Live updates from Monday 29 October to Sunday 4 November
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Birmingham Live
Some of today's Birmingham Live headlines are:
West Mercia Police says the body found in the River Severn in Worcester last night is probably that of Steven Downing, a 58-year-old man from the Kidderminster area who was last seen on Sunday.
His death is currently being treated as unexplained, and the force said the investigation is on-going.
Image source, West Mercia PoliceThe body was found near to Quay Street at around 15:00.
The body has yet to be formally identified, but his family have been informed, police say.
Coventry council's plans to redevelop its post-war shopping precinct has been cited as a good example of how to revive a shopping centre, but risks public money.
More than 200 UK shopping centres are in danger of falling into administration, experts are warning.
Image source, Coventry City CouncilAnalyst Nelson Blackley from the from the National Retail Research Knowledge Exchange Centre, external, said local authority investments are positive, but "do risk public money," and are not sustainable long term.
In Shrewsbury, Shropshire Council bought three centres to "support economic growth and regeneration" in the town centre.
Whether such schemes will work depends on the passion and vision of the authorities concerned and whether they are able to secure private investment, he said.
A plaque commemorating Shrewsbury stained-glass artist Margaret Rope, is to be unveiled today.
Born in 1882, she designed windows for more than 60 churches across the world.
Shrewsbury Civic Society has awarded plaques in the past to acknowledge architectural achievements, but this is the first time it's honoured an individual.
She was considered an unconventional rebel in her youth, but went on to become a Carmelite nun, and her work was recognised in a 2016 exhibition.
Victorian artist turned nun wins acclaim for glass work
BBC Sport
Port Vale manager Neil Aspin says he's not bothered how entertaining his team's games are, as long as they win.
They've won two of their last three matches 1-0, and have kept clean sheets in their last four.
Image source, Getty ImagesAspin asked if fans would be more entertained by a dull win or a high-scoring defeat and said he's not bothered about being labelled a boring side.
Quote MessageIdeally everybody wants to have a team that wins and entertains, of course everybody does. But realistically, how many managers, how many teams are able to do that?"
Neil Aspin, Port Vale manager
Investigations are continuing after a body was pulled from the River Severn in Worcester on Wednesday.
Image source, GooglePolice were called to Quay Street at about 15:00.
The death is being treated as unexplained.
Coventry Live
Some of the headlines on the Coventry Live website this morning are:
BBC Business News
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 13% slide in sales on Wednesday and has launched a "far reaching" cost-cutting drive.
Image source, Getty ImagesThomas Moore, a fund manager at Aberdeen Standard, told BBC Five Live: "There are lots of reasons car companies are struggling and it's not just in the UK... There have been profit warnings all over the place."
For JLR specifically, he says, there's a "product issue" as the firm doesn't offer enough hybrid cars currently.
He says demand has been good for years, but now it's slipping due to macro economic factors, including lower demand in China, uncertainty over diesel and Brexit.
"It all adds up to a slowdown but it's not a disaster for JLR," he says.
A team that performs thousands of heart scans a year at Shropshire's two acute hospitals has been officially recognised.
The echo department at the Shewsbury and Telford NHS Trust has been praised by the British Society of Echo-cardiography, for seeing patients within the national six-week target.
The decision to move Channel 4's national headquarters to Leeds won't stop work on building Birmingham's creative industries, said the West Midlands mayor.
The city missed out in the race to host the broadcaster's base.
Andy Street said Birmingham had put forward a "great package" and had been left "bewildered and disappointed" at the move.
West Midlands mayor 'depressed and cross' at Channel 4 decision
A 70-year-old woman was held down and threatened in her own home by hooded robbers pretending to be undercover police officers.
Image source, GoogleShe opened the door of her home in Devon Road, Willenhall, to the men, believing they were "trusted members of the community", said West Midlands Police., external
The four men, wearing ski masks, fled with a large amount of cash after searching the property, between 17:00 and 17:45 on Tuesday, said West Midlands Police.
Det Con Nicola Williams, from the force said: "Fortunately the woman wasn't injured in what would have been a terrifying ordeal."
Here are some of the stories making the early headlines on the Express & Star website:
The NHS is spending almost £3m a year removing foreign objects from ears and noses, a new study shows.
Image source, PAResearchers in Birmingham and Wales found that jewellery was the most common item that medics needed to remove.
The paper, titled Will Children Ever Learn?, states an average of 1,218 nasal and 2,479 aural foreign body removals are performed each year.
"In the nose, jewellery is followed by paper and plastic toys, whereas in the ears, cotton buds and pencils are the most likely culprits after jewellery," the report said.
BBC Business News
Patisserie Valerie shareholders gather later today for an extraordinary meeting to approve the fundraising needed to keep the troubled cafe chain afloat.
Image source, Getty ImagesThomas Moore at Aberdeen Standard Investments tells Today the firm, which owns a 1% stake in the Birmingham-based company, is expected to vote in favour of the plan - otherwise the company would collapse.
While he would not reveal whether Aberdeen Standard will vote against Luke Johnson's re-election as chairman, it will oppose the entrepreneur's re-election position as chair of the audit committee. Having the dual roles is a "conflict of interest", Mr Moore says.
Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis is recommending that investors vote against Mr Johnson's re-election as chairman, he adds.
Medicinal cannabis products can now be legally prescribed to some patients across the UK for the first time following a campaign over two boys with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil.
Image source, PAOne of them, Alfie Dingley, from Kenilworth, was granted a special licence in June to use medicinal cannabis oil to treat his epilepsy that causes up to 150 seizures a month.
The treatments can be prescribed only by specialist doctors in a limited number of circumstances where other medicines have failed.
Alfie's family petitioned the government in March after they found his condition improved when he was given a cannabis-based medication in the Netherlands, where it is legal, in September 2017.
A meat cleaver was confiscated from a man on Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield after officers received reports of a male walking around with a knife.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands Police tweeted , externalas they were just around the corner: "We called trick or treat.
"Halloween is no excuse".
Police are beginning their fourth day of searches in the garden of a house in Sutton Coldfield, as part of the investigation into the murder of Suzy Lamplugh.
Image source, Getty ImagesInvestigations centre around the back garden of a house once owned by the mother of prime suspect John Cannan in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.
A fourth forensic tent was erected closer to the house, in the garden, of the property on Wednesday.
Her sister, Lizzie Bingham said she hoped her body would be found so the family can "finally have closure".
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
After a wet start for some, it should be a mainly dry day with fine spells and highs of 10C (50F).
Latest weather for the West Midlands
Vanessa Pearce
BBC News
Welcome to our live service for Thursday.
We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.
We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external
The yoga teacher attempting to get a vintage ambulance back on the road.
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