BBC Newsbeat

A University of Birmingham student has told the BBC she's had to defend herself on social media after being labelled a "blackfish".

The term's been talked about a lot online in the past month since a Twitter thread by the writer Wanna Thompson went viral., external

Image source, Aga Brzostowska

The accusation is that white influencers on Instagram are changing their features to make themselves look more like black women, such as having darker skin or hairstyles that include curls and braids.

Aga Brzostowska says she's white and Polish but thinks people are surprised when they find out, due to "stereotypes" about what Polish people look like.

The 20-year-old admits two pictures of her which were doing the rounds on Twitter - one from when she was 13 and one taken recently - don't look good for her.

But she claims the differences in her appearance shown in the two pictures is completely natural - the result of hard work in the gym, and being fresh back from holiday - braids included.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

Oswestry's giant Knife Angel sculpture has captured the attention of William Shatner, the actor who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek.

It was moved to Liverpool last week, where it will stand outside the city's Anglican cathedral for two months, and its now attracting interest from a number of other cities, which might want to host it.

Mr Shatner made a joke about its similarity with the Weeping Angels on Doctor Who after seeing a photo of it, posted on Twitter.

BBC Sport

Czech netminder Miroslav Kopriva has returned to Coventry Blaze, after recovering from an injury he picked up earlier in the season.

He replaces Miika Wiikman, who left the yesterday after a disappointing spell with the club.

Image source, Scott Wiggins

Kopriva was the Blaze player of the month for October and head coach Danny Stewart said he will be back in time to prepare for this weekend's fixtures.

BBC News England

Talks to avert more strikes by rail workers in a long running dispute over guards on trains have collapsed.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said more walkouts on Northern would now go ahead every Saturday in December.

Image source, PA

The operator runs some services into and out of Stoke-on-Trent., external

The RMT called the firm a "basket-case" franchise and a "disgrace", blaming it for the breakdown in talks.

Northern said "all options" would be "considered" over a second member of staff on its services.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From the Stoke-on-Trent Live page:

• Police condemn 'despicable behaviour' of 'large number' of 'fans' at match, external
• Every bed to be axed at four hospitals in controversial NHS plan, external
• Dealer stopped by police threw up as he stuffed stash of cocaine in mouth, external

BBC Business News

A new father from Staffordshire says he found it hard to be accepted by mums in the area when he took parental leave after the birth of his daughter.

People have been sharing their stories following the release of a poll which suggested 27% of mothers did not enjoy their maternity leave as much as they thought they would.

Image source, PA

Craig Smith, 42, became a stay-at-home dad to Matilda in January when she was eight months old.

But he told the BBC his experience made him realise there is not enough support for stay-at-home dads.

"I tried to integrate with local playgroups, but the mums can be quite cliquey and it's very difficult for a dad to be accepted."

You can read more of Craig's story and those of other parents here on the BBC website.

BBC News Travel

Drivers on the M6 are being warned that one of the four lanes between Castle Bromwich and Spaghetti Junction is out of action "due to a technical issue".

Highways England says the fault is between J5 and J6, affecting the hard shoulder and will last all day, adding that motorists might want to use other routes., external

A man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a collision between his motorbike and a car near Hereford's Edgar Street stadium.

Emergency services were sent to Moor Street at 07:26 and there have been road closures by Edgar Street, Tesco island and Pizza Hut island.

A man who was seriously hurt on a road in Birmingham last night had been attacked and pushed into oncoming traffic, police say.

Officers say the victim, aged in his 40s, suffered severe head injuries in the assault on Alcester Road, Balsall Heath.

He's in a critical condition in hospital and the force says officers have cordoned off the area.

Leicester's Kyle Eastmond and Worcester's Chris Pennell receive bans at an independent disciplinary panel hearing.

BBC Sport

Wolves will be without midfielder Ruben Neves (pictured) as they host Chelsea this evening.

He's serving a one-game ban after accumulating five yellow cards, which could mean Morgan Gibbs-White, 18, starts his first Premier League game.

Image source, Getty Images

Alternative replacements include Romain Saiss and out-of-favour summer signing Leander Dendoncker.

Wolves' defeat at Cardiff on Friday means they have now taken only one point from their past six games.

A man's been found with serious injuries on a road in Birmingham which has been sealed off by police.

They've placed a tent on the A435 Moseley Road, near the junction with Homer Street, in Balsall Heath.

Officers say the man was found at 21:15 last night and is in hospital.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed last night.

Image source, Google

Police say a vehicle was reported to have been rammed in Central Drive, Lower Gornal, Dudley, and two men were then chased by a group carrying weapons.

Officers say one of the men, 34, was found critically hurt with stab wounds and died at the scene.

They arrested the three men, aged 32, 36 and 41, at a house in Lower Gormal and they're still in custody.

BBC News England

The BBC has been analysing the impact of austerity since 2010 on English councils and their budgets.

When you account for inflation - or how much more expensive everything else is getting - some councils have had to cut areas of their spending by half.

Housing and planning budgets have been particularly hit, with only children's social care seeing rising spending.

You can see the full results of the analysis here on the BBC website, including what's happened to council tax, where most of the money's spent and the fall in council spending in real terms.

BBC News Travel

A lorry's come off a road near Hereford., external

It happened on the B4348 near Locks Garage and the council said the road would have to be shut from the A465 junction to Haywood Road, for recovery of the vehicle.

Image source, Herefordshire Council

A main city centre road has been shut this morning by a serious crash., external

Image source, West Mercia Police

Police say it happened just before 08:00 in Edgar Street, Hereford.

They haven't revealed exactly what's happened but say the road's completely shut between the Pizza Hut and Tesco roundabouts. , external

Officers warn that'll "bring gridlock at this time of the morning".

Allen Cook
BBC News

Bottles, flares and parts of seats were seen being thrown on to the pitch by BBC Radio Stoke's commentary team during last night's derby football game between Port Vale and Stoke City under-21s.

Both Matt Sandoz and Lee Blakeman said the game had to be halted at times due to the disorder, with smoke blowing on to the pitch.

After the match, police said they'd arrested 11 people and, during the match, seats, toilets and windows were broken in the away stand., external

BBC Midlands Today

There's a row developing over plans to change the way pupils are admitted, external to the King Edward VI state grammar schools in Birmingham.

Officials at the schools say they want to give more priority to local children by creating catchment areas.

Critics say it could backfire, with wealthier families renting or buying in the new areas.

The executive director of the schools says there are also plans to increase the number of places given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

BBC Midlands Today

The parents of a woman who died after overdosing on diet pills are meeting with the Home Office today.

Image source, Family Handout

Bethany Shipsey, 21, from Worcester, died after taking tablets containing the substance DNP in February 2017.

Her parents are due to meet with Home Office minister Victoria Atkins as they want the sale of DNP to be controlled and regulated.

It is currently not illegal to buy and sell because it has legitimate industrial uses.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

Birmingham City Council has revealed it has cost £1.25bn to settle equal pay claims brought mainly by women who missed out on bonuses.

A special meeting of the authority's cabinet this week, external heard a further £150m has been set aside to settle any outstanding claims.

The council's faced thousands of equal pay claims since 2006, after the national Single Status Agreement was brought in for the city, to remove unequal pay in the council.