Updates from Monday 28 October to Sunday 3 November
Fire crews are working to put out a blaze caused by an electrical fault under a busy city centre road.
Image source, @RSVP_West_MidsPart of New Street, Birmingham was cordoned off by West Midlands Police., external
West Midlands Fire Service said, external crews were working with Western Power Distribution to cut off the electrics so they could fight the fire in a service hatch.
Police say an electrical fault has caused the fire that is being photographed by bystanders.
Read MorePart of a bridge is going to be shut on Monday so trapped debris can be removed after this week's flooding.
Image source, Worcestershire County CouncilThe heavy rain at the weekend saw the River Severn rise significantly after a month's worth of downpours in little over 24 hours.
Worcestershire County Council says Worcester Bridge eastbound and one lane westbound will be closed on Monday from 09:30 so a crane can remove the debris., external
Dwaine Haughton was a passenger in a car "minding his own business" when he was shot, police say.
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Allen Cook
BBC News
Part of Birmingham city centre has been cordoned off after reports of smoke and flames coming from the street., external
West Midlands Police is at New Street and says , externalthere's been an underground electrical fault, with officers assisting the fire service.
They add there are no reports of any injuries and there isn't thought to be a danger to the public.
Image source, @joeyfitz91
BBC Radio Shropshire Sport
The New Saints can go back to the top of the Welsh Premier League with a win away to title-rivals Connah's Quay Nomads tonight.
Two points separate the top three sides in the division, after Connah's Quay slipped up at Aberystwyth Town a week ago.
Image source, GoogleTheir opponents haven't yet been beaten in the league and have conceded just nine goals in their 12 games.
BBC Business News
Train managers on Virgin West Coast are to stage a 24-hour strike in a dispute over the dismissal of a colleague.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on 19 November, following weeks of banning overtime.
Image source, Getty ImagesRMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "I urge all Virgin West Coast members to continue their magnificent solidarity and support for our colleague who has been treated so disgracefully."
But Virgin said: "The incident which led to a train manager being dismissed for gross misconduct was widely reported on social media and involved a disabled customer who was prevented from boarding one of our trains."
In April, an autistic woman was reportedly blocked from boarding a train at Crewe station.
Virgin is set to lose the West Coast franchise from next month.
Staffordshire triple jumper Ben Williams looks Tokyo-bound for next year's Olympic Games - but admits he came close to quitting.
Read MoreThe Rugby World Cup will be an early test for an newlywed couple as they cheer on their respective teams on Saturday.
Image source, Getty ImagesRosie and Ken Marshall spent their honeymoon in Japan following their sides - only to find they would be facing one another in the final.
The pair will be watching at home in Birmingham while wearing the Mr and Mrs South Africa and England shirts bought for them as a wedding present.
Image source, Getty Images"Rosie and I will be happy for the other whatever the result - even if bragging rights will be decided for the next four years," said Ken, 37, originally from Johannesburg.
"It will be a great match and I just hope England win," said Rosie, 31.
The architects who helped transform Shrewsbury's Old Market Hall into a cafe and Cinema have been employed to help plan the transformation of the county town.
The Shrewsbury Big Town Plan partnership, a group of organisations made up of Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council and the business group Shrewsbury BID, have asked Glenn Howells Architects to look at improving access to the town centre.
Image source, LDA DesignThe partnership says it hopes a masterplan for the changes can be published in the spring.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare
The combined authority will meet next week to approve £25m worth of funding for the redevelopment of the Alexander stadium in Birmingham.
Image source, Birmingham City CouncilDue to be discussed during next Friday’s board meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the cash will make up just over a third of the overall funding for the project totalling £72,534,000.
Redevelopment of the stadium is one of the cornerstones of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with the venue set to host the opening ceremony, closing ceremony and athletics events.
The funding will go toward delivering a new covered West Stand, with the permanent capacity of the stadium set to expand from 12,700 to 17,000.
The Hereford Times' headlines today include:
Drivers are being advised to avoid Bromford Lane in West Bromwich due to a burst water main.
Four-way traffic lights installed at the junction with Kelvin Way are likely to cause travel delays, said South Staffordshire Water.
Engineers are working to repair the main as quickly as possible, it added.
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Allen Cook
BBC News
Former Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach, who's announced she's joined the Liberal Democrats, has had a turbulent 2019, having reported being called a "disgrace" by a colleague and receiving death threats over her position on Brexit.
Having been a Welsh assembly member, she first took the safe Conservative Cheshire seat of Eddisbury in 2015 with a majority of nearly 13,000 and was re-elected with a near similar margin in 2017.
Within months of her first election, she broke down in tears in the House of Commons as she told MPs about losing her five-day-old son to sudden infant death syndrome.
Image source, Getty ImagesA Remain-voter, Ms Sandbach reported death threats over her Brexit position in April and then last month, after losing a vote of confidence among her local party members.
While in June, in a now-deleted tweet, she shared a screenshot of messages saying she was a "disgrace" and telling her to quit the party, which she said were sent to her by a male Tory MP.
Ms Sandbach lost the Tory whip in October after voting against the government in a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Despite backing Remain in the referendum, since then she has consistently voted in favour of deals to leave the EU, backing Theresa May's deal three times - which would have seen the UK leave in March - and more recently backing Boris Johnson's own deal with the EU.
Staff shortages and power failures cause severe delays for commuters in the Midlands and London.
Read MoreYasir Hussain, from Burnley, was stabbed three times in the back, West Midlands Police say.
Read MoreAfter a dry couple of days, the wet weather's returned and our BBC Weather Watchers have reflected that.
Here's two from today, from users Angus and Me in Hednesford, Staffordshire and Emma Lou in Kings Heath, Birmingham:
Image source, Angus and Me
Image source, Emma Lou
James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A decision on plans to build nearly 500 homes in part of Worcestershire has been postponed.
Image source, GoogleDevelopers Catesby and Miller Homes wants to build the 490 houses to the west of Whitford Road, Bromsgrove., external
its first attempt at the scheme was rejected in 2016 and it has since promised to spend millions of pounds to improve local roads.
But more than 150 residents turned out for the district's planning committee last night , externaland claimed routes around the site wouldn't be able to cope with potentially thousands of extra vehicles., external
Image source, GoogleCouncillors deferred a decision on the homes and called for more evidence that roads wouldn't become more congested.
A man convicted of killing a father-of-four outside a takeaway in Dudley has been jailed for at least 27 years.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceYasir Hussain, 34, from Lancashire, (pictured below) was knifed in the back on Central Drive in Lower Gornal, Dudley, on 4 December.
Nabeel Choudhary, 21, of Hope Street, in West Bromwich, (pictured above) was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday and sentenced to life today.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceA 24-year-old man also on trial was cleared of murder.
One man is seriously injured and another is arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.
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