A team of 11 firefighters are on a mission to achieve the UK’s highest ladder pitch by climbing up Ben Nevis wearing fire kits weighing approximately 15kg.Tom Easter, an on-call firefighter from Halstead Fire Station, is to take on the feat on May 18, alongside 10 fellow on-call firefighters from the station who will all be donning firefighting tunics, trousers, gloves, boots and helmets.On-call firefighters report to their local fire station during emergencies, from their home or place of work, during their agreed-on call hours, which in Mr Easter’s case is 90 hours per week.They will begin their hike up...

A growing number of small businesses are complaining of vastly inflated standing charges on top of their standard energy bills, some as much as 13 times the level of three years ago.The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has written to Ofgem, urging it to act over fast-growing standing charges paid by small companies, particularly those in rural areas.One business owner got in touch with the group to report an increased standing charge, from 70.94p per day in July 2021 to 969.64p per day in September 2023, more than 13 times higher.Standing charges are applied daily, regardless of how much energy...

Donna Kelce, mother of Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce, is clearly a fan of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department.The American footballer is the singer’s current boyfriend. “I listened to the whole album, and I listened to it all morning long when it was released,” she told People magazine at QVC’s Age of Possibility summit in Las Vegas.Swift dropped her 11th studio album with 16 tracks on 19 April and then announced a surprise “2am version” with 15 songs a few hours later.“I was just very impressed,” Kelce added.“She is a very talented woman, and I think...

David Cameron laughed as he described Donald Trump in two words, following their recent meeting.The foreign secretary and former US president met in Florida earlier this month to discuss the war in Ukraine and Nato spending.Lord Cameron described Mr Trump as an “interesting guy” when he was quizzed about the meeting when he appeared on ITV’s Peston on Wednesday (24 April).Lord Cameron said: “We had a good meeting, he’s certainly an interesting guy. We had a good meeting, we discussed a range of things. We did talk about Ukraine because I think it’s important. It’s not just about European and British security. “

Barclays has reported lower profits for the start of the year, as mortgage lending and deposits dipped and its investment bank was squeezed amid prevailing economic uncertainty.The high street banking giant reported a group pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion for the first three months of the year, down 12% from the £2.6 billion reported this time last year.However, the latest quarterly earnings figure came in above analysts’ expectations of £2.2 billion.We have now announced the sale of our performing Italian mortgage book and are investing in our higher returning UK consumer businesses, including through the expected completion of the Tesco...

When you’re looking for a haven at home to unwind and relax, the bathroom is your best bet for seeking sanctuary from the outside world.An escape route with wellbeing on tap, especially with carefully curated furnishings, storage solutions and accessories to ensure your comfort, wellness and encourage some me-time.Here’s what’s new in-store to boost your bathtime rituals…1. John Lewis Scandi Round Oak Wood Wall Mirror, Natural, from £130, John Lewis Rattan Dressing Table Stool, Oak, £125, Luxury Spa Towels, from £10 to £44, rest of items from a selection, John LewisWhen you want to get the look and create the...

Erik ten Hag insisted his Manchester United side were always in control against Sheffield United in their tumultuous win in Wednesday’s (24 April) Premier League match.The Reds twice needed to come from behind to beat their relegation-threatened opponents 4-2.Ten Hag’s side have now scored at least two and conceded at least two in each of their last five in all competitions.Rejecting criticism, Ten Hag said: “We were totally in control. I’ve seen a different game, sorry.“We had two giveaways, two times we were behind... But for the rest I think we were totally in control. The team showed resilience." Read More Inter Miami confirm signing of Paraguayan midfielder Matias RojasDelighted Ben White praises Arsenal unity after 5-0 Chelsea thrashingAlan Shearer makes bold statement on Ten Hag’s future at Manchester United

Ukraine has temporarily banned military-age men from applying for passports abroad in a new regulation affecting those wishing to leave the war-hit country.Now passports for men aged between 18 to 60 years will only be issued in Ukraine.Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced the provisions and a subsequent clarification on Wednesday, a day after foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv was suspending consular services for males aged 18 to 60 until 18 May. The ministry said applications received after 23 April will be handled then.Mr Kuleba criticised those living abroad for not serving in the 26-month-old invasion from Russia. He said...

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp apologised to fans for the Merseyside derby defeat at Everton on Wednesday night (24 April).The German’s last visit to Goodison Park ended in his first defeat there, having previously won two and drawn five, after goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin left their chances of overhauling their rivals Arsenal and Manchester City in tatters.“I can only apologise for today to the people. It is very disappointing. We played the game Everton wanted and they scored two goals from set-pieces. We should have done better but we didn’t,” said Klopp.

Manchester City booked their place in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday, and will not want to lose points in the race for a Premier League title.Pep Guardiola’s side will have longer to prepare than some others who played this weekend, and do not travel to the south coast to face Brighton until Thursday.City had to work hard against Chelsea, and the manager was left angry at the schedule, and argued that the game on Saturday came too soon after his side’s Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday.After securing...

The NFL Draft is a time for every franchise to dream of a brighter future as the top college prospects find out where they will be headed in 2024. Over three days and seven rounds, 257 players will be selected by the 32 NFL teams as they look to retool and reload in pursuit of a Super Bowl.This year’s draft class looks laden with budding offensive superstars, including four quarterbacks who may well go in the top ten.Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Jayden Daniels (LSU) and JJ McCarthy (Michigan) all have the scouts purring ahead of round one...

Asian shares mostly declined Thursday as investors awaited a flood of global earnings reports, including updates from U.S. tech companies known as the “Magnificent Seven.” Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 2.1% to 37,670.50. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.4% to 2,637.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained nearly 0.1% to 17,215.51, while the Shanghai Composite was virtually unchanged at 3,044.41. Trading was closed in Australia for a national holiday, Anzac Day. Attention is also turning to the Bank of Japan, whose two-day monetary policy meeting started Thursday. “For the record, heading into tomorrow’s policy decision, exceptional Japanese yen weakness is the...

Several dozen kids — 48 girls and one boy, from first-graders to teenagers — gathered recently at a gymnasium in northern St. Petersburg for a hobby horsing competition. The event looked exactly like a proper equestrian competition, but instead of a horse they rode a stick with a horse’s head.Hobby horsing aficionados say one can buy a stick horse or make one from scratch.The Russian Federation of Hobby Horsing, which organized the competition, says on its website that the discipline comes from Finland and that it’s more of a grassroots movement rather than a professional sport.Yet, there are still tournaments, couches and judges, and participants have to abide by the rules of horse-riding competitions.

Meta’s stock price sank by over 16 per cent on Wednesday after the tech giant’s chief Mark Zuckerberg said it could take the company years to profit from its generative artificial intelligence projects.Shares of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, dropped to about $412 after the Silicon Valley titan announced that it anticipated lower revenue for the current quarter than what Wall Street predicted. Although Meta grew its revenue by 27 per cent in the quarter ending March 2024 compared to the same period last year and more than doubled its profit, investors seem to have...

The “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser”, a Gustav Klimt portrait that mysteriously resurfaced after being lost for nearly 100 years, has been auctioned in Vienna for £26m.The painting by the iconic Austrian artist was auctioned on 24 April, according to the im Kinsky auction house website. The auction started with an opening bid of £23m ($29m) and the final sale price on Wednesday fell within the projected range of £25m-£42m ($32-$53m), marking the lower end of expectations.The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.The auction house said: “The rediscovery of this portrait, one of the most beautiful of Klimt’s last...

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday.The U.N. report said 24 million more people faced an acute lack of food than in 2022, due to the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan. The number of nations with food crises that are monitored has also been expanded.Máximo Torero, chief economist for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, said 705,000 people in five countries are...

The family of Dame Deborah James have written a letter urging all UK political parties to commit to a long-term cancer strategy “to give more people affected by cancer more time with the people they love”.Dame Deborah died in June 2022 at the age of 40, five years after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.She used her diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease and set up the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, which has raised more than £12 million.In a letter published in the Sun newspaper, Dame Deborah’s husband Sebastien Bowen, her parents Alistair and Heather James and...

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has spoken about her support for Palestine and how she was warned that it could affect her career.“I think it’s important to me because firstly, I’m a very privileged person,” she said in an interview with Teen Vogue.“I’m so lucky I’ve gotten to this point in my career, and I’m privileged as a white woman, first off. Then the fact that I get to do the job I love and travel the world and meet amazing people, I feel a moral responsibility to give back.”She recalled how her late father, who served in the Irish...

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said he was stepping back from public duties for a few days to “reflect and decide” if he should resign after a court launched a business corruption probe into his wife’s private dealings.Mr Sanchez said on Wednesday he would announce his decision on 29 April on “whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour”."I need to pause and think," he wrote in a letter shared on his X account. "At this point, I have to ask myself: Is it all worth it?"I will cancel my public agenda for a few...

When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or migrating the threat of some diseases. But across the African continent malaria has never left, killing or sickening millions of people.Take Funmilayo Kotun, a 66-year-old resident of Makoko, an informal neighborhood in Nigeria’s Lagos city. Its ponds of dirty water provide favorable breeding conditions for malaria-spreading mosquitoes. Kotun can’t afford insecticide-treated bed nets that cost between $7 and $21 each, much less antimalarial medications or treatment.For World Malaria Day on Thursday,...