Latest news with #HeathrowAirport
Mint
8 hours ago
- Mint
A lightning fast ascent of Everest is rocking the mountaineering world
KATHMANDU , NEPAL : Four men left London's Heathrow Airport for Nepal on a May afternoon. Within five days, they were atop Mount Everest, the 29,000-foot peak where an ascent typically takes weeks of acclimatization and bursts of climbing punctuated by rest. Instead, the four British army veterans prepared for the world's highest peak using a new pre-acclimatization regime involving inhaling xenon gas—once used as an anesthetic but now more commonly found in rocket propellant. Their ascent is rocking the mountaineering community and Nepali authorities, with their use of a substance banned from competitive sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency provoking the criticism this amounts to cheating. Nepal's mountaineering authorities are studying the climb and its implications. On May 29, when the country marks the first recognized summit of the mountain in 1953 as Everest Day, Nepal's prime minister lamented the use of xenon. 'Dishonesty even with Mount Everest?" he said. 'If it did happen, it should be stopped." Alistair Carns, a climber in the group, said critics should take the long view. 'We have just got to accept we're at the cutting-edge of science," said Carns, Britain's veterans minister. He said using xenon was no different from using supplemental oxygen, an innovation climbers made about a century ago that gained wide use. Xenon gas was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2014 after Russian athletes acknowledged using it for Winter Olympics contests. Mountain climbing is a largely unregulated endeavor, though climbing Everest requires permission from Nepal if climbing from the south face, and from China if climbing from the north. Himal Gautam, director at Nepal's tourism department, said the government hasn't certified the expedition as a successful ascent or verified it as a record. The government gives certificates for successful ascents based on photos, videos and climber accounts, but doesn't verify all record claims. The climbers believe they set a record for the fastest round-trip Everest expedition, less than seven days including the return to London. A Ukrainian man said he made it from his home in New York City to the summit of Everest in four days, reaching the peak on May 19, just ahead of the British group. That claim hasn't been verified either. Austrian mountaineer Lukas Furtenbach, who organized the xenon-assisted ascent, said it wasn't just about speed. He described it as a scientifically planned effort to explore the future of high-altitude mountain-climbing—and make it safer. 'We use xenon to protect the body from altitude sickness, not to hasten the ascent," said Furtenbach. 'I don't believe that anyone is against increasing safety on Everest, when the whole world is every year reporting about the many deaths on Everest." Climbing times for the most experienced mountaineers have steadily lowered since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay achieved the first recognized ascent of the world's tallest peak. That historic climb began in Kathmandu on March 10, 1953, reaching the summit on May 29. In 2019, nutrition scientist Roxanne Vogel summited Everest in two weeks, door-to-door, from her home in California. The fastest climb from base camp to Everest, meanwhile, was by Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa in just under 11 hours in 2003. But for more typical climbers—even when aided by the best gear, experienced Sherpas, climbing ropes and oxygen—Everest is an endeavor that typically spans six to eight weeks. That includes more than a week to trek to base camp, days spent acclimatizing there, and circuits to higher camps often followed by a descent to allow the body to adjust. Failure to acclimatize properly can mean headaches and dizziness in milder cases, and in the worst instances, fatal mountain sickness. Carns said his work as a government minister and personal commitments—he has young children—didn't permit him weeks away from home. Another reason to make news was to raise money for Scotty's Little Soldiers, a British charity focused on the children of fallen soldiers. His fellow climbers were Kevin Godlington, Anthony Stazicker and Garth Miller. Furtenbach had the four British climbers prepare for weeks at their homes in the U.K. by sleeping for a total of over 500 hours each in tents that simulate the low-oxygen conditions on Everest. That has long been part of Furtenbach's expeditions offering a 'flash" ascent of Everest in about three weeks. The men also worked out using masks that simulated thin mountain air. Their regime included a new feature—a roughly 20-minute, one-time hit of a mix of xenon and oxygen some weeks before the men began their climb in Nepal. The formulation was developed and administered to the men in Germany by Dr. Michael Fries, head of anesthesia and intensive-care medicine at St. Vincenz Hospital in the German town of Limburg an der Lahn. After hearing Furtenbach speak on the radio in 2018 about his efforts to help climbers pre-acclimatize, Fries said he contacted him to propose his idea: breathe in xenon gas before a challenging climb. The gas, said Fries, appears to have neuroprotective properties and prompts the production of a hormone that triggers red blood cell production, improving the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Furtenbach and at least a dozen other climbers experimented with the gas in their climbs in the following years, said Fries, and their experiences convinced them it helped prevent altitude-related symptoms. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation said in January that scientific literature didn't support the idea that breathing in xenon improves performance in the mountains. Given how swiftly it can work—putting people to sleep in a minute—highly experienced medical supervision is vital, said Fries. Furtenbach on his Instagram account has warned climbers against trying to copy their example, noting his group used the gas under medical supervision—and not on the mountain itself. Several mountaineers, while crediting the British climbers achievement and the preparations of Furtenbach's outfit, expressed concern that less experienced climbers or unethical expedition outfits could try to replicate the experiment with dangerous results. 'I'm happy for the four climbers," said Alan Arnette, a mountaineer who chronicles Everest climbing. 'I just think we have to be very aware of unintended consequences of other people trying to take this and replicate it and not doing it safely and thinking that it's some kind of magic bullet or shortcut to the top." Stephan Keck, head of the Austria-based expedition operator Himalayan Experience, said he worried commercial impulses could encourage xenon's use to help inexperienced people summit quickly. 'I don't want to have a circus up there," he said. Some mountaineering experts said it is hard to assess the effects of xenon for a climbing group that also prepared extensively with hypoxia tents and had past physical training in the military. After arriving in Nepal on the morning of May 17, the men took a helicopter to reach base camp after noon. Pasang Tendi Sherpa, who worked with the climbers, said the group prayed at base camp before beginning. They began climbing around midnight, skipped the first camp and arrived at the second camp the next morning. The following day they climbed to Camp 3 and on May 20, made it to Camp 4, into the infamous 'death zone." The pace was relentless, said Godlington: 'We barely stopped to rest." At Camp 4, three of their Sherpas turned back because of a storm. The rest continued to climb overnight, reaching the summit at 7:15 a.m. on May 21. 'We were the only guys on the mountain," Godlington said. Carns said he had given the group a 30% chance of success. Reminders of how wrong climbing Everest can go were all around. When he turned into Camp 4 'there was a dead body just frozen to my left," said Carns. He doesn't foresee a spate of copycat climbs. 'This is one of the hardest things I've done," said Carns. 'So I don't think we're going to see a whole glut of people trying to get up in a week." Write to Krishna Pokharel at and Tripti Lahiri at
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The sleeping Heathrow boss proves we're a nation led by donkeys
It was one of the more astonishing admissions of the week: 'Sorry lads, my phone was on silent.' Or, as the Kelly Review, published on Wednesday, put it: 'Mr Woldbye expressed to us his deep regret at not being contactable during the night of the incident.' The apology nestles in a 75-page report authored by Ruth Kelly, the former transport secretary, who examined the circumstances relating to the closure of Heathrow Airport on March 21. It's an impressively speedy job, with most inquiries of this nature usually waiting for the protagonists to die – or, at best, until their memories have long faded and the events have been massaged into a Netflix documentary – to be concluded. Yet here is a report published while the senior folk of one of the largest and busiest airports in Europe are still firmly in post, and clinging on for dear life – especially the chief executive, Thomas Woldbye. Indeed he has been vexed at the idea that he acted in any way other than exemplary over the 18-hour shutdown of Heathrow that resulted in the cancellation of 1,300 flights and affected some 270,000 passengers. The day after the shutdown, the Danish businessman even told Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, in relation to the actions and decisions of Heathrow and related parties, he was 'proud of the entire ecosystem'. Pride being the most plausible emotion for him to express because, when the decision was taken to press the Heathrow off-button, Woldbye was asleep. Which for a Dane strikes me as a peculiarly British reaction, albeit with firm roots in the comedy of Captain Mainwaring of Dad's Army or Blackadder's General Melchett. Our hero, Woldbye, as you can read on page 36 of the report (section 14, subsection 3), 'first became aware of the incident at approximately 06:45 on 21 March, and received a debrief from Mr Echave [Heathrow's chief operating officer]'. 'Fine work, man,' he might have said. 'Now, what's going on?' And, famously, it was not for want of trying to get hold of Woldbye during the night. In fact, what is known in the trade as the most 'critical event communication platform that provides information and sends alerts through all available communication channels', an F24 alarm was issued at 00.21. This is the technical equivalent of a cold bucket of water being thrown in your face, a gong being struck by your ear, a jumping up and down on Daddy at dawn. There was another F24 sent at 01.52, this one activating Gold (harder slaps around the chops, cries of 'wake up, you idiot!') and Echave, also we learn, 'attempted to call Mr Woldbye several times during the early hours'. Except Woldbye's mobile, albeit on his bedside table, was on silent. Or, as the report states, 'the phone had gone into a silent mode, without him being aware it had done so'. That's right, the man in charge of Heathrow – an airport that uses the most sophisticated technology available to run and protect a place with planes departing and landing every 45 seconds – has a phone that, completely of its own accord, jumps into 'do not disturb' mode. Perhaps the man whose most recent annual take-home pay was £3.2 million needs a second phone. Or how about an old-school landline with a trilling bell on it? We Brits are, quite clearly, lions led by donkeys. Incompetence seems key to the skill set in running either a large company or indeed government. There are, for example, the civil servants of the Department for Business and Trade who, in the face of colossal public pressure and moral finger-wagging, continue to resist fully compensating the likes of Sir Alan Bates for the Horizon IT system scandal. Last weekend he revealed that he had been offered a 'take it or leave it' offer of 49.2 per cent of his original claim. The compensation scheme, Sir Alan said, had become 'quasi-kangaroo courts in which the Department for Business and Trade sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Or, consider the major water companies presiding over the effluent that pollutes our rivers. Earlier this month, Chris Weston, the CEO of Thames Water – Britain's biggest water company; a firm with massive debts, outdated infrastructure and more leaks and spills than the Titanic – admitted that senior managers had been in line for substantial bonuses courtesy of a privately financed £3 billion rescue-plan loan. Following pressure from Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Weston's spokesperson then announced that payments had been 'paused'. Yet, as The Guardian reported, Thames Water 'declined to answer questions about whether any of the retention package has already been paid'. High Court judge Mr Justice Leech, in relation to an £800 million cost to be spent on interest and advisers for the debt deal, said: 'Customers and residents who are struggling with their bills will be horrified at these costs and mystified how the Thames Water Group has been able to fund them or why it has agreed to do so.' Ponder, too, on those who run Royal Mail, increasing prices while presiding over terminal decline of their services, and the pen-pushing ninnies of our councils conjuring up safety costs that are wrecking traditional country street fairs and festivals. Indeed, just look to the politicians who run our country. We have a Chancellor in Rachel Reeves who claims to support hospitality while actually savaging it with increases in National Insurance Contributions for employers, and a Secretary of State for Education gleefully manifesting over a VAT policy that is closing down private schools. Hapless leadership is a terrific subject for fiction. But, sometimes, life is not supposed to mimic art. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What we know about The Gold series 2 as BBC sets release date
BBC heist drama The Gold is returning for a second series following a well-received first outing that attracted more than million viewers, making it one of the broadcaster's top new shows in 2023. Based on real events, The Gold told a dramatised version of the 1983 Brink's-Mat gold heist where around £26 million worth of gold was stolen from a security warehouse near London's Heathrow Airport. At the time, this crime was believed to have been the most lucrative gold heist ever, with the amount stolen equating to around £93 million by today's standards. What followed was a criminal case where authorities tried to track down those involved whilst recovering as much stolen gold as possible. However, it was easier said than done — with much of the stolen gold spread throughout the world and eventually crossing paths with those associated with organised crime and money laundering. Today, it is widely believed that anyone who bought an item of gold jewellery after 1983 could very well own some of the material stolen during the Brink's-Mat heist. The six-episode second series of The Gold will return on Sunday, 8 June, with all episodes available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am, ahead of the series starting on BBC One at 9pm that evening. Yes. The first trailer for The Gold series 2 was released by the BBC in May 2025. It shows the police now in hot pursuit of the criminals behind the heist. The first series of The Gold starred Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville as DCI Brian Boyce. Together with Charlotte Spencer's DI Nicki Jennings and Emun Elliott's DI Tony Brightwell, the trio attempted to track down those responsible for stealing the gold during the Brink's-Mat heist. Bonneville, Spencer and Elliott will all return for the second series, as the investigation around what happened to the gold continues to unfold. Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden will also be back, alongside Doctor Who's Peter Davison and Fargo's Sam Spruell. They will be joined by Tom Cullen, Stefanie Martini, Amanda Drew, Silas Carson and James Nelson-Joyce. New additions to the cast will include History Boys actor Stephen Campbell Moore, Victoria star Tom Hughes, Saltburn's Joshua Samuels and Lovesick's Joshua McGuire. The synopsis for The Gold series two explains: 'Following multiple court cases and convictions of some of those involved in the theft and handling of the Brink's-Mat gold, the police realised that they had only ever been on the trail of half of the Brink's-Mat gold. 'Series two is inspired by some of the theories around what happened to the other half. As the police investigation continues, it becomes a tense, high-stakes journey into international money laundering and organised crime. The Brink's-Mat Task Force embark on a series of dramatic manhunts as they desperately try to solve the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the Metropolitan Police.' The Gold series 2 is coming to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, 8 June.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Heathrow Airport terminal evacuated over ‘suspect package' with trains by delays and holidaymakers left in limbo
A TERMINAL at Heathrow Airport has been evacuated due to a "suspect package", leaving thousands of holidaymakers in limbo. Passengers flooded out of Terminal 3 at Britain's busiest airport after reports of a suspicious item in the building, during the peak of half-term travel. Metropolitan Police said it was at the scene and "dealing" with the situation. The force confirmed to The Sun: "It's a suspect package and we are on scene and dealing." Countless people were spotted on social media reporting they had been ushered out of the building due to the alert. Heathrow Express rail services to the airport also appeared to be affected by the emergency, with the operator posting on social media that there were "delays" to some of its services. Read More on UK News It is not yet clear whether flights will be delayed as a result of the evacuation. This comes just months after Heathrow Airport was The Sun has approached Heathrow Airport for comment. Most read in The Sun More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at 1 Heathrow Terminal 3 has been evacuated due to a 'suspicious package' Credit: Getty
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Real reason Heathrow boss slept through shutdown after electrical fire revealed
HEATHROW'S boss slept through its shutdown over an electrical fire as his phone was on silent, an inquiry has found. Thomas Woldbye was tucked up in bed as senior staff were left to suspend flights. 2 The chief executive 's phone was on a bedside table but he was not woken by a succession of emergency alarms and calls. He played no part in the shutdown decision, which caused disruption for 270,000 passengers. The £5million-a-year boss told the inquiry he was unaware his phone had gone to silent mode but was said to have expressed 'deep regret at not being contactable'. He added: "Heathrow exists to serve our passengers and airlines, which made the decision to close the airport in March because of the North Hyde substation fire tough, but necessary. "We hope that all our stakeholders understand this was done to protect the safety of passengers and colleagues. "We're truly sorry for the disrupted journeys, and we understand the impact this had on so many of our customers." The blaze in a West London substation on March 21 knocked out power to the airport. With Mr Woodbye, 60, snoozing, it was left to chief operating officer Javier Echave to order the next day's shutdown, grounding 1,300 flights. But the airport's internal inquiry concluded: 'Heathrow made the right decisions in exceptionally difficult circumstances.' Heathrow bosses were 'warned of potential failures DAYS before major outage closed airport & sparked travel chaos' 2
