Awards and Honours

Harry Kane favourite as Ballon d'Or comes to London on Monday

The ceremony is being held outside France for the first time, and Villa's Unai Emery is up for coach of the year.

Saturday 24 October 2026 Source: The Guardian

Council and Politics

Victoria Square and Birmingham Town Hall

Council and Politics

Council report says Birmingham is moving "from recovery to renewal"

The leader says budgets are close to balanced for three years, but the report lists inequality, child poverty and youth unemployment among the city's...

24 October 2026

Council and Politics

No "two-tier" bin service for exempt housing, says waste chief

A draft report published by mistake suggested supported exempt accommodation could keep weekly collections if the rest of the city went fortnightly.

23 October 2026

Keir Starmer made a core participant in grooming gangs inquiry

23 Oct 2026
Residents asked for their views on budgets after "punishing" years

21 Oct 2026
Council leader says "we should be honest" as library repairs slip

21 Oct 2026

Crime and Safety

Crime and Safety

£20,000 reward offered over unsolved Digbeth murder

Jinming Zhang was stabbed to death in a flat on Moseley Street in 2022, and DNA from the scene has never matched anyone on the national database.

24 October 2026

Crime and Safety

Handsworth teenager jailed for life for murder of Yassin Alama

Oumar Traore, 18, filmed his bloodstained knife and boasted on social media after stabbing the 19-year-old in a gang dispute.

24 October 2026

Three arrested over murder of Ayden Cooper in Sutton Coldfield

23 Oct 2026
Police release CCTV after man is stabbed on bus in Corporation Street

22 Oct 2026
Nine arrested as police raid homes in drugs inquiry linked to Soho Road

20 Oct 2026

Transport

Transport

M42 weekend closures near airport postponed because of storms

HS2 has moved the full closures between junctions 6 and 9 to the following weekend, from 30 October to 2 November.

24 October 2026

Transport

Bus route changes across Birmingham from 1 November

Routes to Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham Airport, Peddimore and The Fort are among those changing, with the 64 and X64 withdrawn.

23 October 2026

21 changes planned in £20m Sutton Coldfield Gateway scheme

23 Oct 2026
Ryanair bases ninth aircraft at Birmingham Airport for the winter

21 Oct 2026
Small bus companies invited to bid for north Birmingham routes

20 Oct 2026

Business

Business

EasyJet to launch Birmingham flights to Agadir next week

The new twice-weekly route to the Moroccan resort starts on 27 October, with fares from £21.99 each way.

24 October 2026

Business

Birmingham ranks fourth in Britain for young business founders

Almost 13 per cent of the directors of new companies in the city over the past year were under 25, well above the national average.

23 October 2026

Mailbox Tesco Express closed after signs of mice

23 Oct 2026
National Express owner Mobico in talks over £282m takeover

21 Oct 2026
Unemployment edges up in Birmingham's region as UK rate falls

20 Oct 2026

Health

Health

Flu jab campaign moves to TikTok as 10 million are vaccinated

A new NHS App feature lets people check whether they are eligible and book a jab at a pharmacy, ahead of what the NHS expects to be a tough winter.

24 October 2026

Health

Nurse trapped in Perry Barr lift while treating baby faces parking fine

Community nurse Lisa Smith faces a £266 charge and possible court action after parking in a permit bay to reach a sick child.

23 October 2026

Learning-disabled people "barely a footnote" in Covid inquiry report, experts say

22 Oct 2026
Birmingham women welcome yearly health checks for PMOS

21 Oct 2026
Children's Hospital doctor gives parents advice on croup and winter viruses

20 Oct 2026

Education

Education

One week left to apply for secondary school places

Birmingham families can list up to six schools, and those who apply late are less likely to get one of their preferences.

24 October 2026

Education

Police warn students they could be evicted over Bonfire Night disorder

After fireworks were fired at officers and buses near student halls last year, police say troublemakers face arrest and universities may take action.

23 October 2026

Ninestiles Academy raises awareness of developmental language disorder

22 Oct 2026
Three Birmingham schools among England's top 20 for GCSE results

21 Oct 2026
Cabinet backs Birmingham's three-year plan to reform SEND support

21 Oct 2026

Housing and Property

Housing and Property

Former council children's home in Hockley sells for £860,000

The Clissold Street site went for more than three times its guide price at a Bond Wolfe auction that raised £24m.

24 October 2026

The Corporation Street entrance to Martineau Place

Housing and Property

Plans lodged for 1,300 homes at Martineau Place

The shopping centre between Corporation Street and Bull Street could be replaced by homes, offices and a 60-storey tower.

23 October 2026

First tenants to move into Stirchley co-op flats, but not as planned

22 Oct 2026
Mayor opens Futures Fund to developers, with £400m for affordable homes

21 Oct 2026
Makers Place completed as 722 homes open on former Jewellery Quarter car park

20 Oct 2026

Environment

Environment

Military aircraft to help fight wildfires after record summer

Fire services will be able to call on RAF Chinooks and A400M planes, and firefighters will get £45m of lighter protective kit.

24 October 2026

Environment

Heat killed 50,000 in Europe's cities this summer, study finds

Scientists estimate 4,354 heat deaths in the UK and say climate breakdown caused two in every three deaths across the continent.

23 October 2026

Bulky waste collections will return, council's waste chiefs confirm

23 Oct 2026
MPs call for firefighting aircraft after record wildfire year

21 Oct 2026
Van seized over fly-tipping in Handsworth as council steps up crackdown

20 Oct 2026

Sport

Sport

Emery marks four years at Villa with Manchester City visit

The Villa manager says regular Champions League football is his priority as the Premier League leaders come to Villa Park on Saturday.

24 October 2026

Sport

Blues appoint former Manchester United chief John Murtough

The new director of football starts on Monday and will oversee recruitment, the academy and the club's football strategy.

23 October 2026

Davies does his homework before Blues' trip to Cardiff

23 Oct 2026
Villa beat Viking 3-1 to keep perfect Champions League record

22 Oct 2026
Mings ready to "roll back the years" at left-back as Villa injuries bite

20 Oct 2026

Arts and Culture

Arena Birmingham, seen from the Library of Birmingham

Arts and Culture

Duran Duran play triumphant homecoming show in Birmingham

Simon Le Bon told the Utilita Arena crowd "Duran Duran is Birmingham!" as the band played two hours of hits on their first UK arena tour in three year...

24 October 2026

The Birmingham Hippodrome on Hurst Street

Arts and Culture

The Nutcracker returns to the Hippodrome for Sir Peter Wright's centenary

Birmingham Royal Ballet's festive favourite runs from 20 November to 12 December, in the 100th birthday year of its creator.

23 October 2026

Neverland Christmas adventure opens at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

22 Oct 2026
Birmingham universities to study how video games can teach Shakespeare

21 Oct 2026
Sampad unveils season of theatre, dance and a Diwali walk on Stratford Road

20 Oct 2026

Community

Community

Mums making a difference, from Sutton Park pebbles to a sensory shop

An artist hiding painted stones, a mum who opened a shop for neurodivergent children and a theatre founder honoured by Sky Arts are among those praise...

24 October 2026

Centenary Square seen from the Library of Birmingham

Community

Christmas ice rink and big wheel take shape in Centenary Square

Skating starts on 5 November, the same day as the Frankfurt Christmas Market, and runs every day until 3 January.

24 October 2026

Yardley couple's haunted house draws queues for mental health charity

22 Oct 2026
Digital portal to link Birmingham and Frankfurt for 60th anniversary

21 Oct 2026
Free repair and clothes swap sessions return to Sparkhill and Bournville

20 Oct 2026

Weather

The Chamberlain clock tower at the University of Birmingham

Weather

Only one in eight fully prepared for winter weather, Met Office finds

As Storm Boelo brings wind and rain on Saturday and the clocks go back on Sunday, forecasters urge people to get ready for winter.

24 October 2026

Storm waves breaking on the Scottish coast

Weather

Storm Boelo brings amber warning as Austen moves away

Gusts of up to 80mph are forecast in Scotland on Saturday night and Sunday, while Birmingham faces a wet and windy weekend.

23 October 2026

Yellow wind warning for Birmingham as Storm Austen arrives on Friday

23 Oct 2026
Amber wind warning for Cornwall as Storm Austen approaches

21 Oct 2026
Storm Austen named as wind and rain head for the UK

20 Oct 2026

Technology

Meta's headquarters in Menlo Park, California

Technology

Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over misleading users

A jury found Facebook's owner misled people about their data after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, with the money going to the state's schools.

24 October 2026

Technology

"Black October": experts warn of AI hacking wave after PHP flaw

Tech leaders say AI will find and exploit security flaws faster than defenders can fix them, with millions of attacks already on the PHP bug.

24 October 2026

PHP flaw forces websites offline around the world

22 Oct 2026
Coroner links girl's death to TikTok content as Ofcom faces calls to act

21 Oct 2026
Google cloud outage exposes UK reliance on a few tech giants

21 Oct 2026

Science

Satsuma Iwo-jima, an island on the rim of the Kikai caldera in Japan

Science

Supervolcano under Japan is refilling with fresh magma

Seismic surveys of the Kikai caldera, site of the biggest eruption of the past 11,700 years, reveal a reservoir being recharged from below.

24 October 2026

Science

Personalised mRNA vaccine cuts melanoma recurrence, trial shows

The vaccine, made for each patient's tumour, reduced the risk of the cancer returning or death by 42 per cent alongside immunotherapy.

23 October 2026

ADHD medication unlikely to raise self-harm risk, Aston study finds

22 Oct 2026
Birmingham study finds glaciers ending in lakes are losing ice fastest

22 Oct 2026
"Chunky" Jurassic squid relative named after fossil collector

21 Oct 2026

Economy

The City of London seen from Canary Wharf

Economy

UK business activity grows at fastest pace in eight months

The flash composite PMI rose to 53.1 in October, beating forecasts, as new orders grew at their quickest rate in two years ahead of the budget.

24 October 2026

Economy

Consumer confidence falls at fastest rate since Brexit vote

GfK's index fell 11 points to -24 in October as fuel prices and the cost of living squeeze households before the budget.

23 October 2026

Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs this year as it turns to AI

22 Oct 2026
Inflation rises to 3.5 per cent as fuel costs surge

22 Oct 2026
Healey to rule out capital gains tax rise in next week's budget

20 Oct 2026

National

National

MoD in talks to settle compensation row with gay veterans

Two veterans forced out of the forces are challenging rules that gave them thousands less because their departures were recorded as resignations.

24 October 2026

The Berlaymont building in Brussels, home of the European Commission

National

EU leaders to press Burnham to pay more for Ukraine's defence

Brussels wants the UK, Canada and Japan to do more as Kyiv faces a €70bn shortfall, ahead of an EU-UK summit next month.

23 October 2026

Households told to keep three days of food and water in case of emergency

23 Oct 2026
Home Office lifts deportation order on man who has lived in UK for 50 years

22 Oct 2026
Covid spread "like wildfire" in care homes, inquiry finds

20 Oct 2026

World

World

France deploys 70,000 police to head off weekend unrest

The government admits it "lost control" of rioting last Saturday, as cost-of-living protests are also planned in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.

24 October 2026

World

Magnitude-7 earthquake kills at least 16 in Tibet

Hundreds of homes collapsed near the city of Nagqu, and rescue teams are working in freezing, high-altitude conditions.

23 October 2026

Russia bombards Kyiv hours after agreeing to resume talks

23 Oct 2026
Pope will not need further cancer treatment, doctors say

22 Oct 2026
Alberta votes overwhelmingly to stay in Canada

21 Oct 2026

Awards and Honours