Author: SKYNEWS

America’s oldest serving astronaut has touched down on Earth on his 70th birthday. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit and two Russian cosmonauts had been on a seven-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Mr Pettit and Russians Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday.”Its deorbiting and descent to Earth were normal,” Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said. Image: The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft returning to Earth. Pic: AP The crew’s seven-month science mission started on 11 September 2024. They orbited the Earth 3,520 times over 220 days in space. Read more from Sky News:Robots race…

The Who’s Zak Starkey is back in the band after reports earlier this week he’d been sacked.A statement on the band’s official social media pages written by guitarist Pete Townshend said “communication issues” had been “aired happily” and Starkey was “not being asked to step down”. Townshend also acknowledged the situation “blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen”, concluding “it’s over” and acknowledged his part in “the confusion”.Titled, “News Flash! Who Backs Zak,” the long statement said Starkey was “not being asked to step down from The Who”.It said: “There have been some communication issues, personal and private…

Unwary travellers returning from the EU risk having their sandwiches and local delicacies, such as cheese, confiscated as they enter the UK.The luggage in which they are carrying their goodies may also be seized and destroyed – and if Border Force catch them trying to smuggle meat or dairy products without a declaration, they could face criminal charges. The new jeopardy has come about because last weekend, the government quietly “extended” its “ban on personal meat imports to protect farmers from foot and mouth”.This may or may not be bureaucratic over-reaction.It’s certainly just another of the barriers EU and UK…

Hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has lost a bid to delay his upcoming sex-trafficking trial by two months.US district judge Arun Subramanian said the 55-year-old rapper made his request too close to his trial, which is due to start next month. Jury selection is currently scheduled for 5 May with opening statements set to be heard seven days later.Combs has pleaded not guilty to five criminal counts including racketeering and sex trafficking. Prosecutors with the Manhattan US attorney’s office accuse Combs of using his business empire to sexually abuse women between 2004 and 2024.Combs’s lawyers say the sexual activity…

Robots have raced against humans in a half-marathon for the first time.Some 21 humanoid robots raced alongside thousands of runners around the 21km (13-mile) course in Beijing, China, on Saturday. Some of the robots that took part were as short as 3ft 9in, while others were as tall as 5ft 9in.They had to resemble humans and be able to walk or run – wheels were not allowed. Image: Several robots joined the race. Pics: Reuters The winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, which crossed the finishing line with a time of two hours and 40 minutes, while the men’s winner of…

A media industry veteran who has helped negotiate a string of broadcast rights deals across English football has emerged as the frontrunner to head Sir Keir Starmer’s new football watchdog.Sky News can exclusively reveal that David Kogan, whose boardroom roles have included a directorship at state-owned Channel 4, is now the leading contender to chair the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) following a drawn-out recruitment process. A Whitehall source said Mr Kogan had been interviewed for the post by a government-appointed selection panel in the last few days.He was expected to be recommended to the prime minister for the role, although…

Alex Garland says while it’s “the most obvious statement about life on this planet” that the world would be a better place without war, it “doesn’t mean it should never happen”, and there are “circumstances in which war is required”.The Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director told Sky News: “I don’t think it is possible to make a statement about what war is really like without it being implicitly anti-war, in as much as it would be better if this thing did not happen. “But that’s not the same as saying it should never happen. There are circumstances in which war is…

Laws may need to be strengthened to crack down on the exploitation of child “influencers”, a senior Labour MP has warned.Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, technology and innovation committee, said parts of the Online Safety Act – passed in October 2023 – may already be “obsolete or inadequate”. Politics latest: Follow live updatesExperts have raised concerns that there is a lack of provision in industry laws for children who earn money through brand collaborations on social media when compared to child actors and models.This has led to some children advertising in their underwear on social media, one expert has…

Lord Cruddas, the former Conservative Party treasurer, is plotting a £40m raid on Winterflood, one of the City’s best-known broking franchises, as its parent reels from the crisis engulfing the motor finance sector.Sky News has learnt that CMC Markets, the online financial trading and investment group founded and run by Lord Cruddas, is among a number of parties which have held recent talks with Close Brothers Group about a possible acquisition of Winterflood. Close Brothers, which has set aside £165m for compensating customers who were mis-sold car loans, is said to be working with bankers at UBS on a potential…

Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner has said.The 39-year-old, who was also known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harriet the Spy, was found dead at her home in New York City after officers responded to a 911 call on 26 February. According to a source quoted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC, she had recently received a liver transplant.At the time of her death, officials said no foul play was suspected, and the medical examiner’s office had listed her death as “undetermined”. Trachtenberg’s family had objected…