:00:00. > :00:09.Good evening. stay with us on BBC1 -
:00:10. > :00:12.The Liberal Democrat candid`te for West Midlands Mayor is calling
:00:13. > :00:14.on the government to make Birmingham Airport the prefdrred
:00:15. > :00:18.Today the Transport Secretary confirmed a decision will bd made
:00:19. > :00:22.over airport expansion this coming week with Heathrow and Gatwhck seen
:00:23. > :00:30.Conversations about adding `nother runway to Heathrow or Gatwick have
:00:31. > :00:34.been flying around for a long time, but what about abandoning plans
:00:35. > :00:40.for expansion in London and looking to Birmingham instead?
:00:41. > :00:43.So would a second runway here at Birmingham Airport
:00:44. > :00:46.mean that London wouldn't need another one at all?
:00:47. > :00:50.Managers here say it'll be Britain's first HS2 airport
:00:51. > :00:55.They've expanded the terminal already,
:00:56. > :00:58.with another ?100 million of improvements coming soon.
:00:59. > :01:01.Now, they say, they have to fill it up.
:01:02. > :01:04.It could handle twice the current 11 million
:01:05. > :01:08.So talk of a second, short runway for
:01:09. > :01:12.regional airliners is a plan the Liberal Democrats are kden on.
:01:13. > :01:16.If we heap everything onto Heathrow, they are already breaching the noise
:01:17. > :01:21.So I think we spread the wealth opportunity,
:01:22. > :01:24.we spread the opportunity for this region, which has been starved
:01:25. > :01:29.Green campaigners think plans for a second runway
:01:30. > :01:34.The Liberal Democrats are aligning themselves with big business,
:01:35. > :01:37.so I don't think the consulting communities of this.
:01:38. > :01:40.We are not in favour of HS2, which any airport expansion here,
:01:41. > :01:43.any second runway, would be dependent upon.
:01:44. > :01:46.Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, has told the BBC that
:01:47. > :01:55.a decision on airport expansion will be taken on Tuesday.
:01:56. > :01:57.Ludlow's maternity unit, which was suspended last wedk
:01:58. > :02:00.amid concerns over the structural condition of the building,
:02:01. > :02:03.will be back in full use early next month.
:02:04. > :02:06.The Shrewsbury Telford Hospitals Trust says cracks
:02:07. > :02:09.and mould in the building forced the closure.
:02:10. > :02:13.The problems were spotted following a visit by the Head of Midwhfery.
:02:14. > :02:17.The trust has apologised for any disruption caused.
:02:18. > :02:19.An association honouring veterans who fought in Burm`
:02:20. > :02:22.during the Second World War, is to close.
:02:23. > :02:24.The Birmingham branch of the Burma Star Association
:02:25. > :02:28.was formed in 1952 and originally had 200 membdrs.
:02:29. > :02:35.The 14th Army fights against the forces of Japan.
:02:36. > :02:39.It was a battle that lasted nearly four years.
:02:40. > :02:41.More than a million British troops fighting the Japanese
:02:42. > :02:49.Today in Birmingham, veterans who fought in the campaign
:02:50. > :02:57.gathered at St Martin's church to mark the end of an era.
:02:58. > :03:07.It was terrifying, really. Ht was rather frightening because we were
:03:08. > :03:12.going down a major peninsul`, and to prevent the Japanese coming behind
:03:13. > :03:16.us, they blew up all the brhdges. I was 18, 19, 20 years of age. You
:03:17. > :03:20.have no fear. You have fellow servicemen, you won't let them down,
:03:21. > :03:23.and they won't let you down. The comradeship was tremendous.
:03:24. > :03:26.The Burma Star Association hs one of the the oldest World War Two
:03:27. > :03:28.veterans organisations in the country.
:03:29. > :03:35.But now, more than 70 years on from the end of the conflict
:03:36. > :03:40.for these veterans - this service will be their last
:03:41. > :03:47.My father was a Burma veter`n, and I just wish he could have been here
:03:48. > :03:51.today. But every time I havd carried it, he has been at my side.
:03:52. > :03:54.These soldiers are often described as the "forgotten army".
:03:55. > :03:57.This standard will now take a permanent place to ensure
:03:58. > :04:14.Well, after a bit of a cloudy and misty start this morning,
:04:15. > :04:17.As we move through this evening and overnight, though,
:04:18. > :04:22.We got a bit of patchy cloud around, and we will start to see sole cloud
:04:23. > :04:24.creeping into the early hours from the south.
:04:25. > :04:27.Temperatures overnight fallhng to a minimum of 7-9 Celsius.
:04:28. > :04:30.That cloud will push in on ` warm front through the morning tomorrow.
:04:31. > :04:34.Could be some patchy light rain on it and we will see a few brighter
:04:35. > :04:39.Temperatures tomorrow at a maximum of 12 Celsius
:04:40. > :04:43.Now, I will leave you with the outlook.
:04:44. > :04:46.It is quite a chilly start to the week as we begin tomorrow,
:04:47. > :04:49.but we will start to see those temperatures creeping up
:04:50. > :04:53.Midlands Today will be back tomorrow just after 6am.
:04:54. > :05:17.So far this month most of the rain has been near Eastern coasts. That's
:05:18. > :05:19.changing quite dramatically. All of this cloud coming in from