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Latest news on Wales (Cymru), also searched as Welsh news and Wales news today, covering the Senedd, the Welsh Government, Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour, Reform UK, NHS Wales, devolution, the Welsh language (Cymraeg), crime and courts, transport, weather, business and local stories from Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Port Talbot, Colwyn Bay, Llanelli, Ebbw Vale and the Rhondda, across Gwynedd, Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Glamorgan, Powys, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Anglesey and Conwy.
Wales is one of the four nations of the United Kingdom. The 2021 census counted about 3.1 million people, with Cardiff as the capital and Swansea, Newport and Wrexham among the other major centres. The landscape runs from the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) to a long coastline. Farming, tourism, steel, renewable energy and public services all shape daily life.
Wales has its own parliament, the Senedd Cymru, which makes laws on health, education, housing and transport. Since 2026 it has 96 members, elected by closed-list proportional representation. That year's election ended 27 years of Labour-led governments and brought the first government led by Plaid Cymru, under Rhun ap Iorwerth, with Reform UK emerging as a major opposition force. Funding, powers, independence and the future of the union keep devolution in the headlines.
Public services and the cost of living are constant themes in Welsh news. NHS Wales waiting times, GP access, schools, buses and trains, housing and flood warnings all draw close attention. In Port Talbot, the closure of the blast furnaces in 2024 and the move towards electric arc steelmaking show how industrial change affects whole communities. Crime, court reports and police appeals from Gwent to Gwynedd give a daily picture of local life.
The Welsh language, Cymraeg, is central to national identity. The 2021 census recorded about 538,000 Welsh speakers, or 17.8% of people aged three and over, and the Welsh Government's Cymraeg 2050 strategy aims for a million. Welsh is heard in schools, on road signs and on S4C, and the National Eisteddfod gathers thousands of people each August. The country also has a rich literary and musical tradition, from the Mabinogion and Dylan Thomas to its choirs and festivals.
The story of Wales runs from medieval castles and the Acts of Union to the coal and slate communities of the valleys, including the Rhondda and Ebbw Vale. The Aberfan disaster of 21 October 1966, which killed 144 people including 116 children, remains one of the most painful memories in Welsh and British history. Devolution followed a narrow referendum in 1997, with the Assembly meeting in 1999 and today's Senedd shaped by later reforms. That history still informs debates about regeneration, community and identity.
Our NewsNow Wales feed brings together the latest headlines from across the country, from Senedd and Welsh Government politics to NHS Wales updates, Welsh language and culture, courts, transport and local stories in Welsh towns and villages. Whether you live in Wales, follow Welsh affairs from elsewhere or want to see how devolution is changing the UK, this feed is a single place to stay informed about Wales.