Yuichiro Miura, 80, who has had heart surgery four times is already in the oxygen-deficient 'death zone'

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer has begun his attempt to scale Mount Everest, in an effort to reclaim his title as the oldest man to reach the summit.

Overcrowding and culture clashes are the modern Himalayan climbing experience

Fashion finds inspiration from the great explorers, discovers Harriet Walker

Irish climber Ian McKeever inspired others to follow their dreams

There is one candidate for Director General who would really ruffle Murdoch feathers

Japan's pensioners may be celebrated – but they are also creating a 'national crisis'. By David McNeill in Tokyo

British medal hopeful Phillips Idowu was "full of emotion" today as he carried the Olympic Torch in Stratford - just a stone's throw from the Olympic Park in east London.

The Hives' fifth album has been five years in the making. It's the time it takes to make a classic, the natty rockers tell Gillian Orr

Rant

At least three climbers have died while descending from the summit of Mount Everest.

Prince Harry has paid tribute to a team of injured servicemen whose attempt to climb Mount Everest has been abandoned because of safety concerns.

A team of injured soldiers scaling Everest, including a man from Wiltshire, was stranded at camp as the mountain was battered by high speed winds.

The Coalition is enduring its most torrid phase since coming to power nearly two years ago. The storms are about to intensify as Conservative MPs flex their muscles over proposals to reform the House of Lords. Although there is a strong case for a democratically elected second chamber, the already noisy internal dissent is justified. Constitutional reform is never easy at the best of times. This is not the best of times, with the many consequences of an economic crisis the overwhelming concern of voters.