Man dies as multi-vehicle collision closes motorway
Teenager dies after reservoir rescue
Murder investigation after stabbing
Terror attacker 'taunting and smiling' says witness
Apology for mother of soldier killed in Iraq
Updates on Friday 18 August 2017
Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online
Unemployment went up by 5.8% across the West Midlands in the three months to June, according to data.
Image source, PAFigures from the ONS show 164,000 people are registered as out of work across the region - an increase of 3,000 people compared with the first three months of the year.
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
Skies will cloud over this evening as rain erratically moves east with brisk winds.
Rain will continue overnight, with some heavy bursts at times.
However, rain will start to clear towards dawn. Lows of 15C ( 59F).
Weather for the West Midlands.
A man found with serious head injuries in Birmingham city centre last month has died, say police who have launched a murder investigation.
Phillip Leonard, 34, from Ireland, was found unconscious in Essex Street on 28 July. Police said, external his injuries were consistent with being attacked.
He was being treated in hospital, but died on Monday, the West Midlands force announced this afternoon.
A man, 26, from Ireland, charged with wounding last month, is remanded in custody. The force said it would be reviewing the charge.
Employment has reached an all-time high in the UK , externaland pay growth picked up pace, easing the pressure on cash-strapped households confronted by higher inflation.
A man accused of shouting "I've got acid" before squirting a liquid into a pub goer's face will face trial.
Max Kelly, 23, formerly of Sark Drive, Smiths Wood, Solihull, is charged with two counts of common assault, which he denies.
It's in connection with an incident outside Solihull pub The Chalice in July.
Benjamin Prentice, 21, of Hexton Close, Solihull, admitted a public order offence over the row and was fined £140. Birmingham Magistrates' Court heard he was the driver of a BMW at which one person outside the pub shouted to slow down, but played no part in the alleged "acid" attack.
Mr Kelly is alleged to have been a passenger who got out the vehicle holding a plastic bottle before making the acid claim. He was bailed and faces trial in October.
The chief constable of West Midlands Police has backed an officer , externalunder investigation for sticking his middle finger up at a rider and said the focus should instead be on the "thug on the bike".
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
The fire at the factory in Norton Canes has been put out, external after more than 30 firefighters spent just over four hours tackling it.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire ServiceAll the workers were evacuated from the site off Norton Green Lane as Staffordshire Fire Service says it found that the blaze was in a hopper and some ducting. , external
They say they're keeping two fire engines at the site to check for any "hot spots" in case it isn't fully out.
Nicola Beckford
Reporter, BBC Midlands Today
People travelling through Birmingham Airport could face long delays as staff struggle to cope with the growing number of passengers during the summer holiday period.
The airport is expecting more than two million passengers over the six-week school holiday period - an 11% rise compared to last year.
Steve Mccarthy from Great Barr (pictured) says he and his family waited for more than three hours to collect their luggage last month, as well as delays getting off the flight.
A £5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of a murder suspect, external.
Police want to trace James Atherley - pictured below - in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man in Solihull earlier this month. The West Midlands force thinks the 21-year-old is in Weston Super Mare in Somerset.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceCallum Lees, 20, was stabbed in the neck following what police believe to have been a row at a flat in the Kingshurst area. He died in hospital after being found on a nearby street.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceIn connection with the investigation, three men aged 21, 20 and 18 have been arrested and bailed pending further enquiries.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
The fire at a factory in Norton Canes near Cannock's been revealed to be inside a hopper as well as some of the pipes next to one of the buildings., external
Staffordshire Fire Service says they're continuing to work to put it out, using two main jets of water on the blaze.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire Service
BBC Sport
Wolves are the "best team in the Championship" according to Hull City head coach Leonid Slutsky in the wake of seeing his side beaten at home by Nuno's expensively reassembled outfit.
Image source, PABookmakers immediately responded to Wolves' 3-2 win on Tuesday by installing them as the new favourites for promotion.
Slutsky said: "We played the best team in the league.
"I have done a lot of research. Wolves are, in this moment, the best team."
Contractors made the discovery during maintenance work on Walsall Canal.
Read MoreEngland Test captain Joe Root says Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes will feel unfortunate to have missed out playing at his home ground in the day-night Test - the first to be held in the country.
The 28-year-old has been left out of the side to face the West Indies at Edgbaston on Thursday and Root says it's because Woakes needs more recovery time, having only just come back from a side strain.
Image source, Getty ImagesQuote Message[Woakes] will have definitely wanted to play here but with the lack of game time he's had, it felt like another week of loading up on overs, making sure he's absolutely ready coming back from a serious injury, is important."
Joe Root, England captain
BBC Sport
English cricket takes a step into the dark on Thursday with the first day-night Test played in the country when Joe Root's side faces West Indies.
The opening game of a three-match series is at Edgbaston and will be only the fifth Test anywhere to be played under the day-night format.
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland skipper Joe Root trains in evening conditions at Edgbaston
Here's what Warwickshire chief executive Neil Snowball told BBC Sport:
"It was first mooted by [ECB director of cricket] Andrew Strauss who was looking ahead to the Ashes this winter.
"We were cautious to start with - I'll be honest - because we've done 49 Tests and we sell Test cricket very well.
"But then the more we looked at, we thought 'well, actually, we are innovative, it will be a first and it should be good for Edgbaston'.
"Strauss and I sat in here at Edgbaston having a cup of tea watching the cricket last summer and decided, 'should we go for it or not?' We said 'yes, let's do it'. I'm delighted that we have."
A man has been arrested in Tividale today in connection with the international investigation into the kidnapping of model Chloe Ayling, the National Crime Agency says.
Michael Konrad Herba, 36, was arrested, it said, on a European arrest warrant issued by the Italian authorities. Officers from the West Midlands force and East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) carried out the operation.
Mr Herba is the brother of Lukasz Pawel Herba who, Italian police said last week, was arrested in connection with the case.
One of the volunteers who helped tackle the rubbish pile-up in Birmingham says he's relieved to hear that refuse collections are to resume.
Naveed Sadiq is in Bearded Broz, a group set up and run by volunteers from the Muslim community in Birmingham. It had been collecting bags of waste from city streets amid the bin strike, although it led to accusations its actions made it a "scab army".
Volunteers clear rubbish from Birmingham's streets
Despite collections resuming, Mr Sadiq said it was not the end of the campaign to keep streets clean.
Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes has been left out of the first pink-ball, day-night Test in this country.
England take on the West Indies at Woakes' home ground Edgbaston tomorrow.
Image source, BBC SportHull City boss Leonid Slutsky labels Wolves the "best team in the Championship" following the Tigers' 3-2 home defeat.
Read More
Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM
The role of council leader John Clancy appears to have been pivotal in today's relatively swift development following seven weeks of stalemate.
The union Unite said he "worked very hard and travelled the extra mile to achieve this solution, despite the reservations of some top council officials".
That certainly feels like a hint of the bitterness that underpinned this whole dispute.
Of course, not everyone supported the striking workers in the first place, with plenty feeling they were being held to ransom.
Most people will just be pleased their streets stand a chance of staying clean now the bin workers will be back on what Unite has described today as a "regular and seamless basis".
Birmingham City Council now has the task of finding elsewhere some of the savings it needs to make in waste management. We hope to hear something soon about how it intends to move forward.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
People living near a factory fire in Staffordshire this afternoon are being told to stay inside and keep doors and windows shut if they're affected by the smoke, external.
Image source, West Midlands Ambulance ServiceThe fire service along with other emergency services are tackling the blaze in Norton Green Lane, Norton Canes.
West Midlands Ambulance Service says no-one has been hurt as far as they are aware , externaland the road remains shut.
