22/04/2017 BBC Wales Today

Good afternoon.

A case of female genital mutilation was discovered every three days,

on average, in Wales last year.

New figures obtained by BBC Wales show more than 100 victims

of the practice were found by midwives or doctors in 2016.

Sam Richards reports.

It has been illegal in the UK for more than 30 years

but for women and girls living with Female Genital Mutilation

in Wales it is not a thing of the past.

This woman in Swansea describes what happened to her sister.

This lady came with broken bottles, knives, blade and all of that.

And when she came in and told my sister and my sister was like no

and they put mats on the ground and they forcefully put my sister

there and this lady sat on her.

I said mum, you just saw what happened.

They say it as normal.

Figures obtained by BBC Wales show last year alone Wales seven health

boards reported a total of 123 cases of Female Genital

Mutilation and the former Gwent area had 53.

The highest number of cases.

This was followed by 45 cases in Cardiff and the Vale.

The practice is carried out for various cultural

and social reasons.

Charities say there is a mistaken belief it can benefit someone.

It is generally based on an understanding of gender and it

comes over as a means of controlling women's sexuality.

It is not based on anything that is medically beneficial

to women or girls at all.

FGM is a form of violence against women and it is a violation

of women and girls' human rights.

Welsh Women's Aid says these figures may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Estimating there could be up to 2000 women in Wales affected.

But it hopes these recorded cases will highlight the urgent need

for support for women and girls living with the consequences.

Tunnels at a former top secret World War Two chemical weapons site

in Flintshire have been formally opened to the public.

The Rhydymwyn Valley History Society has been working for years to get

safe access to the tunnels near Mold, that stored

mustard gas in the 1940s.

The UK Government, which owns the site, carried out work to allow

the tunnels to open this weekend.

Events are being held in Llanfyllin in Powys this weekend to celebrate

the life and work of the comedian Ryan Davies, who's been

described as Wales' most versatile entertainer.

He died 40 years ago today and was best known for his

partnership with Ronnie Williams in their series Ryan and Ronnie.

He could compose, he could act, and he was a good actor,

a good straight actor.

But of course the comedy sort of took over from that.

Well, there is only so much time you can spend on these things.

No, Ryan was quite superb.

Some football scores to bring you now, and a short while ago

in the Premier League relegation threatened Swansea City

were 2-0 up against Stoke.

Cardiff City were drawing 0-0 at Wigan in the Championship.

Newport County are in the relegation zone.

Cricket: On the second day of their County Championship match

away against Leicestershire, Glamorgan, at tea, were 164-2.

The hosts finished their first innings 420, all out.

A steam train has completed a journey for the first time

in 50 years in Gwynedd.

"George B" set off with its first passengers from Llanuwchllyn

on the Bala Lake Railway this morning after being

restored to working order.

It was built in 1898, when it was used for work

at the Dinorwic Quarry.

Let's get the weather forecast now.

We have had another lovely day thanks to high pressure and that

area of high pressure will remain in charge through tomorrow.

Make the most of it as the weather will turn more unsettled

for the start of next week.

First thing tomorrow morning it is a chilly start but we have

more sunshine to look forward to.

Tonight, a chilly night underneath clear skies

and with light winds we could see a touch of frost forming,

especially in sheltered areas.

Overnight lows getting down to two Celsius.

It will be a chilly start to Sunday morning.

We can look forward to more sunshine.

Through the day we might start to see some cloud bubbling up

but all in all another dry day to look forward to.

Winds remaining light in the sunshine.

Feeling pleasant with temperatures getting up to 14 Celsius.

For the start of next week it is looking far more unsettled

with low pressure.

We have some rain on Monday, wintry showers to come

Tuesday and Wednesday.

That's Wales Today.

We're back tomorrow evening at 6:50pm.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Goodbye.