The recent data reveals it climbed by 22 points during March to reach 62 per cent, remaining above the national average.

This increase reflects improved confidence in both trading prospects and the broader economy, with trading optimism up nine points to 64 per cent and economic optimism rising 35 points to 60 per cent.

Martyn Kendrick, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds, said: “As business confidence holds this month, we remain focused on supporting firms in Yorkshire, providing the finance, guidance and expertise they may need.”

A net balance of 43 per cent of businesses in the region now expect to increase staff levels over the next year, marking a rise of 26 points from the previous month.

The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses each month, has been tracking sentiment since 2002 to provide early indicators of UK economic trends at both regional and national levels.

Nationally, UK business confidence rose by 11 points in March to reach 55 per cent.

Amanda Murphy, CEO for Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking, highlighted the contrast between smaller and larger firms in the latest data.

She said: “While businesses are adept at reacting to uncertain, fast-moving conditions, this month’s results show an interesting divergence in sentiment.

“Smaller businesses may have remained confident because they had not yet seen an immediate change in customer demand or supply chain disruption.

“Larger firms, however, read global events more cautiously because of their closer exposure to global markets.

“With most responses coming in the very early stages of the Middle East conflict, we’ll be watching closely to see how confidence evolves.”

The survey was conducted between March 2 and March 16, capturing sentiment in the early days of renewed conflict in the Middle East.

Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the Champions League quarter-final, first leg match between the champions, Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool at Parc des Princes. Thirteen months ago this was the pick of the round of 16 ties and comprised two terrific games, Liverpool’s 1-0 victory in the Eternal City coming by virtue of Harvey Elliott’s late goal, a minute after coming on as a substitute, and a virtuoso act in goal by Alisson. A week later Ousmane Dembélé would level the tie at Anfield in one of the finest European matches this author has ever seen before PSG and Gigi Donnarumma saw off the hosts in the shoot-out, the giant octopus of a goalkeeper making magnificent saves from Darwin Núñez and Curtis Jones, both of which were respectable efforts.

Liverpool would go on to win the Premier League, PSG their 13th Ligue 1 and maiden Champions League and although tonight’s home side decided to get rid of Donnarumma which has demonstrably weakened them, the visitors’s starting XI is in far worse shape a season on despite their massive outlay, having tragically lost Diogo Jota and, more prosaically, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Díaz. 

Their 4-0 defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup and recent defeats by Brighton and Wolves in the league have exposed glaring defensive vulnerabilities. While all the focus has been on Mohammed Salah’s waning powers, Virgil van Dijk’s have been overlooked and could give Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the space to run riot unless Liverpool wake up. And they won’t have Alisson, missing with an unspecified injury, to bail them out if they let those three gazelles run in behind.  

Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are still unavailable and will be for the rest of the season but Alexander Isak, English football’s most expensive player, has travelled. PSG, who lead Ligue 1 by four points with a game in hand, are at full strength apart from Fabian Ruiz and young Quentin Ndantjou. 

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii anesthesiologist who was accused of trying to murder his wife on a cliffside hike last year has been convicted of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter.

A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. The crime he was convicted of, attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance, carries up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was set for Aug. 13.

Thomas Otake, his attorney, said he planned to appeal. Nevertheless, Otake said the defense respected the jury’s verdict.

“We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison,” Otake said. “We look forward to an appeal related to some of the judge’s rulings throughout the case.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

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Distraught over her relationship with a coworker, Konig planned to kill his wife, Arielle Konig, during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025, prosecutors said. They said he tried to push her off a cliff and stab her with a syringe, and when that didn’t work, he struck her with a rock. The attack was interrupted by two hikers who heard her cries for help.

The defendant testified that it was his wife who first hit him with a rock, and he hit her back in self-defense.

Under Hawaii law, if jurors find that someone committed the elements of murder or attempted murder, they then consider whether the defendant acted in self defense or under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. If they find that the defendant was influenced by such mental or emotional disturbance, and that there was a reasonable explanation for the disturbance, the charge is reduced to attempted manslaughter.

Konig stood as the jury’s foreperson announced the verdict, then closed his eyes and lowered his face. His parents declined to comment to reporters afterward. Arielle Konig was not in court.

The defense’s arguments

During closing arguments, the doctor’s lawyer repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Arielle Konig’s account.

If Gerhardt Konig had wanted to kill his wife and had access to a syringe in a remote area, attorney Thomas Otake suggested to jurors during closing arguments, wouldn’t he have drugged her and then thrown her from the cliff, rather than having started a scuffle before attempting to fill the syringe as he was wrestling with her?

“You would use the syringe first,” Otake said. “It makes no sense.”

The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhardt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he had tried to kill her.

Their two young sons stayed home on Maui while the Konigs were on the trip.

Most people who get COVID recover within a few weeks. But for some, symptoms persist for months – a condition now known as long COVID. While it’s often associated with fatigue, breathlessness and “brain fog”, growing evidence suggests it may also affect something less visible, but potentially more serious: the heart.

In our recent study, we found that people with long COVID had higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease – including cardiac arrhythmias, heart attack and heart failure. Importantly, the increased risks were seen in people who had never been hospitalised during their initial COVID infection.

Much of the early research on long COVID and heart health focused on patients who were hospitalised, particularly those treated in intensive care. These patients often had multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as being overweight and having hypertension or diabetes. This made it difficult to separate the effects of severe acute illness from the long-term effects of the infection.

However, the majority of people who had COVID were never admitted to a hospital – yet many still developed chronic symptoms of so-called long COVID. To explore the potential risks in this much larger group, we focused specifically on patients who had experienced a mild-to-moderate COVID infection which they managed at home.

We used healthcare data from more than 1.2 million adults living in Stockholm, Sweden. Among them, 9,000 were diagnosed by a doctor with long COVID. We then followed up these patients over time and compared occurrence of new cardiovascular disease – including heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke and peripheral arterial disease – with people who did not have long COVID and had no previous cardiovascular disease.

After a follow-up period of up to four years, cardiovascular disease was more common among people with long COVID.

Among women with long COVID, 18% experienced some form of cardiovascular event, compared with 8% of women without long COVID. Among men, the corresponding figures were 21% versus 11%.

These results did not substantially differ even when we adjusted analyses for age, socioeconomic status and underlying health status – including conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, depression, smoking and alcohol consumption which are known risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

Women with long COVID had more than double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease overall compared with women without long COVID, while men had around a 30% higher risk.

The strongest associations were seen for irregular heart rhythm and coronary heart disease. In women, we also observed an increased risk of heart failure and peripheral arterial disease. However, we did not find an association between long COVID and stroke risk.

Why long COVID might affect the heart

It’s not fully understood why long COVID is associated with cardiovascular disease, but several biological mechanisms have been proposed.

The virus can affect the lining of blood vessels, leading to what is known as endothelial dysfunction. It may also trigger long-lasting inflammation and changes in the immune system. Together, these processes can affect how blood flows through the body and how the heart functions.

There’s also growing evidence that long COVID can disrupt the autonomic nervous system – the automatic mechanisms that control heart rate and blood pressure. This may potentially explain why irregular heart rhythms and conditions such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (Pots) are more common in long COVID patients.

Another possibility is that long COVID may not necessarily cause entirely new disease, but rather reveal underlying conditions that had not yet been diagnosed. In some cases, symptoms such as chest pain or palpitations may lead to further medical evaluation, increasing the likelihood that cardiovascular disease is detected.

Our findings suggest that long COVID is not simply a transient condition, even among people who were never severely ill during the acute infection. Instead, it may have longer-term implications for cardiovascular health.

At the same time, it’s important to put the results into context. The overall risk of cardiovascular disease remains relatively low at the population level. But the relative increase in risk is meaningful and comparable to that seen with established cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes.

The increased cardiovascular risk in long COVID has also important implications for healthcare. Patients with long COVID – particularly women and younger patients – may benefit from more structured follow-up, including assessment of cardiovascular symptoms and better management of cardiovascular risk factors

It also suggests that long COVID should be included in future strategies for cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention, not only in specialist care but also in primary care settings where most of these patients are managed.

More research is now needed to understand the long-term trajectory of these risks and whether they persist, decrease or increase over time. Future studies should also explore whether early identification and management of cardiovascular symptoms in long COVID could help reduce the risk of more serious complications later on.

As the number of people living with long COVID continues to grow, understanding its broader health consequences will be essential – not only for each patient, but for healthcare systems as a whole.

Firefighters from Bacup Fire Station captured the images while attending the wildfire in March, which broke out near the Scout Moor wind turbines off Gin Croft Lane, Edenfield, just before 6pm on Monday, March 23.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have released images of the moorland blaze on Scout Moor from last month (Image: LFRS/Facebook)

Four fire engines from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), one from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), and a specialist wildfire unit were sent to the scene, with crews using beaters to bring the blaze under control over roughly four hours.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have released images of the moorland blaze on Scout Moor from last month (Image: LFRS/Facebook)

The incident, which covered several hectares of moorland, is being treated as deliberate and remains the subject of a joint investigation between LFRS and the police.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have released images of the moorland blaze on Scout Moor from last month (Image: LFRS/Facebook)

A LFRS spokesperson has again stressed the importance of not starting wildfires, warning that they put people, property and large areas of countryside at risk and tie up limited emergency resources needed elsewhere.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have released images of the moorland blaze on Scout Moor from last month (Image: LFRS/Facebook)

GMFRS previously urged people to avoid the area while firefighters worked, and the new images have been shared as the fire service warns that the incident marked the start of this year’s wildfire season.

Members of the public are being asked to stay away from moorland fire scenes, keep access routes clear for emergency vehicles, and take extra care outdoors by avoiding barbecues and open flames on the hills as the weather turns warmer.

A woman has been arrested after allegedly attacking a man who is now fighting for his life with a hammer, striking him in the head, as he lay in a hospital bed

A man was allegedly struck in the head with a hammer by a woman as he lay in a hospital bed.

The incident occurred in the early hours at a hospital in Sydney’s inner west.

NSW Police said that emergency services were called to a hospital in Camperdown at 12.15am on Thursday, April 9 after reports of an assault.

The force were told that the woman, believed to be known to the man, entered the hospital and assaulted the 63-year-old.

The man is suffering serious injuries and remains in critical condition after it was alleged he was hit in the head with a hammer during the attack.

A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

According to the Daily Telegraph, police investigators are reportedly looking into a the possible connection between the attack and a recent death in the man’s family, which has caused a dispute over a will.

A spokesperson for NSW Police said: “A woman will face court charged after an alleged assault in Sydney’s inner west today.

“About 12.15am (Thursday 9 April 2026), emergency services were called to a hospital in Camperdown, following reports of an assault.

“At the scene, police attached to Inner West Police Area Command were told a woman allegedly entered the hospital and assaulted a 63-year-old man – who is known to her.

“During the incident, it is alleged the man was struck with a hammer to the head, causing serious injuries. The man remains in a critical condition.

“A 46-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and taken to Newtown Police Station where she was charged with wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

“She was refused bail and will appear before Bail Division Court 6 today (Thursday 9 April 2026).”

Stop boiling cabbage into a soggy mess there is another cooking method to bring out the sweetness

Cabbage is a vegetable with a reputation problem similar to the divisive nature of sprouts. Yet, despite its image challenges, I’m a genuine fan of cabbage – provided it’s prepared properly.

Boiling it until it becomes a mushy disaster is undeniably off-putting, even for devoted enthusiasts of this leafy green. While I’m not opposed to boiling it occasionally, generous seasoning is absolutely essential.

My preferred cooking technique for this brilliant superfood, though, is braising it in butter and stock, which enhances the taste and effortlessly transforms it into the centrepiece of any meal.

Cabbage is remarkably low in calories while being packed with vitamins K and C, and according to Healthline, it’s thought that cabbage can aid digestion due to its insoluble fibre content. There are also indications it may assist in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

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A single head of cabbage yields four portions and pairs beautifully with classic English fare, though we’re equally fond of serving it alongside Asian-inspired salmon and rice.

My preference is sweetheart cabbage, though any variety works wonderfully with this approach, and once you’ve tried it, there’s no turning back – this technique draws out the natural sweetness and while the cabbage becomes tender and delicate, it maintains its structure, reports the Express.

Preparing the perfect cabbage

Ingredients

• One cabbage
• One chicken stock cube (or veg stock)
• A good knob of butter, usually two heaped tablespoons

Method

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Remove any damaged outer leaves from the cabbage and rinse thoroughly under running water. Slice the cabbage in half, then divide into equal quarters.

Next, trim away the core from each piece, but avoid cutting completely through, ensuring the quarters retain their shape during cooking. Using a low to medium heat, melt the butter in a lidded pan. When melted, place your cabbage in.

Brown each of the three sides for two to three minutes, or until caramelisation begins; this process helps deepen the taste.

While it’s browning, dissolve your stock cube in a litre of boiling water, and after each side develops some colour, pour the stock into the pan, lower the heat a touch and pop the lid on.

Continue cooking until the liquid has completely evaporated and it’ll be ready to dish up. I skip adding salt as I believe the butter and stock provide sufficient seasoning while cooking.

A professional chef has shared how to make French toast that is perfectly crispy and fluffy without frying it at all

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French toast is the ultimate comfort breakfast dish, yet many people are discouraged from making it because it often turns out soggy and overly greasy when fried. While it might seem straightforward to cook French toast in a frying pan, it often heats too quickly, scorching the exterior while the interior remains undercooked because it doesn’t have enough time to cook through properly.

Alternatively, Kristin Hoffman, a qualified chef known as Baker Bettie, has shared her homemade French toast recipe, which is “perfectly crispy on the outside with a fluffy custard-y inside”. She explained the recipe is straightforward to prepare, provided you bake it in the oven instead.

Kristin said: “The key to perfect pan-baked French toast is a pan heated in the oven.

“You want to get a sheet pan roaring hot in your heating oven while you prep your other ingredients.

“This will cause the bottom side of the bread to sear immediately when you put it on the pan.”

Preparing French toast in the oven ensures every surface of the bread receives equal heat distribution, resulting in a significantly improved texture and reduced greasiness.

Utilising the oven also requires less effort, as you needn’t flip it or continually monitor it as you would with a frying pan.

This represents a more straightforward approach to creating restaurant-quality French toast without considerable fuss, making it ideal for serving multiple people simultaneously when catering for your household.

However, if you’d prefer your French toast to have a seared finish without using a frying pan, you’ll need to either grill the bread or preheat a baking tray, then cook it in the oven.

How to make tastier French toast without a frying pan

Ingredients (for eight servings)

• Eight pieces of bread
• Two eggs
• 120ml of milk
• Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Cooking spray or butter or some oil

Instructions

Begin by positioning the shelf rack in the middle of the oven, then place a baking tray on top of it. Pre-heat the oven to 230°C (210°C for a fan oven) for a minimum of 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your French toast by combining the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisking thoroughly.

At this point, you may incorporate cinnamon if desired, or alternatively, you can stick with just the vanilla extract.

Allow the oven to reach the correct temperature fully. Keep your bread slices and egg mixture close to hand. Using an oven glove, carefully remove the baking tray from the oven and apply a generous coating of cooking spray. Alternatively, oil or butter can be used on the baking tray instead.

Submerge each slice of bread in the egg mixture, ensuring both sides are thoroughly coated, before placing them onto the baking tray. Work swiftly so the bread sizzles upon contact with the hot tray.

Once all the bread slices are arranged on the baking tray, return it to the oven. Your French toast should be ready within five to eight minutes.

Upon removing your French toast from the oven, you’ll find it beautifully golden brown with delightfully crisp edges, while remaining wonderfully soft and fluffy on the inside.

Money expert Martin Lewis shares vital tax advice for pensioners struggling with self-assessment forms, including free charity support and how to avoid costly HMRC penalties

Martin Lewis has shared some practical tax advice for pensioners. During an extended edition of his BBC podcast, the money-saving expert examined a variety of tax-related queries.

The programme addressed topics including alterations to income tax impacting state pensioners, alongside how inheritance tax and capital gains tax operate. Mr Lewis was joined by two taxation specialists to help explain the rules, including chartered accountant Rebecca Benneyworth.

An 80-year-old listener called Cathy got in touch with the programme to say she was finding it difficult to fill in her HMRC self-assessment forms. The deadline for submitting your self-assessment tax return for the previous tax year is January 31.

You can face penalties if you don’t submit your tax return on time. The pensioner said she only owed £150 in tax and had tried to get help from a tax adviser, but many charged significant fees.

Mr Lewis reminded listeners that it’s sensible to complete your self-assessment between October and December, well ahead of the January deadline. Ms Benneyworth discussed some of the support available for elderly taxpayers, reports Wales Online.

‘They will come round your house’

She said: “If you are on a low income, there are two tax charities. One I’m thinking of is Tax Help for Older People. They have an army of volunteers – I’ve worked as a volunteer in the past – for elderly people on low incomes.

“They will come round to your house and they will sit with you, and they will sort out your tax.” The tax specialist then referenced another charity the caller could contact for assistance.

Ms Benneyworth said: “The other one is Tax Aid. They are more London-based but you can deal with them on the phone or by email. Again, they help people who’ve got low incomes who have got themselves into a mess with their tax affairs for free.

“Lots of tax professionals make donations to those charities at the end of the year because we all think they do an absolutely fabulous job.” The accountant suggested an additional avenue for understanding HMRC regulations.

Other help available

She said: “I wouldn’t suggest it to everybody but you might get a bit of help on webchat [on the Government website]. HMRC is devoting quite a lot of money and resource to webchat.

“Some of it is the computer says yes or no, but if you are asking questions that they think you need a real life adviser, you may well be able to get put on to an adviser, who might help you.” Offering his view, Mr Lewis said it’s in the Government’s interests to enhance its services.

He said: “This isn’t about a cost [for HMRC]. Ultimately, do it right and you collect more tax revenue, because people are paying the right tax. When you don’t know what to do, it’s not good for society.”

Submit your tax return by January 31 or you could face a penalty, and these costs can mount up. A £100 fine is initially levied for late self-assessment submission, with further charges applied if the outstanding sum stays unpaid beyond a specified timeframe.