The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councilor Carl Rice, will lead Birmingham’s Remembrance Sunday service and parade at the Hall of Memory this Sunday with proceedings beginning with the Salvation Army Band and the West Midlands Fire Service Pipe Band to commence playing on Centenary Square, with uniformed contingents marching on to the square, followed by the Standards and Association march.

New figures published today show the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children supported by Haringey has increased to 46 this week. These include 3 children from Calais who arrived here this week under the ‘Dubs Amendment’. In January 2016 Haringey was supporting 31 unaccompanied asylum seeking children.  Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are under 18 and have no family in the UK. Haringey provides extensive support to these vulnerable children including fostering to give them a secure home and educational support.

A group of prominent civic and faith leaders from across the UK travelled to France for a series of interfaith solidarity events in the run up to the first anniversary of the Paris attacks as part of an initiative which includes engagements across Paris and Rouen at key locations associated with the terrorist attacks. The aim of the trip was to highlight unity and reinforce the bonds of solidarity between international communities, at a time when terrorists are desperately trying to tear societies apart.

Artists, both well-known and, as yet, undiscovered are invited to submit designs for The Big Sleuth’s Sun Bears. Download an artist pack from www.thebigsleuth.co.uk/artists and submit ideas online before midnight on Monday 2 January 2017 to be in with a chance of seeing your Sun Bear design on display in Birmingham and its surrounding areas next summer.

The journey to help the Commonwealth reverse the human impact of climate change has begun. That’s according to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland. She was speaking at a two-day brainstorming session at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters in London. Climate change experts focused on exploring practical and economically viable solutions to combat decades of harm to the environment.  

Religious leaders from around the world gathered in St Andrews on to sign the ‘Declaration on a Shared Humanity,’ to marks the culmination of the Year of Interfaith Dialogue, an initiative set up to stimulate conversation about the commonalities between the different faiths. Attended by senior members of the Christian Churches and the Catholic Church, members of the Hindu community from the UK and India, leaders of the UK Jewish community, senior Buddhist monks and the representative of the Dalai Lama, the 130-strong religious delegation from 19 countries was joined by 32 school pupils from Fife in the signing.