to contribute to on going engagement.

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The first Welsh language commissioner has been appointed.

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Meri Huws, the current share woman of the Welsh Language Board, will

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have enforcement powers to protect the rights of Welsh speakers to get

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services in Welsh. Salads and fish produced with waste

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energy from a wood fired power station. It seems far-fetched but

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that is the vision unveiled today for the former Anglesey aluminium

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site near Holyhead. The preferred bidder to take over the site says

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it can create at least 400 jobs, replacing the number lost when

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aluminium production stopped two years ago. Our environment

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I am standing inside one of the old set.

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It does seem far-fetched but the kind of technology they are talking

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about is nothing new in other parts of the world. These are the old

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furnaces but just imagine this building stripped out and full of

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The crucial aspect is the excess heat generated from the power

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station. This is being described as a virtuous circle. This is a

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massive site, 135 acres, up for grabs since production halted two

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years ago. Nearly 400 people lost their jobs then. Two years later,

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worked to decommission the plant is on going. The company has said all

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along they want to leave a positive legacy. There is still some better

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-- bitterness on the island. There is already permission to build the

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biomass power station. From that, electricity will go to the bread.

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But excess heat, water and carbon dioxide will also go to a height

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upon its unit, producing food and vegetables. -- hydroponics. The

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water will be filtered and recycled. It is a cascading system of energy.

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You take the original burning of the biomass to produce electricity

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but the residual heat can warm the water. At warm water and warm

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they're used in the cooling systems can be used for the acquire

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environment and the plant growing environment. None of the technology

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is new. This is the Netherlands where this type of salad production

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is well established. Here, tomatoes grow without any soil in sight.

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Bringing all of this together on one side is unusual. This will cost

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a lot of money. It will. Is there funding? Yes, it is estimated that

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�750 million. The advantage we have is the technology on the power side.

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We do not have to raise all of the funding. There will have to be a

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lot more lateral thinking if we are to compete in this century. This is

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so different but also so simple, it is a virtuous circle.

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The people behind the company are optimistic as well. Two years ago,

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aluminium workers made their feelings clear when production at

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this site ended. The plans announced today are ambitious. It

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Albert Owen is the local MP. I was very disappointed when Anglesey

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Aluminium closed but this is an innovative idea. It uses the waste

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from the electricity. 400 jobs cannot be scoffed at in any area

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that really needs jobs. We need opportunities for the unpeople for

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the future. There was talk this could be an energy park. Has that

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died a death? We need to look at everything but this is an important

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first step. It does fit in well with the energy Ireland concept.

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There is an opportunity here to central the ideas and frame of mind

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on business on Anglesey and to make it a centre of excellence. What

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about the plant itself? 80 % of the wood would have to be imported.

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think it would have to be phased in. But we need to look at sourcing it

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from all areas. It's important to have employment opportunities,

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quality jobs and these jobs can fit that bill and then we can move

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forward. This is positive news for North West Wales. And there has

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:16:38.:16:40.

been another big boost further down the coast. Mostyn Port in

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Flintshire has been chosen as the long term maintenance base for one

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of the largest offshore windfarms in Europe. A hundred jobs will be

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created by the �50 million deal. Matthew Richards reports.

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For the past eight years, Mostyn Port has supported the creation and

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maintenance of two offshore windfarms with around 30 turbines

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each. The two billion euro Gwynt y Mor project will dwarf them both

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with 160 turbines producing enough power to provide electricity for

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400,000 homes. The company building it says Mostyn is a perfect partner.

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One of the things that is important to was given that we are now

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building such a big project is the space to set up a full and bespoke,

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if you like, operations facility and has that space. Equally as

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important as that is having access to the support and facilities of

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the port itself. 100 new jobs will be created at the port to help with

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construction and delivery of the massive components. It's a major

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expansion which means Mostyn can focus almost exclusively on

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windfarm projects. We took the decision that we would concentrate

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on offshore renewables for the future and we don't do a lot of

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other cargoes because we cannot do everything. We tend now to

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specialise in offshore. The spin- off benefits for local electricians

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like Barry Kenny are also enormous. It will be a massive difference

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because at the moment we have got a contract to in the flats and North

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oil. This is 160 so we will be looking at extra manpower. Offshore

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construction will begin shortly and Gwynt y Mor will be fully

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operational by 2014. The weather today is a Foley windy and it is an

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element that is increasingly being harnessed off the coast of North

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Wales. The announcement means the board will now be as responsible

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:18:39.:18:40.

for keeping the wind farms turning as the wind itself.

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We know that project will start next year. The status here in

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Anglesey Aluminium is that the company is still a preferred bidder

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but there will be questions about the plant and sustainable wood and

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where it comes from and whether that ties in with the costs of

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running a place like this should the planned start to be ratified

:19:02.:19:12.
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next year. We will see what happens by 2014.

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Wales is facing a Type 2 diabetes epidemic. That's the stark warning

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tonight from a charity. More than 160,000 people in Wales suffer from

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the condition, which can cause strokes, heart disease and kidney

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failure. So what can be done to stem the growing tide? Here's our

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health correspondent, Arwyn Jones. Mr Jones is one of 7,000 people in

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Wales diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last year. It has meant

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big changes to his diet. He has cut out cakes and biscuits and eats a

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lot more fruit and vegetables. was eating far too many sweet

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things. Looking back on it, I could certainly have taken a lot more

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steps to reduce my development into type 2 diabetes. Now that the

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number of sufferers in Wales has topped 160,000, there are calls for

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action. The Welsh government needs as a masseur of urgency Eyke

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awareness campaign. -- as a matter of urgency and awareness campaign.

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They can manage it with things like swine flu so why can't they manage

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it with an epidemic that is already upon us. This was the Welsh

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government's answer. Television campaigns urging us all to eat a

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healthy diet and do more exercise, both known to reduce the likelihood

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of developing diabetes. They have also set up an expert group to see

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if there is more that needs to be done. In Ebbw Vale, they have the

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highest percentage of people with diabetes in Wales so any awareness

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campaign needs to get through to people in places like this. So how

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successful has the Welsh government's campaign been here?

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is quite surprising. I would like to learn more about it.

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healthier your body is, the better. The main thing is too much drinking

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and too much sugar. So what is causing the continued increase in

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diabetes numbers in Wales? One of the problem at the moment is this

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concept of calorie pollution. On a more positive note, I think we are

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far better at identifying diabetes. The family have now change their

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diets but the warning is clear. Unless more people followed their

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example, more of us could develop diabetes, which can be a very

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damaging condition. Tomorrow we have the latest on our

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reporter Nick Palit's quest to reverse his diabetes through diet

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and exercise. He'll also be looking at how people of south Asian origin

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are far more likely to develop the disease.

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To New Zealand and Wales' quarter- final opponents Ireland have named

:21:56.:22:00.

their team for Saturday's match. Ronan O'Gara, so often a thorn in

:22:00.:22:05.

Welsh sides, will start at fly-half in an unchanged team. Wales unveil

:22:05.:22:08.

their 15 tomorrow, with a fully-fit squad to choose from. From

:22:08.:22:18.
:22:18.:22:19.

Wellington, Ashleigh Crowter. Wales's toughest opponent today was

:22:19.:22:27.

the Wellington weather. But there was a sight to warm the hearts of

:22:27.:22:32.

all Welsh fans. James Hook, Dan Lydiate and Shane Williams all

:22:32.:22:39.

involved in chaining. -- training. Warren Gatland should have a full

:22:39.:22:42.

squad to choose from. Wales must beat Ireland or the World Cup is

:22:42.:22:48.

over but that has been the case for the past few weeks. We were playing

:22:48.:22:50.

knockout rugby as soon as we lost that first game so that has stood

:22:51.:22:55.

us in good stead. It is all-or- nothing on Saturday and hopefully

:22:55.:23:00.

that will take us over the line. Compared to Ireland's training

:23:00.:23:03.

session this morning, there are far fewer cameras and journalists to

:23:03.:23:07.

watch Wales, an indication that people in New Zealand C Wales as

:23:07.:23:13.

underdogs. Ireland have attracted quite a following here, beating

:23:13.:23:17.

Australia is a sure fire rude to popularity in New Zealand. The

:23:17.:23:22.

coach announced his team today including Ronan O'Gara. The man who

:23:22.:23:28.

is used to breaking Welsh hearts for both club and country. He is a

:23:28.:23:32.

fantastic player, an outstanding kicker, he understands the game is

:23:32.:23:38.

very well. He has got over 100 caps, Heineken Cup, Lions tours, he is an

:23:38.:23:44.

outstanding player. Rory Best will face a late fitness test to see if

:23:44.:23:47.

he can take his place in a formidable pack which could have a

:23:47.:23:52.

big role, especially if the weather stays wet. You have got to do what

:23:52.:23:56.

gets you cross the line, what wins games for you, and they think it is

:23:56.:24:00.

about playing pressure rugby, not necessarily deciding on one type of

:24:00.:24:05.

brand that you are going to play before the game. Wales captain Sam

:24:05.:24:09.

Warburton celebrated his 23rd birthday today. The squad bought

:24:09.:24:13.

him a kick to mark the occasion. The stadium in Wellington is

:24:14.:24:17.

nicknamed the kick tin and a victory on Saturday would put the

:24:17.:24:20.

icing on a memorable week. Looks like it's raining hard down

:24:20.:24:26.

under, and not much better here, More rain to come in Wellington

:24:26.:24:29.

tomorrow but it should clear-up in time for the game on Saturday.

:24:30.:24:33.

Feeling cool with a brisk southerly wind. Back home, it's windy in

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Wales. Gales in the northwest. Gusts of 55mph to 60mph today but,

:24:37.:24:41.

despite the wind, reasonably mild. 21 degrees Celsius at Hawarden in

:24:41.:24:46.

Flintshire. Tomorrow will be colder with a drop in temperature. Yes,

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there is a change on the way. A cold front will move across the

:24:51.:24:53.

country, pushing the mild air away and introducing colder air from

:24:53.:25:01.

Iceland. Rain and gusty winds there. Elsewhere some heavy rain and

:25:01.:25:04.

strong winds, but the rain will clear by midnight. A few showers

:25:04.:25:07.

following and turning colder. Lowest temperatures of eight to 11

:25:07.:25:09.

degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, a brighter day. Some sunshine but

:25:09.:25:12.

with squally showers. Some of the showers heavy with hail and thunder.

:25:12.:25:15.

Windy and feeling colder. In fact, the Met Office has issued a yellow

:25:15.:25:18.

alert for gales. The strongest winds in the north and northwest

:25:18.:25:21.

tomorrow afternoon and evening. Forecast wind gusts of 55mph to 65

:25:21.:25:24.

mph. Not the best of weather for walking in the mountains. In Neath

:25:24.:25:28.

Port Talbot, brighter and colder than today. A few showers. Windy

:25:28.:25:31.

with temperatures in Briton Ferry rising to 14 degrees Celsius. As

:25:31.:25:33.

for the outlook, Friday less windy with fewer showers. Temperatures

:25:33.:25:38.

recovering over the weekend with stronger winds. Some rain at times

:25:38.:25:42.

but I can promise some dry weather as well. Our picture tonight is

:25:42.:25:45.

from Des Southall. Autumn colours at Margam Park. Thanks, Des. The

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leaves will be blowing around tomorrow. Colder too with blustery

:25:48.:25:58.
:25:58.:25:59.

The headlines again, BBC Wales has exposed a scam offering overseas

:25:59.:26:03.

students the chance to cheat their way to get a UK visa and degrees

:26:03.:26:09.

validated by the University of Wales. In the last hour, Wales's

:26:09.:26:12.

other universities have demanded that the University of Wales brand

:26:12.:26:16.

is scrapped following the BBC's investigation.

:26:16.:26:20.

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