west midlands and the tees valley. _ a disappointment? west midlands and the tees valley.my point was - a disappointment? west midlands and the tees valley. my point was i - a disappointment? west midlands and the tees valley. my point was i do - the tees valley. my point was i do not think that — the tees valley. my point was i do not think that is _ the tees valley. my point was i do not think that is a _ the tees valley. my point was i do not think that is a disappointment | the tees valley. my point was i do | not think that is a disappointment i think— not think that is a disappointment i think the _ not think that is a disappointment i think the idea that labour should win in— think the idea that labour should win in the — think the idea that labour should win in the tees valley necessarily whether— win in the tees valley necessarily whether 73% voted for... but win in the tees valley necessarily whether 7396 voted for... but polling would suggest _ whether 7396 voted for... but polling would suggest it _ whether 7396 voted for... but polling would suggest it is _ wh

i crime in the west midlands but we can't _ crime in the west midlands but we can't do _ crime in the. if _ crime in the west midlands but we can't do that alone. if you - crime in the west midlands but we can't do that alone. if you are i can't do that alone. if you are a parent, — can't do that alone. if you are a parent, guardian, _ can't do that alone. if you are a parent, guardian, teacher- can't do that alone. if you are a parent, guardian, teacher or. parent, guardian, teacher or listening _ parent, guardian, teacher or listening to _ parent, guardian, teacher or listening to this, _ parent, guardian, teacher or listening to this, can - parent, guardian, teacher or listening to this, can i - parent, guardian, teacher or. listening to this, can i implore parent, guardian, teacher or- listening to this, can i implore you to talk— listening to this, can i implore you to talk to — listening to this, can i implore you to talk to those _ listening to this, can i implore you to talk to those you _ listening to this, can i implore you to talk to those you care _ listening to this, can

political mood, particularly if the conservatives are losing support to the labour party and the west midlandse for- the new midlands mayoral hustings. of course, they are not the only one standing. the green party, the liberal democrats and reform uk are all in the contest, and there is also an independent candidate who wasn't at the debate we went to but who is campaigning hard on social media. # 0ld mcdonald had a farm...# the political noise of the campaign has not escaped parents at this sing—and—sign group, but are the promises being made in tune with things that matter here? there is a real gap for things for children and young people to do, and teenagers that there used to be. i think about my baby's future and i'm worried about climate change. have you heard much about this election for a mayor? i feel like i don't know much. on a personal level what each of the candidates really stands for. i'd kind of like more information, less about what the other parties are getting wrong and more about what actually, this is what we're going to do. with a week to go, it seems it is still all to

, sirjohn lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sir john crabtree lord—lieutenant of the west midlands obe lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sir john crabtree obe , midlands, sir john crabtree obe, presented the team at remedy health with the prestigious king's award for enterprise in the innovation category. we recognise in the outstanding achievement of the said award recipient as demonstrated in the application of innovation in our united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, our channel islands and isle of man, wishing to show our royal favour, confer upon it the king's award for enterprise innovation. >> the prize aims to reward both small and large businesses with an innovative product or service, and recognise their contribution to enterprise, with last year being the first awarded by his majesty king charles rempe . charles rempe. >> health and their nourished brand won the award for their 3d printed customisable nutritional gummies. the business has developed and innovated to be able to combine seven different active ingredients into one daily personalised stack.

people focus on nationally to give a sense of what white have been in the general election, it is a west midlandsuse these areas can take parliamentary constituencies to decide who gets the keys to downing street and the general election. what we are happening here is a straight head between the labour party and the conservative party, the tory candidate is a well—known mp in ben bradley, then you have the former labour party mp, claire ward, andra tony blair and gordon brown, standing for the labour party. other parties looking to have an influence, like the reform party, a strong groundwork of support for them, their mp, lee anderson is in ashfield, effective from the conservatives not long ago and then the reform party have counsellors in derby, so there are concerns that the reform party is taken some support away and it would probably make that labour party the neighbours here but it will be a close run thing.— neighbours here but it will be a close run thin. , ., ., ., close run thing. then, in your area, ou have close run thing. then, in your area, you have council _ close run thing. then,

— to be trusted to deliver for the west midlands? as ever, my right honourable _ west midlands?simon foster's watch. when it comes to the green belt we have seen the new wheeze from the labour party, redesignate greenbelt and concrete all over it. the conservatives will not allow that to happen and people up not allow that to happen and people up and down the country will vote conservative to stop that happening. conservative to stop that happening. conservative ministers like to blame strikes and a pandemic for appalling waiting times in the nhs. our hospital trust has not met its target to see a patient in a&e within four hours since 2015. this was five years after the conservatives came to office. so who does the deputy prime minister blame for that? the party opposite like to pretend the pandemic didn't happen. that was the pandemic didn't happen. that was the biggest pressure on the nhs and they complain about nhs performance while backing strikes by doctors who unreasonably want a 35% pay rise, and despite all of those pressures, actually, ale performance has improved in t

>> i'm glad you raise the west midlands. west birmingham has largely bankrupted the council by 21% where in the meantime, they continue to hand 1.8 million for the trade unions. by contrast and our brilliant mayor, there is a $6.1 billion of investment to improve transport. so there you have it, the fight between the social and labor party. it's the usual opportunism failing to ask about the issues that really matter. if you want more been collections and potholes filled, lower debt [indiscernible] it's to the more for less. >> mr. speaker, that's revealing that housing is an issue. people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones because in burlington and the whole of this country, councils are facing black holes because of his government. tory councils of also faced this. birmingham counsel had over one billion pounds taken for some of the poorest people. more than 16,000 families wait losing their homes after the mini budget. meanwhile, former prime minister parades around the world in a victory lap saying that the mini budg

joining me now bbc west midlands political editor, rob mayor and ?susana mendonca??t bbc london. ifi if i can start with you rob mayor, it's actually a very interesting race for mayor in the west midlands. it is. all happening with the backdrop of permanent city council effectively in bankruptcy, raising council tax by i%. the mayor is an overarching tier of government, the conservatives have made a big play on what they describe as a labour financial mismanagement in birmingham. their candidate has done his best to distance himself from the conservative party, he has a lots of green leaf lettuce, not much blue on them, does not call himself a conservative on those leaflets, no pictures of the prime minister and he does all right in some opinion polls. pretty good for a politician. for the labour party, richard parker, several opinion. him with a very narrow lead in the race, a lead thatis very narrow lead in the race, a lead that is narrowed over the last week or so. that is narrowed over the last week orso. he that is narrowed over the last week or so. he has spoke

turned up out of the blue in the west midlands. >> yeah.om sandwell wrote a letter to prince william inviting him to see his schools mental health campaign. our royal correspondent cameron walker was there . walker was there. >> it's not every day you're pulled out of class to meet a prince, but for saint michael's high school students yesterday, that's exactly what happened . that's exactly what happened. when did you find out he was coming to your school? >> like ten minutes ago. yeah >> like ten minutes ago. yeah >> a bit of a shock. >> a bit of a shock. >> yes. we just can't believe that someone so important has turned up to the west midlands to see, you know, 1200 children. they would never get this opportunity again. and we're just a little bit shell shocked that somebody so famous has turned up today. >> prince william's visits to the west midlands were sparked last october, when 12 year old freddie hadele invited him to come and learn about the schools mental health campaign . mental health campaign. freddie's letter was posted on x

and here we have a list of all six mayoral candidates for the west midlands, in alphabetical order. hasjust unveiled its new kit for the paris 0lympics today. among those showing it off is the diver tom daley, who will be competing in his fifth 0lympics this summer. his first was in 2008 in beijing, when he wasjust 14. and he is hoping to bring home yet more medals. nesta mcgregor has been talking to him. to list tom daley�*s achievements, they'd probably stack as high as the ten metre board he's famed forjumping from. commonwealth, european, world and — at tokyo 2020 — olympic champion. incredibly, this summer he's heading to his fifth games. but putting on the team gb uniform never gets old. but it's got like this soft bit at the bottomm as well as the tracksuit material. so it's, like, smart, yet comfy and casual, which is nice. his diving cv starts atjust aged seven and... ..a three time winner of young sports personality of the year, he's now 29 and may be the ideal teammate for a gb squad brimming with talent — the likes of noah williams and andrea spendolini—sirieix. being pa

and in the west midlands , his mayor has the west midlands, his mayor has used his multi—million poundng budget to build just 46 social homes in eight years. that's almost as many as the chancellor's property portfolio. but the british people know that his party won't build the homes that this country needs. so when are they going to get a chance to vote for a government that will pay ? will pay? >> well, i'm surprised the right honourable lady raises the west midlands when labour controlled birmingham have virtually bankrupted the council. a hiking up council tax by 21, whilst in the meantime and i'm sure this would please her continuing to hand out 1.8 million to the trade unions. by hand out 1.8 million to the trade unions . by contrast, andy trade unions. by contrast, andy street, our brilliant mayor of the wider west midlands, has levied 6.1 billion of investment to improve transport so there you have it. the contrast between the conservative party and the labour party, the usual political opportunism from her failing to ask about the issues that really matter. if you want more bi

and here we have a list of all six mayoral candidates for the west midlands, in alphabetical order.te, bbc.co.uk/news. the global superstar taylor swift releases her latest album tomorrow. it's called the tortured poets department and is hotly anticipated by her legions of fans, so much so that it seems to have been leaked online early. mark savage reports. taylor swift is the biggest—selling musician in the world, and she is in the middle of a record—breaking tour that made her into a billionaire. so fans were surprised when she used the grammy awards this february to announce an album of new material called the tortured poets department. for the last couple of weeks, she's been dropping hints about the lyrics online. then, this happened. why am i seeing people posting leaks to taylor swift's new album on tiktok, just publicly?! what?! the leak, which hasn't been officially confirmed, sent fans into a frenzy, with many pledging to wait for the official release. and that's uncool. just wait 36 more hours. like, we've waited this long. i think most people will want to wait, because p

i am in the west midlands. i am in birmingham.ot these local and police and crime commissioner elections in england and wales in a fortnight and also mayoral contests too. and these mayors are relatively new, aren�*t they? you go back to 2000 for london, much more recently for the west midlands and plenty of other places beside. keen contest here.

the majority of the west midlands. old cold front, and that cold front pushing southwards introduces cooler air across the majority of the uk, but not for everyone, we have milder air in western scotland and northern ireland, where we will see the highest temperatures this weekend. right now that is pushing southwards, skies are clear for the vast majority, just the odd shower pushing into central and southern england, but out of the way before long. temperatures into low single figures in towns and cities, but a widespread frost in the countryside, evenin widespread frost in the countryside, even in parts of southern england. despite a chilly start, a lovely start to the day, blue and sunshine, a little bit more in the way of cloud developing across eastern areas, but staying dry and bright, splashes of rain for the fat north of scotland. highest temperatures, up of scotland. highest temperatures, up to 17 for northern ireland, nine of a north sea coasts. into the second half of the weekend, a predominantly dry story

i am in the west midlands. i am in birmingham. 0h, because there's a mayoral contest there fairly soon. yeah, i thought i would spend the day examining the structures of government of england. why not? because, you know, we've got these local and police and crime commissioner elections in england and wales in a fortnight and also mayoral contests too. and these mayors are relatively new, aren't they? you go back to 2000 for london, much more recently for the west midlands and plenty of other places beside. keen contest here. so a day in walsall and birmingham and zipping about this part of the country, which has been fun. well, your treat after a hard day's is work later on in this episode of newscast, we're going to chat to comedian and podcaster extraordinaire josh widdicombe, who has actually been trying his hand, again, at being a local newspaper journalist. oh, and also, chris, i mean, will you be getting up early on friday to listen to taylor swift's new album? 0h, absolutely. i've set the alarm. can't wa

west of england during the afternoon. but ahead of that, temperatures widely 14, 15 celsius in the midlands and eastern england, but still cotland where we've got that north—easterly wind. we've got rain, though, coming into the south—west. that's coming on those weather fronts. that rain will move northwards on tuesday night, and we're left with another area of low pressure over us on wednesday. not terribly windy around that low, but we will find showers or longer spells of rain running northwards across england and wales into scotland and northern ireland. southern parts of england and wales maybe cheering up a bit in the afternoon, some sunshine which will help those temperatures rise a bit higher. but it's going to be particularly cold in scotland with cloud and rain and a north—easterly wind. now these are the upper level winds, and this is the jet stream pattern over the next few days. and with that sort of pattern, we pick up areas of low pressure from the atlantic, drive them up from the south—west and take rain northwards across much of the country. so that's the sort of pattern that we're seeing. a bit of rain

. >> and prince william surprises students in the west midlands dunng students in the west midlands during school trip to support mental health. the prince of wales revealed his favourite joke along the way , knock knock . joke along the way, knock knock. this is the interrupting cow in jammu. >> was that a joke? yeah, apparently . apparently. >> okay. >> okay. >> you can all do better than the prince of wales. come on, get your jokes in this morning. >> it's friday, so i'm not going to be judging anyone's jokes. trust me. >> what else are we talking about? we're talking about, captain tom moore. his family are selling their home in bedfordshire for over 2 million, and they've been accused of using his name to help sell the property . what do you think property. what do you think about that? the brochure talks about that? the brochure talks about him. there's pictures of his, bust in the hallway put in the context. >> is it naughty? everything that happens since his death, i.e. the pool saga where the daughter built that pool in the back garden, had to rip. >> yeah. if you want a house wit

our brilliant west midlands reporter jack carson.evable and the west midlands is not afraid to make its mark. >> at a ceremony at their factory in smethwick, the lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sirjohn lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sir john crabtree obe, presented the team at remedy health with the prestigious king's award for enterprise in the innovation category. >> we recognise in the outstanding achievement of the said award recipient as demonstrated in the application of innovation in our united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland. our channel islands and isle of man and wishing to show our royal favour, confer upon it the king's award for enterprise innovation. >> the prize aims to reward both small and large businesses with an innovative product or service and recognise their contribution to enterprise with last year being the first awarded by his majesty king charles. remedy health and their nourished brand won the award for their 3d printed customisable nutritional gummies . the business has gummies.

yeah, a business in the west midlands has been officially handed its king's award for enterprise in ad is the highest official uk honour for british business, aiming to promote both small and large enterprises. >> yes, our west midlands reporter jack carson has the story for us. >> yes, for a business in the uk, it's the highest accolade achievable and the west midlands is not afraid to make its mark at a ceremony at their factory in smethwick, the lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sirjohn lord—lieutenant of the west midlands, sir john crabtree obe, presented the team at remedy health with the prestigious king's award for enterprise in the innovation category. we recognise in the outstanding achievement of the said award recipient as demonstrated in the application of innovation in our united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, our channel islands and isle of man and wishing to show our royal favour, confer upon it the king's award for enterprise innovation. the prize aims to reward both small and large businesses with an innovative product or service and recognise thei

sounds of the 80s with bands such as the specials and the selecter, and it all started in the west midlandse. i don't think we were a political party, we were a pop group, but we had this political message. what i thought was odd at the time was if somebody could have a record out in that period and not mention what was going on outside in the street. # i bought my baby a red radio. # he played it all. day, go—go a—go—go. i've always felt very, very strongly that the two—tone movement was bigger than all of us. that's why it survives. it was that moment in time, at the time nobody saw, but it was unique. coventry, 1979. a backdrop of rising unemployment, social unrest and racial tension that gave birth to a genre of music that seemed to sum up the feel of the city and the country — two—tone. it was the only reason i wanted to write songs was the enormities that were going on. we were only singing about what was being talked about in every pub and at every bus stop. it wasn't just about the music, but that was the backdrop to our lives. so whatever you're bringing to the stage, you're bringi

he's now travelling from the west midlands to a hospital in london for treatment there.ng. it's a real postcode lottery. a manifesto for sleep has now been published by health experts. it calls for a national sleep strategy. the report says sleep is underappreciated and misunderstood. poor sleep, it says, has become normalised, with almost 70% of people with sleep issues yet to seek support. there's huge risks to people's physical and mental health, so we know that those that are sleeping poorly are taking more high—risk behaviours. so driving while sleepy, making poor choices around nutrition, around physical activity. dr sarah gilchrist has advised top athletes on sleep. she backs a national sleep strategy. the uk loses about 40 billion a year due to sleep—related issues — whether that's people having accidents at work, or they're just getting bugs more often — their immune system's compromised because they're sleeping poorly. so where have things got to now, then? its backers say the sleep strategy should mean sleep advice becomes a key part of all health campaigns in

in that resonate with the people of the west midlands.— west midlands.head to the region, but in all likelihood the region, but in all likelihood the results of this race will also be seen as an important measure of the national political mood, particularly if the conservatives are losing support to the labour party and the west midlands. and welcome to the centre for the new midlands mayoral hustings. and they are not the only one standing. the green party, the liberal democrats and reform are in the contest and there is also an independent candidate who wasn't at the debate we went to but who is campaigning hard on social media. the political noise of the campaign has not escaped parents that this sing and sign group but are the promises being made in tune with things that matter here?— being made in tune with things that matter here? there is a real gap for thins for matter here? there is a real gap for things for children _ matter here? there is a real gap for things for children and _ matter here? there is a real gap for things for children and youn

members of aslef at avanti west coast, crosscountry, east midlands railway, west midlands railway andadhd diagnosis — that's according to new research from the health think tank nuffield trust. let's take a quick look at the latest figures. since 2019, there has been a 400% rise in people waiting to see an autism specialist and a 51% increase in prescriptions for adhd medication. let's speak to professor sir simon wessely. he's a regius professor of psychiatry at king's college london and nonexecutive director on nhs england board. thank you forjoining us. what do thank you for “oining us. what do ou think thank you for “oining us. what do you think is — thank you forjoining us. what do you think is the _ thank you forjoining us. what do you think is the reason _ thank you forjoining us. what do you think is the reason behind i thank you forjoining us. what do i you think is the reason behind this? that's a difficult one. the first thing to be clear about is adhd isn't new, it's been around for as long as i have been a doctorfor 40 or 50 years, long as i have been a doctorfor 40 or50

newsnight will be in the west midlands next week, but first, here's nick's report from tees valley.t glories and looking for new ventures. a painful process with economic decline alongside pockets of affluence. that has placed this area on the national political map and now a mayoral contest with high stakes for the two main parties. a rumbustious conservative mayor became the first poster boy of the red wall after his narrow win here in 2017. re—elected in a landslide in 2021, ben houchen is now hoping to buck the national trend. a local labour stalwart hopes to win back what was once a heartland for his party. a win for chris mcewen would ease keir starmer�*s path nationally. and the lib dem outsider placing the fight against child poverty at the heart of his campaign. over the past decade or so, tees valley felt neglected by the party that thought it was the area's champion. and so voters delivered a series of bloody noses to labour. twice electing a conservative mayor and then ejecting labour from the prized parliamentary seat of hartlepool in a byelection — the lowest of low po

the mayor of the west midlands, andy street, has built 46 social homes in eight prime eight years.ster think that is good enough? mr enough? yes, mr >> andy street is >> mr speaker, andy street is absolutely delivering for the west midlands. he's unlike the labour mayor in london. he's delivered on all his housing targets , in fact. but it's the targets, in fact. but it's the labour run council in birmingham that's imposing on her constituents and others. a 21% council tax rise. and what are they getting in exchange for that 600 job losses, cuts to services. and on some streets they're even turning off the lights. mr speaker, i tell you what, the labour, what labour have done to birmingham, the conservatives will never let them to britain. yeah. them do to britain. yeah. >> thank you, mr speaker. mr speaken >> thank you, mr speaker. mr speaker, can i just ask the prime minister to thank his right honourable friend, the secretary of state for for transport further meetings with hitachi this morning? indeed, with the union representatives. we're to what's we're all glad to see what's

so avanti west coast, east midlands railway, west midlands trains, london northwestern railway and cross those companies are on complete strike today, so there are absolutely no services whatsoever . so if no services whatsoever. so if people are planning on travelling from here in manchester piccadilly down to say, birmingham new street or london euston, that essentially will not be possible. now we're entering the 20th month of these rail strikes. many people starting to show the frustrations as train drivers ask for better pay and better working conditions. we've been asking people here at manchester piccadilly today what they make of these strikes as we enter that 20th month, and this is what they had to tell me. what are your thoughts on them? do you think just need to get you think we just need to get a deal now, sorted out or got to get sorted? get something sorted? >> going on for over >> it's going on for over 18 months trains missing months now, trains missing today, trains missing tomorrow. and you've the usual and then you've got the usual bits pieces of trains, bits and piec

evidence collected by west midlands police shows how badly his clothes were burnt.the attacks. >> these were horrific, unprovoked attacks on men in their 705 and 805. >> the two men who had left their mosques after their prayers very close to ramadan. starting so you can understand the tensions and the fears in the tensions and the fears in the wider muslim community. >> you can see from the cctv that these attacks were planned. >> you can hear from the screams of mr riaz, which were caught on cctv , that must been in cctv, that he must have been in indescribable the victims indescribable pain. the victims have lasting have been left with lasting injuries significant mental injuries and significant mental trauma. to thank trauma. i'd like to thank them and families for the and their families for the courage they've and courage that they've shown and the they've the support that they've provided throughout this ordeal. >> during trial, the court >> during the trial, the court heard psychiatrists who heard from psychiatrists who said abkar was said mohammad abkar was

five train operators, including avanti, crosscountry and west midlands railway , say and west midlandsailway, say they're not running any services. a ban on overtime at 16 companies is also continuing into tomorrow . so for the latest into tomorrow. so for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code. it's on your screen right now or go to gb news .com/ alerts. now back to leo and . bev. back to leo and. bev. >> ben, leo and bev turner this morning. >> people do that all the time on emails and tweets . hi, leo. on emails and tweets. hi, leo. thanks, leo, it's ben. i also do it with tom harwood. they seem to think i'm tom harwood sometimes as well. so if tom's been expressing some some trans views one and i comment on views one week and i comment on it the next, they say, oh, tom's changed his views in a week, isn't ? isn't he? >> be clear, this morning, >> so to be clear, this morning, emails bev and yes, emails to bev and ben. yes, please. right. this is britain's newsroom on gb news conservative mp he now mp william wragg. he has now admitted to being the per

west midlands reporter jack carson is outside birmingham crown court.come to the show. a case that moved the nafion the show. a case that moved the nation and today justice has been served . been served. >> well, exactly right martin. we've heard just from the victim impact statements in the sentencing today. just how much of a tragedy, of course, the murder of 23 year old semi—professional footballer and pe teacher cody fisher was known only to his family, but to his girlfriend well . his killers girlfriend as well. his killers remy gordon and cammy carson carpenter, both sentenced to life today. remy gordon , given a life today. remy gordon, given a sentence of a minimum tum of 26 years. but of course that will be reviewed within license. the same for cammy carpenter, who was given 25 years as a minimum sentence . both, of course, will sentence. both, of course, will serve life imprisonment because of their crimes. but here is the story . first, this is the moment story. first, this is the moment remy gordon was arrested by police just two days after m

yes, today's strike action is affecting avanti west coast trains, the east midlands railway, west midlands strikes planned for tomorrow and monday. different companies are affected on different days. so, the advice to passengers is to check the national rail website before you travel. there's also more details on the bbc news website. now, they have many many songs that you can't help but sing along to and one of abba's biggest hits is going to be played all over brighton this weekend to mark a special moment in music history. fiona lamdin has more. a very good evening to you. and from me, david vine, welcome to the eurovision song contest of 1974. and welcome to a saturday night out in brighton. 50 years ago, brighton was electric with eurovision fever. waterloo by abba for sweden. watch this one. as they strutted on to the stage in platform heels and satin knickerbockers, these swedish artists were still relatively unknown. # surrender # oh, yeah, # and i have met my destiny in quite a similarway...# even after they'd performed, some of the judges still weren't convinced. i know it sound

railway, west midlands trains and crosscountry trains.ent countries are reflected on different days. the advice to passengers is due to track the national rail website before you travel, and there is also more details on the bbc news website. . ~ is also more details on the bbc news website. ., ~ , ., , . it's one of those songs you can't help sing along to and it's going to be played all over brighton this weekend to mark a special moment in music history. fiona lamdin has more. we are at brighton museum, celebrating 50 years of abba. we are wearing the clothes, well, not quite there close, but replicas, and the very drunk if that was used on that night all those years ago. jackie was there. she was 15. this is what she was wearing, a bridesmaid dress. her dad with a photographer, taking photos. he got this photo behind—the—scenes of abba, just as they were adjusting their costumes. jackie, tell me, what was it like? it was just surreal. it was amazing. it was just surreal. it was amazing. it was just surreal. it was amazing. it was like

the four men are all from the west midlands area and were arrested in aylesbury and buckinghamshire,re. we are following that story closely on bbc news. we will bring you more when we have it. now let's go to our main story again and we are getting more news of explosions in ukraine. the latest report we had was a strike on a southern ukrainian city on thursday which killed two people and wounded four. with more on all of those developments let's speak to our correspondent from london. what has been happening in the country today? it has been happening in the country toda ? , ., ., ., today? it is not a good morning in ukraine today. _ today? it is not a good morning in ukraine today. another _ today? it is not a good morning in ukraine today. another massive i today? it is not a good morning in - ukraine today. another massive wave of russian missile attacks targeting cities across all of ukraine basically. one of the key targets was a major power station outside of kyiv. it has been completely destroyed it was the main source of electricity for three ukrainian regions including the

michael's church of england high school in the west midlands, by a 12—year—old pupil last october.the school's matrix project — set up to shine a spotlight on male mental health. at the time, the prince responded with a message commending the school on its work but apologised for being unable to make it. six months on, the prince met the school's student voice committee to learn about its various initiatives. the initiative was launched in 2012 and consists of up to 100 students who meet at lunchtimes and after school. working on their mental health, well done them. do stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. there were two different types of weather across the country for thursday, neither being warm. across england and wales, there was a lot of cloud around with some patches of rain and these grey skies, the rain, was all tied in with an area of low pressure out in the north sea. you can see the extent of the cloud here. further north, though, we had much brighter weather in scotland with some lengthy spells of sunshine. so if you wanted the sunnier weather, scotland was the p

four other men aged in their 20s from the west midlands were also arrested on suspicion of assistingpolice custody. habibur masum will next appear at bradford crown court tomorrow. it has emerged that the metropolitan police first knew that suspected scammers were targeting westminster as early as october last year. an investigation was launched and house of commons security officials were informed, but mps, politicians and political journalists were not specifically told to avoid messages from two suspicious phone numbers. many of those targeted in the alleged "honeytrap" scandal did not realise others had also been receiving messages until media reports in the past week. the polish parliament is starting a debate on liberalising the country's abortion laws, which are some of the strictest in the european union. abortion is only allowed when the pregnancy endangers the mother's health, or when it is a result of rape or incest. our correspondent adam easton is in warsaw with more on the debate. a debate that has been described by the government's family and labour minister as unusual

the crooked house — near dudley in the west midlands — had to be demolished following a suspected arsonset boulevard was the big winner at sunday's 0livier awards in london, equalling the record for the most prizes for a musical at the ceremony. its seven wins included best musical revival and acting awards for its star nicole scherzinger. the event — which recognises the best of uk theatre — took place at london's albert hall. our culture correspondent charlotte gallagher was there. star power on full display at the 0livier awards. this year's nominations were full of household names like andrew scott, sarah snook and nicole scherzinger. the green carpet has been rolled out for the biggest night in british theatre, with some of the biggest names in show business. all of them, they're wanting to get their hands on an 0livier. nicole scherzinger was one of the winners, after wowing critics and audiences in sunset boulevard. she took home best actress in a musical. it is a really complete phenomenon. i never expected it, you know — ifeel like i've... it's like norma says, i've come home a

he also faces charges up to 1981, some relating to his time as a scoutmaster in the west midlands.ear in court again injune and will be asked to re—enter his pleas. he was led away to be taken back into custody again. judith moritz, bbc news, chester. yesterday, the authorjk rowling challenged scottish police to arrest her under a controversial new hate crime law. today, police scotland resisted that challenge, saying they won't be taking action over a series of social media posts byjk rowling about transgender people as they are not criminal. 0ur scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie has more. jk rowling why does the author of harry potter but the edinburgh based writer has long been a critic of some trans activism. so there was no surprise when she expressed her views against scotland's new hate crime law on social media. there were several posts about transgender people, including... she went on to challenge police scotland. the prime minister, on a nursery visit, echoed her comments. again, it is not right _ visit, echoed her comments. again, it is not right for _ visit, e

west midlands dead at the scene.been murdered in a nightclub in the dark that has over 2000 people, is a challenge in itself. >> however, with the assistance of cctv , itv and then from the of cctv, itv and then from the appeal that we put out to the public, we were able in the preceding days to piece together who are potential suspects. >> and then in terms of the suspects with absolute minutia detail, watch , watch and rewatch detail, watch, watch and rewatch the cctv , which was a process the cctv, which was a process that took months, not days . that took months, not days. >> alongside gordon and carpenter, the jury cleared 19 year old friend of gordon's, regan anderson , of murder and regan anderson, of murder and manslaughter, but found him guilty of affray . guilty of affray. >> we'll have all been that person that's either been pushed or pushed somebody in a crowded premise and normally it might be a few cross words, it might be an apology and that's the end of it. >> but i guess we'll never understand why re

next, prince william is out and about in the west midlands today, supporting mental health and homelessnesscharities. our man, cameron walker went along for the ride and the itv boss has blasted the bbc for outbidding them for the meghan markle drama. skins is spending millions of pounds on a yank tv drama a right royal waste of licence payers money and that's all coming up between now and 6:00. welcome to the show. always an absolute delight to have your company. show. always an absolute delight to have your company . please get to have your company. please get in touch. there's a new way to do so. you can do that by sending your views, views or posting your comments by visiting gbnews.com/yoursay. you will not believe a story we've got coming up in the show today. it turns out an a gb news exclusive that spies at mi5 and m16 exclusive that spies at mi5 and mi6 are being told not to shake hands with muslims in case it offends them to use gender neutral toilets to recommend each other for diversity awards. what next? pronouns are forever that's going up in the show. but first, it's time for

four other men, aged in their 20s and from the west midlands, were also arrested on suspicion of assistingn in police custody. habibur masum will next appear at bradford crown court tomorrow. the family of kulsuma akter have described her as polite and humble and someone who loved to make those around her laugh. herfamily in bangladesh are said to be understandably extremely distraught by what has happened to her. both greater manchester and west yorkshire police forces have referred themselves to the police watchdog, the iopc, because both of them had contact with kulsuma akter before the attack happened. studio: allison freeman, thank you. waiting lists for routine hospital treatment in england have fallen for the fifth consecutive month, according to new figures. the prime minister has said the figures show the government's plan for the nhs is working. he's been talking to our health editor hugh pym, who's with me. but there are some uncomfortable details as well in these figures. explain. details as well in these figures. exlain. . �* , details as well in these figures. exlain. . �*, e

billion came back in terms of the uk economy, particularly in the region where birmingham is, the west midlandssaid no after victoria, and the last six occasions of the games five of those have been by countries in the uk or austria. so there is a narrowing list of countries who are able to and interested in hosting these games. it's a huge multisport event and brings lots of athletes who care about winning gold medals at the commonwealth games, particularly british athletes who get to compete in it an arena and events they don't normally get to do, so there are personal stories and significant moments of history that the commonwealth games can call upon, but whether it is a financial and logistical necessity now for the countries making a decision about hosting,. with two years ago, it's an open question. you hosting,. with two years ago, it's an open question.— hosting,. with two years ago, it's an open question. you need a host, thank ou an open question. you need a host, thank you for— an open question. you need a host, thank you for staying _ an open question. you need a host, thank you fo

he also faces charges of up to 1981, some related to his time as a scoutmaster in the west midlands.bbc news, chester. stay with us, i'm back in a few minutes' time on the world today. hello there. there was some sunshine here and there today. this was rural essex earlier on. but we are seeing more cloud and some more rain arriving as well. you can see how the cloud has been racing across the atlantic and then pushing up from the southwest. and these areas of cloud are areas of low pressure and their weather fronts which are bringing the rain up. and we're seeing rain at the moment moving up from the southwest across england and wales. and these outbreaks of rain will continue to affect england and wales for the next few hours and then head northwards into northern ireland and across scotland, where it's going to turn increasingly wet here. now, we do have some colder air across the far north of scotland, so a little bit chilly here overnight, but otherwise milder than last night. and in the south, temperatures could start at 10—11 early in the morning. further north, we've got the r

four other men aged in their 20s from the west midlands were also arrested on suspicion of assistingt bradford crown court tomorrow. today, a group of women turned up here to pay their respects to ms akter. they place more flowers at the spot where she was attacked. it was a very emotional moment. some of them were crying, some angry, saying they wanted women to feel safe on they wanted women to feel safe on the streets of bradford. both greater manchester and west yorkshire police have referred themselves to the ipoc, the police watchdog, because they had had previous contact with ms akter before the attack happened. alison, thank you. more than £34,000 of taxpayers' money has been used to cover the cost of legal fees for the science secretary michelle donelan after she falsely accused an academic of extremism. it's more than double the amount the government had previously said was being paid out. they have defended using public money to pay the bill, claiming her comments had been made "in the course of her ministerial duties". but labour has called for her to pay the money back. t

four other men, aged in their 20s and from the west midlands, were also arrested on suspicion of assistingle change —— according to new figures. 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of february, down from 7.58 the month before. the 'fall�* happened largely because some community cases were removed from the statistics — nhs england said the trend was broadly flat from the previous month. the prime minister says the figures show the government's plan for the nhs is working. when i became prime minister, i said that cutting waiting lists was one of my five priorities, and whilst we haven't made as much progress as i would have liked, today's figures show that we are making headway towards that goal. over the last five months, a reduction of over 200,000 of the overall waiting list, which is positive, and if it wasn't for industrial action, an extra 430,000 patients would have been treated. so while there is of course a lot more work to do, the plan is working. and more broadly, we have seen the first year over year reduction in a&e and ambulance waiting times. we

so there's an awful lot that's going to appeal, particularly in midlands, east midlands and the north westdlands and the north west, north east to those traditional lifelong labour voters who feel that this labour party under sir keir starmer, who ultimately was pro—remain, wanted a second referendum and would campaign for remain, has said that a woman, is a trans woman, is a woman, is a trans woman, is a woman and then is seemingly rowed back over the last couple of years, which is a dramatic transformation. and many other kind of flip flops that he's obsessed with is just simply not the man that inspires our country. let's not forget that jeremy corbyn did actually get more votes, just sadly , in my more votes, just sadly, in my opinion. but more votes than tony blair did in some of his own electoral victory. so i think that keir starmer is in big trouble and should take the george galloway threat very seriously. do you think there's a potential issue here for keir starmer? >> i think so, but unfortunately the nature of our political system means that it probably won't materialise into a

he also faces charges of up to 1981, some related to his time as a scoutmaster in the west midlands.told he'll appear in court in june today he was told he'll appear in court injune and will be asked to re—enter his pleas. he was led away to be taken back into custody. police scotland say no action will be taken over a series of social media posts byjk rowling about transgender people. ms rowling, who lives in edinburgh, had invited the force to arrest her if they believed she had committed an offence under scotland's new hate crime law, which came into force yesterday. our scotland correspondent, alexandra mackenzie, is outside police headquarters in glasgow. tell us more about this. welcome as ou sa , tell us more about this. welcome as you say. the — tell us more about this. welcome as you say. the bill— tell us more about this. welcome as you say, the bill came _ tell us more about this. welcome as you say, the bill came into _ tell us more about this. welcome as you say, the bill came into law- you say, the bill came into law yesterday and the bbc understands there have been sev