Andy Burnham has no intention of reforming the main way the Welsh government is funded if he becomes prime minister, BBC Wales has been told.

The new Labour MP is expected to make a speech about devolution and the economy next week, with a spokesperson saying he would put Wales and Scotland "at the centre" of any government he runs.

Comments by Burnham in a book two years ago - in which he said it was time to "tear up" current funding arrangements - have resurfaced this week in The National newspaper.

It led to Plaid Cymru, which has long argued for an overhaul, vowing to "hold him" to his words, but reform now appears to have been ruled out.

The party's leader in the Commons, Liz Saville-Roberts, said: "In his book Andy Burnham called for a 'new arrangement that is demonstrably fair to all'. We will hold him to that.

"Any reform he makes to bring about fairer funding for northern English regions must also address the longstanding underfunding of Wales."

But Plaid's hopes appear to have been dashed even before Burnham has entered Downing Street.

BBC Wales has been told that the plans would not include changes to the Barnett formula for Wales and Scotland.

Liverpool FC have agreed a deal to sign Victor Munoz from Osasuna, subject to a successful work permit application and international clearance.

The forward, who is currently on World Cup duty with Spain, completed a medical at the country’s base in Tennessee in the USA and has put pen to paper on a long-term contract.

Munoz is the first new addition since the arrival of head coach Andoni Iraola and will link up with his new teammates later this summer after his participation in the tournament with his national team has concluded.

Liverpool FC can confirm Andoni Iraola has agreed a deal to become the club’s new head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The 43-year-old will take up the helm at Anfield to succeed Arne Slot, who departed the Reds on Saturday.

Iraola arrives after three impressive campaigns in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, leading them into Europe for the first time in their history with a sixth-placed finish in the table last month.

“Really excited, really excited,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world.

Former England international James Milner has announced his retirement after a 24-year Premier League career.

The versatile 40-year-old was out of contract after spending the past three seasons with Brighton.

Milner played for six teams in England's top flight and broke the record for most Premier League appearances in February.

He started his career with Leeds and went on to win three Premier League titles - two with Manchester City and one with Liverpool - and also helped the Reds win the Champions League in 2019.

Milner made his England debut while with Aston Villa in 2009 and ended his international career with 61 caps.

Liverpool FC can confirm Arne Slot is to depart his role as head coach with immediate effect and that the process to appoint a successor is under way.

Having joined the club in June 2024, Arne went on to deliver our 20th league title in his first season in charge, ending the 2024-25 campaign as LMA Manager of the Year having also guided the team to the Carabao Cup final and the last 16 of the Champions League.

He subsequently oversaw Champions League qualification for a second successive season in 2025-26 as the Reds also reached the quarter-finals of the same competition.

In a joint statement, Liverpool’s ownership underlined its appreciation for the success Arne brought to the club and also the leadership displayed in his two years in charge: “That this was a difficult decision for us to make as a club goes without saying. The contribution Arne has made to Liverpool FC in the time that he has been with us has been significant, meaningful and – most importantly of all to supporters and ourselves – successful.

Plaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has been voted First Minister of Wales by Members of the Senedd.

It comes after his party won the most seats in a historic Welsh Parliament election last week.

Mr ap Iorwerth won the most votes from MSs on Tuesday, making him the first politician not from Labour to do so in the 27-year history of the Welsh Parliament.

The Welsh social network Tŵt [has launched] a new mobile app ahead of St David’s Day.

The launch, which [took] place in Cardiff on 28 February, represents a major evolution for the nation’s long-standing, community-owned social network which, after eight years of serving the digital community, is moving beyond its “early adopter” roots to provide a seamless, user-friendly experience for the wider public.

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Tŵt is a Welsh-focused node on the Social Web, also known as the “Fediverse”, an interconnected global network that allows users to communicate across different platforms and services.

By launching on St David’s Day, the project aims to integrate itself as a modern addition to Welsh life, designed to integrate seamlessly with the global Social Web and the fifty million people connecting over Mastodon, Bluesky, WordPress, Ghost, Pixelfed, Peertube and more.

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales.

He will be the artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, which will aim to tell "big stories on big stages for big audiences".

The first production, due in autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, will be announced in the coming months.

National Theatre Wales said it had "ceased to exist" last month after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales.

Eryri National Park has unveiled its new Welsh language logo as the authority votes to permanently ditch the English version.

It comes following a report presented to the national park’s council on Wednesday (November 13) which concluded reclaiming the Welsh name had been a success for the area.

Eryri National Park Authority voted to use Yr Wyddfa for Wales’ highest mountain, rather than Snowdon, and Eryri, rather than Snowdonia in November 2022 following a petition from local residents.

The authority yesterday approved a proposal to exclusively use “Eryri” in its official logo and will prioritise the Welsh names Eryri and Yr Wyddfa in all communications going forward.

In 2015, David Cameron’s government decided to define HS2 as an “England and Wales project”. In technical jargon this means they applied a 0% comparability factor for Wales to HS2 spending. That may seem hard to decipher, but what you need to know is this: though it sounds fairly innocuous, designating HS2 an “England and Wales project” was utterly devastating to Wales because it meant that Cymru did not receive any consequential funding from the project.

Compare this with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which were each treated to a delightful comparability factor of 100%. This meant that for every £1 spent on HS2, they both got a population-based share of all of it. It is hard to put an exact figure on how much this will add up to, because the UK government keeps axing parts of the project and the costs keep rising, but roughly, Scotland will bank in the region of £6.5bn-£7bn. If the same rules were applied to Wales, it would have been on course for about £4bn.

The eagle-eyed will have noticed that the HS2 “England and Wales project” has the significant flaw that HS2 doesn’t actually go through Wales. In fact, not a centimetre of track is on the western side of Offa’s Dyke. So how can successive UK governments justify defining it as a Welsh project?

People across Wales are marking Owain Glyndŵr Day today – a celebration of Owain Glyndŵr, the last native Prince of Wales and founder of the first Welsh parliament.

On 16 September every year, thousands in Wales celebrate the life and legacy of the “rebel” Prince of Wales.

Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1359 – c. 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr was a Welsh leader who led a long-running war of independence to end English rule in Wales during the Late Middle Ages. He formed the first Welsh parliament, and he was the last native-born Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales.

Owain Glyndŵr was a descendant of the Princes of Powys through his father Gruffudd Fychan II. Through his mother, Elen ferch Tomas ap Llywelyn, he was a descendant of the Princes of Deheubarth, also a descendant of Llywelyn the Great of the House of Aberffraw.

On 16 September 1400, Owain Glyndŵr proclaimed himself Prince of Wales and instigated a 15-year Welsh Revolt against the rule of King Henry IV of England.

His troops inflicted a series of defeats on the English forces and captured key castles across Wales, rapidly gaining control of most of the country. Glyndŵr received naval support from Scotland and Brittany and also received the support of King Charles VI of France.

In 1403 a Welsh army including a French contingent, commanded by Owain Glyndŵr, his senior general Rhys Gethin and Cadwgan, Lord of Glyn Rhondda, defeated a large English invasion force reputedly led by King Henry IV himself at the Battle of Stalling Down in Glamorgan.

By 1404 four English military expeditions had been repelled and Owain solidified his control of Wales. He was officially crowned Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru) and held a parliament at Machynlleth where he outlined his national programme for an independent Wales, which included plans such as building two national universities, re-introducing the traditional Welsh laws of Hywel Dda, and establishing an independent Welsh church.

Cadw is offering free access to historic Welsh monuments throughout September with the return of the Open Doors festival.

The annual event gives free access to some of Wales’ most extraordinary and treasured historical locations including castles, churches, clock towers and ancient burial chambers

Throughout September, more than 200 historic landmarks will host a range of guided tours and immersive experiences as Cadw celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Twenty two iconic Cadw monuments, including Denbigh Castle, Segontium Roman Fort, Harlech Castle and Strata Florida Abbey, will welcome visitors free of charge, inviting them to explore these remarkable places.

Open Doors is part of the broader European Heritage Day festival, aimed at highlighting the rich cultural diversity across Europe.

The initiative offers a unique opportunity for people of all ages to connect with history, experience Wales’ vibrant heritage, and discover the captivating stories that have shaped the nation.

An open Doors event will offer visitors a chance to see what lies inside Flintshire’s ‘hidden gem’ library.

Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden is taking part in Open Doors 2024, which takes place on September 14.

Visitors are invited to explore the history, collections and architecture of the UK’s only Prime Ministerial Library. It is also a rare example of a residential Library, having 26 bedrooms on site.

Alexandra Foulds, Archivist at Gladstone’s Library, said: “This is an opportunity to see some of the highlights of Gladstone’s Library’s printed collections and archives, have a tour of our Reading Rooms, and go behind the scenes in our strongrooms.

“This year’s event will focus on the early years of Gladstone’s Library. We’ll explore the foundation of the Library by William Gladstone in 1894 and what it looked like during his lifetime, the construction of our current building as the national monument to Gladstone after his death, and early visitors to the Library. We’ll discuss Gladstone as a lifelong reader and book-lover, his vision for the Library, and how this is implemented today.”

The Open Doors scheme is Wales’ annual contribution to the European Heritage Days initiative. It is organised country-wide by CADW.

Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Giorgi Mamardashvili, subject to a work permit and international clearance – with the Valencia goalkeeper set to move to Anfield ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The Reds have secured a deal for the 23-year-old that will see him stay in Spain for the remainder of the current campaign with Los Che before switching to Merseyside next summer.

Former Pentagon insider, veteran and investigator Luis "Lue" Elizondo is quite possibly the most important voice in the modern UFO movement, and he sat down with NewsNation's Ross Coulthart to share the story of what he claims the American government really knows about UFOs.

Alternative Piped URL: https://piped.video/watch?v=wgM5V44eQHU

Liverpool want to make Euro 2024 winner Martin Zubimendi the first major signing of the Arne Slot era. The Reds have earmarked a move for Spain international Zubimendi as they look to bolster their defensive midfield options.

It is understood the 25-year-old has a release clause at Real Sociedad of €60million (£51.65m). Liverpool have been scouring the market for a new number six all summer, with recruiting in the position having become a priority once Slot was able to start assessing the squad he inherited after taking over from Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season.

Four members of the Welsh government's cabinet have resigned at the same time, calling for Vaughan Gething to go.

Three ministers - Jeremy Miles, Lesley Griffiths and Julie James - and the government's top legal adviser - counsel general Mick Antoniw - all announced their resignations on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It follows months of rows since Mr Gething was installed in March, including a week of drama over a sacked minister, complaints over Mr Gething's campaign donations and a lost confidence vote.

[Flintshire] council is poised to introduce monthly black bin collections in a bid to improve its recycling rates.

Flintshire Council is currently facing the threat of fines of more than £1m after missing the Welsh Government target of recycling 64 per cent of the rubbish it collects for the last four financial years.

With the goal set to increase to 70 per cent in 2024/25, the local authority is now planning to only pick up general waste from residents once every four weeks.

Politicians have previously resisted switching from the present fortnightly arrangement due to concerns over how it will impact residents.

However, senior officials have warned change is necessary to avoid further financial penalties.

The Welsh Government promised to introduce a law banning lying politicians before the next Senedd election after striking a last-minute deal to avert defeat.

Mick Antoniw, who is counsel general, the Welsh Government’s chief legal adviser, reached an agreement with Adam Price just before a key vote on creating an offence of deception.

Under the elections bill, Mr Price proposed a four-year disqualification for Senedd members, ministers or candidates found guilty of deliberate lying.

Mr Antoniw stopped short of supporting criminalisation as he invited the Senedd’s standards committee, which is holding an inquiry on accountability, to make proposals.

He said: “The Welsh Government will bring forward legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of members and candidates found guilty of deception through an independent judicial process.”

For hours, Katie Schide chased ghosts. For hours, Jim Walmsley and Rod Farvard chased each other. And in the end, after 100 courageous, gutsy miles at one of the world’s most iconic ultramarathons, it was Schide and Walmsley who won a fast, dramatic 2024 Western States 100.