Category Archives: Birmingham

Boy, 15, who fatally stabbed teenager he did not know in Birmingham is jailed for life

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Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17, was killed by stranger after a four-minute conversation in city centre

A 15-year-old boy who followed a teenager he did not know through Birmingham city centre and stabbed him to death after a four-minute conversation has been jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years.

Muhammad Hassam Ali, known as Ali, was 17 when he died in hospital on 20 January, hours after he and his friend were confronted by two masked 15-year-old boys they had never met as they sat in Victoria Square, drinking hot chocolate and chatting about cricket.

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Comedian Joe Lycett says he has become father of a baby boy

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TV presenter praises and thanks staff at Birmingham women’s hospital for ‘exceptional’ care his partner received

The comedian Joe Lycett has announced he has become a father to a baby boy.

Lycett, 36, shared a picture on Instagram of him holding the infant, whom he said was born at Birmingham women’s hospital.

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Russia’s aim is to ‘create havoc’ if it is behind DHL fires, says air freight expert

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Goal seems to be for people ‘to lose confidence in the system’, says head of industry body after devices found in Birmingham and Leipzig

If Russia is proved to be behind an incendiary device plot that caused fires at two parcels warehouses in July, it will be evidence that Moscow is aiming to disrupt western confidence, an expert has said.

The dangerous packages, which caught light at DHL sites in Birmingham and Leipzig, are not thought to have been sophisticated but in both cases appear to have evaded security checks. German authorities warned this week that a plane could have been downed if the devices, which were both sent by air, had ignited in flight.

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Azealia Banks likens Bull Ring fish stalls in Birmingham to ‘Wuhan wet market’

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US rapper says her visit to indoor market led to her spending two days ‘sweating out’ an illness

The US rapper Azealia Banks has accused Birmingham’s fish market of making her ill, comparing it to a “Wuhan wet market”.

In an unlikely intervention, the American star posted on X that city officials needed to “do something” about the stalls before comparing the market to the site in China identified as the place where the Covid pandemic most likely began.

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Brummies celebrate inaugural International Day of Birmingham

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Comedian Joe Lycett declares United States of Birmingham with 10 US towns and cities that share the name

Residents of Birmingham often admit the city is not accustomed to blowing its own trumpet – still maligned and mocked by others, it tends to favour self-deprecating humour.

So the launch of the inaugural International Day of Birmingham (IDOB), celebrated with cheerleaders, confetti cannon and actual trumpets, is not what you would expect to see on a walk through the city centre on a Tuesday afternoon.

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Jack Reacher would not exist without Birmingham’s libraries, says writer

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Lee Child says childhood visits to city’s libraries helped him to create protagonist as he laments proposed closures

It is said that heroes are made, not born.

In the case of the fictional ex-military action man Jack Reacher, it has emerged he was made in a library in Birmingham.

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Who are the pro-Gaza independents who unseated Labour MPs?

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All four capitalised on dissatisfaction over Labour’s stance on the Gaza war but said they had other priorities too

On a momentous night for Keir Starmer and the Labour party, nothing was going to detract from the celebrations. But the results weren’t all positive. Among the matters for Labour to ponder when the hangovers have cleared is the loss of four seats to pro-Palestinian candidates amid dissatisfaction over the party’s stance on the Gaza war. Here is more about the four independents who upset the odds.

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Black- and Asian-led take on Wagner in Midlands aims to open up opera access

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Artistic director of Birmingham production of The Flying Dutchman says he hopes to inspire people to get involved

“Opera in this country is definitely not accessible,” says Byron Jackson, an international baritone and the artistic director of what is thought to be the first black- and Asian-led production of Wagner in the UK.

Opening in Birmingham on Sunday, this rendition of the German-language opera The Flying Dutchman will feature a cast from across the Commonwealth, and a number of community performers from Handsworth, Balsall Heath and farther afield in the West Midlands.

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‘Don’t take us for granted’: Muslim voters send message to Labour over its Gaza stance

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Labour lost seats including Jonathan Ashworth’s in Leicester, where angry voters say they felt ignored

When Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth lost his Leicester South seat to the pro-Palestine independent candidate Shockat Adam, it was widely seen as one of the biggest upsets of election night.

But a walk along Evington Road, a busy shopping street with a large Muslim population in the constituency, showed that all the signs were there.

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Birmingham general election hopeful joked about domestic violence on podcast

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Independent Akhmed Yakoob, who polls suggest is closing gap on Labour, also said ‘70% of hell will be women’

An independent candidate standing in Birmingham said “70% of hell will be women” and joked about domestic violence on a podcast earlier this year, it has emerged, as polling suggests he is closing the gap with Labour.

Akhmed Yakoob, who came third in the West Midlands mayoral election in May with just over 10% of the vote, is standing against Labour’s Shabana Mahmood in Ladywood, one of the most deprived constituencies in the country.

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Major Birmingham redevelopment plans fail residents on green space, campaigners say

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Plans for the £1.9bn Smithfield scheme include a park that is smaller than a football pitch, falling short of the council’s own guidelines

Campaigners are warning that a major development project that will be approved by Birmingham city council falls far short of the city’s own guidelines for open green space.

The £1.9bn Smithfield scheme will bring 3,500 new homes as well as restaurants and offices to 17 hectares (42 acres) of fenced brownfield land in the centre of the city. But the new park – Smithfield Park – will be only 0.8 hectares, smaller than a football pitch.

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‘I just let it rip!’: jumbo amateur rock band bangs the drum for Brum

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Brum Rocks, born out of community musical groups, will bring together dozens of performers to play a new anthem for Birmingham

When Steve Groome started learning to play guitar after retiring, he never expected he would end up in a band.

“At 66, I’m not going to get a phone call from Mark Knopfler or Eric Clapton. I might not even get in an averagely rubbish covers band,” he said. “But I don’t need to with this, we have fun. I just let rip.”

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Two men jailed for life for murdering footballer Cody Fisher

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Remy Gordon and Kami Carpenter given minimum terms of 26 and 25 years at Birmingham crown court for nightclub attack

Two men have been jailed for life for the murder of footballer Cody Fisher in a nightclub attack in Birmingham on Boxing Day 2022.

Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22, had blamed each other for stabbing the 23-year-old former Birmingham City academy player, who died at the scene from a chest wound.

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Birmingham council approves biggest budget cuts in local authority history

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Up to 600 council jobs to be lost, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightly

Councillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history, with residents warning that the consequences could be “disastrous” for the city.

Birmingham city council met on Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on a proposed set of cuts that will see the loss of up to 600 council jobs, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightly.

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BBC move to axe Doctors is ‘disastrous’, says screenwriter

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Soap has given opportunities to actors, writers and production staff, says Philip Ralph on last day of filming

A screenwriter has described the decision to axe the daytime drama Doctors as “disastrous” and said soaps are collapsing as he marked the last day of filming the show.

The BBC announced in October the show would end in December this year due to “super inflation in drama production”.

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Birmingham given go-ahead to raise council tax by up to 10%

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Michael Gove approves exceptional rise for UK’s biggest local authority, affecting 1m people, and three other bankrupt councils

Council tax in Birmingham is likely to increase by up to 10% after the government allowed the local authority to bypass the national cap without the need for a local referendum.

The increase will affect more than 1 million people in the UK’s largest local authority, which declared itself effectively bankrupt last year due to a £300m budget gap.

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West Midlands fire service chief found dead at home in Birmingham

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Police say death of Wayne Brown, reportedly under investigation over academic qualifications claims, not being treated as suspicious

Wayne Brown, the chief of West Midlands fire service, has been found dead at his home in Birmingham. Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious. He was reportedly being investigated over claims on social media about his academic qualifications.

Greg Brackenridge, chair of West Midlands fire and rescue authority, said the fire service’s thoughts were with his family. “We are devastated to report that our chief fire officer, Wayne Brown, was this morning found dead at his home address,” he said. “The death is not being treated as suspicious by West Midlands police.

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Fatal stabbing of boy, 17, in Birmingham was case of mistaken identity, police believe

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Detectives still investigating motive after Muhammad Hassam Ali died of his injuries in city centre

A teenage boy was stabbed to death in Birmingham city centre in a case of mistaken identity, police believe.

Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17, died from his injuries after he was stabbed in Victoria Square on Saturday. His family have issued a photo of him, but asked for privacy while they grieve.

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Family of Sikh activist call for new UK investigation into his death

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Family of Avtar Singh Khanda, 35, say Home Office decision could allay fears of Sikhs in UK of being targeted by India

The family of the late Sikh activist Avtar Singh Khanda have called on the Home Office to appoint a police force to conduct a full and independent investigation into his sudden death last June, which coincided with a murder and an attempted murder of Sikh separatists in Canada and the US.

Khanda’s family lawyer, Michael Polak, said that a decision by the Home Office to launch an investigation would alleviate concerns among the Sikh community that they could be targeted by India and that their safety and rights were being sacrificed for “political expediency”.

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Indian police accused of harassing Sikh activist in UK before his sudden death

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Family of Avtar Khanda question UK authorities’ account that his death was reviewed by police and that there was no foul play

A Sikh activist in Birmingham complained that Indian police were verbally harassing him by phone and threatening his family in Punjab months before his sudden death in June, a Guardian investigation has found.

The death of Avtar Singh Khanda, which family and friends have said was suspicious, coincided with a plot that was playing out across the Atlantic where, US prosecutors have alleged, an Indian government official with close ties to Indian intelligence was ordering the murder of high-profile Sikh activists in Canada and the US.

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