Birmingham Post

Ten Years of Growth - but City Council Still has to Do More

Birmingham's economy has enjoyed a decadelong boom of more than 60 per cent growth - but the city council needs to do more to raise the city's business profile, a major national survey claims. Data from UHY Hacker Young shows Birmingham's economy grew at 61.3 per cent from 1995 to 2005, based on gross value added per capita, to pounds 17,984 per capita per year.

City Star in the Making Ready to Serve Up Wimbledon Treat in Biggest Game of Career

Former Severn Trent Md Critical of 'Lazy, Ill-Conceived' Prosecution

The former head of Severn Trent criticised the prosecution of the firm which landed it with a pounds 2 million fine yesterday as "lazy, ill-conceived and manifestly unfair". The water giant's ex-managing director Brian Duckworth said he felt frustrated the prosecution, for lying about water leaks, had left a question mark over his involvement.

Three Held in Raids ; Crime

Teen Fights for Life ; Crash

Jackpot Joy ; Bond

Rain Man Debut ; Theatre

The hit movie Rain Man has been adapted for the West End stage. Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett, aged 29, will become the latest US star to tread the boards in London when the play opens later this year. The Oscar-winning film, which starred Dustin Hoffman as autistic savant Raymond Babbitt, has been "radically re-imagined" for the present day.

Bulmer Hit with Pounds 300,000 Fine for Legion Bug Outbreak

Cider-maker HP Bulmer and its water treatment contractor were each fined pounds 300,000 yesterday for health and safety breaches which led to a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. Judge Alistair McCreath also ordered the Hereford-based drinks firm and Nalco Limited to pay more than pounds 50,000 each in prosecution costs after hearing two people died and more than 20 other members of the public fell ill in the city in 2003.

Festival Called Off After Sand Sculpture Attacks

A series of giant sand sculptures have been destroyed in Birmingham by vandals on three separate occasions. The International Sand Sculpture Festival, including work by a world champion, was due to take place at the Aston Events Centre and has now been scrapped.

Galleries Bid for Portrait of First 'Cotton King'

Two galleries have launched a joint bid to buy a portrait of one of the first "cotton kings". The National Portrait Gallery and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston, Lancashire, are hoping to acquire a portrait of the British engineer and inventor Sir Richard Arkwright by the painter Joseph Wright of Derby.

Darling Plans Bigger Payouts in Event of Bank Failures

Plans to increase the protection available to consumers who lose money when a bank collapses were announced by the Government yesterday. Chancellor Alistair Darling is calling for people who lose their savings to be paid compensation within a week, while the amount of money that is protected could be increased from pounds 35,000 to pounds 50,000.

Pounds 13,400 a Year Just to Subsist

A single person in Britain needs to earn at least pounds 13,400 a year before tax to afford a basic but acceptable standard of living, according to a report today. The "minimum income" is enough to cover food and warmth, as well as the occasional film ticket and simple meal out, according to a panel questioned for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Taste of Birmingham Set to Feature Distinct Lyon Flavour

This year's Taste of Birmingham will have a distinctly French flavour, it was revealed last night . Four award-winning chefs from Birmingham's twin city of Lyon will be at the four day food festival, joining representatives from many of the region's top restaurants including Simpsons, Opus, Hotel du Vin and Malmaison, which hosted the official Champagne launch.

Premiership Thug Barton Cheats Jail After Beating Up Teammate

Premier League footballer Joey Barton was told yesterday to set an example to fans who idolised him, by the judge who spared him jail. The Newcastle United midfielder received a four-month suspended sentence for assaulting his former Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo during a training session. Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said Barton, 25, responded in a "ferocious way" to a "harmless" push by Dabo on May 1 last year. He punched Dabo up to five times leaving him unconscious and covered in blood. ...

Fast Track to Helping Blind

Would-be motor racers are being urged to put their driving ability to the test to help a Black Country charity raise money for a new pounds 3.4 million centre for the blind and visually impaired. Beacon Centre for the Blind, in Wolverhampton, was established to provide care and facilities to help enrich the daily lives of blind or visually impaired people in the West Midlands.

P News Blogs

'....a blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog....

Expert Who Worked On Kray Case Dies

Ray Wyre (right), the internationally renowned expert on sex offenders, has died following a stroke aged 56. A child protection expert and former social worker, in the 1980s he set up the Gracewell Clinic in Birmingham, claimed to be the world's first residential treatment centre for sex offenders.

Politics: New Drinks Law Fails to Curb Violence ; Licensing

The introduction of 24-hour licensing laws has failed to reduce drunken violence while costing taxpayers pounds 100 million, a report claimed. A survey by the Local Government Association found about seven in 10 police authorities, primary care trusts and councils had seen either no change or an increase in alcohol-related disorder.

Politics: Plan Scrapped ; Police

Controversial plans to allow civilians to become custody sergeants have been scrapped by the Government. The move has been on hold since Home Office Minister Tony McNulty instigated a review of it last year.

Politics: Expenses Snag ; Allowances

Westminster's anti-sleaze watchdog has warned Commons Speaker Michael Martin that his review of MPs' expenses has not tackled all of the controversies surrounding parliamentary allowances. Days before MPs are set to vote on an expenses overhaul led by Mr Martin, Sir Christopher Kelly has flagged up a lack of "structural change" in the proposals.