even public transport from areas outside of birmingham into birmingham to make the most of it. laying out the benefits for birmingham, but you absolutely don‘t agree this is what birmingham needs right now. we are seeing a triumph for vested interests today. it goes against evidence based policy. the whole case for hs2 has been invented and totally made up by the people who wa nt to totally made up by the people who want to build it to be the construction industry and the co nsulta nts construction industry and the consultants within. they are running their own gravy train. the first set of co ntra cts their own gravy train. the first set of contracts went 88% over budget. we have just seen the chair of hs2 and ch2m come in 49% over budget. it started at 30 billion, it was going to connect to heathrow, that has been cut. the official cost is now at £56 billion. the cost will keep going up and up and up or something only a fast train for fatcats. but something needs to be done, right? all the trains are too busy. it is not just about speed, but capacity. the trains as they st

at that time in birmingham. just to be ourselves as afamily and birmingham. just to be ourselves as a family and be together. the staff here believe they can improve care even further, but today is a huge moment in showing how this hospital has turned a corner. jane dreaper, bbc news, birmingham. the kielder observatory in the remote northumberland countryside is to get a £200,000 extension. the observatory now attracts more than 23,000 visitors every year, and thanks to grants from the heritage lottery fund and the rural development programme there's to be a new observatory and much bigger educational facilities. jim knight reports from kielder. even on this bleak february morning, steve is already starting to get ready for the new season at the kielder village campsite. and like so many other accommodation providers out here, he is eternally grateful for the observatory and the thousands of new visitors it brings in every year. we have had some very fortunate camps where they have had a good number of nights, despite bad weather. but the colder it is, the

jane dreaper, bbc news, birmingham. a team of british soldiers is hoping to become the first all—female group to cross antarctica unsupported. during a 3—month expedition they'll face temperatures of minus a0 degrees — and they'll be walking in that for up to 9 hours a day. 0ur reporter phil mackie joined them for some of their training, in norway. the ice maiden team is heading out across a frozen norwegian lake at the start of its final training exercise. in september, these soldiers will begin their historicjourney, hoping they will succeed and inspire a generation of women. it's not just about five women crossing antarctica, it's about encouraging women from across the military but also in civilian life to get out there and give things a go, and realise there is no ceiling and you can achieve anything. i think we can inspire some women to get out there and be physically active. it doesn't have to be antarctica. their 5k can be their antarctica. we're just going to have... 0oh, it's hot chocolate with orange to

but birmingham held on for the victory. rugby union's six nations championship continues this weekend with the third round of matches. won their first six nations match for six years....they‘ve beaten —— but the women's tournament is slightly ahead and scotland have won their first six nations match for six years. they've beaten wales by 15 points to 14. it's the first time in 30 meetings that they've beaten the welsh. they did it the hard way, coming back from 14—0 down. sarah law with the vital penalty to push them over the line at broadwood stadium. domestically, there was one game in the premiership tonight and it was a big win for leicester, who are closing in on the top four after beating harlequins 27—18 away. after taking an early lead it was quins who led at half time but leicester came back, freddie burns scoring more than half their points, with their third and final try as well as kicking ten points. leicester a re now level with fourth placed bath, only behind on points difference. in the pro 12, card

but birmingham held on for the victory. rugby union's 6 nations championship continues this weekend with the third round of matches... but the women's tournament is slightly ahead and scotland have won their first six nations match for six years....they‘ve beaten wales by 15 points to 14. it's the first time in 30 meetings that they've beaten the welsh. they did it the hard way, coming back from 14—0 down. sarah law with the vital penalty to push them over the line at broadwood stadium... domestically, there was one game in the premiership tonight and it was a big win for leicester who are closing in on the top 4 after beating harlequins 27—18 away. after taking an early lead it was quins who led at half time but leicester came back, freddie burns scoring more than half their points, with their third and final try as well as kicking ten points. leicester a re now level with 4th placed bath, only behind on points difference. in the pro 12, cardiff narrowly won at edinburgh... to inflict more misery looking beaten and i

nick blakemore there at the queen elizabeth hospital in birmingham. i'm joined now by damejulie moore who started out as a graduate nurse, and who has been chief executive of the trust which runs the hospital for over a decade. thank you for coming in. thank you for the access. no one envies you the job. do you think this winter was exceptionally bad ? there was not a flu crisis or do we just expect that this is what it is like now? the pressures have been rising for the past three years but in birmingham, this past winter has been particularly bad because we saw significant pressures and social care and the closure of our community discharge beds. there were about 300 beds in birmingham and 100 were closed in the autumn and that has been the single biggest impact on our ability to discharge patients and free up the beds. others coming back at some point? on friday i had a discussion with nhs england about trying to recommission those beds. that might take time to get the staff to do that. do you ever get frustrated working, is it too monolithic, is i

if you went north of birmingham and if you went north of birmingham and if you went north of birmingham and if you went north of england, there are an awful lot of businesses next april who will be paying fewer business rates. this money. why? because businesses have not and as much. if you're reading this in north england, you will think soft south. in south england, we will think we are the engine room of britain, what are you doing this? you to see this through different eyes. the daily mail have the same sorry written up in a slightly different way. they say they are dealing almost 300,000 appeals. it is true. he would go. it's a political problem for the government. massively. the conservative party is only meant to be the party of laura order and businesses small and large. most people are not employed by local government or by national government, they are supplied by local enterprises. if you said that because property rates have gone up massively since 2008, think about it. a lot of people who run those businesses will not necessarily have increased aberrant, their turnover wil

there were issues in birmingham and tower hamlets and luton. this is one of the journalists hobbyhorses that you can see why there are issues there. she is claiming she has had death threats. it is a very strong statement, an e—mail sent to her. i have very strong statement, an e—mail sent to her. i have very strong reasons statement, an e—mail sent to her. i have very strong reasons to believe this is happening. i am the subject of death threats and aggression to my carand a of death threats and aggression to my car and a verbal abuse and attacked physically by a parent. this goes back to 2013. it will concern people. the birmingham are quietly went on for a long time and while some of the claims were dismissed the thrust of them were our peril. —— where upheld. there we re our peril. —— where upheld. there were cross—party our peril. —— where upheld. there we re cross— party concerns our peril. —— where upheld. there were cross—party concerns in the city as well. the danger is you end up city as well. the danger is

sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, this is sport today with me chris mitchell. coming up from the bbc sport centre: sevilla's sweet form continues in the champions league. manchester united make the 16 in the europa league. but real madrid are undone in spain and their grip on the league looks a little weak. the english champions have been humbled at home in the fa cup but in europe, they live in hope. leicester scored a crucial away goal in their champions league tie on wednesday, it finished sevilla two — leicester one in spain. juventus eventually broke down porto in their tie which they won 2—0. porto did well to hold on they were down to 10 men after alex telles was sent off in the 27th minute after two fouls in quick succesion.

jane dreaper, bbc news, birmingham. a team of british soldiers is hoping to become the first all—female group to cross antarctica unsupported. during a three month expedition they'll face temperatures of minus a0 degrees — and they'll be walking in that for up to nine hours a day. our reporter phil mackie joined them for some of their training in norway. the ice maiden team is heading out across a frozen norwegian lake at the start of its final training exercise. in september, these soldiers will begin their historicjourney, hoping they will now succeed and inspire a generation of women. it is notjust about five women crossing antarctica, it is about encouraging women from across the military but also in civilian life to get out there and give things a go, and realise there is no ceiling and you can achieve anything. i think we can inspire some women to get out there and be physically active. it doesn't have to be antarctica. their 5k can be their antarctica. we're just going to have... ooh, it's hot chocolate with

ben thompson, bbc news in birmingham. the iraqi army has captured mosul airport from so—called islamic state. the battle for the western half of the city began earlier this month and the capture of the airport would be seen as a strategic victory. quentin somerville is the only western correspondent travelling with iraqi government forces and sent this report. you can hear gunfire and one of the last remaining villages between iraqi forces and mosul airport. these are moving forward from multiple directions. up above, the coalition aircraft have been hammering this area all right long in preparation for this attack. at the same time, the iraqi government have been dropping leaflets, warning people to stay in their homes. when we we re people to stay in their homes. when we were here yesterday, we were able to see areas to the north others with the islamic state flags are flying. these guys are trying to change that because the attack on mosul airport is underway. the iraqi forces have made it to the perimeter of mosul�

today the go—ahead has been given for the first phase of hs2 to begin between birmingham and london. more of us are using the railways than ever before. it means busier stations and busier - and so stations and busier trains and so the government says hs2 is the answer. but is it? i am travelling on the first stage of the route from birmingham to london to see what impact it could have. the biggest challenge is tackling overcrowding. 0ur challenge is tackling overcrowding. our current tracks and stations cannot handle many more passengers but as well as running more frequently the trains will be faster, too, and that is good news for passengers. something you do not for passengers. somethingyoedenot enough carriages which can be a get enough carriages which can be a problem and it is very crowded. —— something you do not. being on the train is worth pounds if you cannot get the seat you feel very frustrated about that last hour. —— it is time to work. we averaged around 10,000 jobs over the first phase of construction. —— we will average. in the operation phase we will ma

reporter: this is where it all began, the crown pub in the center of birmingham. back in 1968, black sabbath, or earth, as they were called at the time, played their first gig. they weren't paid in money, but t-shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than 60 million pounds in ticket sales. but for dedicated fans, tomorrow night will not be an easy one. >> mixture of emotions. i am sure i will shed a few tears the final night. which is to be expected. reporter: even ozzy, the self-professed king of darkness, -- prince of darkness, is not ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. ozzy: my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. reporter: black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers. but tomorrow may just bring out their soft side. colin patterson, bbc news, birmingham. >> ♪ can you help me jane: and did they invent headbanging as well? whether it is black sabbath or something a little less brain rattling, many music fans are choosing to go back to vinyl. a store

colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. lastly they may be hundreds of kilometres away from earth but astronauts on board the international space station have their eyes firmly on the football pitch ahead of the super bowl this sunday. they've donned their favourite footballjerseys in a video released by nasa ahead of the 51st super bowl. they congratulated their teams before taking a moment to toss around a football. the stunt, in the gravity—free hello, good morning. things are calming down a bit for this weekend. on friday, we had an area of low pressure bringing strong winds onto the south coast of england — gusts of 60 mph. big waves and rough seas. outbreaks of rain and even some snow over the hills. and here, earlier on in the night across parts of northern ireland. the wet weather is moving northwards up into scotland right now. clearer skies following on across england and wales. maybe northern ireland, too. meaning it will be chilly with the risk of icy patches. another area of low pressure on the scene on sat

this is where it all began, the crown pub, right here in the centre of birmingham. back in 1968, black sabbath, or earth, as they were called at the time played their first gig. the fee that night — they weren't paid in money, but in t—shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than £60 million in ticket sales. i've been collecting over the last 25 or 30 years. but for dedicated fans, tomorrow night is not going to be an easy one. a mixture of emotions really. i'm sure i'll shed a few tears on the final night. which is to be expected. and even ozzy, the self—professed prince of darkness, isn't ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers, but tomorrow mightjust bring out their soft side. colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. the end of an era. you can get in touch with me on twitter. i'm @lebo?diseko. hello, good morning. things are calming down a bit for this weekend. on frid

the crown pub, right here in the centre of birmingham. and in 1968 black sabbath, or earth as they were called at the time, played their first gig. the fee that night. they weren't paid in money. but in t—shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than £60 million in ticket sales. i've been collecting over the last 20-30 i've been collecting over the last 20—30 years. and for dedicated fans, tomorrow night is not going to be an easy one. a mixture of emotions, really. i'm sure i'll shed a few tears on the final night. which is to be expected. and even ozzy, the self—professed prince of darkness, isn't ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers, but tomorrow mightjust bring out their soft side. colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. time for a look at the weather. some rather interesting weather, i can show you the good before we show you the bad. t

colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. # can you help me occupy my brain?# when i interviewed him and number of yea rs when i interviewed him and number of years ago ozzy spent the whole time cracking jokes and didn't take me seriously at all. many music fans are now choosing to go back to vinyl. we are going to take you to a stall leading the way. but it isn't in brooklyn or adelaide, instead there's a market stall in nairobi, which is determined to keep people spinning the decks. we've gone to meet the man behind it. my name is james rugami. everybody around here knows me as jimmy. vinyl records and vinyl record players dealer. i've had this store since 1989. this place is nairobi's kenyatta markets. the main attractions here is roast meat and of course myself. i guess we have like over 6000 records. there's all genre. there's benga, there's rumba, there's blues, there's country, instrumentals, movie soundtracks. i recently got myself a radio like this one. a record player. a record player, yeah. and i was wondering where to get this kind of music. a lot

this is where it all began, the crown pub, right here in the centre of birmingham. back in 1968, black sabbath, or earth, as they were called at the time, played their first gig. the fee that night — they weren't paid in money, but in t—shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than £60 million in ticket sales. i've been collecting over the last 25 or 30 years. but for dedicated fans, tomorrow night is not going to be an easy one. a mixture of emotions really. i'm sure i'll shed a few tears on the final night. which is to be expected. and even ozzy, the self—professed prince of darkness, isn't ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers, but tomorrow mightjust bring out their soft side. colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. that's it from us for now. thanks for watching bbc news. hello, good morning. things are calming down a bit for this weekend. on friday, we had an area o

colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. from being paid in t—shirts to being one of the best—known bands in the world! lastly they may be hundreds of kilometres away from earth but astronauts on board the international space station have their eyes firmly on the football pitch ahead of the super bowl this sunday. they've donned their favourite football jerseys in a video released by nasa ahead of the 51st super bowl. they congratulated their teams before taking a moment to toss around a football. the stunt, in the gravity—free environment factoring in the station's orbit of earth. the throw calculated at more than 500 kilometres! this is bbc news. hello, good morning. things are calming down a bit for this weekend. on friday, we had an area of low pressure bringing strong winds onto the south coast of england — gusts of 60 mph. big waves and rough seas. outbreaks of rain and even some snow over the hills. and here, earlier on in the night across parts of northern ireland. the wet weather is moving northwards up into

this is where it all began, the crown pub, right here in the centre of birmingham. back in 1968, black sabbath, or earth, as they were called at the time played their first gig. the fee that night — they weren't paid in money, but in t—shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than £60 million in ticket sales. i've been collecting over the last 25 or 30 years. but for dedicated fans, tomorrow night is not going to be an easy one. a mixture of emotions really. i'm sure i'll shed a few tears on the final night. which is to be expected. and even ozzy, the self—professed prince of darkness, isn't ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers, but tomorrow mightjust bring out their soft side. colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. # can you help me occupy my brain? that's it. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good evening and welcome to bb

king to birmingham. it's unsure if segregation would have ended as a result of the civil rights bill of 1964, signed the following summer." in memphis, tennessee, i'm kelli cook. at the oakland museum.... they're now featuring an exhibit on the history of the black panthers. and at the african diaspora museum in san francisco - they trace the history, art and culture that came with the migration of africans. you can see this story as well as other "hidden history" features on the kron 4 website. we'll be featuring them as part of black history month. you can find them on kron four dot com. deep in the arizona desert an abandoned concrete truck was mistaken for a space capsule. it had a parachute attached to it and on the side.. the words "united states" and "captain j. millard".. and an american flag. needless to say.. people started calling authorities. one of them even a nasa scientist. the department of homeland security investigated. and it turns out. it wasn't a "space capsule" at all. it's actually

international perspective now from scott lucas, professor of international politics at birmingham in england. thanks so much for joining us. we were listening to the comments there and the president calling a judge a so-called judge. does that send a message that it is inappropriate or senior this just normally that the tug, the push and pull, the tug between these different branches of government? >> no, this is not normal. you often have a president saying i don't agree with the decision. but to question the integrity of the judge and say so-called, that is an attack of a branch, and remember, donald trump, during the campaign the university was -- referring to his mexican heritage. i'm afraid this is very troubling. >> i have to interrupt you. your audio is awful. we will try and sort that out. bring you back after the break.

so i left birmingham and i came home and we started this dream. despite starting in the third and bottom tier, there's a record sponsorship deal and a wealthy backer on board. wolfpack season tickets sales have hit a promising 4000. this is the lamport stadium, the wolfpack‘s home. the artificial pitch here is covered during the harsh canadian winter. it's currently minus eight degrees and because of the weather the wolfpack won't play any home games here until may. meanwhile, the team is training on the other side of the atlantic and former great britain boss brian noble and the ex leigh centurions coach paul rowley are coaching them. unique, interesting, challenging. a little bit of everything, really. imagine the first conversations to recruit the players. you know, approaching the players and saying there's a new team in toronto, come and play for me. the wolfpack must fund travel and accommodation for visiting teams. can rugby league catch on in a city dominated by baseball, basketball, football and, its biggest sport, ice hockey? have you

jane dreaper, bbc news, birmingham. more on breaking news that a british man who had been detained at guantanamo bay but subsequently released has blown himself up in a suicide attack outside the iraqi city of mosul. ronald fiddler was aged 50 and originally from manchester. tassagh is from the quilliam foundation. what do we know of this man who became a muslim convert? he went to afghanistan just after the september the 11th bombing and he was arrested in 2002. he was released a couple of years later along with a handful of other british inmates. but obviously he joined another group in syria about two or three years ago. he crossed over to syria. and he carried out this suicide attack. i'm really sorry, the line is not very good and we are going to have to end it there. we might try to re—establish that line. apologies to viewers and to yourself. just trying to get more information on the british man who was detained in guantanamo bay and then released and now we understand has blown himself up in a suicide attack

it is a tough time for the whole family, but they feel supported by the staff in birmingham. we have nearly lost him several times over the last six weeks of being here. we have come really close. without them, we would not have the child that is laying in this bed. while he is quite poorly, we have got him and he is here. we have every faith we will get to take him home. that is the only ask as a parent of a sick child. this is the play and admissions centre, designed to distract and relax young patients before their treatment. inspectors have been impressed with the hospital's caring approach. this hospital has come a long way since it was criticised by inspectors eight years ago. back then, a report found a shortage of beds and poor training and care. paying much closer attention to the views of patients and staff and acting on their ideas has helped change the culture in birmingham and encouraged better teamwork. eight years ago we were in an organisation that certainly was not listening to our staff, not listening to what children, young people and families were saying,

sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham. is there life out there in space? it's a question frequently asked and now scientists, writing in the journal nature, say they may be a step closer to the answer. astronomers think that seven planets in a newly discovered solar system may have the right conditions for life. the new worlds — a0 light years from earth — lie in the so called ‘goldilocks‘ zone where temperatures are sufficiently temperate to allow water to form. here's our science editor, david shukman. an artist's impression of a startling discovery deep in space, around a faint and distant star, much weaker than our sun, is a collection of planets that are surprisingly similar to earth. in all, seven of these worlds have been spotted and astronomers think it may change the way we look at the night sky. the discovery gives us a hint that finding a second earth is notjust a matter of if, but when. an array of telescopes kept watch on one point in space and what the scientists were looking for were tiny clues about the light of a particular star be

amy cole, bbc news, birmingham. the trump administration is expected to revoke the 0bama transgender bathroom bill, a federal guideline telling public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity. white house spokesperson sean spicer told journalists that "the president is a "firm believer in states' rights" and the new administration had "several areas of concern, both legal and procedural. " kris hayashi is the executive director of the transgender law centre. he agreed that part of the problem is that different states have different approaches to the law. that is a really important question. so, the first thing i will say is that regardless of what the donald trump administration says, the law here in the us is clearly on the side of transgender students. transgender students are protected from this, nation the law in the us. however, u nfortu nately, from this, nation the law in the us. however, unfortunately, there are many places in this country where transgender stud

sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham. the bbc is to create a new digital television channel for scotland. it will broadcast from 7 in the evening until midnight and will cost around £30 million a year. there had been calls for a separate six o'clock news for scotland on bbc one — but this was rejected in favour of a scottish news hour on this new channel. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith is in glasgow. how's this announcement being received there? well, it was a complete surprise to eve ryo ne well, it was a complete surprise to everyone in scotland but it has been broadly welcomed by the snp and by the scottish government who have been asking for a separate scottish tv channel figures. people are demanding a separate six o'clock news for scotland say they are disappointed but they will get an hour—long programme produced and presented from glasgow at 9pm on the new channel. there is soon to be a lot more bbc in scotland. responding to demands for more spending and more dedicated news, tony hall came to glasgow to ann

rochester and new work, and the police -- newark, and police getting out of control like chicago and birmingham and a stonewall and kent state. and we are seeing a replay of too much of that today. so this is not good, because a country can only sustain so much damage to its values and institutions. and some of the same things i 1960's pose ahe threat to our rule of law today. state laws are in a fragile state and we have to respect it and when you see these tragic events in places like orlando and san bernardino, and dallas, vandalizee riots that and is damage shopkeepers and injure the innocent. and you see the police engaging and unjustified shootings, i cannot point the blame in one direction or another. but i do know what we have lost during the 1960's and i know we need to find it. i never expected to be at this point in my life reliving some a halfout that decade century ago. host: federal judge harvie wilkinson is our guest today. we want to hear from you. we have split the numbers by age. and for those who have a romanticized view of the 1960's, we had a different number for you. and w

it's really busy year now on what ten at birmingham children's hospital. this is a neurosurgical ward and some young patients might travel here from all over the uk for highly specialised operations to help children who have epilepsy, for example. the hospital very much becomes home for the parents who might be here for weeks, sometimes months on end. one of those such pa rents months on end. one of those such parents is ru55 spencer, who is here with his four—year—old son. ollie has had a brain tumour so he has had a lot of operations and a really tough time. how is he doing now? he's doing really well now. we get a little bit more interaction each day, whether it is a smile or him playing with a ball. we have certainly progressed along way. and the staff here made quite a fuss of him when he turned four last week. ye5, him when he turned four last week. yes, because he's been in 12 months, they threw him a little party, had a small collection for him and bought him afew small collection for him and bought him a few presents. what did that mean to you

for manchester, leeds, birmingham, it will be a sunny afternoon. the risk of the odd shower in northern ireland. still in single figures. if you get the sunshine it will make a difference. it will be dry in edinburgh for the six nations match this afternoon. it will be cleared in london. it will be cold as well. we will see further showers affecting parts of scotland in the west, the west, the north becoming drier. a band of rain heading through england and wales with snow on the hills. that could turn things i see through the night as temperatures dropped. fog developing for some on sunday morning and that could be slow to clear. would it does not, it will be cloudy and cold. more cloud for england and wales compared to today. coastal showers in the east and west around the uk, but it will be a better, brighter day in scotland compared with today. ido compared with today. i do someone who takes lots of selfies? ido selfies? i do occasionally. i am no good at them. i always look at the wrong place on the camera. do you pout when you're taking one?

detroit rochester and newark, and you had police getting out of control as they did in chicago and birmingham, and stonewall and kent state, and we're seeing a replay of too much of that today. and so this isn't good, because a country can only sustain so much damage to its values and its institutions, and some of the same things that i witnessed in the 1960s pose a threat to our rule of law today. as i say law is in a fragile state, and we have to respect it and when you see these tragic events in places like orlando and san bernardino and dallas, and you see riots that vandalize and damage shopkeepers and injure innocents and you see police engage in unjustified shootings, i can't point the blame all one direction or another. but i do know what we lost during the 1960s. i do know we've got to find it and i never expected to be at this point in my life reliving so much about that decade a half century ago. >> federal judge harvie wilkins is taking our calls this morning. we want to hear from you for 50 and older 202-748-8000. and any of you who have a more romanticized view of the 1960s, it'

the crown pub, right here in the centre of birmingham. and in 1968, black sabbath, or earth as they were called at the time, played their first gig. the fee that night. they weren't paid in money but in t—shirts. how things have changed. this farewell tour with founding members tony iommi and geezer butler has taken more than £60 million in ticket sales. i've been collecting over the last 20—30 years. but for dedicated fans, tomorrow night is not going to be an easy one. a mixture of emotions, really. i'm sure i'll shed a few tears on the final night. which is to be expected. and even 0zzy, the self—professed prince of darkness, isn't ruling out the possibility of having a cry on stage. my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. black sabbath, heavy metal pioneers, but tomorrow mightjust bring out their soft side. colin paterson, bbc news, birmingham. he will make a terrible mess of his eyeliner, went in? time for a look at the weather. a few hours of nasty weather across the country. these photos have come

of international politics at the university of birmingham, good to have you with us, scott. let's talk more about what we just heard in martin savidge's report. this is the heart of america talking about coal country. for many people who voted for the president of the united states, they were hoping he would save their jobs and bring more jobs, bring in new jobs. we are just a little more than a month into this new administration. certainly, we are just in the beginning here. given this snapshot right now, the hopes, the aspirations of so many americans, where do you put the president as far as delivering his promises? >> the president was hoping he could just deliver with slogans. he hasn't projected coherent economic policies as you heard in the clip. jobs, jobs, jobs, blame problems on foreigners like the mexicans and the chinese and somehow i will bring an economic program that will save you. we haven't seen that economic program. it is going to be difficult. let's take coal. the issue regarding coal is that we have had changing patterns of energy including nuclear power

but if this was an hs2 train, we would already be in birmingham. and that means spending less time travelling and more time working. and one estimate suggests that could add about £15 billion to the economy. but at what cost? the current price tag is close to £60 billion. but many say it could be much higher. 60 ancient woodlands would have to be bulldozed. 350 homes will have to be demolished. and thousands of businesses will be affected, like this farm in buckinghamshire. the land will be split in two when work begins. it is going to completely alter the way i farm. i would lose half of the grazing my calves can go out to. i'm not convinced hs2 is of any necessity to this country at all. the first section to the west midlands is due to open by 2026. an extension to leeds and manchester will open by 2032. hs2 should make journeys faster and more comfortable. keeping the project on time and on track could prove more difficult, however. ben thompson, bbc news, in birmingham. this is bbc news at five. the headlines: high winds causing chaos, with e

#is it began, birmingham. # is it life or death? the group was formed nearly 50 years ago and went on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide. ozzy osborne told colin patterson he's expecting it to be an emotional night. i have been happy. i have been tearful. i never thought i would be. people go, "how do you think you'll feel as you sing the last note of the last gig you're going to do together?" my emotions are flying all over the place. let's see what happens. do you think you'll make a speech during the last? i don't know. nothing is rehearsed. i've got to say something, but i'm no good at speeches, but i'll say something. i mean, it'sjust speeches, but i'll say something. i mean, it's just a whirlwind speeches, but i'll say something. i mean, it'sjust a whirlwind of emotions that are going on right now. i hope it's ok. he will have to do a few encores and stretch it out a bit! here is phil with the weather. good afternoon. fairly cloudy fair in london, but at least the rain has went off. there has been cloud and rain ac

. >> scott lucas joins us now from birmingham, england. he's a professor of international politics at the university of birmingham. scott, it's not unprecedented for the three branches of government in the u.s. to quarrel over something. with things as they stand right now, with what we know, how big a dent do you think this is going to make in the trump administration and its overall credibility? >> well, this is a poker game. the judicial system has just put more chips in the pot, and it's calling the trump admistration to decide whether to fold or go all in. let's be very clear here. the trump administration when it imposed this ban so quickly and did so without consulting agencies, carried out what is effectively an unprecedented move, even for executive orders. that was a challenge to the system. it very much was a challenge to its own agencies and to the judiciary, which said if you don't like it, come back at us. well, that has happened gradually over the past week, and this ruling from washington state has made the stand. this is u

civil rights heroes, congressman john lewis, on a faith and politics trips to selma, montgomery and birmingham. may we learn from history to end the hatred, divisions and the injustices that continue. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, a recent poll shows that the american people agree with all of president trump's major executive orders, though they are not likely to learn about it from the liberal media. revoking 50% approve sanctuary cities. 55% approve refugees from seven countries from entering the u.s., only 38% disapprove. by wide margins, the american people side with the president on freezing regulations and federal hiring, building pipelines and constructing a wall on the u.s. border with mexico. as favorable to the president as this poll is, think how much more favorable it would have been if the media had not insessantly criticized his xecutive orders. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields

of international politics at the university of birmingham. let's talk about the president's response. this was not president trump on twitter. this was not what we saw during the campaign trail, the harsh rhetoric we saw. rather this was the president on stage with another world leader saying that the u.s. supports japan 100%, a very brief statement, your thoughts to it. >> i think once they can understand president trump being very terse, and issuing only one sentence, until we know more exactly the significance of the north korean test. at the same time, it was very, very brief. wasn't the type of statement you might get from barack obama talking about possible diplomatic measures, talking more fully about the relationship with asian countries, not just japan, but also south korea. i think that reflects the fact that trump isn't actually on point over this issue. i think the pragmatists in the white house, including defense secretary mattis, have been the ones who have really tried to drive forward issues regarding japan and china in the pa

we have seen the images from birmingham, alabama where white southerners and police are using attack hoses and dogs. the white south didn't look good in the media over the years but one of the things the white beauty queens could do is serve as public ambassadors and really blunt the impact of the negative images coming from the area. you could open an issue of "time" magazine or news week from the fall of 1956 and one of the things you will see are pictures of white southerners in places like clinton, tennessee fighting against the desegregation of the school system and you will see white rioters throwing rocks at members of the press and attacking african-americans but in the same issue you will see the picture of the newly crowned miss america who hails from the south. so the images serve this function that really says no, no, we are not a region of violence. we are not a region of brutality. we are a region that is home to a tradition of grace, tranquility and beauty. not just southerners but all americans come to see white southern women as especially beautifully, as the rightfu

founding fathers of heavy metal — will play their final gig tonight in the city where it all began, birmingham. the group was formed nearly 50 years ago and went on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide. three of the original four members will be on stage, including frontman ozzy osbourne. he told our entertainment correspondent colin paterson that he's expecting it to be an emotional night. and time for the sport now. a full round—up, here is huge. good morning. anticipation is building ahead of the start of this year's six nations championship. the question really is can anyone stop the winning streak of eddiejones' can anyone stop the winning streak of eddie jones' england? can anyone stop the winning streak of eddiejones' england? they host france at twickenham later, where we find our sports correspondent andy swiss. so much look forward to in this tournament, andy. it stars later with scotland hosting ireland? -- it later with scotland hosting ireland? —— it starts later. yes, just three hours now until it gets underway at murrayfield. as you say, scotland against ireland.

muir has been in great form this year, setting a new british indoor record in the 1000m in birmingham on saturday where she took a second of dame kelly holmes previous record. the 23—year—old scott will race in the i,500m and 3,000m. cheltenham gold cup favourite thistlecrack has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a slight tendon tear. his trainer colin tizzard said the injury was discovered this morning when he was scanned. he'd won his first four races over fences, including a three—length victory over cue card in the king george 6th chase on boxing day. it means he'll miss the cheltenham festival next month. and in the meeting of two of the new teams

today, the high—speed rail project's london— birmingham route has been given the green light. some here believe it couldn't happen soon enough. so, this is where we live, just here. this is our... like alan marshall, a man who worked in railway transport for more than 35 yea rs. railway transport for more than 35 years. the west midlands as a region is at the moment, with years. the west midlands as a region is - at the moment, with huge is booming at the moment, with huge development in the motorcar industry, in particular, especially jaguar— land rover. this will contribute to improving access, make it easierfor people contribute to improving access, make it easier for people to get to places of work more quickly, and with the speed, more people will travel, because speed always attracts. the h52 trains are expected to be a lot quicker, with speeds of up to 225 mph. the journey time will be cut by more than 30 minutes, and the line will be com plete minutes, and the line will be co m plete by minutes, and the line will be complete by 2026. this pathway, which used to be a

police officers in birmingham, alabama used dogs and fire hoses arrestedters and people. angered by these events, stearns and king began to plan what is arguably the most successful civil rights and has that ever happened. may 15, gordon cooper leaves hour for 34 and a half space flight. houston, the home of the astronauts planned a parade during the downtown for cooper on may 23. the plan, from otis king and stearns, have protesters infiltrate the crowd along the parade route and on the appointed time and signal they pulled signs out from underneath their clothing, run into the street, stop the parade, and bring national media attention to their cause. all of the networks are going to be there covering this parade it live. on the day of the parade, the pya protesters took their places. the parade route and they kept and i out for the nearest payphone to call headquarters. morningn audience this where nobody knew what payphones were. runners would go from the funds and receive calls from headquarters and go up to people on the side of the parade route and whisper instruct

sheffield wednesday kept up their pressure at the top of the championship with a 3—nil win over birmingham city. their opening goal was scored by new signing jordan rhodes after just nine minutes of his home debut. a special moment as he went off to celebrate with his dad who is the goalkeeping coach. further goals from sam winnall and adam reach sealed the win. the football association of wales will be appealing against sanctions imposed by fifa for displaying poppies during a world cup qualifier. they were fined over 15,000 pounds following commemorations prior to their match against serbia in november. fifa took action because fans wore poppies in the stands and the armed forces held bunches of poppies at the side of the pitch. leigh's return to rugby league's top division got off to a disappointing start as they were comfortably beaten away at castleford. the tigers ran in seven trys including this from winger greg eden. 114—16 the final score. elsewhere, huddersfield giants beat widnes 28—16. the russian athlete mariya savinova, who won olympic gold in the 800metres at london 2012

people have travelled all over the world to be in birmingham this night and i think it will be a real celebration of the legacy of the band. will it be emotional? i think so. legacy of the band. will it be emotional? ithink so. it legacy of the band. will it be emotional? i think so. it will be that collective spirit but also sadness and that we won't get to see them against. it's lovely hearing him scratching, he's obviously still having a laugh. there are a lot of emotions, you talked about that roller—coaster, but at the same time he still having fun. you can see that on stage, they all look like they're having fun when they're playing. when you talk about the black sabbath fans who will be going to this, is there a typical fan?” think the whole point of this project were doing is to dispel the myth of metal fans. it's been families, young people and old people, across generational thing. that is the fan base, so wide. they're still young people coming now? absolutely. if fans want to go... these are the fans we are seeing now. why are they stopping, why not do more? i guess th

ben thompson, bbc news, in birmingham. the iraqi army has captured mosul airport from fighters from self—styled islamic state. the battle for the western half of the city began earlier this month, and the capture of the airport will be seen as a major strategic victory in the fight for the country's second—biggest city. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville is the only western correspondent travelling with iraqi government forces, and has sent this report. you can hear gunfire and one of the last remaining villages between iraqi forces and mosul airport. they are moving from various directions and you can hear coalition aircraft above. they have been hammering this area all night long in preparation for the attack. at the same time, the iraqi government have been dropping leaflets telling people to stay in their homes. yesterday we were able to see in some of the areas to the north of us, the islamic state flag still flying. well, these men are going to try and change that because the attack on mosul airport is now und

the gig taking place tonight into birmingham. it's nick with us this morning taking a look at the weather. good morning. a chilly start of the weekend. temperatures close to freezing, just above in many cases, but they're still ice scraping to do ina but they're still ice scraping to do in a couple of spots. more so tomorrow morning it is looking fairly quiet this weekend. not so much in france, with this low pressure producing some stormy weather to begin the day. a glancing blow in south—east england. some of us blow in south—east england. some of us will have rain for a time. another area of low pressure is producing stronger winds and rain and hill snow to start the day in scotland. here is how it looks at nine a.m.. becoming confined to northern scotland this afternoon. gales in the far north and northern isles. southern scotland will brighten up a little bit. clad in northern ireland. some showers in the west. showers in north—west england, wales, some into the south—west, which will fade for a time and we will get

but if this was an hs2 train, we would already be in birmingham. and that means spending less time travelling and more time working. and one estimate suggests that could add about £15 billion to the economy. but at what cost? the current price tag is close to £60 billion. but many say it could be much higher. 60 ancient woodlands would have to be bulldozed. 350 homes will have to be demolished. and thousands of businesses will be affected, like this farm in buckinghamshire. the land will be split in two when work begins. it is going to completely alter the way i farm. i would lose half of the grazing my calves can go out to. i am not convinced hs2 is of any necessity to this country at all. the first section to the west midlands is due to open by 2026. an extension to leeds and manchester will open by 2032. hs2 should make journeys faster and more comfortable. keeping the project on time and on track could prove more difficult, however. the white house has put an end to government protection for transgender students. president trump has revoked r