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Powys County Times
24 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Sport stars pay tribute to late Doddie Weir in birthday video
Rugby stars Kenny Logan and Rob Wainwright and other sporting legends have paid tribute to the late Doddie Weir in a video released on what would have been his 55th birthday. The video has been created to honour the memory of Weir, and the legacy of the foundation he set up to find effective treatments for motor neurone disease (MND) after he was diagnosed with it in 2016. Weir founded the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation in 2017, and died in November 2022 aged 52. Those in the video include Olympic swimming medallist Duncan Scott, Olympic curling medallist Eve Muirhead, broadcaster and ex-footballer Ally McCoist, former England rugby player Mike Tindall and British and Irish Lions fly-half Fin Smith. Supporters from across the UK will wear Doddie tartan to work on Friday July 4, as part of a tradition marking what would have been the former rugby player's birthday. Kenny Logan, who played alongside Doddie as part of the 1999 Five Nations-winning Scotland side, said: 'Doddie was a leader in life, and he remains a leader in death. 'His memory inspires thousands of people, both inside and outside of the MND community, to take action and help bring an end to this devastating disease. 'We all know Doddie should still be here with us. He brought light and laughter into every room, even in the darkest days. It's up to all of us to dig deep, keep fundraising and finish what he started. 'We do it because we miss him. We do it because we love him. And we do it because nobody else should have to go through what he and his family did.' The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation has now committed almost £20 million to targeted research projects and launched a Catalysing A Cure strategy to speed up the search for effective treatments. Earlier this year it pledged £4 million to the MND Discovery Network, a new UK-wide initiative connecting leading scientists to accelerate progress. The film also features Jennie Starkey, who is living with MND and is part of the Foundation's Discovery Network board. The video comes after the end of the Doddie's Lions Challenge, in which a team led by Logan and including Ally McCoist, Gabby Logan, and Doddie's widow Kathy, cycled 555 miles around the island of Ireland in five days to deliver the match ball for the British and Irish Lions vs Argentina fixture in Dublin. The ride has so far raised almost £650,000 for MND research. My Name'5 Doddie Foundation chief executive Nicola Roseman, said: 'Doddie's spirit continues to galvanise the MND community. 'The outpouring of support and emotion on what would have been his 55th birthday shows just how many lives he touched and how much his story still matters. It also reminds us that there is still work to be done. 'Every birthday that passes without Doddie is another reminder of the urgency of our mission.'
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Will it be rowdier than the rugby? Cardiff gears up for Oasis reunion opening night
Oasis songs are already blasting out from the Principality stadium during sound checks and rehearsals as Cardiff gears up for the opening night of the band's hugely anticipated reunion tour. On Friday and Saturday the Welsh capital is hosting Liam and Noel Gallagher's first live shows together since 2009, when a long-running feud between the Manchester brothers culminated in a dramatic backstage fight and subsequent split. Despite worries the pair might fall out again before the 41-date tour begins, preparations are well under way: people have gathered outside the stadium listening for hints of the setlist, and Noel himself arrived in Cardiff on Tuesday. Oasis's famous black-and-white logo has popped up across Cardiff, and playlists in cafes and pubs are full of 1990s Britpop. The queue for a pop-up merchandise shop stretched for hundreds of metres when it opened last week and on Wednesday it was still busy with fans browsing bucket hats, parkas, shot glasses, posters and vinyl. At a 16ft-tall Wonder Wall portrait of the Gallaghers made of 3,000 black and white bucket hats by artist Nathan Wyburn at St David's shopping centre, Po Chang, 47, and Yi Chieh, 42, said they had come to Wales from Taiwan so they could be among the first to hear the band reunited. Chang said: 'Making this trip is worth it, no question. I'm a musician and Oasis have been a very big influence on my life and my career.' The couple last saw the band perform in 2009, and they have tickets for one of the two Japan dates in October as well as Cardiff on Friday. 'We were worried they might not stay together until Tokyo, so we decided to take a road trip in Wales too so we will definitely get to see them,' he added. Elinor Maizey and her two friends, all 18, also stopped to look at the mural. 'We weren't around for the Britpop era, obviously, but we know the songs,' she said. 'I'm actually a Blur fan. I'm in a longstanding argument with my music teacher over whether Blur or Oasis are better … He tried to get tickets for Oasis but the sellers went silent on him twice and he's gutted,' the Cardiff student said. The build up to the tour's opening gig in Cardiff on Friday will be broadcast by the BBC before Oasis head to Manchester, their home town, for five nights. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Every tour date from July to November worldwide is sold out. Tickets for all 17 gigs in the UK and Ireland were scooped up within 10 hours of going on sale, while tickets for the shows in North America and Brazil were gone within an hour, sending prices soaring and leading to criticism of the distributor Ticketmaster's use of 'dynamic pricing'. The tour is expected to be one of the most lucrative ever. The Gallaghers are reportedly in line to earn £50m each – more than they made in the entire 1990s, at the height of their fame – and by some estimates the gigs will inject £940m into the UK economy. 'Oasis are an important band, maybe they are a bit past it now. We'll find out on Friday,' said Graham Coath, 53, a music podcaster from Somerset, who was in Cardiff to see Alanis Morissette, another 1990s alt-rock icon, play on Wednesday night. 'It would have been nice to see them bring some up-and-coming talent and local musicians with them on this tour, pay it forward a bit,' he added. About 149,000 concert-goers are expected to visit Cardiff over the weekend. The city's hotels were already 90% full in June, up on 51% and 47% respectively over the same days in 2024, and WalesOnline reports some are now charging an average of £588 for last-minute accommodation during the concert dates. At the City Arms, the closest pub to the Principality stadium, Morgan Philp, 23, a bartender, was expecting a busy weekend. 'I would be surprised if it gets more rowdy than a rugby weekend, but we'll manage. It'll be plastic cups only, we've got thousands. We're ready,' she said.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
World's biggest climate fund ramps up investment plans
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - The world's biggest multilateral climate fund said it will make its largest ever series of investments and speed up dealmaking as it looks to help poorer nations respond to global warming. The Green Climate Fund's plan to release about $1.2 billion for 17 projects mostly in Asia and Africa follows approval by shareholders including the United States at a meeting this week, against a fractious political backdrop that has seen development aid slashed. Official development assistance could fall 17% this year after a 9% drop in 2024, the OECD said in a June report, opens new tab, led by hefty cuts to U.S. aid by President Donald Trump. "At a time when collective climate action is more needed than ever, GCF is stepping up to deliver on its mandate," GCF Co-Chair Seyni Nafo said in a statement. The GCF disbursement includes $227 million for an initiative to expand green bond markets in 10 countries. Green bond markets are where companies raise capital for projects that limit climate change or otherwise benefit the environment. In South Asia, it will invest $200 million in the India Green Finance Facility to scale renewables and energy efficiency, while in East Africa it will invest $150 million in the food system to support nearly 18 million people. All the projects will bring the GCF investment portfolio to $18 billion across 133 countries. So far, countries have pledged $29.9 billion to the GCF and paid in $21 billion. As well as releasing more money, the GCF board also approved plans to speed up its work with partner organisations, which can include accredited entities like other multilateral lenders and so-called Direct Access Entities in developing countries. From an average 30 months to accredit a DAE, the aim is to shorten the time to nine months or less by overhauling its procedures, including carrying out much of the due diligence at the project stage.
