31/12/2013 BBC Wales Today

Good evening. Welsh rugby has been plunged into huge uncertainty this

evening. The four regions have refused to renew a legal agreement

with the Welsh Rugby Union by today's deadline. The so-called

Participation Agreement sets out how the professional game is run and

includes key issues such as finances and international player release.

The regions say its financial terms aren't good enough, and the

uncertainty over which tournaments they'll be playing in, is too great.

Gareth Lewis reports. Time is finally up for the Welsh

regions to put pen to paper. That deadline has passed without ink

being spilt. But behind the scenes plenty of bad blood is being shed.

The regions released a statement this afternoon saying they remained

totally committed to working with the WRU and reaffirmed their

commitment to the Rugby Champions Cup, a proposed European Cup run by

the Six Nations committee, which they say would generate an extra ?12

million. If no agreement can be reached on that tournament by the

end of January, the regions will pursue further competition options.

It's an open secret they're considering joining the English

Premiership. The WRU issued a statement of their own. The union

and chief executive Roger Lewis have been tight lipped over the past

couple of months, but their intentions could now become clearer

after a board meeting on Thursday. They could cut the regions' funding

from next season, in effect put them out of business, and even set up new

teams. The Blues' players have been preparing for tomorrow's match

against the Dragons with a bold statement of their own for a cancer

charity but they're caught in the middle. For the players themselves,

this problem is particularly acute. For the rugby playing public, it is

administration. But for the players, these are their incomes. There are

contracts up for renewal and without a participation agreement, none of

this can be solved. In the next four week 's, I think it will be a very

interesting man for Welsh rugby. As are the fans - who have spoken with

a collective voice with their sides under threat. And the players. More

questions than answers, as Welsh rugby enters a potentially turbulent

New Year. We have just had this statement from the Welsh Rugby

Union, it says it is confident that Welsh professional sides will

continue to take part in tournaments sanctioned by them but it did not

specify which teams. It added it will discuss options on Thursday. A

deal allowing Swansea City and the Ospreys to play at the Liberty

Stadium is being investigated by the European Commission. Swansea Council

has been asked to give details of funding arrangements at the venue,

which it owns. Both clubs pay a nominal rent but contribute more

than a million pounds in annual running costs. It's part of a

Europe-wide inquiry into state aid in sport.

The singer Katherine Jenkins has received an OBE in the New Year

Honours, for her services to music and charity. Actress Ruth Jones and

the Assembly's Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler, were also awarded.

Here's our Arts and Media Correspondent, Huw Thomas.

It is her voice that has made her an international singing star but it is

her dedication to charity as well as to music that have made Acra won an

OBE in the New Year 's Honours, and award she said made her feel

incredibly humble. Dash-macro one. Ruth Jones will collect an MBE for

services to entertainment. I am genuinely comp demented, very

shocked and delighted -- complemented. Tina Selby has been

knitting hat is for the Armed Forces. From her home in Penarth in

the Vale of Glamorgan, she has posted almost 15,000 woolly hats to

regiments in Afghanistan. A letter arrived in the middle of November in

a white envelope with Cabinet office, I thought I am in trouble

for sending hats out to a war zone. But it said that I had been awarded

a British Empire medal, unbelievable. Margaret Williams has

also worked tirelessly to work help others. The charity ensures that

children in North Wales can get help. I am absolutely thrilled and

gobsmacked, over the moon. I find it bizarre because I am me. For

services to culture, broadcasting and culture, Geraint Talfan Davies

has made and OBE. He led the BBC in the 1990s and has since chaired the

Arts Council and Welsh National Opera. There are more than anything

is to do in Wales. Luckily, I have been able to get involved and I have

had the advantage of working with very talented people. The assembly

's presiding officer is made a Dame in the New Year 's Honours, as well

as chairing debates, Rosemary Butler has campaigned to increase the

number of women in Welsh public life. In an interview recorded by

her office, she vowed to continue to strive for better representation. I

think we have achieved a lot but there is certainly a lot more to do.

I am hoping that people coming behind me will carry on without

work. -- with that work. Celebrities, charity workers and

exceptional individuals across Wales have been honoured today and all

enter the New Year with something to sing about.

Time now for the weather forecast. Good evening. A very unsettled end

to 2013. A few clear spells but also some blustery showers. Tonight,

scattered showers, likely to be heavy at times. If you are heading

out for New Year's Eve, an increasing chance of blustery

showers through the night. A deep area of low pressure to the

south-west of the UK pushes into the early hours, bringing further fronts

from the Atlantic. The Met Office is again warning of heavy rain and

strong winds tomorrow. A very wet and windy morning. Even more rain on

high ground. Gale force winds across the coast. Eventually, easing,

showers and drier spells later. But with river levels already high, and

increased risk of localised flooding. A decent day on Thursday.

But then with more rain, Thursday night into Friday, a changeable end

to the week and it is looking unsettled into the weekend.

That's Wales Today. Have a good evening and from all of us on the

programme, Happy new Year. Good night.