Actor Julian Sands has been reported missing after failing to return from a hike in the San Gabriel mountain range.
The Leeds-born actor, who starred in films including A Room With a View and Arachnophobia, was last seen on Friday 13 January.
A huge search-and-rescue effort launched amid ‘extremely dangerous’ conditions, The Hoot reports.
The 65-year-old actor was reported missing by his wife after he failed to return home from a hike on Mount Baldy in southern California.
The area has been battered by freezing temperatures, snow, and ‘extreme Alpine conditions’, leading to local authorities issuing safety warnings for hikers.
They said: “Over the last four weeks, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams have responded to 14 rescue missions on Mt Baldy and in the surrounding area. These rescue missions have been for lost, stranded and/or injured hikers. Unfortunately, during these past 4 weeks, two hikers did not survive after falling and injuring themselves.
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“Please know the current conditions on Mt Baldy are adverse and extremely dangerous. Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous.
“Sheriff’s Search and Rescue efforts are often hampered by poor weather along with dangerous avalanche conditions. The recent storms that brought the snow and ice conditions are not favorable for hikers, even those that feel they have a high level of experience.”
Authorities are also understood to be searching for another missing hiker in the same area that Julian Sands is believed to be.
Featured image: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department
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Chester Zoo named UK’s best zoo for third year in a row with record number of ‘excellent’ ratings
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Chester Zoo has been named to best zoo in the UK for 2026.
While everyone in and around Greater Manchester and the North West may already be familiar with just how brilliant the UK’s biggest charity zoo is, you may remember that, for the past two years running now, it has been officially named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews.
And now, the zoo has managed to retain that respectable title for the third year in a row, as the world’s biggest travel guidance platform has, once again, named Chester Zoo as the best-rated zoo to visit in the UK this year.
It’s even more of a cause for celebration this year, as the zoo has claimed a record 11,666 ‘excellent’ ratings for the first time.
Chester Zoo has been named the best zoo in the UK for 2026 / Credit: Chester Zoo
Based on millions of online reviews, the updated ranking puts the beloved Cheshire-based attraction ahead of the country’s other zoos after earning consistently good feedback from its visitors.
Not only has the zoo’s strong focus on conservation and unforgettable visitor experiences made it the best in our country, but this has also earned it a place among Europe’s elite too – with the new listings placing it in the top 10 best zoos or aquariums in the continent.
“We’re over the moon to be named the UK’s top zoo by TripAdvisor,” commented Jamie Christon, who is the CEO of Chester Zoo.
“This recognition is built entirely on genuine reviews from our visitors, and that means the world to us. I’m very proud of everyone who makes our national conservation zoo such a special place.
“Every visit to Chester Zoo directly supports our vital conservation work, both here at home and around the world, and the past year alone is a reminder of just how much that work matters.
“We’ve developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens Asian elephants globally, we’ve officially pulled a tiny species of snail back from the brink of extinction, and right here on our doorstep we’ve been planting thousands of new trees to create important new woodland habitat.
“None of that happens without the people who come through our gates – and we’re enormously grateful to every one of them.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Glitzy Manchester restaurant KAJI has quietly shut down
Daisy Jackson
A glamorous Manchester restaurant famed for its Japanese cooking and sushi has quietly closed its doors for good, it seems.
KAJI, on Bridge Street, has pulled table reservations and repossession notices have been stuck into its windows.
The glitzy, futuristic restaurant made a pretty big impact on the city’s dining scene since opening in 2022 – but not always for the right reasons.
It first launched as MUSU, and hit headlines when vandals smashed the windows and threw paint all over the restaurant space in the middle of a busy Valentine’s Day service.
It attracted other famous faces too, including Man City boss Pep Guardiola, and Jason Derulo.
Then in 2024, the restaurant rebranded to KAJI, promising dishes cooked over fire in ‘homage to ancient Japanese cooking techniques’.
And last year it received a review in The Telegraph, where William Sitwell said that KAJI was ‘all tummies, bald heads, tattoos and heat’, describing the experience of eating there as ‘brash (and pricey) torture’.
KAJINotices in the windows of KAJI
But now, it appears the business – which launched a new menu concept just weeks ago – has oh-so-quietly shut its doors for good.
When you try to book a table, no availability is showing.
And walking past its glamorous Bridge Street location now, you can see repossession notices have been displayed in the windows.
It appears that the landlords of the building took possession way back on 10 April – and KAJI has been silent on social media ever since.
Daisy Jackson -
19th January 2023 
