'We will be back' vows former Llanelli Assembly Member

PLAID will be back in Llanelli, their losing deputy Assembly group leader has said.

Helen Mary Jones bowed out from 12 years as an Assembly Member when she rejected a second recount after being told Labour's Keith Davies had beaten her by just 80 votes.

His 10,359 votes meant Labour had overturned Ms Jones's 3,884 majority to claim the seat that was fifth on its target list.

But Ms Jones pointed out that her party had regained the seat in 2007, adding: "I'm absolutely sure that Plaid Cymru will be back in this constituency.

"If it's not me, it will be a first rate candidate and that will be someone I will be proud to support."

She said her team fought a strong and hard campaign, but had been swimming against the tide of national opinion.

She added: "I think what Plaid was trying to do in the national campaign was put across a strong positive message about what the Assembly could achieve in these difficult times, but it was drowned out by what turned out to be a very British election."

Labour launched their Welsh campaign in Llanelli and brought down UK leader Ed Miliband as part of their huge push to win the constituency, and it paid off.

Plaid had hoped Ms Jones's personal popularity would carry them through against a resurgent Labour, and Mr Davies paid tribute to his defeated opponent, saying: "Helen Mary has a huge personal following in Llanelli.

"We knew that it was a big problem from the start. We had to look at what was important for the people of Llanelli, what their concerns were.

"We dealt with those in the campaign and the result was that we were successful."

The major concerns were the cuts coming from Westminster and a lack of jobs, he said.

Conservative candidate Andrew Morgan marginally upped his support as he came in third with 2,880 votes.

With turnout at 44.5 per cent, the Tory said: "To me that means that the Assembly as an institution has yet to have the confidence of the Welsh people, and I hope that Keith Davies plays his part in reversing that over the next four years."

Sian Caiach formed Putting Llanelli First last month and was pleased to poll 2,004 votes, saying it set up a county council push next year. Liberal Democrat Cheryl Philpott secured 548 votes but lost her deposit.

david.price@swwmedia.co.uk

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Big 'no' vote to AV adds to Clegg's polls nightmare

Nick Clegg's nightmare at the polls was completed yesterday as British voters decisively rejected the Liberal Democrats' cherished project of electoral reform.

The party's resounding defeat in the referendum on the Alternative Vote came after Lib Dems took a pounding in councils across England, as well as elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.

Senior Lib Dems insisted that the Deputy Prime Minister's position was safe and ministers from both sides of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition said the partnership would continue.

But Mr Clegg faces dismay in the Lib Dem ranks at the prospect that electoral reform has been knocked off the agenda for a generation.

Conservative backbenchers called for the coalition to be brought to an end before the five-year term agreed by Mr Clegg and David Cameron.

Mr Clegg said: "Clearly this has been a really disappointing day and we have had a lot of very disappointing results overnight, but we are going to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on."

Mr Cameron was hailed by Tories for his performance in delivering an increase in the party's total of councils and councillors.

This after a year in which his administration has imposed significant public spending cuts, as well as protecting the traditional first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections.

Jubilant Tories said they had won more than half the votes in English councils.

Labour celebrated gaining 786 council seats, but was licking its wounds in Scotland, where a remarkable performance by the Scottish National Party sent Alex Salmond back to Holyrood for a second term with an overall majority.

Meanwhile, Ed Miliband's party missed an overall majority in the Welsh Assembly by a single seat.

Mr Miliband – who backed AV despite the opposition of more than half of his MPs and several Labour grandees – said he was disappointed by the results of the referendum and Scottish Parliament elections.

However, he insisted that Labour's strong showing in English councils and the Welsh Assembly showed that the party was "coming back" after its woeful performance in last year's General Election.

Mr Miliband said: "I'm disappointed that we lost the AV referendum but I think the people have spoken very clearly on this issue.

"I am disappointed about what happened in Scotland. But I think that we made some really important gains in English local government.

"I think we had a fantastic result in Wales. We have got a long way to go as a party, and I am the first person to say that. But I think what we saw today was a Labour Party, particularly in English local government and in Wales, coming back."

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Golf great Ballesteros dies, aged 54

? Official website confirms golfer died at 2.10am Saturday
?�Seve's life and career in pictures

Seve Ballesteros, the legendary five-time major winning golfer, has died at the age of 54 after losing his fight against cancer.

The news was confirmed by a statement on the golfer's official website which said: "Today, at 2.10am Spanish time, Seve Ballesteros passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena.

"The Ballesteros family is very grateful for all the support and gestures of love that have been received since Seve was diagnosed with a brain tumour on 5th October 2008 at Madrid Hospital la Paz."

Ballesteros' brother Baldomero told reporters the funeral will be held on Wednesday in Pedrena, while Miguel Angel Revilla, head of the local Cantabria government, said the region would observe three days of official mourning.

Ballesteros had been recuperating at his home in northern Spain after a series of operations since being diagnosed with two malignant brain tumours in 2008.

His condition worsened on Wednesday, at which point he was admitted to hospital; rumours had swept Spain last week that Ballesteros's situation had taken a rapid downturn. On Friday, Ballesteros was under heavy sedation and his family released a statement confirming his situation had deteriorated.

In an unfortunate coincidence, the Spanish Open ? the last competition Ballesteros won as a professional in 1995 ? is currently taking place in Barcelona.

Jos� Mar�a Olaz�bal, the golfer closest to Ballesteros and inspired by him since childhood, was too emotional to speak to the media in the aftermath of his Friday round in Barcelona. "I can't talk," Olaz�bal said. "I can only wait, and cry."

Another Spanish golfer and Olaz�bal's playing partner, Miguel Angel Jim�nez, was in tears upon completion of his second round. Olaz�bal, Europe's Ryder Cup captain, recently stated his dream that Ballesteros could be alongside him for the meeting with the United States in Chicago next autumn. The pair met a fortnight ago, at which point Ballesteros was in a wheelchair.

Olaz�bal's manager, Sergio G�mez, reported that Ballesteros's daughter had passed on details of her father's condition on Thursday. "Seve's physical condition was not good when Jos� Mar�a went to see him, but they talked about golf and everything," G�mez said. "Then came the call yesterday to tell him that Seve was in a critical condition."

Ballesteros's illness initially came to light after he collapsed at Madrid airport in October 2008; during the intervening period, he has rarely been seen in public. Since his first surgery, which lasted 12 hours, he has undergone almost continuous chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In 2009, after his fourth chemotherapy course, Ballesteros labelled it "a miracle" he was still alive.

In 2010, during his last television interview with the BBC, Ballesteros spoke of fighting cancer. "You can't have it all in life," he said. "One day you feel fantastic, the next you never know what is going to happen. You just take a look at how many days of glory I had before. It has been a fantastic life and this, what has happened to me, is what I will call destiny; one test that God is putting on me."

Ballesteros, who retired from professional golf in 2007, was earlier regarded as a pioneer for the European game overseas. He had turned professional at the age of 16, in 1974, finishing second to Jack Nicklaus in the Open at Birkdale only two years later.

He was the first from this continent to claim a Masters title, in 1980, a feat he repeated at Augusta three years later. Ballesteros was the winner of the Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988. Besides winning a total of 87 titles in his career, Ballesteros played in eight Ryder Cups, claiming 20 points from 37 matches. He also captained a successful European team, fittingly on his home soil in Valderrama, 14 years ago.

Ballesteros had not been deemed well enough to make a planned trip to St Andrews to say a farewell to British fans at the time of last year's Open. At the Masters last month, Phil Mickelson dedicated a Spanish-themed champions' dinner to the absent Ballesteros, the man he credits with his own decision to start playing golf.

• Seve Ballesteros
• Golf

Ewan Murray

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/07/seve-ballesteros-golf-passes-away

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Malawi?s Press Corp to slim down

Malawi’s Press Corporation, a beer-to-banking conglomerate and the country’s biggest company, was likely to see annual profit growth stabilise at 8 percent to 10 percent, its chief executive said yesterday.

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Malawi’s Press Corporation, a beer-to-banking conglomerate and the country’s biggest company, was likely to see annual profit growth stabilise at 8 percent to 10 percent, its chief executive said yesterday.

The company, a bellwether of the small but fast-growing country’s economy with a market capitalisation of $136 million (R917m), said it would continue to slim down its diverse portfolio of interests from 14 sectors to just six or seven.

“The future for us lies in telecommunications, banking and the energy sector,” the group’s chief executive, Matt Chikaonda, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.

“We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the past seven to eight years, averaging 12 percent to 15 percent profit growth,” he said.

“It has been fantastic, but that should stabilise to more normal ranges of around maybe 8 percent to 10 percent long-term growth.

“That’s the reason why we are also talking about other sources of growth – getting into the power generation side.” – Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/malawi-s-press-corp-to-slim-down-1.1065523

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Conservatives strengthen grip but Nerys is forced to bow out

THE Conservatives strengthened their grip on Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, despite predictions of a close three-horse race.

Incumbent Angela Burns increased her previous majority of 98 to 1,504, with a swing of 2.5 per cent from Labour to the Conservatives.

She fought off a stiff challenge from Christine Gwyther, who held the seat for Labour from 1999-2007.

And the third placed finish for Plaid Cymru constituency newcomer Nerys Evans, the party's director of policy who cashed in her regional seat to try to win the three-way marginal, will have come as a huge blow to her party.

All three parties took votes from Liberal Democrat Selwyn Runnett, but the Tories enjoyed the largest haul.

"I was very nervous tonight," said victorious Mrs Burns.

"But I tell you what, I have been getting such a good response on the doorstep I did not believe people would turn against me. One lady I spoke to on the doorstep said she had always voted Labour in the past but she was voting Conservative this time — I had a good feeling after that."

Mrs Burns said the main issues people were concerned about on her campaign trail were the economy, job security, education and health. It was clear from early samples the seat had turned into a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservatives.

Carmarthen local Ms Evans gained a late flurry of ballot papers, as boxes from her hometown were counted.

But it was never going to be enough.

She said: "I am disappointed but we increased our vote in the light of a very big swing to Labour across the nation.

"We knew it was wide open and it could have gone either way."

She said she had no regrets in her all-or-nothing approach of cashing her list membership for a stab at the constituency.

Asked about her plans for the future she joked: "Take a holiday I think."

Labour's defeated Mrs Gwyther said she did not expect Plaid to do as well as in 2007 because that election was the height of discontent towards the Labour Party.

"I thought it was going to be close between first and second," she said.

"It was an excellent campaign. We found support right across the constituency and it's important we build on that in the future."

But on a night of Labour gains nationally, this did not translate to her seat, nor its neighbour Preseli Pembrokeshire which also saw a Tory hold.

"The Conservative vote in Pembrokeshire is extremely strong and I said that throughout the campaign.

"We have to analyse the result in the context of the turnout in the West."

Last-placed Liberal Democrat Selwyn Runnett was never going to be anything more than a rank outsider.

Echoing other heavy defeats across the country, his party failed to get their deposit back after winning just 3.9 per cent of the vote.

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Sex pest OAP strikes while walking dog

AN elderly sex pest has been targeting women near Swansea city centre while out walking his dog.

He has exposed himself to one woman and made physical contact with two others, with all three incidents happening in and around Parc Tawe.

Although none of the women were injured, detectives have appealed for help in tracing the man before anything more serious happens.

They also want to hear from any other women who may have been approached by the grey-haired suspect.

Detective Sergeant Nikki Anderson said the first incident happened in Parc Tawe at around 1.20pm on Thursday, March 24.

On that occasion the man exposed himself to a 29-year-old woman. Then, on Friday, April 15, at around 3pm, the man approached a 37-year-old woman in nearby New Cut Road and indecently assaulted her by making physical contact.

A similar incident happened on Thursday, April 28, at about 3pm on the footpath running from New Cut Bridge towards Morfa.

"The man approached the victim and engaged her in conversation before indecently assaulting her," said Detective Sergeant Anderson.

"All these incidents have happened in broad daylight, and on two occasions in areas near shops where there would have been a lot of people and motorists about. These have incidents have been particularly distressing to the women concerned, but fortunately they were not injured."

The suspect is described as being an elderly white man, of thin build and with grey hair. He had a spaniel dog with him on the first and third occasions.

Detective Sergeant Anderson said: "This man needs to be arrested before anything more serious happens. I would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incidents or who can assist identifying this man to come forward.

"We also want to hear from any female who might have been approached by a man matching this description in or around Parc Tawe."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police in Swansea on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

paul.lewis@swwmedia.co.uk

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Couple jailed after sham wedding halted by police

Police and immigration officers stopped a sham marriage just moments before it was due to take place, a court heard.

Hungarian-born Dezso Szilagy was about to marry Indian national Grace Albert for cash so she could remain in the country.

The proceedings were interrupted at Leicester's Register Office after it became obvious the pair were strangers.

They knew nothing about each other's personal details when quizzed, and were arrested.

Both were jailed at Leicester Crown Court yesterday. Albert faces deportation on her release.

Szilagy (45) admitted facilitating a breach of immigration law.

Albert (42) admitted seeking to obtain leave to remain by deception. Jonathan Cox, prosecuting, said suspicions were first aroused when the pair attended a pre-ceremony appointment with a registrar to complete advance paperwork.

The Border Control Agency was then notified about the suspect "wedding", due on January 20 this year.

Mr Cox said Albert arrived in the UK on a 12-month student visa in August 2008, later extended until October 2010. She was technically an over-stayer when she attended the register office, but the fact she intended marrying an EU national took precedent.

When questioned, Szilagy was unable to give any information about his bride-to-be's birth date, address or occupation. There was little interaction between them when police arrived.

Mr Cox said: "Neither showed any concern for the welfare of the other."

Szilagy was found to have a crib sheet with fabricated details of their relationship.

Albert, formerly of Hampshire, whose address was given as Larchmont Road, off Blackbird Road, Leicester, was jailed for 12 months.

Szilagy, formerly of Portsmouth, whose address was given as Weymouth Street, Belgrave, Leicester, was jailed for 14 months.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Head said: "You agreed to enter into an utterly fake marriage.

"I accept your introduction was through someone else who hasn't been identified.

"What you did was a crime and it was designed to cheat everyone from abroad who patiently and honestly seeks to obtain the right to remain in this country by open and frank means.

"The inescapable conclusion is you, Szilagy, stood to gain financially by lending yourself to the arrangement."

Rebecca Herbert, mitigating for divorced nurse Albert, said she left India because her former husband's family treated her badly. She came to the UK to pursue her studies and when her visa ran out she resorted to illegal means, without realising the seriousness of her actions.

Gary Short, for Szilagy, said the divorced father-of-three came to the UK in 2009 after his marriage ended and found himself short of money.

Neither defendant had any previous convictions.

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