Sohail Ali died from multiple stab wounds after he was attacked in Winson Green last December.

Warwickshire County Council has pledged to plant one tree for every person who lives in the county - upwards of half a million people.

Image source, Warwickshire County Council

The local authority has been awarded £212k from the Forestry Commission to make a start on its extensive planting programme which it said would be carried out over the next few years.

The trees will be planted to restore lost wooded areas such as the Forest of Arden which once covered much of the county as well as parts of Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

The council will also work with the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Virtual Forest Platform, which will allow anyone who plants a tree to register it online.

The 15-year-old died outside his home in Handsworth, Birmingham, after being shot and stabbed.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith is refusing to panic despite growing pressure due to a poor run of form.

The incident has since been safely resolved and all departments re-opened, say hospital bosses.

The police watchdog says the officer should have done better when Mr Hamid became unresponsive.

The National Memorial Arboretum says its newly-named path is in response to requests from visitors.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has announced £5.3m worth of funding to help the region recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will be split between eight projects across the county, including supporting young people to learn digital skills, providing training for ex-offenders and supporting people over 50 in need.

Almost £600,000 will also be spent exploring options to regenerate the site of the former Chance Glass works in Smethwick and turn it into a community centre.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said he was "absolutely delighted" with the government funding.

Two teenage boys have been arrested after a 17-year-old was stabbed in Birmingham.

Image source, Google

The teenager suffered serious injuries in Meadfoot Avenue, Kings Heath, shortly after 19:30 on Wednesday.

It's understood he was attacked by a group of six people during disorder outside shops, said West Midlands Police.

The force said it's believed the attack was targeted.

Two boys, aged 14 and 15, have been arrested on suspicion of wounding.

A knife found nearby is being forensically examined as part of the investigation.

Express and Star

The Express and Star has these headlines today:

• Dudley Castle site 'saved' and no longer at risk of being lost, external
• More than £4m for community projects across the Black Country and Staffordshire, external
• West Midlands Police to offer anti-overdose drug to addicts leaving custody, external

Bristol hosting Worcester and Exeter entertaining Newcastle are two of four Premiership games on Saturday - listen to BBC radio commentaries.

Six projects in Stoke-on-Trent will receive almost £3m in government funding to aid the city's post-pandemic recovery.

Image source, Getty Images

The City Council announced it would receive £2.78m from the Community Renewal Fund after being identified as one of the 100 most in-need areas in the UK.

The money will be spent on projects including promoting digital inclusion across the city and supporting young people and people with barriers to employment to find work.

Today, it will be dry and fine with plenty of sunshine. A cool day, with a moderate northerly breeze. Highs of 8C (46F).

Tonight, it will be dry and largely clear for the first part of the night. During the early hours, cloud will gradually build in from the north-west, perhaps bringing the odd spot of rain by dawn. Lows of 1C (34F).

The leader of Telford and Wrekin Council has branded a vote to allow one of Shropshire's MPs to avoid punishment for misusing his position as "a dark day for public life".

Image source, House of Commons

Conservative Owen Paterson was spared a parliamentary suspension for now after the government ordered its MPs to back a review of standards investigations on Wednesday.

Shaun Davis, the council's Labour leader, said: "The Conservatives have decided there is one rule for them and another rule for the rest of us.

"Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case, the system which the Conservatives set up themselves found wrongdoing, because the Conservatives didn’t like the answer they’ve decided to rip up the rule book."

Mr Paterson was found to have "repeatedly" used his position as an MP to benefit two companies who paid him as a consultant. However, he has denied wrongdoing.

Wednesday's vote in Parliament has divided opinion, and elsewhere in Shropshire the Conservative leader of the unitary council said Mr Paterson should have the right to appeal against the watchdog's findings.

“MPs, in my view, should be entitled to the same legal process as anyone else in the workplace or in a court of law," Councillor Lezley Picton said.

Ben Raymond set up the far-right group to wage a "white Jihad" in the UK, a court hears.

Twenty-two buildings have been taken off the West Midlands register but seven have been added.

Elizabeth ran a mile every day for 26 days to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Women who were sex trafficked as teens say they are fighting for support they are entitled to.

Steven Fletcher's lucky late goalline rebound steals a 1-0 win for Stoke City against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.