Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball club are the only British and amateur team heading to the Euro Cup finals in Spain after finishing third in their qualifying tournament.

As the only team to be unbeaten in the English league so far, they are confident as they head to the finals in April.

The club was formed in 1987 by patients from the spinal injury unit in Sheffield and have become one of the biggest competitors in the sport.

Abs Taghrest, who has been playing the sport since he was 9 years old, said: “It would be massive to win. We’ll be coming up against some tough Spanish teams, which is the best league in the world.

“We are massive underdogs but we always aim to win.”

The Prime Minister has told his cabinet that he wants everyone in the UK to have “the opportunity to succeed for themselves”.

He said: “It’s about a stronger economy, world-class education, backing business and, of course, yes, investing in infrastructure and transport.

“And I genuinely believe that in spite of the tough time that we have had over the past couple of years, that we have turned a corner, that the plan is now working.

“Of course we have got further to go, but if we stick to the plan I know that we will absolutely get there and deliver a brighter future for everyone in our country.”

After being heavily criticised by the public for scrapping HS2, Rishi Sunak is announcing his new transport plans for redistributing the money originally earmarked for HS2.

Mr Sunak: “It really is levelling up in action, because this is a first of its kind fund that is going to provide long-term funding certainty to smaller towns and rural areas across the North and the Midlands, treating them for the first ever time like big cities with substantial funding and long-term certainty.”

The meeting is taking place in East Yorkshire today.

New research carried out by Babybel, in collaboration with Comic Relief has revealed that the British Public feels noticeably happier after having a laugh.

Of 2,000 people polled, 54% said they felt more positive after sharing a laugh with a loved one and 55% said they felt happier after giving to charity.

Studies have shown that both giving to charity and sharing a giggle can be proved to reduce stress and promote well-being.

Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “This Red Nose Day, we’re encouraging people across the country to Do Something Funny for Money, and it’s clear to see from Babybel’s research that having a giggle can be more beneficial than we may realise.

“Having a laugh, combined with acts of kindness, can make a real difference. Money raised by Red Nose Day could help tackle poverty, mental health problems, homelessness and food poverty, while supporting families affected by conflict and climate change.”

Unique, market simulation challenge Prosperity will return, as announced by IMC today.

This challenge will invite top performing STEM students from worldwide to compete in what has been called “the world’s most innovative trading challenge” .

Competitions will take place from 8 – 23 April, and students will be tasked with a series of challenges, designed to mimic the trading industry.

Sheffield United remain welded to the bottom of the Premier League after a narrow defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers, in a game overshadowed by a heated scuffle between two Sheffield teammates.

Robinson berated his team mate shortly after Sheffield conceded, then the two locked horns, butting one another and aiming a several wayward swipes before the scrap was broken up.

A quick VAR review deemed there had been no violent conduct and the two faced no punishment.

Under-fire manager Chris Wilder played down the incident, saying: “I’m not going to be too critical about it as long as it didn’t overstep the line which obviously it didn’t.

“They’re two passionate boys who want to win, and got frustrated. We move on.”

The UK’s oldest football phone-in show paid homage to a viral phone call on Friday after broadcasting live from a Doncaster pub.

The Salutation, on South Parade in the city centre, played host to BBC Radio Sheffield and sports fans from across the region as its Football Heaven show came live from the pub’s beer garden.

It followed a call to Praise or Grumble – the show’s fan phone-in since 1986 – on 3 February after Doncaster Rovers’ draw against Sutton United, which host Rob Staton described as “the weirdest call I’ve ever had,” in 14 years of hosting the show.

During the 90-second call, a Rovers fan known only as ‘Paul’ addressed many issues before abruptly signing off by saying: “I’m off to Sal for a pint. See you later mate,” leaving Mr Staton and listeners bewildered.

A clip of the call later went viral on X – gathering more than 800,000 views over multiple posts.

Protesters from South Yorkshire sang in a Sheffield church during a “very powerful” fundraiser for Palestine on Saturday night.

The piece was performed at Christ Church in Pitsmoor by The Tadhamon Singers, a group of 17 women who perform protest songs.

Singer Carolyn Leary, 67, said: “Some of it, we struggled to sing because even we were in tears. I think we make a very powerful connection of solidarity.”

Janet Wood, 72, the musical director of the group, said: “I think there is something about singing that just touches people’s hearts. You can march and you can wave the flags and you can talk, but there’s something about singing that gets to them on a deeper level.”

There has been widespread disruption across several rail operators in south-east England due to signal failures.

The trainlines affected include Thameslink, Southern, and Gatwick Express.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “At 3.04am there was a loss of power with provider UK Power Networks which significantly impacted our Three Bridges Signalling Centre which controls the signalling – the railway’s traffic light system – across the majority of our Sussex route.”

He said signalling was restored at 6.30am but services remained “significantly disrupted”.

The spokesman added: “We’re really sorry to any passengers disrupted this morning and we encourage passengers to check with their train operator before travelling for the latest information and updates.”

A charity which provides security for Jewish groups has reported a 650% increase in antisemitic incidents in South Yorkshire since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israeli civilians.

The incidents, reported by charity Community Security Trust UK (CST UK), include eggs thrown at the car of a visibly Jewish man while he was inside, shouts of “f****** Jew”, Nazi flags on display in windows and grotesque online death threats.

The organisation reports they responded to thirty antisemitic incidents between 7 October 2023 and 15 February 2024. The thirty incidents included nineteen in Sheffield, five in Rotherham, four in Barnsley and two in Doncaster. This time last year, there were only four incidents.

Martha Kearney will step down from BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, after the general election to front new shows.

The journalist will be moving on to front a new series called, This Natural Life.

Kearney said: “I have loved working on Today with its incredible reach and influence.

“I have been planning my move for a while now and the general election, which will be my eleventh, is the right point to move on.”

The cabinet meeting to be held in Yorkshire will cover Sunak’s plans to redistribute the funds from HS2 into transport links across the North and the Midlands.

In an interview with BBC Radio York, Mr Sunak also spoke about the continuing NHS strikes. He said:

“I come from an NHS family, of course I don’t want to run it down.

“We’re putting a record amount of investment in, more funding, so that’s never been higher – more doctors, more nurses, and we’re making improvements.

“Now, look, that’s not going to happen overnight. But if you look at the performance of ambulances and emergency departments this winter, it’s better than it was last winter. So that is progress.”