It is hoped the commentary will make the event more accessible

The BBC will be providing live English language commentary on the ceremonies and competitions at the Eisteddfod, which begins in Gwynedd on Saturday.

Presenters Arfon Haines Davies and Sara Edwards will be in Bala commentating for the live streaming of the events on the BBC's Eisteddfod website.

It is hoped the commentary will introduce the annual Welsh language festival to new worldwide audience.

Meanwhile, a crown inspired by Iron Age fragments will be on display at Bala.

A live stream of the activities taking place in the Eisteddfod's famous pink pavilion has been offered on the BBC website in previous years but this is the first time it will be accessible to people who cannot understand the Welsh language.

it will be great to show non-Welsh speakers in Wales and beyond what it's all about Arfon Haines Davies, presenter

Mr Davies said he was looking forward to the challenge of commentating live on the action.

"The Eisteddfod is so important to the Welsh speaking community and it will be great to show non-Welsh speakers in Wales and beyond what it's all about," he said.

"The main ceremonies make fantastic theatre and it's our annual opportunity to celebrate our poets, singers and performers."

Keith Jones, BBC Wales's head of programmes Welsh and new media, said the new service was important as the BBC responded to the changing viewing habits of its audience.

"It gives us great pleasure to broadcast our Eisteddfod coverage on a world-wide platform and we look forward to hearing from viewers all over the world," he said.

The festival, which lasts until 8 August, will also display a crown inspired by Iron Age fragments found in the 1920s.

The crown may have been worn by a bard, say experts

The decorated bronze pieces, short lengths of chain and pieces of folded raw hide were found by Tomi Jones of Cerrigydrudion, Conwy, in 1924 when he uncovered a grave while repairing a wall at Ty Tan y Foel, near Betws-y-Coed.

Experts have recently interpreted the find as parts of ceremonial headgear dating back to around 400BC and have been used by National Museum Wales to create a full scale model of the Cerrigydrudion crown.

Kenneth Brassil, archaeology learning officer for National Museum Wales, said it was possible the original Cerrigydrudion crown would have been worn by a winning bard or inherited as a symbol of status.

The crown, which is usually displayed at National Museum Cardiff, will be on show at the Arts Council of Wales's 'Lle Celf' pavilion throughout the week.

Empty shops are the most visible sign of decline, the report says

About 15% of High Street shops will be empty by the end of 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has predicted.

This would be more than double the 7% of stores which were vacant at the start of the year.

And the BRC said some areas had already seen up to 40% of shop space empty, amid the slump in consumer confidence.

Big names such as Woolworths have disappeared from the High Street, but overall, UK retail sales have not collapsed, as some had feared.

Gateshead, Harwich in Essex and Walkden in Greater Manchester were among the worst hit areas.

'Nurturing'

Currently, about 12% of town centre shops were empty, the BRC said.

"It is clear that in many places, recession is accelerating a trend of decline that was already under way," the BRC said.

"The dangers associated with this deteriorating picture are clear.

"Vacant units are perhaps one of the most visible impacts of the economic downturn. Shoppers who are unable to ignore increasingly visible vacant units in their local communities are likely to further reinforce falling consumer confidence."

Shoppers who are unable to ignore increasingly visible vacant units in their local communities are likely to further reinforce falling consumer confidence British Retail Consortium

Transport links

Some High Streets had lost custom to nearby towns and shopping centres, meaning they may "never go back" to being important shopping destinations, the report added.

However it insisted that the High Street still had a bright future, but needed "nurturing through this difficult period".

It called on ailing town centres to focus on local character and create attractive, safe environments.

Developing unique identities would help it to pull through the recession, a report has warned.

CHAINS LEAVING THE HIGH STREET Woolworths Zavvi Dolcis

As well as trying to make towns more distinctive and welcoming, the BRC is also calling for better transport links in a 20-point plan to turn around the fortunes of struggling areas.

Revenue from car parks should be used to improve facilities to encourage greater footfall in town centres, it suggests.

Gordon Brown has come under pressure over Trident renewal

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has attacked government "chaos and confusion" over renewing the Trident missile system.

No 10 has insisted the timetable for renewing Trident is unchanged.

But earlier, officials implied that key decisions would be put off until May 2010 ahead of a conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Mr Clegg said the prime minister should make a "climbdown" and admit the missile system was not justified given equipment shortages in Afghanistan.

In a statement, Downing Street said there had been "no change" in the government position that Trident would be renewed.

The Ministry of Defence also insisted the policy was unchanged.

But earlier on Thursday, an official briefed the media that the UK's nuclear deterrent was "now up for grabs" in the context of a multilateral disarmament agreement.

The statement from No 10 was issued as the prime minister set out a "road map" for disarmament in which all nuclear states would pledge to reduce their stockpile of warheads.

Gordon Brown is under pressure over plans to renew the UK's own nuclear weapons.

The prime minister says he is committed to updating the Trident submarine-based missile system despite its estimated £20bn cost.

'Unnecessary and unjustifiable'

Mr Clegg said the government had "rammed the decision to renew Trident through Parliament without a proper debate".

He added: "The chaos and confusion surrounding Gordon Brown's machinations on Trident is staggering.

"Gordon Brown should now complete his climbdown and admit that a like-for-like Trident replacement is unnecessary and unjustifiable when our troops in Afghanistan are still short of kit."

The decision to postpone spending decisions until after May 2010 would have effectively pushed them up to or beyond the next general election at a time when government finances are extremely tight.

There has been no change in the government's position on Trident Ministry of Defence spokeswoman

In briefings, the official stressed that the decision to replace the Trident system had been taken in 2006, but the "world had changed" since then not least with the election of US President Barack Obama, who has made disarmament a priority .

The official said: "All our deterrent is now up for grabs but in the context of a multilateral negotiation."

By the "sequencing of expenditure" on Trident, as the official put it, the decision could essentially be "pushed back".

But the official said progress on nuclear disarmament had to be "multilateral" and the goal of a nuclear free world had to be seen as an "aspiration".

However, Downing Street issued a statement which read: "The policy remains as set out in the 2006 White Paper, and there has been no change to the timetable."

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said: "There has been no change in the government's position on Trident.

"The policy remains as set out in the 2006 white paper, and there has been no change to the timetable."

The series of briefings came as Mr Brown outlined plans to offer assistance to countries such as Iran to develop civil nuclear power in return for assurances they will not build bombs.

Mr Brown has ruled out unilateral cuts to either the Trident submarine fleet or the UK's 160 warheads and has called for collective action to stop nuclear proliferation.

He set out his proposals in a written statement to MPs designed for debate ahead of talks next April designed to pave the way for a review of the International Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Lib Dems have called for Trident to be scrapped in favour of a less expensive system while the Conservatives, who support Trident, says its future must be considered as part of a comprehensive defence review.

Some 95 Labour MPs -including 16 former ministers and four ex-members of the cabinet - rebelled against the government during a vote on renewing Trident in 2007.

A document released by the Cabinet Office on the same day stated that the government continued to judge "that a minimum nuclear deterrent remains an essential element of our national security".

Dear All,

Every week I travel around the country, meeting people in local town halls and listening to their views. Anyone can ask me (just about) anything, I also get a pretty good picture of how people across the UK feel about politics.

Next week I’m doing another public Q&A meeting, but this time, it’s going to be live and online. There will be no script, no special invitations - just get in touch and ask a question on the subjects that concern you. To give you an idea, I've recorded 2 questions of my own for you to answer. Visit: http://www.tinyurl.com/asknickclegg for full details of the event.

I want as many people to take part in this as possible – this has never been done before.

There are three ways you can help spread this:

• Tell friends on Social Networks or Tweet
• Forward this message to five friends
• Blog about this or post on your website

All Best Wishes,

Nick Clegg
Leader of the Liberal Democrats

The website describes the effects of suicide on family and friends

Young people who have lost someone close to them because of suicide have set up a website to give advice and support to vulnerable youngsters.

Bridgend teenagers came up with the idea after over 20 young people apparently took their own lives in the county over the past two years.

They hope the information will appeal to their age group and contains myths and facts about suicide.

The Choose Life web pages are being launched on Bridgend council's website.

They also contain advice on where young people can get help and personal statements about the effects of suicide on those left behind.

The young people behind the project said they hoped also to use social networking sites to direct people to their website.

"'It's a positive way of giving information to young people that's easily accessible and it offers help to people who may be going through difficult times," they said.

If people are educated more on the topic then they would have a few more seconds to think and realise the impact it has on others Rhys, 17

"We thought by putting it on a website it would be more appealing to people our age. The intention now is to put it onto social networking sites to provide the information to a wider audience.''

One of the youngsters - 17-year-old Rhys - said he and his friends decided to create the website because they did not think there was enough access to information about the effects of suicide.

"Losing someone close to you is indescribable really," he said.

"The devastating effects it had on myself, my close friends and family, it does bring you to tears just thinking about it.

"I think if this can be prevented, why should someone suffer from it?

"I didn't have a clue about any of the websites to help or people who you can go to for help, and this is why me and my mates felt it was a good idea to create a site which you could access and further help yourself.

"I was devastated and I was angry... there wasn't something like Choose Life already set up."

We have seen some terrible things written about this area, but it's not the Bridgend county I know and love JJ Williams, former rugby star

He said he believed education and raising awareness could help prevent more people taking their own lives.

"If people are educated more on the topic then they would have a few more seconds to think and realise the impact it has on others and that there's a way out, there's a way to prevent it," he added.

Rugby star support

The teenagers approached the Bridgend Local Service Board (LSB), which has helped them with their idea, along with Bridgend council's Educational Psychology Service.

The website is being supported by former Welsh rugby star JJ Williams, who said: "We have seen some terrible things written about this area, but it's not the Bridgend county I know and love. I really commend the students for what they are doing."

LSB chair Dr Jo Farrar, who is also chief executive of Bridgend council, said they were keen to help the "inspirational" students.

"They, more than anyone else, know how it feels to lose people they are close to, so they are best placed to reach out to their peers," she said.

"Their pages contain excellent advice, as well as some very stark messages about suicide and are written in a way that we hope will appeal to young people, not just in this area but all over Wales and the UK."