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Drivers of high-polluting cars will pay £8 from 1 June in Birmingham city centre.

Panashe Bako, 20, died after being stabbed at the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham, on 22 July 2020.

Two of the groups which control Herefordshire Council have strengthened their alliance by combining to form a new political group.

Herefordshire Independents and It's Our County will now be known as Independents for Herefordshire.

The two parties formed a coalition with the Green Party after the elections in 2019 to run the authority.

Image source, Google

Councillor John Harrington will chair the new group and described it as "practical and progressive".

He said they will work together to fight the next council elections in two years time.

Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were both killed by Usman Khan in London in November 2019.

The new housing department in Wolverhampton should be ready by the summer, the government says.

Police say they raided the building thinking they were going to find a cannabis farm.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Midlands Today

More than 5.3m vaccine doses have been delivered in the West Midlands, with 10m people now vaccinated across the wider Midlands area, figures show.

It's a major milestone and comes as anyone over 30 can now book an appointment for their jab.

Over the next few days, one million people across the country aged 30 and 31 will be invited via text message.

Birmingham's director of public health said reaching a younger age group was important to protect them against variants of the virus.

"What we are seeing from across the world where we have these new variants, is that it's a younger audience ending up in hospital - the people who are vaccinated are protected and the younger age groups are starting to end up in A&E.

"The faster we can vaccinate everyone the more protected we are against these new variants," he said.

He said the success story of reaching millions of people in the region was down to giving people access to get vaccinated.

"It's the entire system working together to put forward the vaccine in a way that gets to people and gives them the chance to protect themselves from a third wave," he added.

A mainly dry, dull day with overcast skies. Light winds and a high of 19C/66F.

Image source, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Weather Watcher Shaun

Staying mostly dry tonight with lingering cloud and light winds again. Low: 11C/52F.

You can get a latest forecast for your area at any time by going to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Weather website.

Birmingham residents and business owners react to the launch of the zone on 1 June.

Jason Young, who got a second job when the industry was decimated by Covid-19, urges MPs to help.

River joins brothers Beau and Leo at home after they were born in January at 29 weeks.

Jack Haynes hits a career-best 97, backed by Brett D'Oliveira's 71, to help Worcestershire close on 336-7 against Derbyshire.

Group One leaders Nottinghamshire claim some late wickets to keep Warwickshire under control at Edgbaston.

Tristan Price was working at a bar in Birmingham on Saturday when a woman allegedly abused him.

The police watchdog says the case followed an incident at a Wolverhampton hospital.

"Poor management" of the ex-footballer while unconscious contributed to his death, a court hears.

Police say the newborn was "probably not alive" when he went into the canal.

Machetes, a crossbow and a sword have been seized by police who arrested 19 people in a crackdown on county lines drug dealing gangs in Staffordshire.

Image source, Getty Images

Forces across the UK boosted activity against county lines gangs in the week from 17 to 23 May.

they seized drugs and cash along with the weapons and those arrested were all held on suspicion of drugs offences.

The drug seizures included a 20-year-old man as he got off the train from Walsall to Cannock who the force said had 50 deals of heroin and crack in his socks.

Two vulnerable people were also found by officers as they searched 20 suspected "cuckooed" homes, places where gangs have taken over the place for criminal activity.