Kick-Off Nerves: Birmingham Braces for Argentina Tonight — and a Gun-and-Swords Gang Goes Down

Right, deep breath. England are 90 (or more) minutes from a World Cup final, and they've got Argentina standing in the way at 8pm tonight. Kick-off is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but the noise will be very much a Birmingham export.

It's been quite a fortnight getting here. Jude Bellingham dragged England level against Norway before half-time in the quarter-final, then did it again in extra time for a 2-1 win, with 10,000 fans packed into Utilita Arena roaring along to every kick. Argentina, meanwhile, have looked ominous, brushing Switzerland aside 3-1 in their own last-eight tie.

This isn't a fixture short of history, either. Maradona's Hand of God in 1986. Beckham's redemption penalty in 2002. England and Argentina have been finding ways to torment each other at World Cups for sixty years, and tonight adds a new chapter to it.

If you haven't sorted your evening yet, Luna Springs in Digbeth is the big one — billed as Birmingham's biggest World Cup fan zone, with screens the size of a house, street food, cold pints and DJs keeping the energy up. Doors open from 5pm, it's 18+, and after the scenes at the quarter-final, expect it to fill fast.

Not fussed about Digbeth? The Village in Moseley is putting on its own big-screen night, and Saint Pauls Market in the Jewellery Quarter opens its doors at 8pm for kick-off, with a proper market-hall atmosphere to match.

A bit of local trivia while you wait for kick-off, since we mentioned it last week: Villa Park hosted Argentina at the 1966 World Cup, back when the tournament last came to England. Sixty years on, almost to the summer, and they're causing us sleepless nights again.

Given how quickly the fan zones filled for the quarter-final, our advice is simple: get there early, or resign yourself to watching over someone's shoulder.

Come on England. Whatever happens, Birmingham will be watching.

Four men have been jailed after armed officers stopped a car on the Black Country Route in Wolverhampton and found a loaded handgun and a haul of swords inside.

The stop was linked to a violent attack in Birmingham three days earlier, on Ruskin Street, where a construction worker was set upon by a gang and beaten with metal poles. He suffered broken legs and a broken arm, and needed surgery.

The men fled the scene in a white BMW. Armed officers from West Midlands Police caught up with the car as it travelled into Wolverhampton on the Black Country Route near Spring Vale Island, having come up from London. Bodyworn video shows four men being ordered out of the vehicle and arrested on the spot. Officers found a handgun loaded with 11 rounds in the front passenger footwell, with swords and other weapons in the back.

All four were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 9 July. Gurwinder Singh, 25, of Ealing, admitted possession of a firearm, ammunition and five swords, and was jailed for five years and 11 months. Harpandeep Singh, 23, of Hackney, was found guilty of the firearm and ammunition charges and jailed for seven years. Harshehajdeep Singh, 21, also of Ealing, was found guilty on the same charges and jailed for six years and eight months. Zorawar Singh, 31, of no fixed address, admitted the offences and was jailed for six years and two months.

DC Kyle Bowering, from West Midlands Police's Major Crime Unit, said the investigation had taken a loaded gun and a set of swords off the streets that would "no doubt have gone on to be used in crime to harm and threaten others."

The case falls under Operation Target, the force's ongoing drive against serious and organised crime across the West Midlands, including gun crime, drug dealing and money laundering.

A grim case, but one with a clear outcome: the weapons are gone, and four men are behind bars for a good many years to come.

Operation Skybridge, West Midlands Police's proactive Birmingham crime-fighting team, has spent the past week working Alum Rock alongside local neighbourhood officers — and it didn't take long to turn something up.

On Friday 10 July, officers on patrol near Brook Hill Road spotted a car that failed to stop for them. It was later recovered, and a search of the vehicle and surrounding area turned up several wraps of suspected heroin along with a number of mobile phones. A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

The following day, near Foxton Road, the team recovered a separate vehicle found to have no insurance.

Then on Sunday, officers stopped another car on Washwood Heath Road. A search turned up more suspected heroin, and a man detained at the scene was found with cash and further drugs during subsequent searches. He was arrested, aged 31, again on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

A search of a property linked to that investigation turned up a third arrest: a 52-year-old man wanted on suspicion of assault with intent to rob, along with two separate vehicle crime offences.

Supt Haroon Chughtai, from Birmingham Police, said having Skybridge officers in the area adds to the work of local neighbourhood, response and investigation teams "working around the clock to keep residents safe," and encouraged anyone with concerns, big or small, to get in touch.

Acting Sgt Sam Wilkes, from the Skybridge team, said officers are carrying out both high-visibility and plain-clothes patrols in the area, and that residents' tip-offs shape where they focus next.

If you live locally and have concerns about crime in the area, West Midlands Police can be reached via 101, Live Chat on their website, or the WMNow app.

A shop in the Stoke area of Coventry has been shut down for two months after magistrates granted a closure order over the repeated sale of illegal vapes and illicit tobacco.

Coventry City Council's Trading Standards Service, working jointly with Coventry Police, applied for the order against Ranya Mini Market on Humber Road, and a notice was served on the premises last Thursday. Coventry Magistrates' Court granted the two-month closure shortly after.

The council says some of the products being sold at the shop raised concerns over their potential health implications, on top of the usual problems illicit tobacco and vape sales cause: undercutting legitimate local traders and putting unregulated products into the hands of the community, including, in some cases, children.

It's the latest in a string of closure orders the council has pursued against shops in the city for persistently selling illegal tobacco and vapes, part of a wider push by Trading Standards to get a grip on the trade.

A closure order means no one is allowed to enter or use the premises for the length of the order — breaching it is a criminal offence in its own right, on top of whatever enforcement action follows from the original illegal sales.

It's a low-key story compared with the rest of today's news, but a meaningful one if you live locally: illicit vapes in particular have been linked to serious health and fire-safety risks, well beyond the basic unfairness of undercutting shops playing by the rules.

If you know of a shop selling illegal tobacco or vapes, Coventry City Council's Trading Standards team takes reports from the public.

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