Fans are preparing for an epic finale.
Read More »
Epic $200,000,000 TV series is about to break its own record
Original Dragon Ball Shonen Jump manga chapter sells for eye-watering amount
The 51st issue of Shonen Jump magazine containing the original Dragon Ball manga chapter has been sold for way over $9,000 at auction.
Read More »
Cop delivers pizza for terrified delivery driver as massive gator blocks customer’s driveway
An alligator is going viral after interrupting a pizza delivery, prompting law enforcement to take the matter into their own hands.
Read More »
Watching legendary TV show soothes part of brain that deals with pain, study shows
WATCHING David Attenborough documentaries soothes away pain, a study suggests.
MRI scans show that looking at nature videos reduces activity in parts of the brain that manage how people feel discomfort.
Volunteers sensed less pain from small electric shocks when looking at images of the natural world compared with when shown those of a city or office.
Researchers said nature’s pain-relieving effects were half as powerful as paracetamol — adding that more research could help develop treatments.
PhD student Max Steininger, of Vienna University, said people had previously reported feeling less pain when watching nature but the reason was unclear.
He said: “Our study is the first to provide evidence from brain scans that this isn’t just a placebo effect — driven by people’s beliefs and expectations that nature is good for them.
“Instead, the brain is reacting less to information about where the pain is coming from and how intense it feels.”
Co-author Dr Alex Smalley, of the University of Exeter, said the study showed that “virtual encounters” with nature might help pain sufferers who could not get outside.
Sir David has previously linked being in nature to feeling happier and healthier.
In 2018, he said: “Spending time with nature offers us all precious breathing space away from the stresses and strains of modern life.”
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
Ryanair plane with 172 passengers came within seconds of hitting helicopter after pilot didn’t realise autopilot was off
A RYANAIR plane came within seconds of hitting a helicopter — as the captain did not realise the autopilot was off.
The aircraft, carrying 172 passengers, was approaching Stansted Airport at 3,000ft when the incident happened, investigators said.
Its inexperienced co-pilot handed control to the captain who was unaware autopilot and autothrust were not engaged.
The Boeing 737 plummeted about 550ft before the problem was noticed. At that moment, a helicopter was flying in the vicinity at about 2,000ft.
Investigators said the Ryanair flight from Szczecin, Poland, was just 300ft above.
Its captain seized back control and climbed to safety before landing in March last year.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report stated: “The co-pilot said that this was his first time he had handed over control during manual flight and he did not know the precise call-outs that were stated in the Flight Crew Operating Manual.”
It added: “Whilst he did not highlight the fact he was manually flying he assumed the commander realised this.”
The investigators said there was no formal reply in the manual.
But it said: “It is common practice in all areas of aviation, to say, ‘I have control’, once the transfer is made”.
The airline’s manual has now been expanded to ensure a positive reply, the report added.
The incident has echoes of a January crash over Washington DC between an airliner and US Army helicopter, killing 67.
The building materials industry offers diverse career paths with big potential earnings
A JOB in construction does not just mean the traditional site roles and trades.
Instead of laying bricks, plumbing or carpentry, why not consider a career in the building materials industry?
The £51billion sector employs almost 200,000 people but is often overlooked for more high-profile skills.
To help address a growing shortage, national trade body the Builders Merchants Federation has launched a campaign showcasing options available.
More than 1,000 companies have come together to highlight the range of roles on offer.
BMF chairman Richard Hill said: “By establishing building materials as a distinct sector, it becomes distinguishable from the wider construction industry.
“It defines the role of builders’ merchants and suppliers who make, sell and distribute all the products that are needed for the UK’s building and construction projects.
“And it offers a wealth of vibrant and dynamic career paths across product development, finance, logistics, marketing and distribution.”
Jobs in building materials range from branch positions that are responsible for selling supplies, to facilities staff who keep buildings maintained.
There is also manufacturing, sustainability, logistics and warehousing.
Ways into the industry include apprenticeships and graduate schemes, with salaries ranging from £23,000 for an entry-level role to six- figure sums for senior management positions.
The federation’s new recruitment campaign is targeting school leavers, career switchers with transferable skills and also those people coming out of the Armed Forces, who might already have many of the qualities needed to succeed in the materials sector.
Abbie Johnson is the manager of building merchant Alsford’s Brighton operation.
The 28-year-old began her career as a yard assistant at the age of 16 and worked her way up to be a branch manager six years later, aged 22.
Abbie said: “There are no minimum qualifications to start out in an entry-level role. It’s down to attitude and behaviour.
“Having a positive attitude and willingness to learn are essential.
“I love working as part of team.
“We get to meet members of the local community and support any project they have — not just housebuilding but things ranging from putting decking in gardens to adding new shelving in homes.
“I love being able to make a difference to all of our customers.
“The career development within the building materials sector is huge — from learning how to drive a forklift or taking part in management training schemes, to being trained on using woodworking machinery or developing your career in commercial or buying.
“Wherever your passions lie, in this industry there is a role for everyone.”
John Newcomb, who is chief executive of the BMF, said: “We need to invest in a building materials supply chain, that brings a diversity of skills to produce the materials needed for a new generation of construction projects for the future.
“This includes meeting the Government’s pledge to build 1.5million homes in the UK.”
To find out more about the career opportunities, see bmcareers.com.
IT’S ICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
SIGN up for the world’s coolest job – 9,000 miles away in Antarctica.
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is recruiting for specialised workers to join the team at Port Lockroy.
Chief executive Camilla Nichol said: “We are on the hunt for skilled conservation carpenters who are ready to take on one of the most unique and challenging roles in the world.
“This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity involves working in one of the harshest environments on the planet, preserving and restoring our historic site, a key part of Britain’s Antarctic heritage.
“We are looking for individuals who not only have the necessary expertise but also the resilience and passion to protect these important sites for future generations.”
The role offers a rare chance to work at the historic site on the frozen continent.
All travel, food, accommodation and essential polar clothing are provided. The contract runs from October this year to March 2026.
The successful candidates will receive full training before leaving the UK.
For more information and to apply, see careers.ukaht.org/jobs.
EXPLAIN GAPS IN YOUR CV
MANY people choose to step away from work to travel, care for relatives or for other personal reasons.
But a gap in your CV is still regarded with suspicion by some employers.
Careers expert Robbie Bryant, from the Open Study College, says: “Candidates just need to be honest about the time spent away from work and what skills or training they feel they may need a refresh on in order to fulfil the job requirements.”
Here Robbie, pictured, shares his advice for explaining a career gap to a potential employer . . .
- REDUNDANCY: Tell a them what you’ve learnt from your experience of being made redundant. It will portray a good work ethic.
- TRAVELLING: Employers want to know why you have travelled, but don’t say just for fun. Explain whether it was to experience different cultures, learn new languages or develop new skills.
- CARING: You don’t need to go into the full details, just be confident in your response and make sure the employer knows why you’ve decided to come back to work now.
- HOLDING OUT FOR RIGHT ROLE: Not rushing into a job and planning to pursue your dream career is wise. Position your break as a time to explore what you truly wanted to do in life and show how and why you’ve come to this decision. This will demonstrate genuine interest and determination to succeed in the role you are applying for.
Jobspot
- THE COMPLEAT FOOD GROUP is hiring HR apprentices. Apply at compleatfood.com/career-category/apprenticeships. Applications close today.
- HOUSEBUILDER Bellway needs 86 apprentices. See bellwaycareers.co.uk.
SCIENCE SPURS FOR KIDS
TOTTENHAM Hotspur football cub has teamed up with Schneider Electric to help children work towards careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Launching this summer, the Spurs programme will see pupils from nearby North London primary schools take part in a range of workshops and interactive activities.
Subjects covered include robotics and machine control and sustainable energy.
Kelly Becker, head of Schneider Electric UK, said: “We need to inspire talent from an early age if we are truly going to harness the potential of the energy transition.”
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
BBC’s lack of working-class insight is six-ton elephant in every room… we need more northerners – and put em in comedy
RIGHT you cheeky get, listen up, I’ve got an important announcement: Jim Royle is the saviour of the BBC.
That’s right cloth ears, Big Jim, king couch potato, ruler of the remote, the old nostril-mining, Bronx cheer champion himself.
It’s time for him to get off his fat arse and give those soft London types a piece of his bloody mind, the lazy sod.
Am I right, Barb?
Well, the BBC appears to think so.
Because its new chairman has declared that the corporation has become too much of a left-wing, woke-infested toffs’ club of posh, pampered southerners.
Dr Samir Shah CBE, a posh pampered southerner himself (West London private school, Oxford, millionaire), thinks it needs more working-class northerners on board.
He reckons the Beeb has sorted the whole ethnic mix thing — something Auntie used to regularly get her knickers in a twist about.
So it now requires “more diversity of thought . . . Frankly [it’s] the northern working class where we’re poor. That’s where the focus should be”.
In short, more Royles and fewer royals!
Wow. Talk about pennies dropping.
The BBC’s woeful lack of working-class insight has been a six-ton, flat-capped elephant in every room of Broadcasting House for donkey’s.
This is famously an organisation whose first ever “head of BBC North” commuted to his Salford office from . . . Richmond, West London.
It beggars belief that a body as vast and well-resourced as the BBC continues to have this blind spot for the 50 per cent of the country that thinks of itself as a working class.
And, of course, what little they do know, they really don’t like. Worried about immigration? You’re racist. Bit concerned about blokes in women’s bathrooms? You’re transphobic.
Not sure about self- appointed “community faith leaders” interfering in how your kids are taught? You’re Islamophobic.
Etc etc.
Shah’s recognition of this fact is also nothing new and amounts to the kind of re-spinning of an already stated position that sneaky politicians use to make them look busy.
Indeed, he said pretty much the same thing when he joined 12 months ago, and that was just after Ofcom had blasted the Beeb for stereotyping the working class as thick drunks.
So come on Samir Shah. That’s enough grand statements, it’s time to put your — sorry our — money where your mouth is.
The BBC’s £160,000-a-year chairman must not let this big strategy, like many that have come before it, wither on the vine.
There is a real danger that BBC departments will be all “yes boss”, invite Vernon Kay on to Question Time a couple of times, give Paddy McGuinness another show and then slip back into their old hardwired dismissive ways.
Box-ticking exercise
He must not let that happen. There is one area Shah could start with — somewhere the BBC could make a real difference to its representation of northern working-class people.
And that is in its comedy output.
If you were to compile a list of the best British TV comedies of all time it would likely be dominated by those depicting the lives of the northern working class.
The Royle Family, Bread, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Open All Hours, Last Of The Summer Wine, Making Out, The Likely Lads, Phoenix Nights, Early Doors.
What a gold-plated greatest hits that lot is — bona fide belly laffs served up with pathos by some of our most cherished northern actors: Ricky Tomlinson, Caroline Aherne, Jean Boht, James Bolam, Jimmy Nail, Margi Clarke.
I would happily junk all my streamer subscriptions for anything the BBC offered up that was even half as good.
The BBC’s woeful lack of working-class insight has been a six-ton, flat-capped elephant in every room of Broadcasting House for donkey’s
But where are their successors? There’s nowt much to laugh about now.
With the exception of some attempts at northern working-class comedy, like Alma’s Not Normal, BBC comedy these days is largely a box-ticking exercise aimed at a fantasy youth audience of mixed race, non-binary, woke warriors that simply does not exist.
It’s no wonder you never hear about these shows. Audiences are minuscule.
They have zero appeal to the majority of people forced to pay the licence fee.
They do not, unlike the great northern working-class comedies of old, tickle Britain’s collective funny bone.
Or as one famous telly addict would have it: “The BBC? Comedy? My arse!”
SHOTS A DEAD CERT
THE SAS call it the “double tap”. Two shots fired in quick succession, ideally at the heart or the head.
Get them on target and it’s goodnight Vienna.
Special forces like a double tap as it is a very effective way of killing.
So when three prison employees fired at a bullseye placed over double murderer Brad Sigmon’s heart in the US last week, they knew they had a pretty good chance of quickly ending his life.
And so they did.
Sigmon was allowed to choose the firing squad after he said he didn’t fancy being “burned and cooked alive” in the electric chair or dying in agony by lethal injection.
Of course, as with all executions, many decided this method was “barbaric”.
But is it?
The problem with the death penalty is once you’ve decided who gets it, you then have to actually do it.
And most methods are flawed, as Sigmon, who in 2001 beat his then-girlfriend’s parents to death with a baseball bat, knew only too well.
Hanging, outlawed in Britain in 1965, is also problematic, often resulting in a long, slow strangulation.
It is for this reason that while I, along with 55 per cent of Brits, agree with the death penalty in theory – and only for the most calculating villains such as Southport killer Axel Rudakubana – I disagree in practice.
But what if Death Row only ever ended with the firing squad?
Unnecessary suffering is not pretty, so the condemned should be executed as quickly and painlessly as possible.
And a bullet – or three – through the heart does seem to be the best way of ensuring that.
The Circus of Nightmares
AS a regular visitor to Old Trafford, I was pleased to see Man United’s plans to flatten the current urine-drenched stadium and build a new one.
Fans were quick to spot its vast umbrella design made it look like a giant big top.
And if our clown-ish form doesn’t improve by the time it’s opened in 2030, the fabled Theatre of Dreams could soon turn into . . . The Circus of Nightmares.
NICE TRY, INFLUENCER, BUT YOU’VE BOOBED
SOCIAL media is an even bigger minefield of lies these days.
I’m forever trying to work out what’s real and what’s been created by the now ubiquitous AI.
Thankfully, some scams are easier than others to spot.
I stumbled on this eye-popping account on Instagram and it didn’t take me long to work out that this “digital influencer” was just a cynical computer creation.
There was, as you can tell, an obvious giveaway – no woman I’ve ever met has had skin that flawless.
SAVE A BUCK, HOYLE
I HAVE a simple rule in life: Never trust anyone who loves the sound of their own voice.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle is the latest pillock to confirm my theory. The pompous “Speaker of the House” – not half! – has been revealed as a serial abuser of the public purse after jetting around the world on business-class flights.
“Long-haul Lindsay”, as he is now known, blew Lottery-winnings sums on his extravagant trips.
But why on Earth does a bloke whose sole job – beyond being MP for a small town in Lancashire – is to oversee the rabble in Parliament have to travel the globe so frequently?
Well, according to his spokesman, he “has a responsibility to explain and promote the work of the House”.
OK, well if he must, but how about this for a cheaper solution . . .
Just send every country that needs to catch up a copy of this comprehensive book, recently updated and currently on sale in the Houses Of Parliament shop for just £35.99.
FLIGHT STRIPES
CELEBRITY Instagram accounts are eminently avoidable – typically a blizzard of ads for things they never use or general boasting about their unattainable lifestyles.
But I’ve been enjoying the recent snaps from White Stripes frontman Jack White as he tours Britain with his latest band.
So far we’ve had observations from a train travelling from Birmingham to Glasgow and a plane nerd selfie, from the RAF Museum.
How refreshing to have an American say nice things about our wonderful country for a change.
More, please.
Celeb chef Aldo Zilli tests supermarket tortelloni – the winner costs just £1.99 & ‘tastes really Italian’
ITALIANS take their pasta parcels to heart.
There is a row raging over who invented tortellini, as the cities of Bologna and Modena each claim bragging rights over the meat-filled treat.
With passions running high, we asked Italian celebrity chef Aldo Zilli to check out supermarket offerings of the similarly shaped but bigger tortelloni, filled with spinach and ricotta.
Here, pasta maestro Aldo, boss at London restaurant Undercroft Mayfair, gives Laura Stott his verdicts and scores . . .
Jack’s Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 250g £2.25 Budgens
Contains: ricotta 15%, spinach 13%
THESE are on the pricey side, considering there is 50g less pasta than most of the others.
I wouldn’t mind if they tasted incredible, but they are pretty average.
Made with a mix of ricotta and an unspecified medium fat hard cheese, the fresh egg pasta parcels look very yellow in the packet with tight folds.
When I cooked them, a few broke in the boiling water.
Olive oil and butter have been used but I can’t taste those flavours.
Extremely small and they seem very processed.
OK if you have no better options, and you could grate extra cheese on top to improve them.
But there’s not much flavour and it’s an expensive packet.
Rating: 3/5.
Cucine Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 300g, £1.59 Aldi
Contains: 17% ricotta cheese, 10% spinach
PRETTY good pasta parcels from Aldi, which says they are made in Italy.
Traditionally tortelloni come from the Bologna region in Northern Italy and with a vegetable filling like this one we’d probably eat them with nothing more added than a simple drizzle of good olive oil and perhaps a couple of crispy fried sage leaves.
These fresh egg parcels have been made with sunflower oil – not the oil I’d expect to see – but they still eat well.
Very generous with the filling and a nice flavour.
These are a decent shape so they didn’t rip open while cooking.
A great price, too – and I’d buy these myself for an easy evening meal.
Rating: 4/5.
WINNER: Chef Select Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 250g £1.99 Lidl
Contains: ricotta 35%, spinach 20%
Tortelloni is the type of tortellini usually stuffed with soft cheese.
These are neat, petite and uniform – exactly as they would be if I made them myself. Flavourwise, I’m impressed.
Fresh, yellow with egg, and springy pasta which tastes really Italian.
They are dense with creamy ricotta and you can see the vivid green spinach when you bite in.
There is also an extra 5% mascarpone cream cheese, breadcrumbs and a grind of nutmeg so they are filling and tasty.
Cooked evenly with no splits.
Bouncy, light and pillowy, these are great value and my favourite.
Rating: 5/5
Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 300g, £2.30 Marks and Spencer
Contains: ricotta 11%, spinach 12%
Made with multiple cheeses, these parcels also contain mozzarella and another hard cheese as well as the soft ricotta.
A mix of oils is listed in the ingredients including olive, rapeseed and sunflower, but I’m happy with how they taste.
Nicely plump, soft and large, so you feel you are getting a proper meal, with enough for two hungry people.
As they are quite translucent, you can see there is plenty of green spinach squashed into each one even before you cook them
Well made, thick pasta but a few of them had torn so some filling ended up in the water and some were stuck together too. But not bad at all.
Rating: 4/5.
Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 300g £1.59 Tesco
Contains: ricotta 15%, spinach 13%
NOT very impressed. They didn’t look nice in the packet and didn’t taste any better when I cooked them.
Even before I put them in the pan, you could see the pasta looked shiny and it seemed plasticky to touch.
I’m not sure why the tortelloni looks like this but Tesco’s offering is just not very appetising.
The packet states they are made in Italy and there’s proper olive oil in the ingredients. But you wouldn’t know it.
They are a funny shape, like little crabs, and once cooked they had no discernible flavour. Very starchy and bland.
Lots of the stuffing came out, too.
But the parcels are large with plenty of filling, even if it is tasteless.
Rating: 2/5.
Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 300g, £2 Sainsbury’s
Contains: ricotta 16%, spinach 9%
Where is the green spinach in these? I can’t see any in the filling.
The egg pasta packets with crimped edges looked tiny and are folded rather tightly.
On the positive side being small means there are lots of them in the packet which is good is you want them to go further.
But it also means you don’t get much stuffed inside as there isn’t room.
They all stayed together when I cooked them with no splits in the pan, and they tasted pleasant.
But really what you get in the middle is just cheese with seasoning. So that’s why they aren’t green.
The consistency is right and so is the pasta which delivers a clean taste – but it’s mostly cheesy.
Rating: 3/5
Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni 300g, £1.97 Asda
Contains: ricotta 18%, spinach 6%
The packet says these parcels are made in Italy using fresh egg pasta.
They are a slightly unusual shape, as they have been folded very small and tight with perforated-style edges.
But you do get plenty in the packet, which is good if you’re using them to feed them kids.
Made with sunflower oil not olive. But overall I don’t mind the flavour.
Nice shape they look neat and well made.
Some have stuck together though and quite a lot split when I boiled them which isn’t great for the washing up.
Good filling but I would like more of it, as you get a lot of pasta per parcel so the ratio isn’t right.
Rating: 3/5
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
Double Coronation Street exit ‘confirmed’ as two legends ‘go on the run’ for good
One of them has a plan...
Read More »
Five men busted after stopping traffic by twerking
Five men blocked a downtown intersection by twerking while a fifth man danced on the hood of a car.
Read More »