Covid-19 rates have fallen for the first time in several weeks in many parts of the West Midlands.

However, 18 of the 30 local authority areas in the region continued to see rises, including Warwick, which remains among England's hotspots.

Its rate rose from 625 new infections per 100,000 people to 704 in the seven days up to and including 23 October.

Worcester saw a 42% rise in its rate, to 484 per 100,000 people in the same period, although it remains low compared with many other areas in England.

Image source, EPA

Several parts of the West Midlands that have been among the worst affected in England in recent weeks have continued to see falls in their rates, including Nuneaton, Staffordshire Moorlands, Cannock Chase and Lichfield. Cases in Rugby were also stable.

Many other areas also saw falls, including Stoke-on-Trent, Wyre Forest, Redditch and Shropshire.

Telford & Wrekin, however had a 9% rise in new cases - reaching 1,133 in the week up to 23 October.

Coventry Live

Here are some of the stories on the Coventry Live website:

• What really happens when police raid a cannabis farm in Coventry, external
• Police investigating after shots fired in Coventry street, external
• Coventry University speaks out over reports of injection spiking at nightclubs, external

BBC Midlands Today

More than one million people across the Midlands have now had their Covid-19 booster as the NHS vaccination programme continues.

People who received their second jab before the end of April and are over 50 or considered to be at risk are eligible for the top-up jab now.

The NHS will contact people for the booster, if it has been at least six months since their last vaccination.

BBC Midlands Today

The giant puppet Little Amal will arrive in Birmingham on Thursday following an 5,000-mile journey across Europe.

The puppet, representing a nine-year-old Syrian refugee and her journey across Europe was in Coventry on Wednesday.

Crowds of people greeted the 3.5m (11.5ft) puppet in the city centre in the afternoon.

She will be visiting Erdington High Street from 15:00, with other events such as live music and street games taking place beforehand.

Today, it will be a largely cloudy and dry day for many, but with some brighter spells.

It will remain mild with moderate southerly winds. Highs of 16C (61F).

Tonight, it will remain cloudy, with a band of rain slowly moving in from the west. The rain will turn heavy and persistent in the early hours. Lows of 11C (52F).

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

We'll be bringing you the latest news, sport, travel and weather updates from the West Midlands until 18:00.

Find us on Facebook , externaland Twitter , externalif you want to get in touch.

That's all from us today.

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

BBC Weather Watchers

Our local BBC Weather Watchers update us on the forecast where they are and many of them also take great photos while they are out and about.

Here are three of the many sent in today, from Suttonwalker in Birmingham, Biking Mike in Cheadle, Staffordshire and Hedgehog in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Image source, Suttonwalker

Image source, Biking Mike

Image source, Hedgehog

The 3.5m giant puppet has crossed seven countries on its journey to the UK.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has welcomed universal credit changes outlined in the Budget.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out changes he says will give low income families an extra £1,000 a year.

Asked if Mr Sunak had gone far enough to calm his concerns about universal credit, Mr Street said he was "really pleased with what he announced".

The mayor added: "You're right in saying I did have concerns. I said there should be mitigations and he has delivered a really good response to that."

But Labour said the chancellor's universal credit measure would not make up for axing the £20-a-week top-up to the benefit.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A recycling plant will be allowed to open next to a crematorium despite concerns about noise.

County councillors have approved plans by waste specialists Wrubble to move to a former mushroom farm in Fladbury, near Evesham, in the face of strong opposition from neighbouring residents and businesses.

Vale Crematorium said opening the recycling plant would ruin the "peace and seclusion" for mourners visiting graves and memorials.

But proposals were approved by Worcestershire County Council’s planning committee at a meeting at County Hall yesterday.

County and district councillor Liz Eyre said the plant would be "incompatible" with surrounding businesses such as Evesham Vale Growers and called for the plan to be rejected.

Wrubble defended its plan saying the noise from the recycling equipment would be contained within its own building and the area would be no noisier than it is now.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street says while Chancellor Rishi Sunak has "got to balance the books over time, he was utterly determined to balance the country as well", following the Budget.

The mayor told the BBC: "We've seen the billion pound for transport investments in the West Midlands and he talked about... investing in skills and of course investing in innovation across the region."

Asked about Coventry being in Priority 2 over the Levelling Up Fund, external, Mr Street said: "It was disappointing that Coventry was put that way. The case will be made."

Local authority areas are placed in categories 1, 2 or 3, depending on their identified level of need, with category 1 representing places deemed in most need of investment.

"But actually... it looks as though some areas in Priority 2 and indeed 3 even did get their funding and that was always said that it wouldn't be a real blanket ruling.

"This does not mean that there isn't substantial government investment into Coventry."

The West Midlands trust raises its risk rating for ambulance handover delays to its highest level.

A Wolverhampton MP is calling on the prime minister for more funding to tackle high rates of youth unemployment in the city.

Tory MP Jane Stevenson, who represents Wolverhampton North East, raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions and asked Boris Johnson what support was being made available to help young people gain the skills they needed.

"Our unemployment rate, youth unemployment, was unacceptably high pre-pandemic and now sadly is the highest rate nationally," she said.

Image source, PA Media

"Would the prime minister urgently look at how the government can level-up opportunity so that young people in Wolverhampton can get the skills and the confidence they need?"

Joseph Forster is charged after a man was found in cardiac arrest and died in hospital.

The cash will be split between three bids, including a regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent city centre.

BBC Midlands Today

An employee at a community cafe in Hednesford said being paid £9.50 an hour "makes me feel valued as an employee".

Workers on the minimum wage are set to get a pay boost from April, with the rate for those aged over 23 rising to £9.50 an hour from £8.91, the chancellor has announced in today's Budget.

At Bella Community Cafe, which employs six people, staff are already being paid that amount.

Amanda Ross, who works there, said: "It’s really made me feel valued as an employee, it’s given me that peace of mind so I can concentrate on my job and I’m not worried about looking for a new job to increase my income. It’s definitely helped me."

Owner Paul Woodhead said it makes a real difference to those working there.

"It gives people a proper income, it’s the income that people need to live on," he said. "We’ve been paying the £9.50 of the real living wage since it was changed last November and if everybody’s coming up to that kind of level, with all the cost increase in life that we’re all seeing at the moment, it’s a very positive thing.”

John Bray
BBC News

Coventry has welcomed a giant puppet to the city as it nears the end of a 5,000-mile (8,000km) walk from Syria to "rewrite the narrative about refugees".

Crowds of people greeted the 3.5m (11.5ft) puppet, named Little Amal, in the city centre on Wednesday afternoon.

Little Amal represents a nine-year-old Syrian refugee on the journey, in a project called The Walk.

The puppet, whose name means "hope" in Arabic, started its journey in Gaziantep, Turkey on 27 July and has travelled across Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France.

The aim has been to shine a light on the stories of the millions of displaced refugee children she represents.

Tomorrow, Little Amal will visit Erdington High Street in Birmingham.

The 27ft-tall (8.2m) Knife Angel sculpture, created using more than 100,000 confiscated knives, is set to visit Worcester in spring next year.

Image source, Worcester City Council

The artwork, created by Alfie Bradley at the British Ironworks Centre at Oswestry in Shropshire, features messages from families of the victims of knife crime engraved on many of the sculpture's "feathers".

Since it was first unveiled in 2017, it has been on display in London, Liverpool, Hull, Chelmsford and Coventry.

It will be on display in the Worcester Cathedral grounds from 1 March, along with a knife-surrender bin.

Refuse workers will go on strike for 12 days over winter in protest at safety conditions at a household recycling centre, a union said.

Image source, Google

The issues at the centre on Shidas Lane, Oldbury, include pools of dirty water, dilapidated fencing and trip hazards, the GMB added.

The union said more than a 100 workers will walkout for 12 days over three months, starting on 15 November.

A spokesperson for Sandwell Council said it urged Serco to work with its staff and the union to resolve the dispute.

Katy Bassett, from contractor Serco, said the health and safety of its staff were "of paramount importance" and concerns with overflowing toilets had seen repairs carried out.

She added other issues had not been raised but would be investigated and urged the GMB to reconsider strike action and continue talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.