DYFED-POWYS POLICE has launched an appeal for witnesses following a reported attempted abduction of a 12-year-old girl in Haverfordwest.

The incident is understood to have happened at around 3:55pm on Tuesday (March 24) on Scarrowscant Lane, near Furzy Park.

According to police, the child was approached by two men in a vehicle described as similar to a shiny blue Audi A4. The passenger got out, spoke to the girl and briefly grabbed her arm before releasing her and returning to the car.

The vehicle then drove off towards Furzy Park.

The girl was not injured and made her way home, where her parents alerted police.

The man who approached her is described as white, about 5ft 11in tall, with short dark brown hair and a brown beard. He is believed to be in his forties and was wearing a black T-shirt, black jogging bottoms and white trainers.

The driver remained in the vehicle and has not yet been described.

Officers have been carrying out enquiries since the incident was reported and are now urging anyone who may have seen what happened, or who may have dashcam footage from the area at the time, to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting reference 26*235970.

WELSH Labour leader Eluned Morgan has pledged to freeze Welsh rates of income tax if her party forms the next government, as Labour prepares to launch its Senedd election manifesto on Monday (Mar 30).

Speaking in Swansea, Morgan is expected to position the policy as part of a wider effort to ease pressure on households during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

In remarks released ahead of the launch, she said a future Welsh Labour government “will not raise income tax” during the next Senedd term.

She added: “Fairness starts with understanding the pressure families face, but fairness also means action.

“This manifesto delivers real help with the cost of living.”

Key pledges outlined

Alongside the proposed tax freeze, Welsh Labour says its manifesto will include a number of headline commitments.

These include a £2 cap on single bus fares across Wales, maintaining £1 fares for young people, and continuing free travel for over-60s.

The party has also pledged to create 20,000 new childcare places, expanding provision to include children from nine months old.

Other priorities outlined ahead of the launch include investment in the NHS, with plans for new hospital developments and expanded mental health support, as well as measures aimed at tackling environmental issues such as river pollution and fly-tipping.

Labour also says it will focus on job creation through green energy projects and introduce a “lifelong retraining guarantee”.

Context and scrutiny

The Welsh Government has the power to vary income tax rates in Wales, but changes have not been made since partial control over income tax was devolved in 2019.

A freeze would maintain current rates rather than reduce the tax burden, meaning the policy is unlikely to increase take-home pay directly but could prevent future rises.

Opposition parties are expected to challenge Labour’s plans during the campaign, particularly around funding commitments and delivery of large-scale pledges such as NHS investment and childcare expansion.

Welsh Labour also used its pre-launch briefing to criticise Plaid Cymru, claiming its rivals are focused on constitutional issues rather than economic priorities. Plaid Cymru has yet to formally respond to the manifesto announcement.

Election backdrop

The Senedd election is due to take place on Thursday (May 7), with the cost of living, NHS performance, and economic growth expected to dominate the campaign.

A US AIR FORCE E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft appears to have been heavily damaged — and possibly destroyed — during an Iranian missile and drone strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday (March 27).

Images circulating online, now also carried by The New York Times and other international outlets, show the rear fuselage of an E-3 burned out, with its distinctive radar dome separated and lying on the tarmac nearby. The extent of the visible damage suggests the aircraft may be beyond repair, although US officials have not formally confirmed the loss.

Reports cited by the The Jerusalem Post indicate that between ten and twelve American service personnel were wounded in the attack, with at least two said to be in a serious condition. The strike, which took place around 60 miles south of Riyadh in the early hours, is understood to have involved a coordinated barrage including at least one ballistic missile alongside multiple attack drones.

The same reports claim that other aircraft at the base may also have been damaged, including KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft, although this has not been independently verified.

Prince Sultan Air Base has been a key hub for US air operations in the region and has reportedly come under repeated attack in recent weeks. According to the Jerusalem Post, earlier incidents included a strike that wounded fourteen personnel earlier in the week, and a missile attack on March 1 which is said to have killed one servicemember.

High-value target

The E-3 Sentry is one of the most important aircraft in the US military’s inventory. Based on a modified Boeing 707 airframe, it is equipped with a large rotating radar dome providing 360-degree surveillance over hundreds of miles. The aircraft acts as a flying command centre, coordinating fighters, tracking threats, and managing complex air operations in real time.

The US Air Force originally operated around thirty E-3 aircraft, although that number has now been reduced to approximately sixteen as the ageing fleet is gradually retired. Around six had reportedly been deployed to the Middle East ahead of the current conflict.

Each aircraft cost roughly $270 million to build in the 1990s, which would equate to approximately $500 million to $700 million (£400m–£550m) today. However, analysts say the true value of the platform lies not in its price tag, but in the critical role it plays in maintaining air superiority and battlefield coordination.

Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and analyst at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, described the potential loss as “incredibly problematic,” noting that such aircraft act as the “chessmaster” of modern air warfare, overseeing and directing operations across the battlespace.

Strategic implications

If confirmed, the loss or severe damage of an E-3 would represent a significant blow to US and allied operations in the region. The aircraft provides early warning of incoming threats and enables the coordination of large-scale air campaigns — capabilities that are difficult to replace quickly.

The strike may also highlight increasing sophistication in Iranian targeting. The Jerusalem Post reports that the attack appeared to focus on high-value assets, suggesting access to detailed intelligence on aircraft positions and operational patterns at the base. However, claims of external intelligence support have not been independently verified.

The incident underlines the vulnerability of even heavily defended installations to coordinated missile and drone attacks, and raises further concerns about escalation in an already volatile region.

At the time of publication, US officials had not issued a detailed public assessment of the damage or confirmed whether the aircraft has been written off.