Birmingham Post

Byrne Pledge On Transport

Major transport improvements can go ahead in the West Midlands even if councils refuse to introduce road pricing, the Minister for the region has said. Liam Byrne's comments suggested that the Government had scrapped its policy of funding major transport projects only in towns and cities which impose congestion charging.

New Website for Our Dynamic City

An exciting new era for The Birmingham Post has started with the launch of a unique stand-alone website showcasing the best of the West Midlands' premier newspaper. The ground-breaking site - www.birminghampost.net - will provide the premier source of live news and information for the region's key decision makers, 24 hours a day.

Tributes As Airman the Latest Brit to Die in Iraq

A British airman who died in a rocket attack on his base in southern Iraq was named yesterday. Sergeant Duane "Baz" Barwood, 41, who was attached to 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, Royal Air Force, was killed when Basra air base came under fire on Friday evening.

I'm No Hero and I'd Love to Go Out There Again - Harry

Prince Harry yesterday revealed how he flew home to Britain feet away from two horrifically-injured soldiers in a shocking reminder of the reality he was leaving behind. The flight first touched down in Birmingham so that the two soldiers could be taken to Selly Oak Hospital, where British military casualties are treated at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.

Put a Name to the New Court Complex and You Could Win Pounds 150

Property developers due to start work on a new retirement complex in south Birmingham are urging readers of The Birmingham Post to come up with a suitable name for the development. McCarthy & Stone are about to embark on their second project in Moseley but are stumped as to what to call it, so they have launched a competition with pounds 150 going to the winning entry.

Mill's Sails Will Turn Again After Gap of Half a Century

It's a symbol of a bygone - some might say gentler - age, a time when the sound of clopping hooves echoed across the land and man's pollution that now threatens to clog up the world had barely begun. For nearly 200 years, Berkswell Windmill has stood as a local landmark in the Solihull village of Balsall Common.

Homes Under the Hammer at Three-Year Low

The number of homes being sold at auctions has fallen to a three- year low as buyers become more cautious, figures showed today,. Just 57 per cent of properties that were put up for auction during the final three months of 2007 sold, compared with 69 per cent during the same period of 2006, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Forensic Teams Take a Break After Working 13 Hours a Day

Excavation work at a former Jersey care home at the centre of a child abuse scandal stopped yesterday to relieve forensic teams who have been working up to 13 hours a day searching for human remains. The work at Haut de la Garenne has been constant since a child's skull was found under a floor in a stairwell in the north west corner of the building last Saturday.

Felix 'Doing Well' After Transplant

A Ghanaian teenager and his father who were flown to Britain by a Midland-based charity were doing well after having a live kidney transplant at a Birmingham hospital yesterday. Felix Yeboah's testimony at a medical conference in Ghana last November touched the hearts of several transplant specialists, including Andrew Ready, consultant renal transplant surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.

Smith Rejects Calls for Review ; Politics Firearms

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has rejected Scottish Government calls for a review of firearms laws. She has also declined an invitation to co-host a national firearms summit along with Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill.

Million Children Short of Target ; Politics Poverty

The Government is set to miss its target of halving the number of children living in poverty by around one million, MPs warned today. The Commons Work and Pensions Committee said it was still possible to turn the situation around before the target date of 2010 but only if ministers were prepared to make more resources available.

Mayor Debate ; Politics Crime

London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair were accused yesterday of "collusion" by the Liberal Democrats. The party's Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said Sir Ian "could do no wrong" in the eyes of the Mayor and was always being defended by him - despite some of his "questionable" actions.

Parliament Today ; Politics

Commons: 2.30pm defence questions. European Union (Amendment) Bill, committee. Foreign Office Minister Jim Murphy.

Brown Pledges to Make British Families 'Priority' ; Politics

Prime Minister Gordon Brown rallied Labour activists for election battles to come with a promise of policies to deliver for families "year on year". Mr Brown, addressing his party's Spring Conference in Birmingham in his keynote speech on Saturday, pledged "fairness to hard- working families".

Elderly Married Couples 'Can Stay Together' ; Politics

The Government is to unveil plans to allow elderly married couples to live together if they are forced into residential care, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said yesterday. He told delegates at Labour's Spring Conference in Birmingham: "When a couple have lived all their lives together they should not be forced apart at the end of their lives."

People Want to Vote On Euro Treaty, Says Ballot ; Politics

Opponents of the European Treaty were celebrating yesterday after a national ballot resulted in overwhelming public support for a referendum on the controversial issue. More than 150,000 people voted in 10 constituencies in a poll organised by the I Want A Referendum Campaign.

Bankers Ignored Risks Before 'Crunch' - Mps ; Politics

Banks and building societies who believed the good times "would go on and on" ignored warnings of growing risks in the lead-up to last summer's credit crunch, MPs have claimed. Pleas for more caution from the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority over worsening market conditions were shunned, the Treasury Select Committee said.

Open Young Pupils' Eyes to Joys of the Bard - Rsc ; Education Matters

The works of Shakespeare should be taught to primary school pupils from the age of eight, the Royal Shakespeare Company claims today. The internationally-renowned Midland-based theatre company is calling for a renaissance in the way Britain's most famous playwright is taught.

Children Grow Up Too Soon, Says Best-Selling Writer ; Education Matters

Best-selling children's writer Dame Jacqueline Wilson voiced fears today that children in Britain are growing up too quickly. The author of the Tracy Beaker books spoke out as a new poll revealed that more than half of parents believe childhood is now over by 11. Teenagers are increasingly being allowed to drink alcohol, stay out late and sleep over at their boyfriend or girlfriend's house, according to the survey for Wilson's publishers, Random House Children's Books. The key findings are: 6...

Pounds 225m Pledged to Kick Off Ball Games Revival ; Education Matters

Millions of pounds is to be made available to boost play facilities across the Midlands. The Government has earmarked pounds 225 million to tackle the nation's "no ball games" mentality.