Community News

Religious freedom is a universal human right. The United States’ defence of that right includes issuing the International Religious Freedom report each year to assist those who protect this fundamental freedom.

On May 15, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom and credited those who work to advance religious freedom, often at great personal risk.

Following the announcement of Birmingham Festival 23, and confirmed funding from Arts Council England, local artists Elizabeth ‘Zeddie’ Lawal and Mukhtar Dar joined the Festival team as Artistic Associates. Mukhtar and Zeddie have been working closely with Creative Director, Raidene Carter and the wider producing team to bring their broad experience, perspective and knowledge of the city’s cultural communities to help ensure a varied and exciting Festival programme that is relevant to the city’s diverse audiences.

Dr Steven McCabe and Beverley Nielsen, Associate Professors and political economists at Birmingham City University, have commented on the appointment of Councillor John Cotton (Lab, Glebe Farm and Tile Cross) as the new leader of Birmingham City Council, who took on the role yesterday following an intervention by the national Labour Party.

Associate Professor Steven McCabe said: “That the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has produced a report which concludes the climate within Birmingham City Council’s group as ‘dysfunctional’ and that there were instances of racism, misogyny and harassment is not good. Little wonder it has taken the decisive action to remove current leader Ian Ward and replace him with politician John Cotton, seen by many as a ‘vanilla’ choice, supported by deputy Sharon Thompson. 

It was announced that Martin Amis, one of the most celebrated British novelists of his generation, died of oesophageal cancer at his Florida home, by his wife, the writer Isabel Fonseca. Best known for his 1984 novel Money and the 1989 work London Fields, the author of dozens of novels and non-fiction books, he is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of his era.

Born in 1949 in Oxford, he was the son of the novelist and poet Kingsley Amis. The younger Amis followed in his father's footsteps with his first novel, the Rachel Papers.

A man scaled the BBC building dressed as Spider-Man to protest a statue by a sex abuser. He climbed up to the statue by Eric Gill, the sculptor who died in 1940 who sexually abused his teenage daughters, his sisters, and his dog.

The road was shut from New Cavendish Street to Cavendish Place, as a result of police responding to the protest. Two London buses were diverted.

It was announced that Jim Brown, the legendary American footballer who became a Hollywood action hero and civil rights activist, died. The Pro Football Hall of Famer passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home, his wife said.

Georgia-born Brown led the Cleveland Browns to the National Football League title in 1964 and was chosen as the NFL's Most Valuable Player three times. He was one of the first superstars in the game as it gained in TV popularity.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre was officially elected Wolverhampton's 164th Mayor at the City of Wolverhampton Council's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 17 May, 2023.

Cllr. Hardacre, a Labour member for Park Ward and a well-known former headteacher, said: "I am delighted to have the privilege of being the Mayor of Wolverhampton for the forthcoming civic year.

Climate change raised temperatures by at least 2C in many parts of Asia last month as it suffered a crippling heatwave, a new study says. The research also found that climate change had made the heatwave 30 times likelier.

India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Laos all saw record temperatures of up to 45C in April. The soaring temperatures caused deaths in some countries, melted roads, and left many people in hospital.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) will be deploying new augmented reality technology at 10 cemetery locations during War Graves Week to tell the stories of the fallen.

War Graves Week, which launches on Saturday, is an initiative aimed at encouraging people from the communities across the UK to come together and discover the World War heritage on their doorstep – learning about the stories of those commemorated by the CWGC and the skills, dedication and expertise of those CWGC staff and volunteers who work to keep their memory alive.

Data Centres across the UK have found themselves caught in the eye of a reputational storm over the last year, due to the constant ratcheting of climate-related financial directives that are currently being enforced and fortified on a governmental level. Most notable is the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) listing rules, which mandate that a range of entities including asset owners and managers (investment portfolio managers, fund managers) must report on their climate-related risks.

As of April 2022, it has been extended to also include other listed companies and the largest private businesses, such as Data Centres.

National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) President Samuel Rodriguez released the following statement on the ending Title 42: “The end of title 42 speaks to the removal of the final deterrent to abject chaos on our southern border. The current administration’s immigration policy triggers one collective vociferous question, ‘How many more?’

West Midlands Cycle Hire is proving to be popular in getting the region’s residents and visitors on their bikes since its launch two years ago, with riders now having cycled a combined 850,000 miles – the equivalent of 30 times around the world. The Transport for West Midlands’ (TfWM) scheme launched in 2021 to encourage people to become active and healthy, and to offer a convenient and more environmentally friendly alternative to the car for shorter journeys.

A commemoration is due to take place at the National Memorial Arboretum to remember all National Service veterans.

It will be held to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of National Service, which began in 1947 after World War Two and ended in 1963. During that time, more than two million men aged 17 to 21 were conscripted.

Analysis from West Midlands law firm Shakespeare Martineau has revealed that 4 out of the 5 largest price comparison websites reference a common law spouse – perpetuating the myth that such a relationship status exists and putting people at huge financial risk.

MoneySuperMarket, Go.Compare, Compare the Market and Quote Zone – which have a combined estimated 22 million visits each month – allow users to select that they are in a “common law” relationship, despite the concept having no legal recognition or protection. Expert family solicitor Kit O Brien has warned that the incorrect language used on price comparison websites adds to the potential pain and heartbreak someone could suffer through believing they were protected by a “mythical relationship status”.

The launch of the RHS Show season across the UK was marked with the much-anticipated start of RHS Malvern Spring Festival at Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire.

Boasting five newly-created show gardens, alongside three feature gardens, this year’s festival had the theme of ‘Gardening For Everyone’ and offered something for the emerging green fingers right through to plant aficionados. Top of the award-winning designers for 2023 was Jamie Langland from Oxford Garden Company, who scooped not only a Gold Award, a Best Construction and the top accolade of Best Show Garden for The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces.

A bold masterplan to transform Birmingham into a greener city of more jobs, better transport options and higher quality, energy efficient new homes, is set to be unveiled at a conference next week.

The draft Our Future City: Central Birmingham Framework 2040 has been hailed as the most important strategy written for the city this century ahead of its launch by the council at UKREiiF 2023. Shaping the next 20 years of development this is a plan that will deliver unprecedented levels of new jobs, homes and green space.