Author: SKYNEWS

TV presenter Richard Hammond and his wife have announced they are splitting up after an “amazing 28 years together”.The 55-year-old, best known for hosting motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour, tied the knot with newspaper columnist Amanda “Mindy” Hammond, 59, in 2002. In a statement on Thursday, the pair said their family spent Christmas together but will go into the new year “a bit differently”.”A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently,” the statement posted to X said.…

Bim Afolami, the former City minister, is to return to HSBC – the bank he worked for before he embarked on a career in politics – in a boardroom role.Sky News has learnt that Mr Afolami, who lost his Hitchin seat at last year’s general election, is to become a non-executive director of the FTSE-100 lender’s UK entity. The appointment of Mr Afolami, who drove forward a range of key City reforms during his relatively brief stint as economic secretary to the Treasury, is expected to be confirmed within days.Money blog: Pound sinks to nine-month low as economists warn of…

Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since June 2024 have said they “do not feel like castaways”.Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams originally planned to go to space for just eight days but got stuck on the ISS when their Boeing Starliner spacecraft experienced a myriad of problems. By September, it had returned to Earth without them. Speaking to NASA leaders in a live video event on Wednesday evening, the pair seemed in good spirits alongside two other astronauts.Responding to a question referencing the Tom Hanks film Cast Away, in which the main character is…

Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow, best known as one-third of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died at the age of 86.The group were civil rights and anti-war campaigners, best known for the song Puff The Magic Dragon and their versions of If I Had A Hammer and Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Yarrow, who was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder four years ago, died in New York on Tuesday, publicist Ken Sunshine said.”Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life,” Yarrow’s daughter, Bethany, said in a statement.”The world knows Peter…

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars says a record £300m investment at its West Sussex factory base will help expand production of bespoke and electric models.The BMW-owned firm, like rivals in the luxury sphere, has enjoyed rising demand for personalised vehicles among its wealthy customer base. The carmaker said recent orders to complement its base models included 18-carat gold sculptures, embroideries consisting of more than 869,500 stitches, wood veneers including 500 individually-shaped pieces and holographic paint finishes.Money latest: Kicking bad energy habits could save you £119 a yearThe investment, Rolls-Royce said, would bolster facilities at Goodwood to cover such requests and also its…

A soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI – including ChatGPT – to help plan the attack, police have said.Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a US Army Green Beret, fatally shot himself just before the truck blew up outside the hotel on New Year’s Day. Police in Las Vegas say they have now reviewed Livelsberger’s ChatGPT searches prior to the explosion.According to officers, the searches indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel, and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona. Image: Matthew…

A man has been charged with stalking Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, causing her “serious alarm or distress”. Kyle Shaw, 37, appeared in court last week accused of sending online messages to the 64-year-old dancer over a six-year period between 31 August 2017 and 29 November 2023. According to the charge, he allegedly caused the television star “serious alarm or distress, which had a substantial adverse effect on her usual day-to-day activities”.Shaw, who is also charged with possession of a small amount of cannabis, did not enter pleas when he appeared at South Sefton Magistrates’ Court last Friday.A court…

There is mounting evidence that consumers are facing hikes to bills on many fronts after Next became the latest to warn of price rises ahead.The homewares to fashion retailer said it was to implement an “unwelcome” 1% rise to prices this year to help it cover off an anticipated £67m rise to its wage bills. It blamed the changes to employer National Insurance contributions, announced in the budget, that are due to take effect in April.The announcement by the chain, which also sounded caution around the 2025 economy, is the latest evidence of rising cost pressures facing both households and…

A paper clip-sized chameleon and the whale shark are among the threatened species of animals and plants being monitored by conservationists this year.Fauna & Flora, an international nature conservation group, has identified 10 weird and wonderful species at risk of extinction for its “watch list” this year as it works with partners across the world to aid their survival. The species are facing threats such as habitat loss, climate change, disease and hunting, the charity said.The list includes the critically endangered European mink, found in countries such as Romania, a recently discovered species of magnolia found in Honduras, and the…

Police have confirmed they were called to a house near Chester after the death of former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner James Lee Williams, known as The Vivienne.The 32-year-old’s death was announced on Sunday evening and has prompted an outpouring of tributes from celebrities and colleagues. The performer rose to prominence in 2015 after becoming the UK Drag Ambassador for the American series of RuPaul’s Drag Race.Read more: The Vivienne’s rise as a drag ‘trailblazer’They went on to win the first UK series of the show in 2019 and came third on the 2023 edition of Dancing On Ice. A spokesman…