Author: SKYNEWS

Across Europe, car companies are cutting jobs and shutting factories – to the extent that some question their very existence. So it’s worth asking the question: what’s gone wrong with Europe (and for that matter America’s) car industry?While some will reach for their own pet conclusions (Brexit! Electric vehicle deadlines! Government regulations!) in practice there’s something bigger, deeper and less parochial going on here. As the world shifts from petrol and diesel cars to their electric counterparts, a seismic shift is taking place in the global motor industry. It is a shift which threatens to cause even more pain and…

Campaigners are warning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic but fake nude images of real women is becoming “normalised”.It’s also an increasing concern in schools. A recent survey by Internet Matters found 13% of teenagers have had an experience with nude deepfakes, while the NSPCC told Sky News “a new harm is developing”. Ofcom will later this month introduce codes of practice for internet companies to clamp down on the illegal distribution of fake nudes, but Sky News has met two victims of this relatively new trend, who say the law needs to go further.Earlier this year,…

Taylor Swift landed the biggest book launch of the year with the publication of her official Era’s Tour book – but fans were quick to notice multiple errors.Over 800,000 copies (814,000 to be precise) flew off shelves in the US over Thanksgiving weekend, according to Circana, which tracks the print market. The huge number of sales came despite Swift selling the book exclusively through American supermarket chain Target, snubbing the likes of Amazon and other retailers or using a traditional book publisher.Swift posted on social media to announce the book, which coincides with the end of the mammoth Eras Tour…

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has been valued at more than $100,000 for the first time, spurred on by Donald Trump’s latest nomination for his presidential team.The cryptocurrency was valued at $103,280 (£81,160) as of 4.10am UK time, leaping in value by 7.9% in the previous 24 hours, according to currency converter XE.com. It’s the high water mark of a surge in buying that started on 5 November, the day of the US election.Since then, the price has risen by around 45% from $69,374 (£54,608).The rally has also been stoked by a series of the president-elect’s appointments, with Paul Atkins…

The competition watchdog has approved the creation of the UK’s biggest phone network by allowing the merger of Three and Vodafone.Regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued the decision despite previously saying tens of millions could pay more as a result of the amalgamation. CMA approval is contingent on the new entity spending billions to improve 5G internet services across the network, it said.Legally binding targets have been set out for the combined Vodafone and Three to agree and meet.They must cap some mobile tariffs and offer preset contractual terms to mobile virtual network operators, mobile providers that do…

Singer Fuse ODG has released an “alternative” charity song to Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? after criticising the original for having potentially damaging effects on Africa.The single titled We Know It’s Christmas (Band Aid Reply) was released by the British-Ghanaian singer on Tuesday, in what he described as “not just a song” but a “statement”. Writing about his new song in The Guardian, the singer said he is “offering an Afrobeats alternative to Band Aid” as a “celebration of progress and a step toward reclaiming our narratives”.He said the Afrobeats genre has in the past helped to unite…

The first three railway companies to be nationalised have been named as part of the new Labour government’s plan to bring rail into public ownership. In May the service from London’s Waterloo station to southwest London, South Western Railway, will become the first to be nationalised, the Department for Transport said. It will be followed by the London to Essex route c2c in July and east coast operator Greater Anglia in autumn, the department said.Taking the businesses out of private ownership will reduce delays and cancellations that have plagued rail services across Britain, the government said, in turn encouraging more…

An investment vehicle founded by one of Britain’s most prominent venture capitalists is in advanced talks to buy a portfolio of stakes in some of the country’s most promising technology companies.Sky News has learnt that Lexham Partners, which was established this year by Dominic Perks, is close to agreeing a deal to acquire shareholdings in companies including Paragraf, the graphene-based electronic device company, and Nexeon, a battery technology specialist, from London-listed IP Group. A person close to IP Group said a transaction could be agreed as soon as this week.Money latest: Drivers could save £50 on cover after compensation changesLexham…

Celebrity Masterchef contestant Melanie Sykes has criticised the TV industry in the wake of the allegations made about host Gregg Wallace, saying it is up to bosses to act on unprofessional behaviour and not let one person be a “scapegoat”.The former TV presenter and broadcaster, who rose to fame on shows including The Big Breakfast and Today With Des And Mel in the 1990s and 2000s, appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021. She wrote about her experience on the show in her autobiography Illuminated, released in 2023, and how she decided to walk away from show business afterwards. Image: Pic:…

The sleepy Jaguar has had a sudden awakening. After months of gentle provocation, the British carmaker has unveiled its latest model: a fully electric “concept with bold forms and exuberant proportions to inspire future Jaguars”. As to be expected we’ve been bombarded with marketing speak alongside the launch of the Type 00, the biggest rebrand in the company’s 102-year history.The car is “striking through imitation and the ordinary” but isn’t to everyone’s taste. Some people decided they didn’t like it before they even saw it because of an advert published last month.The car didn’t actually feature in the advert at…