Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

Sandwell Council insists there was a competitive interview process to find its new interim director of children's services.

It's after the only opposition councillor in the borough, UKIP's Philip Garrett, told us he raised concerns about the track record of Jim Leivers from his previous roles in Oxfordshire and Lincolnshire.  

Mr Leivers was appointed after former director of children’s services Matthew Sampson, who was appointed as a troubleshooter for the department four years ago, and director for children and families Sharon Moore both stood down with immediate effect.

The council's children's services department has been rated inadequate twice by Ofsted in four years.

Follow Final Score, reaction, images and social media from Saturday's Premier League action.

Liverpool has offered to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after hosts Durban admitted it might not be able to afford it .

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's sports minister Fikile Mbalula said the government had been forced to have a rethink due to  financial restraints .

Liverpool,  which is bidding to host the 2026 games , has now offered to step in if Durban cannot host.

Birmingham has announced it would compete with Liverpool to host 2026 but as yet has not offered to stage the games in 2022. 

The Commonwealth Games Federation will make the final decision over Durban.

BBC Sport

Birmingham City club captain Paul Robinson has had his red card in Friday's Championship victory against Wolves at Molineux overturned .

Image source, Empics

Robinson, 38, was sent off in the 53rd minute following a challenge involving Wolves striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Robinson was sent off for violent conduct.

But an Independent Regulatory Commission has upheld Blues' appeal, which means Robinson is now clear to play and available for selection when Blues host his former club, promotion-chasing Leeds United, at St Andrew's on Friday.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

Canada and Australia could be the unanticipated beneficiaries from Brexit in the competition for international students, entrepreneur and university leader Lord Bilimoria has said.

The Indian-born chancellor of the University of Birmingham said an "anti-immigrant" backlash from the Brexit referendum and disputes over student visas could see UK universities losing overseas students .

He said he had received racist abuse - expressing "absolutely rabid" views - for the first time since coming to the UK in the 1980s.

There has already been a downturn in applications from EU students and the crossbench peer said growing numbers of international students from India and China might take their tuition fees elsewhere.

BBC Sport

Jonathan Kodjia scored against his former club as Aston Villa beat Bristol City to record back-to-back wins for only the third time this season.

Image source, Rex Features

Kodjia, who joined Villa in August in a reported £11m deal, endured a torrid first half, blasting a penalty over the bar after Gary Gardner was fouled.

But the 27-year-old's superb header put the hosts ahead after the break.

A first for the club for Conor Hourihane moved the hosts to 15th in the Championship. 

Villa boss Steve Bruce was pleased with his team's effort, despite admitting the game "wasn't pretty".

Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM

Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting are to merge.

Image source, Google

It coincides with the opening of a new £57m home for the current conservatoire on Birmingham City University's city centre campus later this year.  

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

A bright start across the West Midlands this morning,with perhaps an isolated shower for some.

The skies will slowly cloud over through the morning, with patchy rain likely to arrive from the south west during the late afternoon, with highs of 8C (46F).

Jonathan Kodjia scores against his former club as Aston Villa earn a comfortable win over Bristol City in the Championship.

Aston Villa have gone from a top-six Premier League team to toiling in the Championship. Why the malaise, and can they mount a revival?

Ian Paterson denies 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man.

Tuesday's League One fixture between Walsall and Chesterfield is postponed because of a waterlogged pitch at Bescot Stadium.

Liverpool offers to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after hosts Durban admit funding concerns.

A century-old tree has been cut down to pave the way for a redevelopment of Birmingham city centre including new stone benches to prevent a Berlin-style terror attack.

The London Plane, in Broad Street, was thought to be the city centre's oldest tree at up to 140 years old but it has been felled as part of a £10m revamp of Centenary Square.

Birmingham City Council and Transport for West Midlands issued a joint statement saying it has "sadly not been possible" to keep the tree "because the Metro extension and the Centenary Square development, with its in-built anti-terror measures, were designed as one integrated scheme.

They said they would be planting "59 semi-mature trees as part of the new square design".

Birmingham City club captain Paul Robinson has his red card during Friday's win over Wolves at Molineux overturned.

Alex Homer
BBC Local Live

A pigeon which spent five days trapped in a chimney has been rescued by the RSPCA.

Image source, RSPCA

Firefighters helped chisel a hole out of a wall to free the caged bird who was stuck in a house in Milton Street, Walsall. 

The resident had heard the bird flapping its wings but there was only a small air vent between the the chimney flute and an upstairs room so firefighters were called.

Image source, RSPCA

RSPCA officer Catherine Strawford said: “The crew removed the vent and chiseled a hole into the wall so I could retrieve the bird, who was very lucky to be alive after five days trapped in the chimney.

“Luckily, the pigeon was not injured, and after offering food and water, I was able to release it. The pigeon shot off so was obviously pleased to be free.”

A British Museum expert says the Leekfrith Iron Age Torcs are of international importance.

Birmingham Airport has announced it will start running a new route to the Eastern Europe's Republic of Moldova from June.

Image source, Birmingham Airport

The new airline, Fly One, will operate three times a week from Birmingham, with 144 seats each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight will arrive into Birmingham from Chișinău at 12:25 and will depart at 13:20.

From Chișinău, Fly One also fly to Moscow, St Petersburg and Voronezh (Russia), Rome, Milan, Parma, Verona and Venice (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Barcelona, Valencia (Spain) Dublin and Paris.

Wolves have reported a pre-tax profit of £5.8m for 2015-16, their final season under former owner Steve Morgan.

Image source, Getty Images

Home attendances fell by 10% in the club's second season back in the Championship, as they slipped from the previous year's seventh to 14th.

But  the sale of Benik Afobe to Bournemouth  for a reported fee of £10m helped Wolves achieved a profit.

The figures cover the year up to 31 May 2016, prior to  Morgan's sale of the club to the Fosun Group.

Poor industrial relations, staff shortages and some significant prisoner unrest are being blamed for a sharp decline in standards at HMP Featherstone near Wolverhampton .

Image source, PA

The Chief Inspector of Prisons says there has been a "shocking worsening in standards" at the Category C jail which holds 650 men. 

Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke told us prison managers need to get to grips with the situation.