The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall met the new artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet during a visit to Cuba.

Image source, Getty Images

World-renowned ballet dancer Carlos Acosta will take up his position in the city in January 2020.

During the visit to the Acosta Dance Company he told the royal couple it was time for the UK to build bridges with the Communist country of his birth.

Image source, Getty Images

The royal couple have made history by becoming the first members of the royal family to visit Cuba in an official capacity.

Express and Star

These are some of the early headlines on the Express and Star website:

• Wolves travel to China for pre-season tournament, external
• M6 hotel, business park and petrol station plans set to be approved, external
• Images released of Walsall masterplan, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

A "land swap" deal to acquire the site of the future Athletes’ Village for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games looks set to be approved.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Papers have revealed how the council intends to swap a piece of land it owns in Digbeth for the former Birmingham University site.

The Perry Barr site has recently been undergoing extensive works to prepare it for the coming games and will play host to 6,800 athletes and officials in 2022.

It will then be turned into around 1,400 homes as part of the games’ legacy.

Papers from a council meeting to be held later show the council-owned land at New Bond Street in Digbeth will be ‘swapped’ for the Homes England site, with the council also required to pay “a balancing sum representing the difference in valuations of the properties being purchased and disposed of, including associated fees”.

Joe Lycett has said that the LGBT community has a "problem" with the way it communicates online.

The Birmingham comedian has called for people to be "compassionate" when dealing with those who are unfamiliar with LGBT concepts.

The TV presenter said he felt too many demands were placed on people to understand the different academic views on gender and sexuality.

He said the LGBT community should try to help people who want to learn more about these issues.

A derelict pub in Birmingham has been destroyed in a fire overnight.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Firefighters were called to the Kingstanding pub shortly before 23:00, with roads closed around the area for a time.

The fire involved the whole of the building but crews managed to stop it spreading to a neighbouring retail unit.

An investigation is now taking place.

BBC News Travel

Rail services between Birmingham New Street and Redditch are being delayed due to problems with overhead wires.

Tickets are being accepted on local bus routes.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

After a cold start it will be a fine and sunny day with highs of 12C (54F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service.

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 saxophonist will undergo surgery the day he was due to begin touring with the group.

The woman in charge of the trust running Parkfield school defends its LGBT rights teaching.

Wales international winger Josh Adams says it was not an easy decision to join Cardiff Blues and that he did think about staying at Worcester.

A 34-year-old man was detained under the Mental Health Act over vandalism at five mosques.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

Vicky Norton
BBC Radio Stoke

Tonight will see the start of a £17.5m scheme to widen the A500 in Staffordshire., external

Image source, Highways England

Over the next 18 months, Highways England is adding a third lane in both directions between Porthill and Wolstanton. , external

For the next two weeks, from tonight, the route will be shut overnight to allow work to reduce the lanes to be carried out., external

Then, for the rest of the works, Highways England says it will still run two lanes of traffic on each side but with a reduced speed limit.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Police say they're satisfied a series of attacks on mosques in Birmingham weren't acts of terrorism or motivated by right wing extremism., external

Image source, PA

Five mosques had their windows smashed early on Thursday.

A 34-year-old man, from Perry Barr, handed himself into a police station on Friday and has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Two 18-year-old men have been arrested in connection with an assault in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Officers are trying to trace a woman who may have witnessed the attack on a 20-year-old man as he was walking through a tunnel linking Kingswood Road to Beverley Avenue.

A 16-year-old boy has also been interviewed under caution, said Warwickshire Police.

Det Sgt David Moorman, from Nuneaton CID, said: "We have seen video footage of the incident and are trying to identify this woman who was in the area and may have information that could help with our investigation."

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It will be a clear and cold night with some mist patches and lows of 3C (37F).

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

The idea of building thousands of new homes in Staffordshire's moved a step closer today.

Image source, PA

The government's awarded Stafford Borough Council £750,000 to explore the concept of building a new garden town called Meecebrook. , external

The proposal would see a new community of around 10,000 homes built in Cold Meece near Stone.

The government's already supporting plans for the proposed Long Marston Airfield Garden Village in Warwickshire.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire Service

A farm vehicle's been destroyed in a blaze this afternoon. , external

Hereford and Worcester Fire Service said it happened in a field near Llangarron, Herefordshire, this afternoon.

Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire Service

An expert witness tells a court the words of Alice Cutter have echoes "of Nazi Germany".