The Bulls Disabled Sports Club, which has been running since 1982, has launched an ambitious new sponsorship campaign aimed at rebuilding the club after years of financial challenges.

The charity, based in Bolton, brings together disabled and non-disabled players and has seen athletes go on to represent Great Britain internationally.

DSC Bulls in action (Image: Hannah Tyler)

However, rising costs forced the club out of the National League seven years ago, while a lack of funding has also left it unable to replace vital equipment such as specialist basketball wheelchairs, which can cost more than £5,000 each.

Now, the club is hoping to turn things around with its new “Join the Herd” initiative.

The campaign is inviting 50 local businesses to sponsor them (Image: Hannah Tyler)

The campaign is inviting 50 local businesses to sponsor the team, with each company receiving branding on match-day kits as part of a wider business network.

Sponsorship packages start from £250 and include advertising opportunities, networking events and corporate experiences, with higher tiers offering additional benefits such as wheelchair basketball sessions and professional photoshoots.

John Caunce, chairperson of The Bulls Disabled Sports Club, said the scheme is about building partnerships rather than simply seeking donations.

He said: “We’re not asking for charity, we’re offering a genuine business partnership.

“Every sponsor joins a network of 50 local businesses, gets their name on the kit, and becomes part of something that’s been part of Greater Manchester for over forty years.

“Now we’re ready to grow again.”

The club has already taken steps towards that growth, recently launching its first-ever women’s team, which competed in the UK Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Cup in 2026.

(Image: Hannah Tyler)

Over the next three years, The Bulls hopes to establish a women’s side in the national league, develop a junior pathway, and return its senior team to the British Wheelchair Basketball National League.

Businesses interested in supporting the club can find out more at thebulls.org.uk.

Two Class A drug dealers have been jailed after a dramatic police chase caught on camera resulted in them being charged.

Police officers spotted Daniel Bari and Emilis Urlikas acting suspiciously in Teversham, Cambridge, on December 29 last year.

Suspecting the men had been dealing drugs, officers went to speak to them but they both took off on foot.

Body-mounted footage from one officer, released by Cambridgeshire Police, showed him sprinting after Bari through a residential area before finally cornering him outside a house. Bari again attempted to run but was Tasered and brought to the ground.

Officers detained him and found he was carrying 124 wraps of crack cocaine and 110 wraps of heroin, with a combined street value of more than £1,000. Officers also recovered two mobile phones and £2,590 in cash.

Urlikas was arrested shortly afterwards and, while no drugs were found on him, investigations showed he was involved in the supply with Bari

YouTube users called the footage the ‘weirdest arrest I’ve ever seen,’ noting how the arresting officer (described as ‘the most chill cop ever’) did not shout at the suspect and the entire pursuit took place in almost complete silence.

Others applauded the officer for his physical fitness, remarking on his ability to catch up to the suspect and bring him to the ground.

Bari, 27, of Outfield, Bretton, Peterborough, was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court to five years and seven months in prison after previously pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possession of criminal property.

Urlikas, 20, of Whalley Street, Peterborough, was sentenced to 16 months in a Young Offenders Institution after admitting being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

Det Con McAuley said: ‘Thanks to the quick work of officers, we were able to seize a significant quantity of class A drugs and put these men in prison.

‘This sentencing sends a clear message that drug dealing will not be tolerated in Cambridgeshire.’

MORE: Pregnant mum shot dead after honking horn at man in car park

MORE: Migrant driver without licence killed grandmother, 70, in legal loophole

MORE: Conman splurged grieving family’s inheritance on horse semen – the rest he just wasted

Official rating

Every horse in training is giving an official rating by the handicapper based on the level that they run to. Fourteen of the past 16 winners have been rated 146+, with 13 of those between 146 and 160. I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett were rated 159 and 163 going into the past two editions so a higher mark may be a positive.

Runs since September

In the first seven runnings this decade, five winners had run six times since September, with the others having five and three outings.

That trend has settled down in the past 10 years, with the average being four runs. Noble Yeats had seven before his 2022 run, while five had been in three races.

No winner in the past 25 editions has run fewer than three times that season.

Trainer location

An English trainer last won the race in 2015, with an Irish trainer winning seven of the nine since. Scot Lucinda Russell has had two winners, though she has no runners this year.

Breeding

Of the 24 hours to win the race this century, 18 were Irish-bred, four were French-bred and two British-bred.

Finish last time out

Of the past 25 winners, 11 have finished in the top two of their previous run.

Six of the past eight winners also won their previous race, though Noble Yeats was ninth and Minella Times pulled up.

Four of the six winners before that had finished in the top four too, so the trends suggest form is a factor.

Career falls

Every winner this century except Auroras Encore had two or fewer falls in their career prior to the race.

In the past decade, Minella Times is the only horse to have fallen in their career and won the Grand National.

Won over three miles or more

Twenty one of the 24 different horses to have won this century have all registered at least one career win over three or more miles before winning the National.

Eighteen of them have won more than two races over that trip, though two of the past five aren’t included in that group.

Days since last run

The average break between runs for the past 10 winners is just over 41 days, with a range of 24-84 days.

If you take out the two highest and lowest, you’re left with a gap of 36 days.

President Donald Trump met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte on April 8 for what Rutte described as a “very frank, very open” discussion. The pair are reported to have discussed the US-Israeli war against Iran at which, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, Trump believes that Nato was “tested and they failed”.

The president later posted to his Truth Social platform that “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”

The US president’s meeting with Rutte came a week after he told Reuters press agency that he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, after America’s allies refused to join the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. But this is very unlikely to occur for three reasons.

First, in 2023, Congress enacted a law that prohibits the president from “suspending, terminating, denouncing, or withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty” — which established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) — without the advice and consent of the Senate or an act of Congress. It is extremely unlikely that this will be changed before the midterm elections in November and impossible subsequently if the Democrats end up controlling the House of Representatives.

The second reason is that Nato membership is popular among Americans. A Pew survey conducted in 2025 showed that 66% of US respondents thought that America benefited from Nato membership while 32% thought the opposite. While, as in many things, the US is divided – with more Democrat voters (77%) supporting Nato membership than Republicans (45%) – it’s clear that, on the whole, Americans approve of Nato membership.

The third reason is that leaving Nato would significantly weaken the US militarily. More than half a century of research by historians and international relations specialists has concluded that leaving Nato would also significantly weaken the US.

In 1989, historian Paul Kennedy’s detailed study of wars over a period of 500 years, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, found that a decisive feature of success in war is the resources that parties to the conflict can mobilise. Kennedy cites the examples of the two world wars and demonstrates that a key reason why Germany was defeated was that the allies could mobilise many more resources in manpower, arms production and economic assets than Germany and its allies. Eventually, this proved decisive in both conflicts.

Research into quantifying the military capacity of nations has been conducted for more than half a century as part of the Correlates of War project founded in 1963 by American political scientist J. David Singer. The project aims to systematically collect data about the causes and consequences of wars.

One of the datasets collected in the project is called the Composite Index of National Capability. This combines data on the demographic, industrial, economic and military capabilities of nations, including the US and China. The higher the index score the more resources a county has to fight wars.

Scores in the Composite Index of National Capability of the Top Nations

The chart shows the size of the index for the top countries in the database. China is the most powerful nation in the chart with a score of 23 on the index. The US comes a rather distant second with a score of 13.

There are five Nato nations in the chart in addition to the US. They are Germany, Turkey, the UK, France and Italy. The total score of all six Nato members is 20 – much closer to the Chinese total.

The chart does not include the scores for the remaining Nato member states, but when they are added to the total the Nato score is well above that of China. So the assumption that the US can go it alone in a war with China is doubtful.

How Article 5 works

Article 5 of the Nato charter stipulates that an armed attack against one member state is considered an attack against all, triggering collective defence by all the member states. A recent report by the US Naval War College concluded that: “A large and growing body of evidence suggests that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is preparing credible capabilities to invade Taiwan”. The report argued that extensive deception will be used by China to confuse its opponents when the war is launched with rapid action by its armed forces to create a fait accompli. It notes that this type of blitzkrieg attack is very often successful.

If this occurred, then since the US has military advisers in Taiwan and military assets in the region that would need to be neutralised in the first phase of the war if the invasion were to be successful this would trigger Article 5 of the Nato charter. In that case China would find itself at war with 32 Nato countries – not to mention countries in the Far East, such as Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, who have serious concerns about Chinese aggression, but are not members of the alliance.

So, whatever the US president’s ambivalence towards Nato, the fact is that without its support, the US could face a humiliating defeat by China in a future confrontation over Taiwan. America is much stronger as part of Nato – and Trump’s advisers should be strenuously reinforcing that message.

It seems like a lot of devices, but Amazon told Engadget that the move will affect around three per cent of current users. In theory, if you’re using a device that’s affected, then Amazon should already have notified you via email. If in doubt, however, the company has a support page with pictures and specifications of every Kindle ever released. If you’re still unsure, entering the model number into Google should reveal the exact version you’re using. This can typically be found on the back of devices.

For Kindle Fire tablets, the process is simpler. Open the Settings menu and select “Device Options”. You’ll find the model you’re using either under “Device Model” or “About Fire Tablet”.

Why is this happening?

Nobody expects electronic devices to be supported forever, but it’s disappointing that the Kindle’s most enthusiastic early adopters are being cut off. Given the basic functionality of e-book reader technology, there doesn’t appear to be a technical reason behind the decision, making it appear like an anti-consumer move to push older customers towards the purchase of newer devices where existing Kindles would become an e-waste casualty.

When asked why these devices were losing support now, we received a response defending the (admittedly impressive) longevity.

“These models have been supported for at least 14 years – some as long as 18 years – but technology has come a long way in that time, and these devices will no longer be supported moving forward,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “We are notifying those still actively using them and offering promotions to help with the transition to newer devices.”

The promotions mentioned appear to be 20 per cent off “select new Kindle devices” alongside a £15 eBook credit. While the latter is welcome, the highlighted discount is somewhat disappointing for a number of reasons. Firstly, according to the promotion’s terms and conditions, the “select” caveat excludes the most expensive model, the Kindle Scribe. It doesn’t apply to Fire devices for those tablet owners looking to replace like-for-like, either.

More importantly, the prices aren’t all that impressive considering happy owners of older Kindles weren’t budgeting for this purchase. Amazon frequently discounts its own-brand devices like Echo smart speakers and Fire tablets, and 20 per cent isn’t that unusual. Last year’s Black Friday sale saw discounts of over 30 per cent on the basic Kindle and Kindle Colorsoft, and the price-tracking site CamelCamelCamel shows that the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has been as low as £183 in the past – a 32 per cent discount on its current price of £269.

There’s added time pressure here, too. Amazon says that the discount and credit offer is only valid until June 20, one month after support for the older Kindles ends.

Additionally, owners of the earliest UK Kindle will see that prices have gone up over the past decade. The £109 they paid in 2010 is some way off the £159.99 Kindle Paperwhite, even with a 20 per cent discount, let alone the £219.99 Kindle Colorsoft. That said, at £94.99, the basic Kindle 12th Generation remains a bargain for no-frills readers, with a 20 per cent discount taking it down to £75.99.

Possible upgrades

If you’re affected by this news, the silver lining is that while e-book technology moves relatively slowly, things have still advanced significantly in the past 14 years. Resolutions are higher; most are backlit for bedtime reading; there’s support for audiobooks; and storage has increased. There are also optional extras like colour screens, blue-light filters to prevent eye strain and waterproofing.

As outlined in our guide to the best Kindles, our pick for most people is the 12th Generation Kindle Paperwhite, which costs £159.99 with lockscreen ads or £169.99 without. The seven inch screen with warm lighting makes for a comfortable reading experience, and it’s waterproof for bathtime or poolside reading.

At £94.99 (or £104.99 without ads), the basic 11th Generation Kindle is a great budget pick, however. It’s slightly smaller at six inches, and like the Paperwhite, can hold around 8,000 e-books with support for audiobooks through Audible. It lacks the warm light and waterproofing, however, and its battery life is around half that of the Paperwhite — albeit still a generous six weeks of normal use.

The two remaining Kindles occupy specific niches. The Kindle Colorsoft has a colour screen, making it well suited to those who enjoy graphic novels. The Kindle Scribe, meanwhile, has a bundled stylus for note taking.

Bronny James passed to parent LeBron for the first son-to-father assist in NBA history as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 119-103.

Bronny, 19, stole possession and passed to LeBron, who ran the length of the court for an uncontested dunk that was part of a 26-point contribution from the 41-year-old.

The pair recorded the first father-to-son assist in a match against the Brooklyn Nets last month.

LeBron also added 11 assists while Bronny scored 10 points with three assists as the Lakers saw off their state rivals.

The Lakers sit fourth in the Eastern Conference while the Warriors are in 10th, with both having already qualified for the post-season play-offs that begin on 18 April.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks won 112-106 against the Boston Celtics, with Josh Hart scoring 26 points, to put pressure on their opponents in the Western Conference.

The sides are third and second respectively in the standings, with two matches left to play in the regular season.

The Toronto Raptors triumphed 128-114 against the Miami Heat while the Houston Rockets won 113-102 against Philadelphia 76ers to solidify their chances of a play-off place.

In matches between sides already out of post-season contention, the Chicago Bulls won 119-108 against the Washington Wizards while the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-94.

The parent claimed it was “just a prank”

Advertisement

Shocking images have emerged of a father allegedly abandoning his five‑year‑old son on a Mexico City street before driving away.

A police investigation is underway as officers say CCTV footage shows the man ordering the child out of a silver car in the Cuchilla de Padierna district, around 15 miles south of the capital’s centre. The vehicle is then seen pulling off as the boy, visibly upset, attempts to run after it.

Neighbours reported hearing the child cry out “Dad, don’t leave me” shortly after 9.15pm on Monday, and alerted authorities after witnessing the incident, according to The Mirror.

Police confronted the alleged father involved, to whom he claimed the whole thing was “just a prank”, adding that he was joking with his child. Still, his details, along with the child’s, were taken as part of a formal investigation by the Public Ministry.

When police tracked down the man’s car, they found the boy safe and sound inside. It is unclear where and when the pair reunited. Officials in Mexico City are understood to be exploring the case as a matter of potential child endangerment and psychological mistreatment, given the distress shown by the youngest during the ordeal.

Eyewitnesses and neighbours have been interviewed as part of the investigation and with local media, with one describing how they saw and heard an “alarming” scene unfold on Easter Monday. They added that they felt “rage” at the sight of the small child running helplessly in the middle of the street.

Now, the boy, who cannot be named due to his age, is currently being monitored by child protection services as officials determine if it is safe for him to remain in his father’s care.

Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

The man was spotted in a busy area where there were a number of children

Police have thanked members of the public for reporting a man armed with a machete in the Shankill Road area on Thursday evening.

Police received multiple 99 calls on the evening of April 9 regarding a man carrying a large machete at the Townsend Street and Shankill Road junction, with it being reported that there were a number of people in the area inlcuding children.

Officers arrived at the scene and disarmed the 40-year-old man and arrested him for Possession of an Offensive weapon and Simple drunk.

READ MORE: Man who skipped bail extradited from Germany to face NI courtREAD MORE: ‘Kids are out of control on e-scooters – someone is going to be killed’

As officers were leaving the scene, they spotted a white Volkswagen Golf being driven erratically in the Townsend Street area and stopped the vehicle and gave the driver a breath test. The 39-year-old was arrested for Driving with excess alcohol, Possession of an Offensive weapon, Disorderly behaviour and Possession of a Class B controlled drug.

A further evidence sample in custody found that the man was twice over the legal limit.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Road Policing Interceptors from Sprucefield were patrolling in the North Belfast area earlier this evening when several reports were received via 999 of a male in the area of Townsend Street and Shankill Road junction who was carrying a large machete, at this time, there were numerous people in the area, including children.

“Officers took decisive action to disarm the man and take control of him and the weapon.”

They added: “Once again thanks go out to those members of public who took time to ring Police to report the male with the Machete, their prompt actions have possibly prevented someone being injured and/or damage caused to property.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Bolton will see mostly cloudy conditions on Saturday, with showers at times through the day and limited brighter intervals.

Morning temperatures will start between 5C and 7C, rising to 10C to 12C by the afternoon, with a 50 to 70 per cent chance of rain during the middle of the day.

Showers are forecast to become more scattered by the early evening, and most areas are expected to dry out by late evening.

Winds will be light to moderate from the west or south-west, reaching speeds of 10 to 20 mph, with slightly stronger gusts possible during heavier showers.

Minimum temperatures overnight into Sunday will drop to between 4C and 6C, though it could feel cooler in clearer areas.

Sunday is expected to remain mostly cloudy and cool, but with fewer showers than the day before.

Daytime highs will reach only 9C to 11C, and overnight lows will fall to 3C to 5C.

Forecasters say that although there is a small chance of drizzle or light showers, most areas will stay dry for extended periods.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly up Friday tracking Wall Street gains while oil prices also rose on the fragile Iran war ceasefire and ahead of Iran-U.S. ceasefire talks in Pakistan.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% to 5,879.71. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.6% to 56,789.58. Shares of Fast Retailing, parent of Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, surged more than 10% after the group raised profit expectations for the year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 25,919.12, while the Shanghai Composite index was 0.6% higher at 3,991.14. China on Friday reported that its consumer price index – a main inflation gauge – was up 1% in March compared with a year ago, lower than what analysts had expected and down from the 1.3% increase in February.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4%. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.3%, while India’s Sensex gained 0.7%.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad for a possible permanent ceasefire agreement in the Iran war are expected to take place starting Saturday, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance leading the delegation for the United States.

But ahead of the talks, deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday raised questions whether the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war is still intact, while the Islamic Republic maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz, which is largely closed despite demands from the U.S. to reopen the waterway critical for global oil and gas transport.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorized talks with Lebanon, with negotiations said to be expected in Washington next week.

Oil was up modestly on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was 0.5% higher at $96.42 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude was up 0.4% to $98.28 a barrel.

For oil prices, “$65-70 a barrel is not coming back,” Ajay Rajadhyaksha of Barclays wrote in a recent research note, referring to the pre-Iran war oil price levels. The bank predicts that Brent crude could remain at around $85 per barrel on average for this year.

“A ceasefire is not a refund,” he wrote. “Ceasefires end wars; they don’t undo them.”

On Thursday, Wall Street gained on hopes of the Iran war ceasefire. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to 6,824.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 48,185.80, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8% to 22,822.42.

Shares of Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and Corona beers in the U.S., jumped 8.5% following better-than-expected quarterly results. Cloud services provider CoreWeave was 3.5% higher after announcing an expanded deal with Meta Platforms through 2032. Meta was up 2.6%.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices fell. Gold’s price lost 0.5% to $4,791.90 an ounce, while silver prices dropped 0.6% to $76.02 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 159.18 Japanese yen from 158.96 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1694, down from $1.1699.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.