BBC Business News

The music retailer HMV is poised to enter administration for the second time in six years, a move that would affect 2,200 staff at its 130 stores.

The chain operates more than 10 stores in the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Coventry, Nuneaton, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Telford, Stoke-on-Trent, Burton upon Trent, Hereford and Worcester.

Image source, Google

HMV's sales have been hit by competition from streaming services and online retailers.

The BBC understands the company could appoint administrators as soon as Friday.

In 2013, the chain was taken over by Hilco, which specialises in restructuring companies.

Herefordshire soldier Lou Rudd is hoping to complete his trek across Antarctica today and become the first British person to ski across the continent solo and unsupported.

The US explorer Colin O'Brady narrowly beat him to it, finishing the journey in 54 days and becoming the first person in the world to achieve the feat, but Captain Rudd has said in his blog he never saw it as a race.

Image source, Lou Rudd

Today, Capt Rudd is a little more than 19 miles from his goal and if all goes to plan today he will have completed the journey in a total of 56 days.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

The tragic deaths of Corey and Casper Platt-May, fatal stabbings, and the ongoing Ricoh row have been highlighted among Coventry’s biggest concerns from 2018.

Image source, Coventry City Council

The death of young brothers Corey and Casper in a hit-and-run in February was “one of the worst situations this year”, Coventry City Council leader George Duggins said.

Stabbings, including the deaths of 16-year-old Jaydon James and Fidel Glasgow, have also highlighted a need for partnership working between the police, council and schools, he added.

But successful music festivals in Coventry, being named as the UK’s European City of Sport for 2019, and work on new sports facilities are among the positives from the year, Mr Duggins said.

A petition to stop a Hay Festival volunteer being deported back to the Democratic Republic of Congo has now been signed by more than 8,000 people.

Image source, HBTSR

Otis Bolamu worked for the DR Congo government before seeking asylum in Swansea, the petition said.

It added friends told him he was suspected of spying for the opposition and was in "severe danger".

The petition, by Hay, Brecon & Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees, said Mr Bolamu was detained on 19 December and called on the home secretary to review his case.

The Home Office said all asylum claims were "carefully considered on their individual merits".

Joe Rowlands resuscitated Paul, 50, after he passed out in cold waters off the Anglesey coast.

Birmingham Live

These are some of the Birmingham Live headlines:

• Police van overturns in shopping centre crash, external
• Officer bitten after stopping man running into lorry, external
• Council fails to deal with brazen fly-tippers, external

A serious fire at a property in Oldbury last night is being investigated by police.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Crews were initially called to the Salop Road property at 23:20, said the fire service, and it's understood a number of people were evacuated.

Image source, Rais Hussain

Firefighters managed to contain the blaze preventing it from spreading to adjoining properties and businesses,the fire service tweeted., external

No one was hurt in the fire, said the ambulance service.

BBC Midlands Today

A group of filmmakers in Coventry are hoping to raise £1.2m to produce a film in tribute to soldiers from the city who lost their lives in World War One.

The feature would tell the tale of a young boy with autism who befriends an army of ghosts on a quest to save Coventry's Memorial Park.

The producers of Robert and the Ghost Army hope to complete the project by 2021 when Coventry will take up the title of UK City of Culture.

Express and Star

Here are a few of the early headlines on the Express & Star website:

• 1,300 jobs axed at Wolverhampton council in five years, external
• 128 homes to be built on West Bromwich factory site, external
• Dudley Council officer "cleared" over claims of anti-Semitic posts, external

BBC Business News

Women are put off from applying for jobs in male dominated industries because of "restrictive" application forms, a top business chief has said.

Severn Trent Water chief executive Liv Garfield, one of the UK's youngest female CEOs, said some women were not applying for roles because of "must have" skills lists.

She said companies needed more female trailblazers.

The Coventry-based company "blind marks" CVs - removing applicants' names, race or sex, she said.

It has been a tough year for the West Midlands Police force, according to its Police and Crime Commissioner.

Image source, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner

There have been a total of 20 fatal stabbings and seven fatal shootings since January.

Officers also had to investigate an extra 1,000 burglaries compared with 2017, and the number of 999 calls rose to 66,000 - 2,000 more than last year, said David Jamieson.

He said the force was facing these pressures as their spending powers continue to shrink.

The Shrewsbury Town manager Sam Ricketts says he's still confident his side can beat Sunderland this weekend, despite the home team expecting another huge crowd for the game.

Image source, Getty Images

On Boxing Day, the Black Cats won in front of a season's best English Football League crowd of 46,039 - the third highest attendance for a match in England on a Wednesday.

Shrewsbury will go into the match on the back of an away defeat to Accrington.

A new warehouse has been opened in Coventry to store surplus second-hand books, as companies report a rise in the number of them being sold.

Image source, World of Books

World of Books started when its founders noticed surplus books being chucked out of a charity shop, destined for landfill. They bought them on the spot, determined to give them a second life.

They've just opened the warehouse that will allow them to store more than the 2.8 million books they currently have in stock.

"The majority of books we buy and sell are the everyday books people have on their shelves," says Ben Wadsworth, the firm's marketing manager.

"Things like textbooks, anything academic tends to hold its value."

BBC News

The most recent set of figures show that police recorded 39,332 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument - a 12% rise year-on-year, and the highest number since 2011.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics cover the first six months of 2018 as well as the final half of 2017.

Image source, Getty

London had by far the highest rate of knife crime, with about 17 offences per 10,000 people, followed by West Yorkshire with 10.7 offences per 10,000 people, and the West Midlands which had 9.8 offences per 10,000 people.

The vast majority of knife crimes were robberies (16,801) or assaults (18,402); 263 were cases of murder or manslaughter, 50 more than the previous year.

BBC News has been looking at some of the stories behind the latest knife crime statistics.

About 500 properties in the Stoke-on-Trent area are without power.

Engineers are on site working to restore it, says Western Power Distribution.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

After a misty start it will be a cloudy day with some bright spells and highs of 11C (51F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 on Friday (that's 28 December for those of you who've lost track during Christmas).

Keep an eye out here for more updates before then.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

Plenty of cloud will linger overnight although some clearer breaks are possible as well. There will be some mist and fog developing too with just a gentle breeze.

If you want a forecast for your area at any other time, head to the BBC Weather website.

Police are appealing for information to help locate a wanted Worcester man.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Joseph Roberts, 27, failed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on 21 December, external for sentencing, in relation to a charge of wounding, West Mercia Police said.

He is described as white, 5ft 11ins and of a slim build. He has a Midlands accent.

Roberts is believed to have connections to the Dines Green area of Worcester.