28/07/2016 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines:

Amina al Jeffrey's father tells the High Court

he took her to the Middle East because of her 'reckless' lifestyle

but the young woman from Swansea claims she's being held

They can't travel, they can't sign a document, the cannot drive their

cars. It is a bad scene for women. Amina al Jeffery is pleading with

the judge here in London to help her return to the UK but he admitted in

court today that his powers are limited.

The ambitious plans for The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon

but does Wales have the workforce to make the project a reality?

About 100 Tata steelworkers are meeting with unions

to discuss their jobs and a way forward for the plant.

The market for Welsh lamb and beef could soon reach America.

Lifting 20 years of restrictions on imports could be worth tens

The greatest show on Earth begins next week.

As athletes from around the world arrive in Rio for the Olymic Games,

we catch up with the Welsh medal hopefuls.

A father accused of taking his daughter from Swansea

to Saudi Arabia and imprisoning her without any food or water

A court has heard how Mohammed Al-Jeffery took 21-year-old

Amina to Jeddah in 2012 to "save her life."

Amina says she wants to return to the UK

and claims she's being held against her will.

From the High Court in London, here's Paul Heaney.

Amina al Jeffery as a teenager in school in Swansea.

She has dual nationality, both British and Saudi Arabian.

Her father says back in 2012, he took her here

to the Saudi city of Jedah because she's become reckless.

He claims she hadn't been doing well in school

and he took her here to save her life.

She says she's being held here now against her will and mistreated.

Lawyers acting for Miss Al Jeffery want a High Court here in London

to order that she be brought back here to Britain or be allowed

to speak to her solicitor or the British consolate

in Saudi Arabia but the judge here admitted his powers are limited.

It doesn't matter what judgment is handed down here,

it won't be able to be enforced in Saudi Arabia.

Marcus Scott Manderson QC representing Mr Al-Jeffery in court

said the father didn't want to discuss Amina's return

because of what he'd seen in the media.

He also said she was at risk in Britain and the British Government

He said Amina was reckless and couldn't help herself

The judge said that he was seeking to do what was best for his adult

daughter, adding that nobody was trying to be punitive.

"I want to act collaberataively and cooperatively with him" he said.

Mr Scott Manderson QC continued to read out the client's statement,

saying it was his decision to bring Amina to Saudi Arabia,

she was not focusing on school he said, she was taking drugs,

going to clubs and spending time with older men.

He finished, "I am certain that if Amina were to return to the UK,

my wife would not be able to control her challenging behaviour."

This Welsh MP chairs the all-party parliamentary human rights group

and has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia's

Women can do very little about the agreement

They can't travel, they can't sign documents, they cannot drive cars.

Everyone knows several attempts by women in Saudi Arabia to drive

cars and they've been apprehended and in some places arrested.

It is a pretty bad scene for women. At 21 years old, Amina al Jeffery's

lawyer says she is a vulnerable adult in need of protection. The

judge here is now focused on how best to allow her to speak freely in

this rare, internationally significant case.

In the last few hours of evidence this afternoon, the barrister for

Mohammed Al-Jeffery described this as a titanic battle between a father

and legal action being taken against what he feels is best for his

daughter. There was some acknowledgement on the father's said

that he would let his daughter go to meet the British consulate or a

solicitor in Private over in Saudi Arabia but also some concern from

her lawyer's perspective that such an agreement might not be kept to.

What is the point in filing these orders here in the building behind

me when it doesn't seem to be any jurisdiction over Saudi Arabia?

There is talk that afternoon about the threat of issuing such an order.

If one were to be issued and we don't know whether it will be, a

protection order for Amina, it could act as some sort of deterrent to her

father. He wouldn't be allowed to come back to the UK are effectively

if he broke that order. What is becoming increasingly clear is that

there needs to be diplomatic solution to this, not a legal one.

Thank you. It would be the first

of its kind in the world and would transform

part of Swansea Bay. But an independent study says

there needs to be far more investment in skills if Wales

is to take full economic advantage of the planned

?1.3 billion Tidal Lagoon. Altogether, it forecasts

the lagoon could bring 2,200 jobs in the five years it

would take to build. 1200 of those jobs would

be in manufacturing and a further 1000 would

be in construction. But researchers estimate Wales

only has around half of Our reporter Ben Price

is in Swansea this evening. In years to come, it is hoped as we

look across Swansea Bay, we will be able to see a 9.5 coulomb metal

perimeter of the tidal lagoon. There are many details to be thrashed out,

questions to be asked in two of those questions were asked in a

report commissioned by the Welsh Government which has been published

today. It asked, does Wales have the capacity and the capability to build

this tidal lagoon and if it does, what benefits can it bring to the

Welsh economy? And ambitious design for the UK's first tidal lagoon.

This is how those behind the Swansea Bay project individually final

design. Today, more questions as to how achievable it is. A joint

independent report commissioned by the Welsh Government highlight the

risks as well as the advantages of the proposed scheme. The authors of

the report believed on the manufacturing side of the project,

Wales is equipped to provide just half of the parts required to build

the tidal lagoon. With investment to fill the gaps, it believes that

could increase to more than 90%. The potential skills gaps for the

project includes plant operators, labourers and those with specialist

marine skills. We know that in the next ten

years, around 18,000 construction workers are going to reach

retirement age. We've also got forecast growth of around 2.9% over

the next five years so we will need a lot more workers involved in the

construction sector. There aren't enough companies in Wales capable of

such things to make the blades of the turbines. But one of the reports

other offers believes Swansea Bay tidal lagoon can still be a

blueprint for similar projects in the future. The real gains are to be

had from the scaling up of the project. If we see Swansea as a

pilot, there are three other sites already identified in Wales

significantly bigger, 60 turbines in Swansea, 118 Cardiff, 128 in Colwyn

Bay. Once we start to develop that scale of operation, that is a very

significant conjuration to the economy. Many companies in Wales are

itching to get the ball rolling. He is a mechanical engineer. It lost a

lot of the business following the closure of an oil refinery. It is

now looking to be tidal lagoon project to boost the company once

again. We seen the opportunity to sustain about 150 to 200 jobs and

creating another 100 additional jobs. We could certainly get back up

to 1000 employees which we did have some time ago. This lagoon it will

be able to power 120,000 houses for the next 120 years and despite

concerns about a shortage of a skilled workforce here in Wales, the

company behind this project says it is ready to start work straightaway.

We are still focused on starting here in Swansea Bay. Early autumn,

next year, at the company, we are ready to go, we are looking to start

spending ?1.3 billion in the UK. Swansea Bay tidal lagoon is one of

the number of big renewable energy projects waiting for the green light

alongside the likes of Hinkley Point nuclear-power station. The question

remains as to whether there will be big enough skilled workforce

available to them. Of course, the Welsh Government hasn't commented on

the report that's been published today but it will be up to the UK

Government to decide whether or not the tidal lagoon will get the

go-ahead. We expect a decision in the autumn when the report is

published on tidal lagoon energy. For now, back to you. Thank you.

Further along Swansea Bay in Port Talbot, around

100 Tata workers uncertain about their future have

The sale of the plant was halted earlier this month, as Tata

entered merger talks with the German firm,

Unions say they're increasingly frustrated with how

Our reporter Cemlyn Davies is at the site.

What was the purpose of the night's meeting? The purpose of the meeting

held here at Tata's sports and social club was simply to provide

some answers to all the questions that still workers here have is the

result of the uncertainty that is continuing each year about Tata's

future. Those talks are ongoing about a possible merger with a

German firm but it seems As many as are of the opinion, say "aye". To

the contrary, "no". Is also still considering bids from Welsh

companies hoping to purchase its assets, including the Port Talbot.

Let's have a quick word with a couple of steelworkers who were in

the meeting that is just finished. Mark Davis, from community union,

what did tonight 's meeting achieved?

The workforce revealed as much as they can about what's going on with

the process and there was lots of questions in there. We'll be asking

the chairman of Tata and the board to put some guarantees on the table.

Lots of questions. Where the all answered? Know, some of them can't

answer because the process is still unfolding but we will also be asking

commitment that all unions are kept up-to-date with the process and

involved in the process as it unfolds. You also work as a

steelworker. The rugby training that's going on here, at Tata is

hugely important to the community here. How worrying if it for people

like you, your family, that there is still this uncertainty? Is the

heartbeat of the time, everyone in the town has got someone who stays

there. This process has added more uncertainty with a possible merger.

What we need is not the completion of the sale are in merger, we need a

long-term future, investment in plant and a long-term LAN and an

industrial strategy going forward. Are you losing patience with the

whole process? A lot of people are, myself. This is been on the table

for a long time. We need the Government to Bacchus and we need to

be reassured this is going forward with a plan and long-term

investment. Thank you very much with your time. Tata said the whole

process is ongoing and there are still exploring all possible

options. Thank you. The funeral of a soldier who died on a training

exercise has taken place in his in Scotland. He was 26 and was a member

of the rifles regiment. An investigation is continuing into his

death. It's still unclear how many jobs

are at risk in Wales after Lloyds Bank announced

it was cutting thousands of posts 9000 job losses and the closure

of 200 branches in 2014. One of those branches

was Hawarden in Flintshire. It closed its doors for the last

time this afternoon. A lot of local businesses bank

with Lloyds because of It's just becoming

a ghost town here. It's like the Post Office

closing down. I did a lot of internet

banking but it's nothing Plans for 17 kilometres

of overhead cables to connect Wind-Farms in Denbighshire

to the electricity-grid have been Scottish Power Manweb has been given

the go-ahead to put up pylons, running between Clocaenog Forest

and the St Asaph sub-station. RWE Innogy has already been granted

permission to build a wind farm in Clocaenog and construction

could now start as early The company behind a multi-million

pound development on the former Sainsbury's site in Newport says

it's pulling out of the project. It blames what it calls threats

and attacks from 'yobs' as well as delays in

the demolition of the site. The Fear Group says it will sell-up

and invest in a more welcoming area following a large

fire there last night, thought to have been

started deliberately. Welsh lamb and beef could be back

on the menu in America The US government is considering

relaxing import restrictions on British red meat

which have been in place Gaining access to the lucrative

American market could be worth an estimated ?20 million

a year to Welsh farmers. It's as fast moving

as any market floor. This is Newcastle Emlyn and today

it's sheep and lamb for sale. The price of an average size lamb,

roughly ?65 this morning. If America decides to end

its 20-year ban on British red meat, these farmers could see demand rise

for their produce and as auctioneer Llyr Jones explained to me,

what would result in a better price It's another outlet for UK lamb and

especially Welsh lamb. We process a high quality of lamb which we can

compete with quality throughout the world.

It's been nearly two decades now that British red meat has been

banned by Americans and was deemed unfit for human consumtion

But progress comes after a 1000 page dossier detailing the safety

and quality of British beef and lamb was submitted to the US

Brexit has left some farmers concerned but this news

It's good news. The more markets we've got, the better for the Welsh

farmers. We produce excellent quality stuff in Wales. A tremendous

opportunity for us to get back on the US market. We used to be very

years ago. The domestic market in America is small and the project is

seen as low quality compared to the rest of the world. Imported lamb is

in demand there. Wales would target a high end of the market and it

could be back on the menu by the start of next year. We've done

research in the market to see if there is attraction for Welsh lamb.

We reckon within an year to 18 months, we could probably return

something like ?20 million worth of sales to the industry.

Dennis Campbell is an American journalist based in this country.

He believes it'll be a tough job to sell Welsh meat to those

The branding of lamb will be extraordinarily important because

you are relatively unknown. The primary source will be New Zealand

lamb and if you are trying to establish LAN from Wales or from

Britain, you're going to have to get into the mind of the consumer, if

you not in the mind of the consumer, you won't be able to generate any

sales. The proposals are under consultation

by the US government but if a ban is lifted,

lambs could go from pens like this in Newcastle Emlyn to plates

in New York. There's plenty more

to come before 7pm. As the world's athletes'

arrive in Brazil, we'll be catching up with one

of Wales' Olympic medal hopefuls. And 150 years after the birth

of Beatrix Potter, we'll be hearing how

she was inspired by this Denbighshire garden -

now owned by her great-great-niece. First let's head to Colwyn Bay,

where millions of pounds have been spent to develop

the town's waterfront. The first phase of the project

is already being seen as a success. Jobs have been created

in new businesses, while visitors Work on Phase Two starts next month,

but there are questions about why its happening

during the tourist season. Even in the rain, you get a sense

of the transformation. Anyone who knows Colwyn Bay

will tell you what Phase One has delivered and it isn't

just the promenade. A couple of years ago,

you'd have seen a tangle of The beach is manufactured,

created by pumping in sand The result - a reinvention,

an attraction for visitors, the creation of businesses

and jobs for locals. It's a pretty horrible day and we've

had 40 or 50 kids on the water and we at the this time of year

probably employ ten staff. And this is simply on the back

of the redevelopment? Simply put, we wouldn't be

here if it hadn't been for the money that had been spent on Phase One

and the redevelopment that's already And now they're about to start

on Phase Two - a kilometre-long Here, for example, they'll be

raising the height of the road and then reshaping the beach

in front of it. There are some artist's impressions

that work will start on the 12th of August, right

in the middle of the holiday season Colin Jones is a big supporter

of the waterfront project, Some of his passing trade don't

quite get it either. I do understand why they're

going to have to do it. It's going to make a big difference

eventually but for the time being, during summer holidays,

not good for us. It's going to disrupt,

I would imagine the town but if it's going to then be upgraded,

then I guess it's good to do. There are criteria that we have

to meet in order to spend the money We've worked out if we start this

August, it'll impact less on next season and we'll have the finished

product for the benefit of all. No gain without little pain then

seems to be the mantra. With insistence, it will be

worth it in the long run. Now with tonight's

sport, here's Tomos. Several Welsh athletes

competing for Team GB have started to arrive in Brazil

ahead of the Olympic Games, Ahead of the games, we're

looking at the medal Natalie Powell from Llanwrtyd Wells

says she's aiming to become only the fourth Welsh woman

to win Olympic Gold. There are worse places

to prepare - Belo Horizonte - This is where most British athletes

will spend their time before Swansea's Georgia Davis

is already in the pool here, Outnumbering the nine

Welshmen for the first time. Another woman hoping to make it

big is Natalie Powell. Originally from Wales,

obsessed by the Olympics, she's hoping four years

of sacrifice will pay off. I just focused everything

on it, really. I don't think there's any point

doing anything unless you're going to do it 100% cos you'll just

look back and regret it in the end, Every area I've tried to do the best

I can in and I'll have no regrets whatever happens because I know I've

done my best. Natalie won gold at the Commonwealth

Games two years ago. That success gave her the confidence

to perform on the biggest stage. Team GB bosses say it's

the best prepared team ever. This camp has cost ?1.5

million and it's been five What we've got here is

an outstanding training facility for track and field and athletics,

just to name two. What it provides is a number

of high-quality environmens for what they're going to find

in Rio itself when they go down there in a few days' time now

as the countdown is well underway. Athletes from around the world

are here for the first Olympics The greatest show on Earth

begins next week. Football - he's the youngest ever

player to feature for Wales and he's Liverpool's Harry Wilson has signed

a new long term deal. The 19-year-old winger -

who joined the club at the age of eight -

became Wales' youngest ever player by making his senior

international debut A win for Glamorgan tonight

in the T-20 will mean they'll play their quarterfinal

match at home. It's the 150th anniversary

of the birth of Beatrix Potter. And although the children's author

was most closely associated with the Lake District,

she took inspiration from numerous The garden of Gwaen-ynog Hall

near Denbigh which was depicted in the Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies

will be opened to the public as With its meandering paths

and vibrant colours, this classic Victorian garden

feeds the imagination. A teenage Beatrix Potter

visited her aunt and uncle Now owned and maintained

by her descendants, like great great neice Janie Smith,

its garden made an impression on the woman who would

later immortalise it. It's open to the public

by appointment and this week a series of events will mark

this special anniversary. Janie Smith can empathise

with the struggle of Mr McGregor - the fictional gardener -

to maintain order in her Oh, it has to be the Tale

of the Flopsy Bunnies. We do have rabbits in

the garden from time to time But we usually find where they have

come in and we make sure that they go out and don't

come back again. Beatrix Potter described this

as the prettiest kind of garden and planted a seed in here

which blossomed into a wealth of magical stories which are still

enthralling children These are now issued

as anniversary cards... Colin Antwis, an illustrator

from Mold, has been commissioned to recreate some of Beatrix Potter's

most famous characters for greetings cards to coincide with the 150th

anniversary of her birth. He says her keen interest in anatomy

helped to make her images timeless. Her animal characters,

unlike a lot of animal characters that people draw,

cartoonists and other artists, She might put clothes on them,

yes, but she doesn't They're in a landscape that

you would find a fox, that you would find a badger,

that you would find a duck and that As well as Gwaenynog,

a visit to Tenby is also credited with stirring

the author's imagination. A century and a half on,

we're still happy for her colourful characters to take us on a journey

up the garden path. So is the weather forecast

going to be kind to our gardens? Plenty of raindrops in Porthmadog

this morning but it did The cloud breaking

with a little sunshine. Most of the country dry

with a couple of showers. Some rain in parts of

the north and mid Wales. Here's the picture

for 8 in the morning. Outbreaks of rain and drizzle

in parts of north and mid Wales The odd shower in places

with a few brighter intervals. During the day, the rain in

the north will drift further south. Becoming dry and brighter

in the north with some sunshine. Top temperatures a humid 18

to 20 Celsius but in the north, fresher air

will arrive during the afternoon. Sunshine in the afternoon

with a high of 17 in Prestatyn. In Bridgend tomorrow,

mostly dry and cloudy. Tomorrow evening, spots

of rain in will clear. The cloud clearing and

a cooler, fresher night. Temperatures in Powys falling as low

as seven Celsius with misty patches. Some sunshine, but cloud

will develop with a few One or two heavy showers but some

places will stay dry. I'll be back at eight

and we'll have a full round up of the day's

news at 10.30. Until then, from all of us

on the programme,