West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has thanked the media and politicians from around the West Midlands for their support in convincing the government to back down and change the formula for how police forces will be funded in future. Following a large campaign and much pressure the Home Office’s new preferred formula has had an element removed from it that would have disadvantaged forces such as the West Midlands and could have resulted in a huge loss of funding.

This week sees the launch of a new scheme which aims to coordinate groups that help the homeless in order to provide more effective and targeted support. The Homeless Outreach Accreditation Scheme will be launched on Thursday 8 October and will bring together about 25 voluntary organisations in Birmingham with a shared commitment to helping homeless people.

Thousands of people joined Yoko Ono and tried to set a world record for largest group of human bodies forming a peace sign. The record attempt to honor Ono's husband, John Lennon, didn't succeed. Still, the Central Park crowd celebrated the upcoming birthday of the late Beatle. Lennon would have turned 75 on Friday. A Guinness World Records representative says Tuesday's effort brought together more than 2,000 people.

Wolverhampton’s Mayor is to join local war veterans and young people from Germany and the Black Country at a unique service of remembrance and reconciliation next weekend. A century after the end of the Battle of Loos in the First World War, students from the Academy of English in Oldenburg, Germany, and its partner institution, High Arcal School in Sedgley, will be taking part in the second in a series of annual Anglo-German Services of Remembrance and Reconciliation.

The curious tale of a former Bilston MP's links with Mount Everest and the Abominable Snowman will be regaled in a free talk on Wednesday. Community historian Greig Campbell will be showcasing the many adventures of former MP Charles Howard-Bury, a world renowned botanist and explorer who was one of the first Western explorers to traverse what is now Eurasia.

Researchers have compiled a list of things the nation feels will be no longer with us by the year 2025 – and no surprise that cheque books came out top with 69 percent of those polled claiming they will disappear. We also expect to have seen the last of high street staples such as fishmongers (34 percent), greengrocers (31 percent) and estate agencies (26 percent) within the next decade, according to the study.