20/01/2017 BBC Wales Today


20/01/2017

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Welcome to the programme. Tonight's headlines:

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Constant complaints and old, cramped carriages -

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now MPs say trains on Arriva services need to be

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replaced urgently.

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And Adam Issac is jailed for sexually abusing boys he met

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through an online computer game.

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Good evening.

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Some of our trains have up to 4.5 million miles on the clock

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and there's now an urgent need to replace old and

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cramped carriages.

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That's according to a group of MPs who also say there's been a huge

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failure to account for a significant rise in passenger numbers.

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We're taking more than twice as many journeys on trains

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as we did ten years ago, which MPs say has led

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to overcrowding and dissatisfied customers.

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Here's our Business Correspondent Brian Meechan.

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It's a service many have always relied on.

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But while travellers have changed, it seems the trains haven't.

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Those operating today by Arriva Trains Wales are,

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on average, 27 years old.

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MPs argue that the increasing number of passengers who want to use

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the service have had enough of the conditions.

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There have been complaints about the standard of the carriages

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and the overcrowding that many believe happens too regularly.

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During peak times it's no good at all.

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It's really, really bad.

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I've seen people fainting and being sick.

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On the whole, because I travel on the valleys lines,

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it's really good, but come Saturdays they've only got three carriages on.

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There should be more.

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The Welsh Affairs Select Committee says the problem was that

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when the contract was agreed between the UK's Strategic Rail

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Authority and Arriva, it didn't factor in more

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people using trains.

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Not enough account was taken of the possibility of a huge

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growth in numbers whichy we subsequently saw.

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It ended up costing a lot more money than it should have

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done to deal with this.

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Having said that, we recognise that Arriva Trains Wales

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and the Welsh Assembly Government worked quite well to

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overcome those problems.

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Passenger jurneys have increased by around 50%,

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with over 29 million in 2014-2015, around 10 million more

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than a decade before.

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Arriva Trains Wales' profits have remained fairly consistent.

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It's made over ?88 million in the last five years.

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The vast bulk of that being paid as a dividend to its owners,

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the German transport company Deutsche Bahn.

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Again, over a five-year period, the company has received

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roughly ?750 million from the Welsh Government

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in subsidies.

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Arriva Trains Wales says it welcomes the fact that the report recognises

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there have been improvements and investments in its services.

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However, it does say it will continue to try to solve

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the problems, but as the MPs made clear, there's no quick

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or easy solution.

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Arriva's trains are generally running on time.

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While overcrowding on services arriving in Cardiff is worse

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than on trains arriving in Bristol and Liverpool, it's

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better than those pulling into Manchester and Leeds.

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But the Welsh Government says the current franchises

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isn't fit for purpose.

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Major investment will be needed soon.

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70% of the Arriva fleet will not be able to be used

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after 2020 because of new disability regulations.

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Those will have to be replaced.

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The impact is the degree of breakdown.

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If we had 40-year-old cars, we would have a problem

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keeping those going.

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Arriva is one of four bidders for the next franchise,

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which comes up in 2018.

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The Welsh Government will award that on a not-for-profit basis,

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signalling a major change in direction in the future of rail.

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South Wales Police have said tonight that a 26-year-old man

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from the Swansea area was arrested yesterday on suspicion

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of terrorism offences.

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It was part of a joint operation between Counter Terrorism units

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in Wales and the West Midlands.

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Officers say the investigation does not concern any immediate

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threat to public safety.

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An amateur boxer from Port Talbot has been jailed for 12 and a half

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years after admitting killing his girlfriend.

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21-year-old James Tobin was caught after police bugged his home

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and heard him admit to his father that he'd killed Kellie Gillard.

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Swansea Crown Court heard Tobin hit Miss Gillard with forceful blows

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during an argument two years ago, causing her to hit the wall

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and fall, rupturing an artery.

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A man from Merthyr Tydfil has been sentenced to two years and eight

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months in prison for sexually abusing teenage boys he met

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via the online game Minecraft.

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23-year-old Adam Isaac from Maesgwynne pleaded guilty

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to eight sexual offences between August 2015

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and January 2016.

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Rhiannon Wilkins reports.

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Adam Isaac, seen here leaving court after a previous hearing,

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is tonight behind bars.

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He sexually abused two boys aged 12 and 14 online.

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He asked them to send intimate photos of themselves to him,

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and he perform sexual acts on himself during video calls.

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Indecent images of a third boy were also found in his possession.

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The father of one of the victims says it's had a profound impact.

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He was quite calculatedly groomed on chat messages.

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He had no idea what was happening.

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I think the realisation, to him, of what's happened,

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was very hard for him to cope with.

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It was through the online world of Minecraft that

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Isaac targeted them.

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The game has more than 100 million registered users, players

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interact with each other, and build 3-D worlds

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using virtual building blocks.

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After grooming the boys using it, the prosecution said Isaac then sent

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them money on PayPal.

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But it wasn't until one victim's father found online Skype

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conversations asking about his son's sex life that the matter was brought

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forward to the police.

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A spokeswoman for Microsoft, who own Minecraft, said a safe

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online experience is a priority.

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And they offer resources to help parents keep their children safe.

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But online gaming is a concern for children's charity, NSPCC.

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Online grooming is a term that is vastly growing now

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and picking up pace.

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That, for me, really reinforces the concern that is out there.

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It's the biggest, near enough, the biggest child protection issue

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of the 21st century.

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Sentencing 23-year-old Adam Isaac to two years

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and eight months in prison, the judge, Mr Justice Twomlow,

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told him, "You knew you would find teenage boys.

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"This was clearly a grooming process."

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He went on to say, "People have to understand the seriousness

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"of behaviour like yours and it will result in prison."

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A union says 90 jobs are going at a Greggs

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factory in Treforest.

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The company says it intends increasing its production of bread

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there but production of doughnuts and other bakery products will be

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transferred to its other regional bakeries over the next two years.

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The union says the firm is looking for voluntary redundancies.

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Around 200 beech trees which were up to 200 years old have been illegally

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cut down in Blackwood.

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National Resources Wales says it's a devastating case

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which will have a terrible impact on the environment.

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It says no licence was granted and it will take the necessary

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action against those responsible.

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Let's take a look at the weekend weather forecast now with Derek.

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Hello.

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Much of Wales has been fine and sunny today.

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Stunning in Snowdonia and there is more dry

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and cold weather to come tomorrow.

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Tonight, dry with a widespread frost.

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One or two freezing fog patches, some patchy cloud in the south

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and south-west later in the night.

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Temperatures in mid Wales getting as low as -6

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so a frosty start for much of the country tomorrow morning.

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A few freezing fog patches.

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Some patchy cloud in the south and south-west.

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Across the rest of the UK, freezing fog patches will slowly lift.

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Sunshine for many but not everywhere.

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Cloud will spread into central and eastern England during the day

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with a few drizzly showers.

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Cloudy in the south-west and in Northern Ireland.

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Temperatures on the cold side.

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Close to home, a dry afternoon.

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The best of the sunshine in the north

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with cloud spreading from the south.

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Colder than today.

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An east or south-easterly breeze.

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Cloudy but dry in Pembrokeshire tomorrow with a cold breeze.

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Thermals will definitely come in handy if you are walking

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up Pen y Fan tomorrow.

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Tomorrow night, some frost but cloud will increase overnight.

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A few showers spreading from the south-west.

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Flakes of snow in places and icy patches.

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Sunday will be a cloudy day.

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Showers mainly in the west, otherwise dry and bright in places.

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It will turn slightly less cold.

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Next week, more dry weather thanks to high pressure.

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Some fog patches likely for a while but the wind

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will gradually pick up as we go through the week,

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making it feel cold.

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That's all from me.

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Enjoy the weekend.

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And keep warm.

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We're back at 5:20pm tomorrow evening.

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But that's Wales Today.

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Have a great weekend.

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Good night.

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