Manish Pandey
Newsbeat reporter

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan may be happening more than 3,600 miles away from the UK, but it feels much closer to home for British-Afghans.

Before coming to the UK as an asylum seeker, 24-year-old Parwiz Karimi was born and grew up in Afghanistan.

Image source, Parwiz Karimi

His childhood memories include being confronted by Taliban members who would cross into his village with their weapons, with his grandmother telling him and his siblings to "run to the mountains" to find safety.

As he tries to keep track of the fast-moving situation in his home country, Parwiz, now living in Wolverhampton, is feeling guilty and worried about his many family members who still live there.

"I'm here sitting in my house peacefully studying. And they're struggling to find food," he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"There is so much I can do here but at the same time, there's nothing I can do for them."

You can read more of his story here on the BBC website.

Rebecca Currie says her five-year-old son's health has suffered by living next to the landfill site.

Two men are in custody on suspicion of cultivating cannabis after a raid on a house in Rugby.

Warwickshire Police said officers conducted the operation on Victoria Street on Tuesday after reports of suspicious behavior.

Inside the property, it said, officers uncovered a cannabis factory and arrested the two men, aged 21 and 27.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

A Wolverhampton community hub is set to reopen after its roof was repaired.

A series of leaks at the Bob Jones Community Hub in Blakenhall caused significant damage to the building and to gym equipment.

The work by City of Wolverhampton Council is nearing completion and the centre will reopen on 31 August

Image source, Google

BBC Weather

It will be dry and cloudy for much of Wednesday with just the chance of the odd shower this afternoon. High: 19C (66F).

Image source, Mrs Baffin-Massie

Staying overcast this evening but most places will remain dry although there could be the odd shower overnight. Low: 13C (55F).

You can get the latest forecast for your area at any time by going to the BBC Weather website.

Express and Star

The Express and Star has these headlines today:

• 'It's a betrayal': Afghan refugee who was tortured by the Taliban, external
• More than 200,000 on hospital waiting lists in Black Country and Staffordshire, external
• People urged to have their say on green belt housing plans, external

BBC Sport

Birmingham Phoenix's Liam Livingstone says he is not bothered who the side face in the men's Hundred final after powering them into the climatic match.

Image source, PA Media

His devastating hitting helped them to a crushing eight-wicket win over Northern Superchargers at Headingley.

At one stage Livingstone seemed to be in his own six-hitting contest as he smashed the highest score of the tournament so far - 92 not out from just 40 balls.

Livingstone hit an incredible 10 sixes as his side raced to victory with a massive 26 balls remaining.

Birmingham are now guaranteed to take top spot in the men's Hundred table meaning they go directly into Saturday's final at 18:30 BST, live on BBC Two. Southern Brave and Trent Rockets meet in Friday's eliminator.

"I'm not bothered about who we face. We'll take on anyone!" Livingstone confidently joked.

"We deserve to be there and we're playing good cricket, but we're just going to go out there and enjoy it."

Welcome to the start of our live service for Wednesday.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates for the West Midlands.

You can let us know about stories in your area via Twitter , externaland Facebook, external.

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez talks about his return to action following his skull fracture last season.

Wilfred Dawson, 99, served as a wireless operator with RAF Bomber Command.

We chat to young people in the UK who have family in Afghanistan, as the Taliban take control.

Viktor Gyokeres gets the only goal of the game as Coventry City beat Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Pte Conrad Lewis, killed in Afghanistan in 2011, felt he was "making a difference", his father said.

The artworks, by one of Wales' most renowned artists, are described as "a truly wonderful find".

Stoke City's promising start to the season continues as they claim an impressive 3-1 victory at Swansea City.

The owners argued their shop qualified for exemption because they sold sweets and soft drinks.

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow.

Clive Smith lost both his legs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The average wait for an ambulance in the West Midlands continued to surge last month as the number of 999 calls hit a record high.

Image source, Reuters

Figures show the average response time for the most serious 999 calls in the region was seven minutes and 46 seconds in July - missing the seven-minute target.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) was on target for meeting 90% of the most life-threatening 'category one' calls within 15 minutes. But it missed targets for 'category two' calls - which include emergencies such as strokes, heart attacks and major burns - recording a 30-minute average response in July and above the 18-minute target.

The service took 162,574 calls and figures show 17 of its 20 busiest days ever took place last month - with warmer weather, Euro 2020 and an increase in Covid cases to blame for the rise in 999 calls.

WMAS said it "continued to treat patients who needed our help" and like colleagues in hospitals and other parts of the NHS, its crews were working "flat out with many offering to work additional shifts".

A spokesman stated: "We are working with each hospital to reduce handover delays so that our crews can respond to the next incident as quickly as possible, but all patients continue to receive clinical care until they are handed over."

Hereford Times

Here are some of the stories on the Hereford Times website:

• Artists to open studios to Herefordshire residents, external
• Fish pass idea for River Teme ditched, external
• Archaeologists reveal Herefordshire Stone Age monument's origins, external