A former Welsh Government minister has called for funding for the Trident nuclear weapons system to be scrapped, so the UK government can focus investment on preparing for pandemics and for the threat of cyber warfare.

In July 2016, the House of Commons backed the renewal of Trident and the manufacture of four replacement submarines at an estimated cost of £31bn. The annual running costs for Trident are over £2bn.

Rhodri Glyn Thomas, a former chair of CND Cymru who was heritage minister from 2007 to 2008 in the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition, told BBC Wales it was time to reassess how the UK government "protects the population".

He said: “Over the years, the government has spent hundreds of billions on nuclear weapons. Is that the greatest threat to the population now?

"What we’re finding out now is that we’re unable to cope with this pandemic and if there was a cyber attack we’d be unable to respond to that either."

In response, the Ministry of Defence said the UK's nuclear capacity was a deterrent to the "most extreme threats" to national security.

It added: “The Government is committed to putting the necessary resources into tackling Covid-19. However, this does not mean diverting all resources from other areas which are also essential to maintain.”

Image source, PA Media

A rescue centre in Swansea has urged the public to help avert an "animal welfare crisis" as it struggles financially.

With its charity shops having closed since March and fundraising events postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, the RSPCA Llys Nini Animal Centre, external has seen its usual income streams dry up.

The centre is continuing to provide care for some 50 animals and has launched an urgent new fundraising drive.

Centre manager Gary Weeks said: "We need people's help to keep doing this work and avert a local animal welfare crisis.

"That's why we have launched the Safe Haven Scheme, which will give our supporters the chance to sponsor accommodation space which provides such a lifeline for animals every day of the year."

Many of the animals coming into the branch's care have been rescued by RSPCA inspectors and officers, often escaping situations of abuse, extreme neglect or mistreatment.

"We're calling on supporters and those who care about animal welfare to respond to this emergency call and help safeguard our future," Mr Weeks added.

Image source, Getty Images

They are not compulsory in Wales but many people are choosing to wear face coverings in certain circumstances when out of the house, to help limit the spread of coronavirus.

While medical face masks and respirators are prioritised for health and care workers, here is a guide to different types of mask and step-by-step instructions on how to make them.

Image source, Huw John

Calls are being made for school transport workers to be tested for coronavirus when children return to the classroom in Wales.

A taxi driver association wants cabbies to be routinely tested for Covid-19 to ensure "everyone is as safe as they can be" when schools return on 29 June.

The Tories have "concerns" about what help there is for transport providers.

Guidance for "challenging logistical transport issues" will be published by Welsh Government next week.

The government has warned that public transport passengers may have to pre-book bus and train tickets in future to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

School transport providers now face similar challenges to ensure adequate social distancing is in place to "keep children, staff and the community safe."

Schools and councils are now discussing how the return in three-and-a-half weeks time is managed as transport providers await "what is required" of them.

Read more here.

BBC Radio Wales

UK government advice on the differences in lockdown rules between England and Wales has not been clear, according to a police chief.

Police turned away more than 1,000 cars from the Brecon Beacons in just two days last weekend.

Dyfed-Powys Police said many people officers spoke to were from England who said they did not know there were different lockdown rules in Wales.

The force's Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llewellyn told BBC Radio Wales the number of cars was "not surprising".

"It's really important to say that we are really grateful to the local residents for their support," he said.

"The majority of people are listening to the guidance of staying local and it's just unfortunate that we have thousands of people travelling long, long distances to go to places like Pen y Fan or the coast of Pembrokeshire. For the moment, they remain shut.

"We have people travelling from Cardiff and the valleys into the Dyfed-Powys area. We also are getting people coming across the boarder.

"I do feel sorry for those people. In the first instance the police are trying to educate those coming across the boarder because the message from the central government hasn't been all that clear.

"[However] on some occasions it is impossible for the police to do anything other than give fixed penalty notices.

"The clear message at the moment is that Pen Y Fan is not open, all these very lovely places will still be there in a few weeks or months."

Image source, Gett

During lockdown in the UK, have you spotted animals in unusual places, filmed birds singing their dawn chorus, or taken photos of clear, pollution-free night skies?

If so, scientists across UK universities want you to send in your pictures and videos for The Earth Project, which will look at how nature has capitalised on humans being out of the way.

Phil Manning, from the University of Manchester, says they hope the project will "remind us in the future of what life and our relationship with nature could be," and that it can be used to push the case for greater sustainability.

The submissions will be collated by the Earth Project team, which consists of concerned citizens alongside scientists from multiple UK universities, including Bangor, Belfast, Durham, Manchester and Plymouth.

Police are once again warning people to be vigilant of scammers using the new NHS test and tracking system to defraud people.

NHS contact tracers will ask for names and addresses of people you have come into contact with if you have tested positive for Covid-19.

However they will NOT ask for any financial information, bank details or passwords.

Parts of the Brecon Beacons national park are set to reopen next week for the first time since coronavirus restrictions came into effect.

The park authority said it had been reviewing its approach since the Welsh Government announced the easing of some lockdown measures.

It hopes to open some areas from Monday, external, but more popular sites, such as Pen y Fan, will remain closed.

It said protecting people and health services was the "utmost priority".

The Swim Wales chief executive, Fergus Feeney, says he "can see the pressure building" as many of the nation's elite swimmers remain unable to train.

Some of England's top swimmers are back in training as the UK government permits elite athletes there to train.

But the Welsh government has not yet allowed its elite athletes to train again and all swimming pools remain closed.

The issue is due to be discussed at its next lockdown review on 18 June.

"I can see pressure building up if it didn't happen [then]," Feeney told the BBC.

"There's a psychological impact in that it potentially sends a message [to our swimmers] that they're not as important as others.

"The second bit is the physical side. This length of time without swimming is already very unusual. I think it could have a significant effect."

Image source, Theatr Clwyd

From showbusiness to no business - theatres in Wales have warned they need funding help to survive.

The sector says the coronavirus pandemic has left them with huge losses and little prospect of reopening in a financially viable fashion for months.

The Arts Council of Wales said it was working with the Welsh Government to help deal with the financial impact.

"The entire industry could collapse without the proper, extensive and long-term support that it needs in order to survive and get through this," said Tamara Harvey, artistic director at Flintshire's Theatr Clwyd.

"Every theatre across the UK is at risk right now."

The concerns extend to even the highest-profile venues, such as the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff which has been forced to cancel all its shows until the end of the year and put 400 staff on furlough.

But the UK government scheme to pay staff wages will come to an end long before the shows restart - or income flows from ticket sales, cafes and bars.

"The actual long-term impacts of this are just as worrying as the short-term," said Graeme Farrow, the centre's artistic director.

"The short-term is about survival and the long-term is about adapting and finding a way to rebuild this organisation and, indeed, the arts and theatre infrastructure in Wales."

Image source, Dyfed Powys Police

Police turned away more than 1,000 cars from one beauty spot in just two days for breaching lockdown rules.

Dyfed-Powys Police said many people spoken to in the Brecon Beacons were from England - as far afield as London and the Midlands - who said they did not know about Wales' different rules.

People in England can travel an unlimited distance from home. In Wales it is limited to five miles.

Supt Steve Davies said fines were issued if people had "clearly flouted the rules".

Police said they were kept busy due to the volume of people trying to drive to the area around Ystradfellte, Powys, known as "waterfall country".

The force, which covers some of Wales' most rural areas, also said 72% of people reported for breaches of Covid-19 restrictions in Powys since 27 March had been from outside the force area.

Image source, Ffion Storer-Jones

With more of us now working from home, Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe has said broadband must become as essential as "gas, electricity and water".

BBC Wales has spoken to a councillor in Denbighsire trying to run a local authority without 4G and one woman in Powys who has to hike up a hill to make an urgent call or share large documents.

The UK and Welsh governments said they had invested millions in broadband.

According to Openreach, 95% of Welsh homes and businesses are now receiving superfast broadband, more than in France and Germany - up from 44% in 2013.

But with many normally office-based staff now having to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, some living in rural areas not covered, known as "not spots", say they are struggling.

While broadband is not devolved, the future generations commissioner has now put forward a five-point plan for the Welsh Government to make broadband a "key public service or utility" in Wales.

Ms Howe said she expected more people to work from home even after lockdown was lifted and ministers should improve broadband infrastructure to help create a "greener Wales" by reducing the need to commute and travel to meetings.

She said: "Think about the way rural economies could be transformed if this way of working became the new normal."

Image source, Sophie Howe

Image source, Reuters

Debenhams has written to the Welsh Government asking it to take urgent action to save four of its stores and "many hundreds of jobs".

The retail giant collapsed into administration for the second time in a year in April after coronavirus ramped up the pressures facing the business.

The company then warned that four of its Welsh stores - Newport, Cardiff, Swansea and Llandudno - were in jeopardy because of the Welsh Government's decision not to extend business rate relief to properties with a rateable value of more than £500,000.

Since then, Debenhams has continued to trade online while striking deals with local councils to defer payment of the rates for those stores until March 2021.

These stores are due to reopen when the Welsh Government lifts restrictions on non-essential retailers, but the long-term future remains uncertain.

Last week the chairman of Debenhams' parent company, Mark Gifford, wrote to the Welsh Government's Finance Minister Rebecca Evans asking her to give permission for an online tribunal to review the business rates.

"With your support for holding tribunals online, the administrators would be in a position to reopen all the remaining Welsh stores, saving many hundreds of jobs in Wales," he said.

As well at these four at-risk stores, Debenhams also has shops in Carmarthen, Llanelli, Merthyr Tydfil, Bangor and Wrexham.

The Welsh Government said they would respond to the request "in due course".

Welcome to our live updates on the fight against coronavirus in Wales. Before we get going with Friday, here's a recap of some of the main developments from yesterday:

• Wales' chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton says reopening schools at the end of June is the "second-best option" as reopening in August was "not attractive to the unions"
• 1,379 people have died with coronavirus in Wales, according to Public Health Wales
• Wales is now in a much better position in supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) than it was in April, Health Minister Vaughan Gething says
• Passengers may have to pre-book bus and train seats in future to help prevent the spread of coronavirus
• This year’s Cardiff Half Marathon and all Race for Life events have been cancelled
• Parts of the Brecon Beacons national park are set to reopen next week for the first time since coronavirus restrictions came into effect.