Author: SKYNEWS

P&O Ferries spent more than £47m summarily sacking hundreds of seafarers in 2022, helping it cut losses by more than £125m and putting it on a path to profitability, according to accounts due to be published in the coming days.The dismissal of 786 mainly British seafarers, and their replacement with largely non-European agency staff earning as little as £4.87 an hour, was hugely controversial, drawing criticism from across the political spectrum and threats of a consumer boycott. The controversy was rekindled last month when Sky News revealed that DP World, P&O’s Dubai-based parent, considered withdrawing a £1bn investment at its…

Coleen Rooney, McFly singer Danny Jones, and boxer Barry McGuigan are among the stars getting ready to enter the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, producers have confirmed.After much speculation about the line-up for the latest series, the celebrities have been announced with less than a week until the show begins. N-Dubz singer and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall, and Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse are also among the famous faces taking part. Image: Tulisa Contostavlos, N-Dubz star and former X Factor judge, is also heading to the jungle. Pic:…

Social media platform Bluesky says it has gained 700,000 new users in the week following the US election.Bluesky, which was originally conceived as part of Twitter by its former chief executive Jack Dorsey, says the new sign-ups are largely from the US and UK. The company has increased its membership from 9 million people in September to 14.5 million in the week and to 12 November.”We’re excited to welcome all of these new people, ranging from Swifties to wrestlers to city planners,” Bluesky spokesperson Emily Liu said. Follow Sky News on WhatsApp Keep up with all the latest news from…

Struggling Metro Bank has been fined £16m for poor money laundering controls.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the challenger bank failed to have the right systems and controls to adequately monitor more than 60 million transactions, with a value of over £51bn, for money laundering risks. The regulator identified failings between June 2016 and December 2020 and said they occurred despite concerns being raised by junior staff as early as 2017.Money latest: I’ve earned thousands spotting abandoned homes – this is how you do itMetro, which was rescued in a recapitalisation deal just over a year ago, had since put…

A course dedicated to studying Beyonce is coming to Yale University, allowing students to dig deeper into the “artistic genius” of the global superstar.Titled Beyonce Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music, it will kick off next spring. According to a description of the module, which is offered through the humanities and arts department, it will focus on her work from her self-titled album in 2013 to her current album, Cowboy Carter.The country album received 11 Grammy nominations on Friday, after being roundly snubbed at this year’s Country Music Association Awards. Its recognition has made…

Azerbaijan has to increase its gas production because of “commitments” to meet EU demand, its key official has implied, as it prepares to open the COP29 climate talks in Baku.In an exclusive interview with Sky News, lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev sought to dispel dark clouds gathering over the critical UN talks which begin on Monday. Fear has spread that the already shaky negotiations will struggle to make progress after the re-election of climate sceptic Donald Trump, a scandal around one of Mr Rafiyev’s colleagues and the news that many EU leaders won’t attend the Baku talks. Image: Azerbaijan is ‘determined’…

Jamie Oliver has withdrawn a children’s book he wrote from sale after criticism that it stereotyped First Nation Australians.In his book, Billy And The Epic Escape, the TV chef tells the story of a First Nations girl living in foster care in an Indigenous community who gets abducted by the novel’s villain. But the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) blasted the book for contributing to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences”.The body’s chief executive, Sharon Davis, said the book “ignores the violent oppression of First Nations people” and that its depictions…

Azerbaijan, a major oil and gas producer accused of serious human rights abuses, is “perfectly suited” to host a critical global climate summit, according to its man in charge of it.Before the COP29 climate talks kick off in the capital Baku on Monday, the president of the talks, Mukhtar Babayev, told Sky News the country has plenty to bring to the table. Sandwiched between Russia and Iran, bridging Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan is “strategically located” to bridge differences between regions, he said, as countries assemble with wildly different ambitions, grudges and fears for the talks. But there’s another reason, said…

The UK could be spared the impact of Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariff increases on foreign imports, a US governor has told Sky News.In the aftermath of the Republican candidate’s decisive election win over Kamala Harris this week, attention is turning to what the former president will do on his return to the White House. Mr Trump has said he wants to raise tariffs – taxes on imported products – on goods from around the world by 10%, rising to 60% on goods from China, as part of his plan to protect US industries.Follow live: Trump wins Arizona – sweeping…

Tony Todd, the actor best known for his title role in the Candyman horror films, has died aged 69.The father-of-two died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. He featured in the Final Destination and Transformers films, as well as playing the Starship Enterprise’s Commander Kurn on several Star Trek shows in his four decade-career.He also appeared in films such as The Crow, Night of the Living Dead, and The Rock. Todd enjoyed a successful career on stage too, including a run in the Broadway production of the musical Aida. Image: Tony Todd in May.…