Live updates from Monday 17 September to Sunday 23 September
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Joshua Cook
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
A cafe in Coventry is being run by refugees in a bid to help them integrate in their new communities.
People from Iraq and Syria work at the Arabian Bites cafe as volunteers.
Specialising in Middle Eastern dishes, those involved get a chance to practise their English and meet customers from the local area.
Coventry refugees cafe to 'improve integration'
BBC Midlands Today
One of theatre's most famous comedies - by the french playwright Molière - is being given a Brummie twist by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Set in the Pakistani Muslim community of modern-day Birmingham, Tartuffe tells the story of a trickster, who preys on the vulnerability of others.
It’s been adapted by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto, who worked on well-known sitcoms like Goodness Gracious Me.
Directed by Birmingham born Iqbal Khan, the show runs at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until the 23 February.
After a dry evening it will become very windy tonight, with further rain for a time and lows of 10C (50F).
There is a yellow warning for wind in place from 21:00 until 09:00 on Friday.
Latest weather for the West Midlands
Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester
Worcestershire County Council is facing major cuts, with hundreds of jobs in the firing line as the authority tries to save £17m.
At a briefing today, the authority told staff that most jobs would either be deleted completely or held vacant when a staff member leaves.
There's also a risk of bus services being scaled back and libraries are to be placed under review.
On top of the £17m gap to be plugged by March, the authority's leadership says another £8m of spending cuts will not be possible to achieve by then and will be carried over to 2019-20.
The council says it's appealing to the government to step in and offer a better funding deal.
Proving it really is "weather for ducks" at the moment, BBC Weather Watcher Rsjkinson snapped this photo in Tamworth, Staffordshire:
Image source, RsjkinsonThe weather's certainly turned wet this week, here's another photo from fellow weather watcher Liam Ball in Dawley, Shropshire:
Image source, Liam BallCinemas across the West Midlands are putting on dementia-friendly screenings tomorrow of the film Mamma Mia.
Image source, ReutersOdeon says the events, which coincide with World Alzheimer's Day, will have subtle changes including more lighting and lower sound levels, as well as an interval.
Cinemas taking part include those in Tamworth, Birmingham, Nuneaton and Stoke-on-Trent.
The arrival of Storm Bronagh may make for some difficult driving conditions this evening, the Met Office is warning.
A yellow warning for rain is in force until 22:00 which skirts the south and west of the region, and a warning for wind in in place from 18:00 today until 09:00 Friday for the whole of the West Midlands.
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The RMT union announces further action over train guards on the South Western and Northern networks.
Read More
BBC News
An extraordinary archive of letters written by survivors of the Spanish flu pandemic, is helping to provide insights into life in the shadow of a killer disease.
Image source, Welcome LibraryBequeathed to the museum by historian and journalist Richard Collier, the collection was amassed in the 1970s and includes an account from Coventry, where in 1918 25% of deaths were attributed to the disease
One nine-year-old girl from the city whose 35-year-old mother and seven-year-old sister died two days apart wrote to Mr Collier in the 1970s about the impact of the disease.
"It really was a terrible time, not knowing who we were going to lose next."
Charlotte A Broadbent
BBC Hereford and Worcester
The parents of a university student who's gone missing in Worcester during freshers' week say they spoke to him on the phone at around the time he was last seen.
Police teams have been searching the River Severn by the city's racecourse, external for 18-year-old Thomas Jones, who was last seen in the area in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
West Mercia Police says officers are getting very concerned about his welfare.
Quote MessageIt's so out-of-character for him. We always know where he is, he'll drop us a text. He's been out into town in Bromsgrove and been with his mates and will always drop us a text, even if it's two o'clock in the morning."
Vicki Jones, Mother
These stories are being covered in the Hereford Times today:
Bob Hockenhull
BBC Midlands Today
A man says he was lucky to be alive after a tree fell on to his car in the strong winds yesterday.
Image source, Tony LoveringIt happened when Storm Ali hit the UK and Tony Lovering was driving on Lawnswood Road, between Wordsley and Kinver in Staffordshire.
He told the BBC he just managed to brake in time when he saw a large beech tree falling on to the road.
It smashed into the front of his car, damaging the bonnet and windscreen but leaving him without any serious injuries.
Quote MessageAnother foot further on, it would have squashed the car and I wouldn't be here today, I was quite lucky to get out."
Tony Lovering, Driver
William Billingham is accused of murdering his eight-year-old daughter who was stabbed in the chest.
Read MoreThey operated from a flat in Greater Manchester and flooded north-east England with drugs.
Read MoreEdward Galbraith, drunk on Lambrini and John Smith's, fell asleep after breaking into the shop.
Read MoreAn imminent ruling over the Birmingham Bomb attacks has postponed a pre-inquest review into the IRA's Guilford pub bombs.
The Appeal Court is expected to say next week whether the suspected Birmingham bombers can be named.
Surrey Coroner Richard Travers postponed his hearing after lawyers for Surrey Police advised him the ruling would be "potentially relevant".
Allen Cook
BBC News
There are three flood alerts in Staffordshire as heavy rain falls across the county.
Image source, GoogleThe alert from the Environment Agency mean that flooding is possible.
The three are for:
Sophie Calvert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
A community group says it's hoping to reopen a sports centre early next year after securing £300,000 from the local council., external
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's agreed to pledge the money to part-fund the "significant refurbishment" of Kidsgrove Sports Centre.
The facility shut last year because the same authority said it couldn't afford to maintain or repair the building.
Kidsgrove Sports Centre Community Group is going to run it and Staffordshire County Council will meet next week to discuss if it can fund the rest of the overall £700,000 cost for repairs.
Jamie Porter takes 11 wickets in the match as Essex win by an innings to relegate Worcestershire back to Division Two.
Read MoreBudding artists across Herefordshire are being asked to come up with a design for an official flag for the county.
Out of the 39 historic English counties, 36 already have an official flag - including Worcestershire, which got one (pictured) back in 2013 following a competition run by BBC Hereford and Worcester.
Together with Herefordshire Council, the radio station is now backing a competition being launched later this year for a Herefordshire flag.
The Herefordshire Culture Partnership, which got the authority's backing to launch the project, says it will be decided by a public vote.
