Author: SKYNEWS

Paramount Skydance has offered even more money for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), adding pressure on the media giant to accept a bid it has so far rejected. The entertainment conglomerate behind film production company Paramount Pictures and TV network CBS, announced a revised, best and final offer of $31 per WBD share and additional fees – an improvement on its initial $30 tender. Such a share bid has led WBD to say it could beat the existing Netflix offer, hotting up the fight for control of WBD, which counts comic book filmmakers DC Studios, TV network HBO and news channel…

This week has seen the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.That’s four years of war and continuous suffering for the people of Ukraine. The ramifications have been felt far and wide and it would appear crass to moan from these shores about higher energy bills since. The link, however, can not be dismissed and neither can the impact in the UK.The war triggered unprecedented spikes in gas and electricity prices and millions have faced choices over heating and eating to this day, four years on.We learned on Wednesday that the energy price cap – the variable tariff set by…

It’s hard to believe the London Borough of Brent was once covered in even more rubbish than it is now. Although the gleaming arch of Wembley Stadium is sometimes just a few steps away, its residential streets are a patchwork of filth. Whether it’s a sea of bottles right by the very sign for the recycling centre, a hollowed-out sofa sagging against a brick wall or a TV just feet from (but not in) the communal dustbin, Brent is covered in, well, crap.”It’s like a dump,” says Robert Hall, who has lived there all the 60-odd years of his life.His neighbourhood…

The UK’s biggest video-on-demand services will have to follow the same rules on content and accessibility as traditional broadcasters, under new legislation being implemented.Streaming giants including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, and catch-up services like ITV X and Channel 4, are being brought under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. This means they’ll have to follow the media watchdog’s rules around impartial news reporting, and harmful and offensive content.The legislation will impact streaming services with more than 500,000 UK users, giving Ofcom the power to accept viewer complaints and investigate streaming platforms, as it currently does with broadcast television.This will also…

UK businesses are facing uncertainty and higher costs as Donald Trump’s new global tariff shift takes effect.Governments worldwide have been scrambling for information since Friday when the US Supreme Court struck down his “Liberation Day” tariffs policy, and the president announced a temporary tax of 15% on imports into the US from all countries. Money blog: ‘Sporadic shortages’ of four items on supermarket shelves as supply hit You need javascript enabled to view this content Enable javascript to share Share Tariffs: “There’s a lot of confusion’ That kicked in early on Tuesday morning according to the Reuters news agency, though…

A baby boy has become the first child in Britain to be born to a mother with a womb transplanted from a deceased donor. Hugo Powell was delivered by caesarean section in December, weighing 6lb 13oz (3.1kg), at the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in London. Only two other such cases have been reported elsewhere in Europe, while a baby was born from a womb transplanted from a living donor for the first time in the UK last year.Hugo’s mother, Grace Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare…

Rob Reiner’s son Nick has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of the actor-director and his wife Michele Singer Reiner.Reiner’s lawyer, deputy public defender Kimberly Greene, entered the plea on his behalf as he appeared behind glass in court in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after the 78-year-old director and his wife were found dead at their home in the Brentwood area of LA on 14 December. You need javascript enabled to view this content Enable javascript to…

If you’ve ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, we speak to someone from a different profession to discover what it’s really like. Today we speak to Alistair McFarlane, chief operating officer of game design company Facepunch Studios and the executive producer of survival game Rust…We let staff work whatever hours and days suit them… as long as the work gets done. If you want to mow your grass at 2pm, go for it. Facepunch definitely isn’t typical for the industry. For the most part, it’s a normal…

A new medical tampon may be able to detect the earliest signs of ovarian cancer, scientists have said.Researchers in Southampton are to carry out a trial of the new device, which identifies biological signals in vaginal fluid. There are around 7,600 new cases of ovarian cancer in the UK each year. Many of them are diagnosed at an advanced stage.Around 250 women are being recruited for the study, named Violet. It will include patients who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and are having their ovaries removed, as well as women with the BRCA gene mutation who are choosing to…

As well as the film prizes, red carpet fashion is also a huge part of any awards ceremony.Emma Stone, Kate Hudson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessie Buckley, Teyana Taylor, Timothee Chalamet, Michael B Jordan, Carey Mulligan and Rose Byrne are among the stars nominated today.Here are the red carpet arrivals ahead of the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony. Image: Starting with the One Battle After Another stars, here’s Leonardo DiCaprio keeping his tux simple Image: Co-star Teyana Taylor brings the drama in chocolate brown and ruffles Image: Fellow One Battle co-star and first-time nominee Chase Infiniti is up for best actress and the…