01/08/2016 BBC Wales Today

claims she's being held against her will by her

Now her MP calls for "immediate action" from the foreign secretary.

She has the right to do as she pleases and I am writing to Boris

Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, to ensure that our rights are protected

and she's brought back to Britain. where the Welsh Government set

an ambitious target to almost DOUBLE the number of Welsh speakers

to 1 million by 2050. Raise your hand and state who you

are. UKIP's leader in Wales faces

expulsion from the party because of concerns over him double

jobbing as an MEP and Assembly Drug addicts' needles -

in the middle of the town centre. Now Wrexham introduces tough

new powers to clamp down They're the stars

of real life Casualty. Tonight why nurses are taking

to the telly to boost their numbers. A Swansea MP has written to

the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, The new targets for speakers of the

Welsh language have been announced tonight. Our reporter is at the

National Eisteddfod. Welcome to the National Eisteddfod

live from Abergavenny. It's been a wet day here

in Monmouthshire, so we've taken Its not traditionally

a Welsh-speaking area, but the last census did show

a slight rise in the numbers of people speaking

the language here, Well, today a new goal of reaching

one million Welsh speakers The Welsh government says it wants

the language to be a vibrant, Opponents have called

for action not words. With more, here's our political

reporter James Williams. It's one of the oldest languages in

Europe. A part of the cultural brew and everyday life in Wales. A living

language, but one in need of revitalisation. The Eisteddfod plays

its part. A celebration of the Welsh language for the fluid of time and

learner alike. Of course, many more people willing to learn Welsh, if

the Government is to reach its ambition of almost doubling the

number of Welsh speakers to 1 million by 2050, a figure not

reached since around the last time the Eisteddfod was in Monmouthshire

at the start of the last century. So today, ministers launched a fresh

consultation for a new language strategy. Focused on six key areas

including education, planning, and family life. This is a deliberately

ambitious target, because what we want to do is to move the

conversation that we have had about the Welsh language over the last few

years. In the past, we're been talking about the rights of Welsh

line which speakers, about the rights of those who use Welsh in our

daily lives, but what we're talking about today is the place of the

Welsh language in the future and the place of Welsh in our national life.

But the Government faces an uphill struggle. According to the last

census, 19% of the population said they could speak Welsh. A slight

fall from the decade before. The 22 council areas Wales, only two had

more than half the population now speaking Welsh. The lowest

percentage of Welsh speakers had only 7.8%. Hardly a cause for

celebration. But how do the people of the county feel about efforts to

boost the Welsh language? I would have got if there workforce people

speaking Welsh around this area it would encourage you to do it, but if

there is no one speaking if you're not going to do it yourself. I would

like to see it happen to be honest with you. But as I say, when we had

the last Eisteddfod in this area, the Welsh language took off. In

2013, in a different field, at a different Eisteddfod, the Welsh

Government launched its so-called national conversation about the

Welsh language. Fast forward two years and today's consultation

launch has drawn derision from Welsh line which campaigners. We have very

deep concerns that the Government have announced they are going to

hold another consultation and more talk, considering they helped the

last consultation two years ago and haven't acted upon that. Fragility,

crisis, turning point. It is not hard to find the words to describe

the Welsh language in its current situation, but campaigners say it is

actions, not words, that are needed. Carwyn Jones was not the only party

leader found on the Maes today. UKIP's leader in the assembly

Neil Hamilton was also following a vote of the party's

National Executive to expel leader in Wales Nathan

Gill. Mr Gill holds two jobs as both

an assembly member and a member He's been told he must

resign from one of them. I'm afraid we are only seven out of

the 60 members of the assembly. We can't afford part-time or half-time

ministers. He had a choice. You can't do too much jobs properly, so

he has to choose one or the other if he wants to stay as an MEP, fine. If

he wants to be a minister, fine. I need someone who is one of committed

to the assembly in Cardiff on to the interests of the people of Wales.

Well, our political reporter James Williams joins us now. James, what

is the issue here? He has been a member of the European Parliament

representing wealth since 2014. Since May, he has also been an

assembly member, representing North Wales. Before that election in May,

he said that if he were to be successful and win a seat, he would

give up his role in Brussels. But he has backtracked, saying that

following a vote to Louis -- leave the EU, the MEP job is a non-job by

now, and there are no viable UK candidates to take my place and

therefore it would lead to a costly by-election for the people of Wales,

so I don't want to do that, but there have been increasing calls

from within the party for him to step down from one of those rules

and that has reached a concerned up to date when the national executive

committee, that is the Rulli committee, the party's top brass,

voted and said that unless you step down from one of those rules, we

will expel you from the party. A rather extraordinary situation when

you at the leader in Wales being told he may be expelled from the

party. We have heard what Mr Hamilton has said. What does Nathan

Gill say? His representatives say he is extremely alarmed by this demand

and in the last few hours we have heard from Nathan Gill himself, who

has published an open letter, saying that the college both undemocratic

and baseless, and I will read this as well. After a decade of committed

service to the party, having run the campaign in Wales as the UK leader,

securing seven seats in the assembly, to seek to remove me from

the party would be extremely injurious to the reputation of you

get. We will find out whether his assembly members, his fellow

assembly members, agree with him because they're black members will

be meeting tomorrow and I have told this is very much on the agenda.

And we'll have more from the Maes later on in the programme,

A Swansea MP has written to the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson,

demanding immediate action in the case of Amina Al-Jeffrey,

the 21-year-old woman from the city who says she's being kept

Miss al-Jeffrey says she's being imprisoned by her father

there, without food or water, allegations he denies.

Tonight, Geraint Davies MP says the UK Government must take action

He's been speaking to our reporter Ben Price.

This is 21-year-old Amina al-Jeffrey. She claims to have been

locked up against her will by her father in Saudi Arabia. Behind her,

the cage she says she has been kept in. The High Court in London has

heard evidence from Amina al-Jeffrey's lawyers and those

representing her father, who denies the allegations. But Swansea West MP

Mr Davies says he is writing to the Foreign Secretary calling for the UK

Government to do more to get her home. I'm asking the Foreign

Secretary to verify the evidence that she is being constrained

against her will, if that is the case, to ensure that as a

21-year-old British citizen, she is allowed to return back to Britain

and he takes all necessary steps to ensure the Saudi Government ensures

that. This was Amina al-Jeffrey aged 16, a former pupil at a school in

Swansea. It is understood she was taken to Saudi Arabia by her father

more than four years ago. He claims he took her here to Jeddah in order

to save her life. He claims her daughter was not doing well at

school and had been taking drugs and going to clubs and spending time

with older men. Last October, Amina al-Jeffrey got in touch with

friends, asking them to help her escape. In an interview with this

programme, one of those friends, who wished to remain anonymous, said she

had managed to get hold of her sister's phone. The French or MIDI

messages sent to them on Facebook. In them, she says she has been

locked up in solitary confinement and is clinging onto her sanity. She

said her family has her under constant surveillance. And that if

they get suspicious about seeking help, she fears she will be

tortured. Her friend told me she had asked them to contact the British

Embassy, but in December last year, the messages stopped. One expert on

race relations believes this case highlights the tension that can

arise between two very different cultural beliefs. These children

have every right to live in the United Kingdom, where they were

born, and to take them away from that situation is not going to help

the individual. The Foreign Office says it has been providing

assistance to Amina al-Jeffrey in Saudi Arabia as part of an ongoing

legal process and that it will respond to Mr Davies letter in due

course. It has been described in court as an important and difficult

case. Mr Justice Harman is expected to make a decision at the High Court

on Wednesday. An increase in reports

of drunkeness, fighting and drug abuse in the last year -

now Wrexham council has introduced new powers to combat anti-social

behaviour in the town. Council leaders say they hope

the move will encourage people with problems to seek professional

help, rather than There was a marketing Wrexham today.

It was busy enough and there was little sign of the kind of behaviour

which is worrying the council. Not far away, though, Bellevue Park.

Popular with young families, but there have been reports of problems

here. It is included in the area covered by the restrictions. I found

Barry Roberts and his friend Samantha Adams, both homeless. They

stay in a night shelter when they can, they told me. You had to queue

up every night and it get picked out of a hat and if you get picked out,

you have two leaves so it is not guaranteed that you will get a

nightmare and the rest of the time you have been sleeping in bushes and

stuff. What have you been told about this new public order? That people

are getting moved on for drinking and things like that, but we don't

drink. Genuinely, we don't. We do get moved on anyway. They have two

help homeless people because there is nowhere for anybody to go. Where

are we supposed to go? We can't just walk the streets and hope that

someone will get as somewhere to live. That is not fair. But there

are not, some people do feel intimidated. Especially around kids.

It is not good for them to see, is it? So, yeah. I am all right on my

own, but when the kids around, it is not nice. I think it is just the

fact that you know they have been drinking or taking drugs or what

have you and then there are a group of them so if you are walking bass

and you are by yourself, it would be intimidating, I think. On the other

side of town, again within the area affected by the new powers, there

was this. It was clear people were sleeping out here. And just now,

there is evidence of a makeshift tent, but it isn't just rough

sleeping on the ground. There is evidence of drug-taking as well.

Used syringes and syringe wrappers and we are just yards from a

children's play area. The council hopes to create a no-go area for

what it considers anti-social behaviour. In the first instance,

people with problems will be pointed to agencies that can help them.

Fines of up to ?100 and the court or a last resort. It is about enabling

these people to improve their quality of life so that the people

who go about their law-abiding business in the town centre, the

visitors, the shoppers, can do that without fear of being intimidated by

people who are under substance misuse. The services in the middle

of Wrexham town centre and what this order does, basically, it puts

people out the periphery so I wouldn't agree that this does help

them to access the services. I think it makes them harder for them to

access the services. Wrexham council insists it doesn't simply want to

pose problems from one area to another. And according to the

Daugherty, these orders have been effective elsewhere. The way it is a

Limited is the key. -- implemented. Aled Sion Davies in Arizona

training in temperatures close to 50 Celsius,

preparing for the Paralympics. why Wrexham's Racecourse

is about to enter a new chapter. nurses to meet demand

and nursing graduates should be offered a guaranteed job

for at least a year. That's according to the Royal

College of Nursing here. The staffing crisis is affecting

the NHS right across the UK, and to help tackle the issue here -

one Health Board has launched a social media and TV campaign

to attract nursing staff. Hello. My name is Alex, the staff

nurse looking after you today. I'm just going to take your blood

pressure, if that's all right. On chip Prince Charles Hospital,

22-year-old Alex Lewis is an ambassador for her employer. You

have a different patient every single day. It is very rewarding. I

am helping them get better. She is one of nine nurses at the University

Health Board who is extolling the virtues of her profession and trying

to attract qualified nurses to South Wales. These figures show that

around 23,000 vacancies for nurses in Wales, Northern Ireland, and

England. That equates to about 9% of the workforce, so obviously, health

boards everywhere are desperate to recruit. This campaign aims to

highlight the benefits of the south Wales valleys, not just as a good

place to work, but a beautiful place to live. What we are able to offer,

though, is something that is uniquely cultural to this particular

area. A true sense of family, and ability to be part of an extended

team, the culture of caring and compassion that is unique to this

organisation, and life, life in the valleys. Here, they have about 80

nursing vacancies, and most health boards are finding it difficult to

fill posts. In Wales, we are about 3500 short. Some people would argue

that figure, but that 20% of those we train in Wales will go back to

England or go abroad. But if we were to offer them the opportunity of a

job for a year afterwards, they would become domiciled in Wales and

they would see exactly what Wales has to offer. The Welsh Government

say there are now more doctors, nurses, midwives working in the

Welsh NHS today than there were ten years ago, but with relatively low

pay levels, some health boards are hoping it is the lower cost of

living and higher quality -- quality-of-life year in Wales that

will attract nurses you to the valleys.

Tonight, sport and Derek's weather later.

First to Abergavenny and Kate Morgan at the National Eisteddfod.

Kate, a bit wet there today - it's put some visitors off.

He's Wales' highest profile Paralympian.

Aled Sion Davies is aiming to bring home gold at

He's among 24 Welsh athletes who'll be heading to Rio competing

Davies, who's one a gold and bronze medal in London,

told me how his life has been transformed since the Home Games.

All roads lead to Rio. Aled Sion Davies's preparations have taken him

all the way to Phoenix, Arizona. He is training in tempters approaching

50 Celsius. Working hard now so he has no regrets, competition town. I

think that Wales struggles to get the sun and because it is a summer

sport, in the winter months it can be quite hard. We go out there not

only for help but also for the facilities. They have world-class

facilities. Before 2012, you were not on the radar, but tell us how

life has changed over the past format years. I was given the

opportunity to go full-time. I was lucky enough to have lots of support

with different brands sponsorship and obviously that brought a lot of

pressure because everyone expects you to win everything now. I can

never lose. Aled Sion Davies has won the discus gold in 2012, but he

cannot defend his title because the event will not be held in Rio, so

the shot putt has been his main focus. People don't realise how

close it is between me and my rival. I have been training because I know

he will break the world record with that first round and it is how I

respond to that. He's going to be pushing me all the way. He almost

beat me in the World Championships last year so it is going to be a

good scrap. Let's talk about doping. Do you think any Russian athletes

should be taking part in Rio this summer? I like to think that if you

cheat and you get punished and made an example because it is not

acceptable and to the level that they did, they had an opportunity to

and they did not. He has won titles, broken world records. At just 25,

Aled Sion Davies says there is plenty more to come for him. I feel

I have only scratched the surface of what I'm capable of doing. I like to

think that I could do to match or maybe three games, but it all boils

down to help fund my enjoyment of it and whether or not I can afford it

because unfortunately we do not get football player's wages. Well,

before Aled Sion Davies competes, it is the Olympics.

Welsh swimmer Georgia Davies says she's come a long way

She admits she found the pressure of the Games "daunting."

The Commonwealth champion is one of four Welsh swimmers in the squad

and will compete in the 100m backstroke next Sunday.

London, for me, I was quite inexperienced on the big stage and I

think I let the pressure of the home games and the home crowd rather than

left me up and excite me, I actually found it quite daunting, whereas now

I feel like I have gained much more experience and I am just so excited

to watch out in front of a huge crowd and hopefully spot some

British flags waving. Wrexham Football Supporters' Trust

is taking back control of their historic ground -

The Racecourse. The Trust, which took

over the club in 2011, says signing the 99 year lease

is a significant milestone and is staging an open day for fans

to mark the occasion. Hi, Matthew. Welcome to the

racecourse. The open day is in full swing with fans getting a tour of

the ground and meeting the players. I spoke to the Director of the club

here. The university will still own this, but you will now lease it.

What difference will that make? We have a 99 year lease, which is

effective ownership for the next 100 years. What that means as we are

responsible for all of the running of the stadium and getting all the

income from the stadium, so that means we are open for business. We

will be putting on concerts and we have hospitality and Christmas

parties and anything like that, weddings, business meetings, what an

inspirational venue to have a business meeting, so everything that

you can think of the running of a football stadium, we are now

responsible for. We will be launching our own lager at the

weekend. And we have a tie-up with local companies such as the Village

Baker, who will be supplying all the pies, so we are all sharing pies

here. What could be better? What has been happening here this evening? We

have an open evening for fans. The players are all here and everyone is

just enjoying it apart from the weather. Tell us what difference it

will make from a supporter's point of view? There will be a lot more

for them. We are looking into hospitality areas where we can

increase revenue. And also the -- they will be able to make the

players a lot more easily do. Good luck with the newly reseeded pitch,

ready to the new season. First to Abergavenny and Kate Morgan

at the National Eisteddfod. Kate, a bit wet there today -

it's put some visitors off. Just over 14,000 people

came along to the Maes in Abergavenny today -

that's down more than But among those who made the trip

was a group of refugees Some have only recently

arrived here in Wales, and they were welcomed earlier

with a special reception But one charity says more needs

to be done to speed up the process of finding homes for those fleeing

war and persecution. A useful start to a day at the

Eisteddfod. Brushing up on their Welsh skills. Some of them seem to

be getting the hang of it. These refugees have come from places such

as the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, and Syria, and they are hoping to build

their future here in Wales. This woman, her husband and two children

left Syria three months ago. She has been given an offer to study

architecture at Cardiff University and hopes Wales will get her and her

family the security to prosper. I was in danger there. There is a lot

of danger because a lot of barns and I was worried for the kids to go to

school. So I didn't let him go to school. And when I came here, I find

that is my dream will be true. We'll be real year. In education for me

are for children. In an official reception, Carwyn Jones, the First

Minister, said Wales had a proud history of offering a welcome to

asylum seekers and refugees, and he said he was pleased to continue this

tradition. But according to Oxfam country, who has according today's

event, more needs to be done. More need to make a commitment to welcome

Syrian refugees. It has been slow progress but we are pleased that the

First Minister is showing great leadership in this matter. We would

really like that process to speed up and Wales should be doing more. The

Welsh Local Govenment Association, which represents all of Wales

councils, says steady progress is being made, but it is important to

have a suitable environment, housing, and cultural facilities in

place before families get here. It says it is not a process they want

to rush. Earlier this afternoon,

one of the festival's most important events took place -

the crowning of the bard. for who grew up in both

Carmarthen and Cardiff. The theme of the competition this

year was 'Llwybrau' - in English "Paths"-

she beat 32 other entries That's all from the Eisteddfod

here in Abergavenny tonight. We'll have more on tomorrow

evening's programme - but now let's go back

to Jamie Owen in Cardiff. It will be one tomorrow. The high of

20 Celsius. Today started bright, but here comes the rain, spreading

across much of the country this afternoon. Tomorrow, parts of south

Wales will have more rain than during the whole of delight. Most

places where this evening. We are looking at over an inch of rain in

parts of the South and West. Less wrinkle on the north coast and

late-night comedy brain will start to ease off. A milder night than

last night,. 13-16dC. Here's the picture them for 8pm -- 8am in the

morning. Not great. The North and East may be dry, but for most of

those, Dell and dampest sums it up. Lots of mist and hail fog. Poor

village -- visibility. 16 Celsius. During the day, further spots of

drizzle. Places to the north and east have high ground and should be

dry and bright with glimpses of sunshine. Western areas may improve

during the afternoon. 17-21dC. Peeling humid. Breezy on the south

and west coast. Looking ahead to Wednesday, we have low pressure near

Ireland, which means unsettled weather and stronger winds. Breezy

on Wednesday and strong and gusty winds in the north-west and feeling

fresher. Some dry and bright weather, some sunshine and showers

as well, especially in the afternoon. Thursday, less windy.

Some sunshine and scattered showers. Heavy in places, and if you are

lucky, you may stay dry. Friday will be the best day of the week. Drier

and more settled and more sunshine, so a better end to the week. First

week of August. I'll have an update for you here

at 8 o'clock and again From all of us on the

programme, good evening. Tonight, on a special holiday

X-Ray,