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AM welcomes steps to block abuse images

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steps to block abuseMID AND WEST WALES Assembly Member, Rebecca Evans, has welcomed news that leading search engine companies have agreed measures to make it harder to find child abuse images online – but says “there is more to do”.

Rebecca Evans AM, who recently led a debate at the National Assembly for Wales on keeping children safe online, has given a cautious welcome to news that internet giants, Google and Microsoft are taking steps to prevent child abuse images to be searched for on their search engines.

The companies have agreed measures to make it harder to find child abuse images online. As many as 100,000 search terms will now return no results that find illegal material, and will trigger warnings that child abuse imagery is illegal.

Cautiously welcoming the announcement, Mrs Evans said:“It is good news that internet search engines will make it harder to find abusive images. This move has been a long time coming.

“Preventing access to abusive images on the web is of course welcome, and may help stop the proliferation of child abuse images online. It may also play a role in preventing the curious from seeking out images of child abuse, and starting down the road of viewing more and more extreme content.

“However, more needs to be done to tackle paedophiles who mainly use hidden websites and backchannels to view and share illegal images andvideo clips.”

The “deep web” or “darknet” – parts of the web not catalogued by search engines that search crawlers do not visit or cannot find – will not be affected by these changes, and this is the major part of the internet where
people exchange explicit abusive and violent material online.

Mrs Evans added: “The UK Government needs to do more to support and work with experts like the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to find ways to actively search for and stop people who create, view and share such material.

“The UK Government also needs to give real teeth to the newly formed National Crime Agency (NCA) to hunt online predators.”

Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), told BBC Breakfast he did not think the measures would make any difference with regard to protecting children from paedophiles.

“They don’t go on to Google to search for images. They go on to the dark corners of the internet on peer-to-peer websites,” he said.

He said search engines had already been blocking inappropriate content and the latest move was just an enhancement of what was already happening.

A better solution would be to spend £1.5m on hiring 12 child protection experts and 12 co-ordinators in each of the police regions to hunt down online predators, he added.

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Dredging work set for Tenby Harbour

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TENBY HARBOUR and North Beach users are being asked to be aware of heavy moving machinery from Tuesday March 26 th to Friday 29 th as dredging work is carried out.

Sand will removed from the mouth of the Harbour and deposited at the north end of the beach. The work will not affect vessel movements at the Harbour.

Tenby Harbourmaster Chris Salisbury said a licence for the dredging had been issued after several months of application work.

“We ask that the public please keep clear of the operating area and that dogs are kept on a lead during this time,” Chris added.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “I’m grateful to our officers for securing the licence for this work to go ahead. This dredging is essential
for the operation of Tenby Harbour.

“The timing of the work has been governed by the tide and the dates represented the last opportunity for the work to be carried out before the boats are placed back in the
water.”

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Closure of Tata Steel’s coke ovens sparks political and union backlash

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THE recent announcement by Tata Steel to close the coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in South Wales has ignited a firestorm of political and industrial action, highlighting the deepening crisis within the British steel industry and the challenges facing the transition to green steel.

Jo Stevens MP, the Shadow Welsh Secretary, expressed her concerns over the impact of the closure on the Welsh steel industry and the workers affected. Stevens emphasized the need for assurances about the workers’ immediate future and pledged that a UK Labour government would invest in the steel industry to support the transition to green steel, harnessing the skills, talent, and ambition of Welsh steelworkers.

The closure, slated for Wednesday due to concerns over the ovens’ “operational stability,” has been criticized by regional Senedd Members for South Wales West, Tom Giffard MS, and Dr. Altaf Hussain MS. They accused the Labour Welsh Government of neglecting its support for the Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot, highlighting a lack of financial assistance since 2019 and calling for a change in response to the current developments.

Unite, the UK’s leading union, has been vocal in its opposition to Tata’s decision, describing it as a shock and a “result of years of betrayal.” The union criticized Tata for not disclosing the imminent risk of closure during recent consultations and announced a ballot for industrial action among 1,500 Tata workers. Unite insists there should be no job losses at Port Talbot or Llanwern and that a blast furnace should remain operational.

Peter Hughes, Unite’s regional secretary for Wales, called for Tata to halt its closure plans in anticipation of Labour’s promised £3 billion investment to rejuvenate the UK steel industry. He accused Tata of managing the decline of UK steel while accepting government subsidies, describing the company’s actions as “deliberate industrial vandalism.”

The closure has not only raised concerns about the future of steel production in the UK but also spotlighted the political and economic strategies required to ensure the industry’s survival and transition towards more sustainable practices. The unfolding situation underscores the need for a collaborative approach between the government, industry stakeholders, and the workforce to navigate the complex challenges ahead.

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Firefighters tackle blaze at block of garages in Monkton

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ONE person was injured as a result of a sunday afternoon garage fire in a block of garages in Monkton.

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service told The Pembrokeshire Herald said: “At 1.31pm on March 17, Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven crews were called to extinguish a fire in an alight central garage and were forced to use two breathing apparatus and two hose reels.

“The firefighters reportedly left the scene at 3.02pm after continuing to dampen the fire and check for fire spread.

“The casualty was treated by ambulance service personnel also in attendance.”

The police confirmed that a garage fire had been dealt with by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Welsh Ambulance Service attended.

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