Updates from Monday 12 to Friday 16 March
Click on Related Stories to view stories from your area
Princess Anne is to visit Newport to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Harper Adams.
He was a wealthy farmer whose legacy paid for what the institution now known as Harper Adams University.
The princess is a chancellor of the university and will visit on 2 May.
Former Stockport, Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town and Crewe goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn dies at the age of 72.
Read MoreThe Met Office is warning we could see some snow in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and parts of Birmingham on Sunday and has issued a yellow warning.
Image source, Met OfficeThe Met Office says there could be showers throughout the day and they could cause some disruption to travel.
Here are three of the top stories from The Sentinel today:
Theresa May is insisting the government will "act in the national interest" over any attempted hostile takeover of the engineering firm, GKN.
The turnaround specialist, Melrose, has made a revised £8bn bid to buy the firm, which employs people in Birmingham, Telford, Leek and Redditch and 6,000 people across the UK.
Image source, GKNGKN, based in Redditch, has rejected the latest offer, saying it continues to "fundamentally undervalue" the firm.
Speaking in Parliament, Birmingham MP Jack Dromey called on the prime minister to "intervene" to block the "hostile takeover" in the "national interest".
Quote MessageIt's under this government that we've seen the changes introduced to the takeover code, to provide greater transparency, to give target firms more time to respond. There are a narrow range of scenarios where ministers can intervene on mergers on public interest grounds, but we will always ensure that we act in the national interest."
Theresa May, Prime Minister
Two former West Midlands Police officers allegedly failed to investigate the causes of the disaster properly.
Read MoreSupt Tom Harding says he doesn't recognise the figure of 1,000 victims which has been widely reported.
Read MoreTelford and Wrekin Council has been urged to spend some of the money set aside for 50th birthday celebrations on an inquiry into child sex exploitation instead.
The call has come from the leader of the Conservative opposition on Telford and Wrekin Council, Andrew Eade, who also said the inquiry should have been called 15 months ago, when it was suggested by his party.
Image source, Wrekin ConservativesCouncillor Eade said the decision not to act in 2016 was at best "a severe misjudgement, at worst it is wholly negligent".
This year, Telford is marking 50 years since its creation as a new town, with a number of events and community spending programmes lined up.
Allen Cook
BBC News
Tributes are being paid across the globe following the death of the world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking at the age of 76.
Locally, Hereford Cathedral shared photos this morning of his visit in 2014., external
Image source, Hereford CathedralIt tweeted that Prof Hawking viewed the Mappa Mundi while he was attending an international conference in the city.
The 700-year-old circular map shows a Medieval Christian view of the world, placing Jerusalem at the centre.
Walsall is among five councils who have been told to adopt new integration plans to deal with problems of segregation.
Jess Phillips, MP for Yardley said she thinks "it's not a bad model".
She tweeted, external: "I think mixing kids in schools is vital and this is not a bad model, but it falls down with primary school models because parents don't have time to travel 40 mins to a school with young kids."
Image source, UK ParliamentThe plan includes schemes to encourage pupils to form lasting relationships with those from different backgrounds.
England back-rowers Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes are set to miss the rest of the season after knee ligament surgery.
Read More
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport
Coventry City are back in the League Two promotion play-off places after a 2-2 draw against Luton at the Ricoh.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Sky Blues led 2-0 through Peter Vincenti and Mark McNulty before Coventry-born James Collins grabbed a late equaliser for the visitors.
City boss Mark Robins says blowing a two-goal lead is "frustrating".
Toys R Us is set to close its UK stores it is understood, after the company's administrators failed to find a buyer for the retailer.
Last year, 26 store closures were announced, including ones in Birmingham and Shrewsbury.
Now it is believed that all 3,000 jobs at the company will go and all its stores will be closed within the next six weeks.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe toy firm currently has stores in Solihull, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and Coventry.
Allen Cook
BBC News
A historic steam locomotive is due to arrive in the Midlands tomorrow by road after it became trapped on a railway line following damage to a bridge.
Tornado was unable to leave the North Yorkshire Moors Railway after a bin lorry hit a bridge at Castleton Moor on Monday.
The locomotive is now being moved by low-loader from today to get to an event at the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) on Friday.
Today SVR said it expected Tornado to arrive tomorrow for its Spring Steam Gala , externalwhich will run between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth.
The £3m locomotive is owned by a trust and was built by a group of rail enthusiasts in Darlington and Doncaster over a 18-year period.
The man in charge of policing in Telford says his officers aren't afraid to tackle the issue of child sex exploitation.
Earlier, the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, said in the past "too many people in authority felt that they shouldn't say anything because they'd be labelled racist"
But Supt Tom Harding replied, saying, "My officers will stop, [and] engage with people for a variety of reasons and the race of that person does not enter their minds".
Supt Harding also said: "sexual offending across Telford & Wrekin is virtually identically proportionate to the break-down of society so it is not one particular section over others and we will tackle it wherever it is."
West Merica Police says it is currently dealing with 46 young people who are victims of child sexual exploitation or are at risk of being abused in Telford.
The Coventry Telegraph is looking at these stories today, among others:
Birmingham New Street station is warning Cheltenham-goers to allow extra time to travel to the event.
It has a queuing system system in place, but as you can see, it's busy!
Image source, @NetworkRailBHMOne man has gone to hospital with "minor burns" after a house fire in Staffordshire this morning, West Midlands Ambulance Service has said.
Three other people were checked over at the scene after the fire in Huntington.
Image source, West Midlands Fire ServiceThe chair of governors at a Hereford secondary school say students are "breaking down in tears" at the news it's going to close.
The Regional Schools Commissioner has said all 47 pupils at the The Robert Owen Academy will have to find other places.
Image source, GoogleIt teaches vocational and social skills to students aged 14-19 and claims to "promote aspiration and nurture innovation in all our learners to create a flexible approach to 14-19 study that is genuinely personalised".
Quote MessageWe've had students that have been breaking down in tears. A lot of these young people, have come from schools that have failed them within the county and some of them have come from more than one school, none of which were able to meet their needs. And at Robert Owen they found somewhere where they felt valued."
Deborah Gittoes, Chair of the governors, Robert Owen Academy
BBC Midlands Today
The top police officer responsible for child protection across the UK says "difficult cultural questions" need to be asked about the type of alleged abuse in Telford.
Ch Con Simon Bailey was answering questions from the Commons Home Affairs Committee.
He told MPs there are similarities between the problems in Telford and in other towns and cities.
Quote MessageMy concern around this is that we're not asking the really difficult questions that come out of this particular model of abuse. What culturally drives this, what culturally permits the type of abuse we are seeing in that particular type of offending model."
Simon Bailey, Ch Con
