To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. More than 10 years ago, the West Midlands was dubbed the gun crime capital of England and Wales. It was an area suffering from high-profile shootings. Gun fights between rival gangs were happening regularly. Figures at the time reflected that notoriety - there were more firearms offences per head in the West Midlands Police force area than anywhere else.

I'm 12 and I want to try protein powder - should I? Twelve-year-old Ben is desperate to try protein powder but there's one hurdle: me, his mum. I've asked about 20 times and you just keep saying no!, he says, claiming it would make him fitter and bigger and that his male friends use it. In recent years, there's been an explosion of products marketed as high protein, including milk, yoghurt, breads, cereals, bars and powders. Social media is flooded with adverts for various supplements, including protein powder. As a health journalist, I'm sceptical and think at Ben's age he must be getting enough protein through his diet.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, Watch: The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil is in Arizona to hear from residents about the expansion of data centres. A year ago, a longtime US senator was not thinking much about data centres. Now, according to one of his advisers, he is having regular meetings with staff to track their impact and working on new legislation aimed at curbing their rapid expansion across the country. This happens sometimes, something starts slow and then it goes fast, the senior policy adviser to the Democratic senator told the BBC.

Warning: This report contains racist and offensive language. Reform UK has said there is no room for racism in its party after ITV News broadcast undercover filming, gathered over a year, of some of its councillors and candidates using racist, violent and sexist language. In the film, Undercover: A Year in Reform,, external a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull is recorded calling Asian homeowners parasites. Labour described the investigation as truly sickening adding: Nigel Farage can't shrug these latest revelations off as being a few bad apples. A Reform spokesman said: Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced and that in some cases there had been suspensions.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, a novelty toy and games store in the quiet Brooklyn neighbourhood of Cobble Hill was seeing much busier foot traffic than usual. Inside, the shop was packed with cameramen and customers, while passersby looked inside, asking: Where's the bird? Art of Play has found itself at the centre of a social media storm since the weekend when Grammy-winning musician Kelly Clarkson complained online that the boutique store would not let her buy a singing and dancing mechanical bird that was perched on the wall. The Since U Been Gone singer claimed she was looked at as if I couldn't afford the bird - which she said had a price tag of $15,000 (£11,000).

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the UK if the east African country's government does not accept more returns of small boat migrants and foreign national offenders. From Thursday, Eritrean diplomats will face restrictions on their movement outside London. Fast-track visas will also be stopped for VIPs. Ministers have previously pressured other countries into accepting returns by threatening visa bans. Eritreans were the most common nationality among small boats migrants in the 12 months to June - accounting for 18% of arrivals, external, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.

Musk says any limits on Ukraine's Starlink access down to US, not his firm Elon Musk has suggested that the US government may be behind restrictions on the speed at which some of Ukraine's weapons can travel and stay connected to his Starlink internet network. Starlink is a vital tool allowing Kyiv to guide drones to Russian targets and also protect its own skies, but on Tuesday night Ukraine said unexpected new speed limits were disrupting its battlefield missions. Musk said that Starshield, the military-grade sister service to Starlink, is controlled by the US government, and any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [the US president]. Musk - writing on X - had been responding to pleas from Ukrainian officials to restore connectivity, including from President Volodymyr Zelensky who told UK media: I hope that it's a mistake, maybe huge technical problem. I don't know, but we are asking to... switch (it) on.

Why is Starlink internet so important on the battlefield in Ukraine? Starlink satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX provide high-speed internet - something modern war relies heavily on. Kyiv has adopted it as a vital battlefield communications tool and also uses it in drone warfare. Using Starlink, Ukrainian drones are able to maintain stronger connections with operators over longer distances than conventional radio networks and are less vulnerable to jamming. But a sudden speed restriction for drones connected to Starlink means some battlefield missions have been disrupted, according to a top Ukrainian official.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, Archie Goodburn said he'couldn't ask for much more' at this stage of his cancer research plea Swimmer Archie Goodburn has been successful in his efforts to improve brain cancer care for patients as the UK government announce new measures. The Scottish athlete, who was diagnosed with three inoperable brain tumours two years ago, met Prime Minister Andy Burnham after making a tearful TV appeal for more investment to be put into brain cancer research. After the meeting, Burnham announced a new national brain cancer clinical lead and promised a review of brain cancer progress and action to get patients treatment sooner. Goodburn, 25, thanked the prime minister and said all three of his requests have been promised to some extent but fleshing out needs to be done on the details.

Airport drop-off charges are to be reviewed by the government following sharp price increases in recent years. Prices at major UK airports have risen by a third since the summer of 2025 on average, according to one analysis, with Gatwick and Stansted drop-off charges found to be the most expensive, jumping from £7 to £10. Such charges at Edinburgh Airport have risen from £6 to £8.50, while fees at Bournemouth increased from £5 to £8, the same price as Leeds Bradford and London City. The Department for Transport confirmed it had committed to a review, saying it was vital to ensure travel remains accessible and that passengers are treated fairly. The government added it hoped airports would exercise restraint on rises, particularly where there are limited public transport alternatives.