:00:00. > :00:00.Newsnight. Join me now on BBC Two, 11.00pm in Scotland. That
:00:00. > :00:08.Welcome to Wales Today - our top stories...
:00:09. > :00:10.Intended to help our poorest families - Communities First,
:00:11. > :00:15.the Welsh Government's flagship policy, is set to be closed down.
:00:16. > :00:18.And Sgt Louise Lucas "did not turn and look at what was coming"
:00:19. > :00:21.before being hit by a bus on Swansea's Kingsway,
:00:22. > :00:42.It funds hundreds of projects in the most deprived areas of Wales,
:00:43. > :00:44.but tonight the Welsh Government says it's scrapping
:00:45. > :00:50.It's spent ?300 million on the flagship anti-poverty policy
:00:51. > :00:57.Here's our Political Editor Nick Servini.
:00:58. > :01:00.Across the generations and across communities in Wales,
:01:01. > :01:03.economic deprivation has blighted many.
:01:04. > :01:06.Communities First was one of the first high profile attempts
:01:07. > :01:09.by the Welsh Government to deal with that since the start
:01:10. > :01:13.of devolution, with more than ?300 million spent on a range
:01:14. > :01:17.of community schemes over the past 15 years.
:01:18. > :01:21.It now looks set to have run its course.
:01:22. > :01:23.There won't be any direct replacement.
:01:24. > :01:27.Instead the Welsh Government thinks a range of policies like more free
:01:28. > :01:31.childcare for working parents and more apprentices,
:01:32. > :01:34.no matter how old you are, will do a better job.
:01:35. > :01:36.The Communities and Children Secretary, Carl Sargeant,
:01:37. > :01:47.We'll probably not seen the effects of early interventions growing
:01:48. > :01:53.for ten years or so but we must start now and make that change
:01:54. > :01:56.and be brave because if we don't then it is about a short-term
:01:57. > :02:01.political win or changing our communities for the better,
:02:02. > :02:03.for the future, and that is what this new programme,
:02:04. > :02:08.Rob Green used to work for Communities First in Cardiff.
:02:09. > :02:12.I know a lot of good people that work for Communities First
:02:13. > :02:16.but it is so much money and how it is changing to be so target
:02:17. > :02:20.orientated and the things it is targeted towards is a waste
:02:21. > :02:22.of money and something council services can
:02:23. > :02:29.Opposition parties have been critical of Communities First
:02:30. > :02:33.over the years and today was no exception.
:02:34. > :02:37.The Conservatives said it wasn't fit for purpose and Plaid Cymru said
:02:38. > :02:42.?300 million has been spent on Communities First areas.
:02:43. > :02:46.?100 million has been spent since the 2011 audit office report
:02:47. > :02:49.said it wasn't working and wasn't effective at tackling the main aim,
:02:50. > :02:56.which was economic deprivation in those areas.
:02:57. > :02:59.That is borne out by the fact that the original communities are
:03:00. > :03:03.Ahead of its budget next week, the Welsh Government had already
:03:04. > :03:08.warned that there will be tough choices ahead in the first year.
:03:09. > :03:13.It would appear that this is the first casualty.
:03:14. > :03:16.A collision between a bus and a 41-year-old woman
:03:17. > :03:18.on Swansea's Kingsway was unavoidable,
:03:19. > :03:23.Sgt Louise Lucas died after stepping into the path of a bus which hit her
:03:24. > :03:29.Since her death, Swansea Council has changed the layout of one
:03:30. > :03:39.Louise Lucas's family left today having heard evidence
:03:40. > :03:42.from a number of key witnesses, including the bus driver
:03:43. > :03:49.Sgt Louise Lucas was taken to hospital, fatally injured,
:03:50. > :03:58.Today they heard that she had decided to go shopping in the city
:03:59. > :04:00.centre with her young daughter and best friend.
:04:01. > :04:05.They had parked at this car park and made their way
:04:06. > :04:12.Having crossed the furthest carriageway where both lanes travel
:04:13. > :04:18.in the same direction, Louise Lucas, her daughter and her
:04:19. > :04:22.friend were walking to the next designated crossing point.
:04:23. > :04:26.The inquest was shown CCTV footage of Louise Lucas stepping
:04:27. > :04:29.into the first line of the metro line which at the time travelled
:04:30. > :04:31.in the opposite direction to the first carriageway.
:04:32. > :04:37.Seconds later she was hit from behind by a bus.
:04:38. > :04:41.The inquest was told Louise did not turn round to look at
:04:42. > :04:47.They were told it happened very quickly.
:04:48. > :04:50.In the moments leading up to the incident, the inquest
:04:51. > :04:54.was told by the bus driver that the blonde female
:04:55. > :05:00.stepped out into the road and she did not look back.
:05:01. > :05:04.He said how he braked and swerved to avoid her but was also aware
:05:05. > :05:06.of a bus travelling towards him in the opposite lane.
:05:07. > :05:11.He described the layout of the Kingsway at the time as awkward.
:05:12. > :05:16.A new one-way system has been introduced since the death.
:05:17. > :05:20.Forensic collision investigator PC Christopher Street said that
:05:21. > :05:24.given Mrs Lucas stepped out without looking,
:05:25. > :05:30.and if the speed the bus was travelling at is accepted,
:05:31. > :05:41.The inquest is expected to last another three days.
:05:42. > :05:44.The rape trial of the former Wales footballer Ched Evans has been told
:05:45. > :05:47.that his alleged victim had no memory of going home with another
:05:48. > :05:54.Mr Evans is accused of raping the woman at a Denbighshire
:05:55. > :05:57.hotel while she was too drunk to consent to sex.
:05:58. > :05:59.The striker denies raping the 19-year-old.
:06:00. > :06:03.A Welsh government-owned investment company has defended a decision
:06:04. > :06:08.to compete for business as part of England's Northern Powerhouse.
:06:09. > :06:11.FW Capital, a subsidiary of Finance Wales, wants to manage
:06:12. > :06:17.part of a ?400 million fund for firms in the north of England.
:06:18. > :06:20.Plaid Cymru said it could boost Welsh companies' rivals.
:06:21. > :06:24.But FW Capital said any profit it makes in England would help cover
:06:25. > :06:31.The cause of an oil spill in a stream in Carmarthenshire last
:06:32. > :06:34.week will be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive
:06:35. > :06:39.140,000 litres of kerosene leaked from a pipeline owned
:06:40. > :06:44.The spill led to the closure of a whole section of the A48
:06:45. > :06:52.Two brothers have gone on trial for shooting a Valleys drug dealer
:06:53. > :06:57.at point blank range as he sat in his car.
:06:58. > :06:59.The prosecution says Mark Jones, from Mountain Ash, was killed
:07:00. > :07:03.by another drug dealer who owed him money.
:07:04. > :07:06.Edward and Stephen Bennett both deny murder.
:07:07. > :07:10.From Cardiff Crown Court, Nick Palit.
:07:11. > :07:13.It was in this lay-by near Abercynon that 43-year-old Mark Jones was shot
:07:14. > :07:17.in the driver seat of this white Audi.
:07:18. > :07:20.The court heard that as well as working as an evaluation
:07:21. > :07:22.officer for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, he was
:07:23. > :07:28.Just after 7:30am on 26th July last year, the prosecution say
:07:29. > :07:32.he was murdered by Edward Bennett and his brother Stephen,
:07:33. > :07:34.who had been involved in the drugs trade with him.
:07:35. > :07:37.Prosecution counsel Chris Clee told the jury that Edward Bennett
:07:38. > :07:41.In the weeks leading up to the murder, the court heard how
:07:42. > :07:44.he was desperately trying to raise a large amount of cash,
:07:45. > :07:49.even applying for a ?60,000 mortgage that was unsuccessful.
:07:50. > :07:52.Transcripts of internet messages from Edward Bennett to his brother
:07:53. > :07:56.Stephen were read to the jury, including one on 5th July that says,
:07:57. > :08:03.This, said Mr Clee, was reference to a gun.
:08:04. > :08:06.The prosecution say the brothers had arranged to meet Mark Jones
:08:07. > :08:12.They parked nearby and made their way on foot through woodland
:08:13. > :08:17.During the course of this trial, the court will hear evidence
:08:18. > :08:19.from many people who witnessed the shooting, including
:08:20. > :08:21.an AA patrolman who was parked behind the Audi.
:08:22. > :08:24.Mark Jones died in hospital two months after the shooting.
:08:25. > :08:27.He'd had 15 operations to try and save his life but was
:08:28. > :08:31.suffering from sepsis and a bleed on the brain.
:08:32. > :08:33.He had gunshot wounds to the belly and left upper arm.
:08:34. > :08:38.The prosecution say the defendant shot Mark Jones at point-blank
:08:39. > :08:41.range, which ultimately led to his death.
:08:42. > :08:43.The day after the shooting, Edward Bennett was arrested
:08:44. > :08:49.Two days later, his brother Stephen was also arrested at his home
:08:50. > :08:55.A gun cleaning kit was found in his attic.
:08:56. > :08:57.On that was gun residue which was at the same
:08:58. > :09:02.The same residue was also found on his shoes.
:09:03. > :09:06.Further examination revealed traces of Mark Jones' blood was also
:09:07. > :09:16.Both Edward and Stephen Bennett deny murder and the case continues.
:09:17. > :09:20.They hadn't invented cyber-bullying and online abuse 30 years ago.
:09:21. > :09:22.ChildLine has had to change its approach for children
:09:23. > :09:27.That's according to the helpline's founder, Dame Esther Rantzen,
:09:28. > :09:36.Rosie Stonehouse is a student at Cardiff University.
:09:37. > :09:39.She first contacted ChildLine when she was 14 and says it
:09:40. > :09:43.helped her cope with things throughout her teenage years.
:09:44. > :09:46.Initially it was just having somewhere where you could open up
:09:47. > :09:53.I think that support was a massive thing for me to be able to think
:09:54. > :09:56.that I could change my life around with support.
:09:57. > :10:03.She talked about her experiences st the Senedd today.
:10:04. > :10:05.Dame Esther Rantzen, the founder of the helpline,
:10:06. > :10:14.is touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the helpline.
:10:15. > :10:21.It has counselled four million children.
:10:22. > :10:25.We ask what is making our children are unhappy and often they say
:10:26. > :10:33.These pressures are coming in from their phones
:10:34. > :10:39.and their tablets and I can only say to families, be aware.
:10:40. > :10:41.Whilst the Internet can be a source of concern,
:10:42. > :10:47.more children are using those gadgets to call for help.
:10:48. > :10:51.Wales currently has 175 ChildLine volunteers, both in Prestatyn
:10:52. > :10:56.Last year, 71% of the children who got in touch with ChildLine did
:10:57. > :10:58.so via the Internet and this office deals solely with those
:10:59. > :11:08.Since the office opened the volunteers have conducted over
:11:09. > :11:17.In the first year the figure was around 1200, but by last year it
:11:18. > :11:25.Rosie is now herself an online counsellor
:11:26. > :11:27.and hopes her own experiences can help children who need
:11:28. > :11:46.I think there will be sunshine over the next couple of days. Some cloud
:11:47. > :11:51.as well. One or two showers about but a lot of dry weather tomorrow
:11:52. > :11:54.with a cool breeze from the north-east. But Greece tonight will
:11:55. > :12:07.bring 12 showers but most places dry. -- that breeze. Tomorrow's
:12:08. > :12:11.chart so is a big area of high pressure over Scandinavia.
:12:12. > :12:17.Low-pressure approaching Portugal and this pressure sandwich means
:12:18. > :12:21.easterly winds for the UK. That will pick up some moisture over the North
:12:22. > :12:26.Sea and a few showers. Tomorrow morning you might catch the odd
:12:27. > :12:32.shower, a bit misty. Otherwise dry, the best sunshine in the north and
:12:33. > :12:36.west. Across the rest of the UK the easterly wind will drag some cloud
:12:37. > :12:42.and a few showers from the North Sea during the day. The West dryer and
:12:43. > :12:47.brighter. Some sunshine in Northern Ireland. Temperatures up to 14 in
:12:48. > :12:52.Belfast but feeling quite chilly on the North Sea coast with a wind of
:12:53. > :12:58.the sea. In Wales tomorrow afternoon most plays dry apart from one or two
:12:59. > :13:06.showers. Some patchy cloud but some bright spells and sunshine. Into
:13:07. > :13:11.Thursday a cooler day. A few showers possible in the north. One or two in
:13:12. > :13:17.the east. Otherwise a lot of dry weather. Bright spells and sunshine.
:13:18. > :13:27.Signs of a change into the weekend. Low-pressure to the south-west means
:13:28. > :13:28.some rain and showers on the way. We are back tomorrow morning. Thank you
:13:29. > :13:31.for watching. I'll never ever forget. It's as
:13:32. > :13:34.vivid as if it was yesterday. You couldn't see.
:13:35. > :13:40.You couldn't see what was coming. It was just our voices
:13:41. > :13:44.that we could hear.