"It's a half-tonne thing falling out of the sky at a couple of hundred miles an hour. That's going to hurt if it hits you," said one astronomer to Sky News. Cosmos 482 was destined to land on Venus after being launched from the USSR's spaceport in what is now Kazakhstan in 1972. Instead, the upper stage of the rocket, which was responsible for powering it out of orbit, failed. "The upper stage didn't work right and it left just the probe in orbit around the Earth," said Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell. Parts of the rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in the 1980s but one chunk remained in orbit, which was thought to be debris left from the spacecraft. "Years later, I went and looked at the data and went, 'This debris [...] stayed up a lot longer than the other stuff. It seems to be denser. It's not behaving like debris," said Mr McDowell. "I realised that it was the Venus entry capsule from Cosmos 482, which has got a heat shield on it [strong enough] to survive the crushing force of Venus's atmosphere." Now, the heat-protected capsule is on a collision path with Earth, with astronomer Marco Langbroek predicting it will hit around 10 May. "It's half a tonne. It's about three feet across," said Mr McDowell. "As it smashes into the atmosphere, going at this enormous speed, the energy gets converted into heat [and] you get this fireball." By the time it hits the Earth, Mr McDowell says Cosmos 482 will be "going only a couple of hundred miles an hour". "But it's still a half-tonne thing falling out of the sky at a couple of hundred miles an hour. That's going to hurt if it hits you," he said. Read more from Sky News:Ransacked and looted: Sky reporter returns to family homeTrump celebrates 100 days in officeSixteen-year-old detained after three people killed in Sweden Scientists can't predict where it will hit, although they have narrowed it down to between 51 degrees north and 51 degrees south. "If you're a penguin, you're probably fine," said Mr McDowell. "But if you live anywhere from Chile to Scotland, you're in the zone." Much of the surface is covered in ocean, however, and the lander is around the size of a car, so the chances of it hurting someone are low. For Mr McDowell, Cosmos 482 is just an illustration of a bigger problem. "It's getting really crowded out there and we're getting more and more dependent on satellites for our everyday lives," he said. "I think the time is coming when we're really going to have to get more serious about cleaning up space junk."

Following deadly flooding in Valencia and furious wildfires in Los Angeles, the UK's climate advisers have warned people and critical infrastructure are highly exposed to extreme weather due to a "piecemeal and disjointed approach". They warned progress in adapting to a hotter world has either been glacial, or moved in the wrong direction - amid fears of budget cuts in the upcoming spending review and spiralling problems in the water industry. Of the 46 measures of government delivery - from protecting railways from collapsing to ensuring water and food security - not one was rated "good". The Climate Change Committee (CCC) even said there has been "no change in addressing this risk" under the new Labour government - raising questions about its claims to be a climate leader. The government says the issue is a top priority. Baroness Brown, who chairs the CCC's adaptation committee, told Sky News: "We know what climate change is doing now. We know worse is to come. And yet nobody seems to be taking this seriously enough." While Labour has made bold strides in trying to limit climate change, it's done very little on helping us deal with the impacts, she said. "It still seems to feel like it's tomorrow's problem… and if we don't tackle it today, it becomes tomorrow's disaster." The "Progress in adapting to climate change" report warns that by 2050: Over half of England's top farmland, one in four homes and half of roads and rail lines will be at risk of floodingHeat-related deaths could pass 10,000 in an average yearUnchecked climate change could cost 7% of GDP. It said climate change is already hitting hard: Extreme heat buckles rail lines, fuels wildfires and drives up food billsHeatwaves wiped out a hospital data centre, cancelling appointments when the health service is "already on its knees"Children are toiling through exams in boiling school halls. Outcry has been widespread Farmers said it is "shocking how unprepared we are", while businesses called it "sobering reading". Thinktanks said climate threats "should be considered national security risks" and scientists said getting it right "could save the UK billions of pounds". Obstetricians warned air pollution and heatwaves risk premature births. But spending across government is tightly squeezed as the chancellor moots further cuts - with the budget for flood defences proposed for the chopping block. The issue isn't unique to the UK. Around the world, adapting to climate change has proved harder to get to grips with than measures to curb it. Scientists say both are needed. But "this isn't impossible," said Baroness Brown, citing good examples in Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. She said in some areas, the UK government doesn't even know what it is aiming for, even though targets are "hugely important" for attracting private investment. Bev Cornaby, director of the Corporate Leaders Group UK, said: "The private sector can deliver more, including innovation, investment and leadership, with clear goals, joined-up policy and better communication and engagement from government." The CCC called for a raft of measures, from retrofitting hospitals with green roofs for cooling, to ensuring people know what to do in a heatwave such as closing windows and curtains in the morning. A government spokesperson said they would carefully consider the findings of the committee's report. They added: "Alongside our transition to become a clean energy superpower and accelerating towards net zero, the government is taking robust action to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. "We are investing a record £2.65bn to repair and build flood defences, protecting tens of thousands of homes and businesses and helping local communities become more resilient to the effects of climate change such as overheating and drought."

Doing so would cut both household bills and greenhouse gases that cause climate change, the Local Government Association (LGA) said in a new report. Just four in 10 new homes in England come with solar power, according to separate figures from the industry body Solar Energy UK. Although that is a significant three-fold increase over the space of a year, the LGA said making it mandatory would benefit bill-payers and the climate for years to come, saving people £440 per year. The UK lags behind its neighbours in the European Union, which last year adopted new legislation demanding all new residential buildings come with solar panels from 2030. Greenpeace UK called it an "absolute scandal that homes are built without rooftop solar panels in this day and age". Its campaigner, Lily Rose Ellis, said: "Given the soaring cost of electricity, our desperate need to cut planet-heating emissions, and the relatively low cost of installation to housebuilders, solar panels on all new builds should be mandatory." Last year, Labour promised a "rooftop revolution" that would see millions more homes fitted with solar panels. But they have been accused of wavering over proposals to make it mandatory, as it also courts the house-building industry to help it meet its target to build 1.5 million homes during this parliament. The LGA wants the government to allocate them long-term funding in the upcoming spending review so they can help the country meet net zero. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said they plan to "maximise the installation of solar panels on new homes" in its long-delayed new regulations, the Future Homes Standard, due later this year. The Home Builders Federation said "Moving forward, to meet the ever more challenging carbon reductions set by government, we will see solar on the overwhelming majority of new homes, albeit it is not appropriate in every situation." Pylon rows The push on solar power is part of the government's broader plans to ensure all the UK's electricity comes from green sources by 2030. Electricity demand is also growing as the country switches to electric cars and heating, and builds more data centres. All this requires more wind and solar farms, as well as 1,000 kilometres of new cables to carry the electricity from where it is generated - often a wind farm in the North Sea - to where it is used in urban areas far away. In parts of the country like East Anglia, a row has been simmering over whether to run those cables overhead on pylons or, to protect countryside views, underground. A hefty new report by the Institution of Engineering and Technology today weighed in on the debate, finding underground cables are on average 4.5 times more expensive than overhead lines. Liam Hardy, head of research at thinktank Green Alliance, said: "Those costs need to go somewhere. They go on to all of our electricity bills. And of course, it's the poorest in society for whom those bills make up a bigger percentage of their income. He added: "What they want to see is value for money as we build out that clean infrastructure that we need." The government has promised communities disrupted by the new infrastructure that they should reap some of the benefits, including giving households near new pylons £2,500 off their energy bills over 10 years.

For more than a week, the British retailer has been unable to accept contactless payments and customers are also unable to shop online. On Monday, Sky News reported that hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre were told to stay at home as M&S grappled with the attack. Shoppers also complained of empty shelves around the country, as M&S confirmed there were "pockets of limited availability in some stores" as a result of measures to manage the cyber incident. Who are Scattered Spider, the infamous group being linked to the attack? "Scattered Spider is one of the most dangerous and active hacking groups we are monitoring," said Graeme Stewart, the head of public sector at security company Check Point. "Since they first appeared in 2022, they have been linked to more than 100 targeted attacks across industries such as telecoms, finance, retail and gaming," he said. In one of their most infamous hacks, members of the group locked up the networks of casino operators Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, and demanded hefty ransoms. Caesars paid the hackers about $15m (£11.2m) to restore its network. Who are the members of Scattered Spider? "The group is made up of young, English-speaking individuals, mainly based in the UK and the US," said Mr Stewart. Some members are believed to be as young as 16, with the group meeting up on hacker forums online. The authorities have a hard time catching Scattered Spider members because they are just that: scattered. "This is not a loose group of opportunistic hackers. They operate more like an organised criminal network, decentralised and adaptive. "Even with several arrests made in the US and Europe, their structure allows them to regroup quickly." Last month, an alleged Scattered Spider member was extradited to the US from Spain and charged with offences including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. How do they work? The group often targets human vulnerabilities, according to Mr Stewart, rather than system flaws. They use tactics like social engineering, where hackers trick people into letting them into systems, impersonating IT staff or SIM swapping. SIM swapping attacks are where hackers trick phone providers into transferring a victim's phone service to a SIM card under the hacker's control. Read more from Sky News:Ransacked and looted: Sky reporter returns to family home in SudanTrump celebrates 100 days in officeSixteen-year-old detained after three people killed in Sweden This means the hacker can approve two-factor authentication and access the victim's private accounts as well as installing malware on certain devices. "The attack on M&S appears to be heavily financially motivated and focused on making as much money as possible," said Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at cybersecurity firm ESET. "The gained notoriety focused on the brand - which is so entrenched in British culture and history - just places even more pressure on M&S to pay the growing demands." What does M&S say? Sky News contacted M&S which referred us to its previous statement. "As part of our proactive management of a cyber incident, we have made the decision to pause taking orders via our M&S.com websites and apps. "Our product range remains available to browse online. We are truly sorry for this inconvenience. Our stores are open to welcome customers. "We informed customers that there was no need for them to take any action. That remains the case, and if the situation changes we will let them know."

Experts have suggested thousands of cardiac arrests could be prevented by tackling health and lifestyle issues. They found a higher consumption of Champagne or white wine, more fruit, maintaining a positive mood, remaining a healthy weight and keeping blood pressure under control appeared to protect against a cardiac arrest. People who are more educated also seemed less prone to cardiac arrest, the study suggested, while poor sleep patterns and a lack of exercise could be detrimental. A cardiac arrest - where the heart suddenly stops beating - is an emergency medical situation that usually happens without warning. People suddenly collapse and are unconscious, and are not breathing or not breathing normally. Without immediate treatment, people die. UK figures suggest there are about 30,000 cardiac arrests a year outside of hospital where emergency medical services attempt to resuscitate a person who has collapsed and stopped breathing normally. The latest study, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, identified 56 risk factors associated with sudden cardiac arrest and found up to 63% of cases might be avoidable. "As expected, lifestyles account for the most burden," the researchers said, adding: "Public awareness campaigns should be further encouraged to promote lifestyle interventions." The study looked at 502,094 middle-to-older aged people included in the UK Biobank of data. Of those, 3,147 people suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a typical follow-up period of 13.8 years. The 56 risk factors identified by researchers included lifestyle factors, socio-economic status, and the local environment, such as exposure to air pollution. The researchers concluded that between 40% and 63% of sudden cardiac arrest cases may be avoidable when looking at all 56 risk factors. For lifestyle factors, the study found that a higher consumption of Champagne and/or white wine and fruit intake protected against cardiac arrest, while "fed-up" feelings, high body mass indexes (BMIs) and arm fat mass, high blood pressure, and a lower education level all increased the risk. Read more from Sky News:Ultra-processed foods could be linked to thousands of deaths a yearDisposable vape ban 'may not curb e-cigarette use' Lead investigator Dr Huihuan Luo, from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, said: "The study found significant associations between various modifiable factors and sudden cardiac arrest, with lifestyle changes being the most impactful in preventing cases." In an accompanying editorial, Nicholas Grubic, from the University of Toronto, and Dakota Gustafson, from Queen's University in Ontario, added: "One of the study's most intriguing findings is the cardioprotective effect associated with Champagne and white wine consumption, questioning long-held assumptions about the specificity of red wine's cardioprotective properties. "Research on the underlying mechanisms remains unclear, but these findings reinforce the idea that the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption may be more complex than previously assumed."