Author: SKYNEWS

Inflation has risen a surprising amount to the highest in nearly a year, official figures show. This means prices are rising even more than at any time since last March, according to data from the Office for National Statistics for January. The consumer price index (CPI) ticked up steeply to 3% from 2.5% a month earlier. A lower rise to 2.8% was forecast by economists polled by Reuters and by central bank the Bank of England.The rise has come from more expensive transport and food and non-alcoholic beverages costs. Flight prices did not fall as much as usual for this…

The elusive founder of disruptive Chinese AI company DeepSeek has been spotted attending a Beijing conference, one week after snubbing a global AI summit in Paris.Liang Wenfeng was seen publicly for the first time since the company’s AI model upended the tech industry. Up until DeepSeek’s unveiling, the US was thought to hold the global monopoly on artificial intelligence, with every top 10 AI company in the world being based in the States. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:50 What is DeepSeek? But when DeepSeek revealed a powerful model that was significantly cheaper to run…

Central Cee, Darkoo and Bashy are among the big winners at this year’s MOBO Awards.The ceremony took place in Newcastle this evening, with Krept & Konan, Bashy, Spice, and Nova Twins among the performers. Central Cee was named best male act, while Darkoo was named best female and picked up the MOBOs’ song of the year award for Favourite Girl, featuring Dess Dior.Central Cee – who wasn’t at the ceremony to accept his accolade – is now the joint most-decorated rapper in MOBOs history, tied with Stormzy on seven awards. Image: Darkoo was one of the performers of the night.…

Wages have risen while unemployment unexpectedly saw no change, official figures show.Average weekly earnings rose 6% in the three months to December, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed, while wages – excluding bonuses – grew 5.9%, despite economists expecting a 5.8% rise. Money blog: Your parking disputes resolved by expertEven with inflation factored in, wages are still rising. In the same month as earnings grew 6%, prices rose at a rate of 2.5%.This marks the third month in a row of wage growth after a year of slowing. In November, both basic pay excluding bonuses, and average…

On a bright but chilly February morning, around a dozen volunteers gather by the beachfront at Minster, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. In bobble hats and walking boots, they carry blue plastic bags and litter pickers. They wander slowly past the dog walkers and brightly painted beach huts, combing the pebbles for waste. But the rubbish they’re looking for isn’t normal litter; it’s builders’ rubble and shredded household waste.It was dumped en masse by the lorry load, at an illegal dump site further up the coast by Eastchurch Gap, between 2020 and 2023.”It’s lots of guttering that washes…

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has achieved the highest-ever opening for a romcom in the UK and Ireland, according to Universal.The fourth movie in the franchise, set around the titular unlucky-in-love heroine, took $15.5m, (£12.3m) in its first weekend, beating Marvel’s first release of the year, Captain America: Brave New World. Image: Zellweger and Leo Woodall in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Pic: Universal Pictures It overtakes the second film in the franchise, Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason – the previous record holder, which took $13.1m (£10.4m).Less of a household name in the US, Bridget’s latest adventure…

A waiting game on tariffs is beginning to play out between the UK and the United States on tariffs, amid warnings that Donald Trump’s latest strategy could hit the UK especially hard.The US president on Thursday revealed he has asked his government to consider what tariffs should be applied to other nations – and to include the VAT applied to US goods in those countries in the calculations. It is the latest step in Mr Trump’s attempts to bring production back to the US and charge other nations for access to the American market. He has asked for a report…

It’s more than 10 years since Tinder launched its way into our phones – and our love lives – promising romance at the swipe of a thumb. Just under five million adults in the UK visited an online dating service (app and websites) last year, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation Report.But analysts are questioning whether the novelty is starting to wear off, as usage of the 10 biggest apps dropped 16% between 2023 and 2024.Tinder revolutionised romance as the first dating app in 2012 – and it is still the largest one in Match group’s portfolio. But even it lost…

Conclave has taken the top prize at this year’s BAFTA film awards, winning best film as well as outstanding British film.Based on Robert Harris’s 2016 novel of the same name, and centred around the selection of a new pope, the movie also won best adapted screenplay and best editing. Thanking his ensemble cast as he accepted the award, director Edward Berger said: “What you did to me on set when I watched you was pure magic, it was beyond my grasp or understanding.”It’s not the first BAFTA success for the German filmmaker, who swept the board two years ago with…

The private equity backer of Motor Fuel Group (MFG), one of Britain’s biggest petrol forecourt empires, is exploring the sale of a stake in a deal that could value it at about £7bn.Sky News has learnt that Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CDR), which has built MFG from a mid-sized industry player over the course of more than a decade, is working with advisers to examine options for selling a large minority shareholding. City sources said this weekend that CD&R was expected to run a process during the coming months, with a deal anticipated later this year.A stake of roughly 25-30%…