Author: SKYNEWS

MPs have voted against a proposal to ban under-16s from using social media.The Conservatives had pushed for the move via an amendment to the government’s flagship education legislation currently going through parliament: the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. It had been backed by the House of Lords, but was defeated in the Commons on Monday night by 307 votes to 173.Calls for a ban have gained traction after Australia became the first country in the world to enforce one back in December. Since then, other nations – including in Europe – have been flirting with the idea. You need javascript…

Oil prices have fallen and stock markets are clawing back some lost ground after Donald Trump raised hopes that Iran war disruption to the global economy would soon be over.Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, tumbled below $90 a barrel at one stage early on Tuesday after climbing above $118 – a six-year high – in the previous session. The key worry is the effective closure of the narrow Strait of Hormuz shipping lane just off the Iranian coast.Iran latest: Trump’s key messages on war’s objectivesIt’s currently off limits due to the threat of attack by Tehran’s forces in retaliation…

A 35-year-old Florida woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after shots were fired at Rihanna’s home.The incident happened in the Beverly Hills area of LA on Sunday afternoon. Police confirmed to NBC News in Los Angeles that the star was home with her partner A$AP Rocky and their three young children. Image: Pic: KNBC It is believed seven to nine rounds from an AR-15-style rifle were fired from a car – with at least four striking the house.What appear to be bullet holes can be seen in photos of the front gate but no injuries were reported.Police…

Elon Musk’s Grok is producing hate-filled, racist posts online after being asked for “vulgar” comments in the latest concerning trend by users on X.A Sky News analysis of the chatbot’s public responses shows highly offensive AI-generated replies with profanities about Islam and Hinduism – disparaging the religions with racist vitriol. The UK government described the posts as “sickening and irresponsible,” saying they go against British values. Image: The AI app Grok. Pic: PA They are part of a trend growing in recent days of users asking X to generate “vulgar” and no-holds-barred comments – two months after the platform was…

The conflict in Iran is inflicting misery on millions – driving up bills and upending energy markets.But a perverse effect of war is that some industries do well: that’s the way our global financial system works. In this case, a group of American energy companies stand to benefit.”US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters are the clear near‑term winners,” says Tom Purdie, Energy Aspect’s lead LNG analyst.Why? Well, the conflict has blown a hole in the market, and there’s something about these companies that puts them in prime position to plug some of that gap. Oil suffers biggest one-day gain in…

Sky News has won news channel of the year and Yousra Elbagir has been named television journalist of the year at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards.Yalda Hakim, who hosts international news show The World With Yalda Hakim, won presenter of the year, home news correspondent Mollie Malone was named emerging talent of the year, and 24 Hours In The Kill Zone by international news correspondent John Sparks won in the digital journalism category.It is the ninth year in a row Sky News has won the channel of the year award. Image: Presenter Mark Austin with the News Channel of…

Some water companies are instructing bailiffs as they try to recover customers’ debt more than 6,000 times in a single year, new data reveals.The information gathered by a committee of MPs has not been freely available before and reveals huge variations in water companies’ use of the tactic. Wessex Water have not been using bailiffs at all over the last decade, and Welsh Water has used them less than 1,000 times in every year from 2019 to 2025.But Southern Water instructed bailiffs 15,707 times in 2019, more than 6,000 times in 2020, more than 5,000 times in 2023, more than…

For years, geopolitical analysts warned us that among the scariest of all scenarios for the world economy was the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Well, now, in practice, that is precisely what has happened. Shipping through this narrow channel, the gateway to the Persian Gulf, has dwindled to close to zero. The worst nightmare has materialised. And yet the funny thing is that in certain respects the world seems no different to how it was before. The S&P 500, the benchmark share index in America, has barely budged. The FTSE 100 is down a bit, but is still a bit…

Britney Spears was spotted driving “erratically” before her arrest on suspicion of operating her vehicle under the influence, police say.The 44-year-old star spent the night in the cells after being detained by officers on Wednesday evening, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesperson confirmed. She has been scheduled to appear in court on 4 May.Meanwhile, her Instagram account, on which she frequently shares short videos of herself dancing in her living room, appears to have been deactivated.Searching for the account, which had more than 42m followers, now brings up the message “Sorry, this page isn’t available”. The singer “showed signs of…

Indonesia has become the latest and most populous country to say it will ban social media for under-16s.The country – which has the fourth biggest population in the world – has approved new restrictions designed to protect young people online. And with high levels of internet use among its more than 284 million people, the ban could have a big impact.Since Australia brought in the world’s first ban of under-16s on social media in December, a succession of other countries – including Spain, France, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece and Italy – have said they plan to do the same. You…