Author: SKYNEWS

A billionaire astronaut and his crew have returned to Earth after taking part in the first private spacewalk. Polaris Dawn, operated by SpaceX on behalf of billionaire Jared Isaacman, splashed down at 8.37am today in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida’s Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness. Carrying four private citizens, including SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched into space on Tuesday and spent five days in orbit.”We are mission complete,” Isaacman radioed as the capsule bobbed in the water, awaiting the recovery team.While orbiting the planet, Mission commander Mr Isaacman joined a…

Chad McQueen, who played the villain in The Karate Kid, has died aged 63.His wife and children shared a statement on Instagram on Thursday afternoon from McQueen’s verified account announcing the news with “a heavy heart”. “His remarkable journey as a loving father to us, along with his unwavering commitment to our mother, truly exemplified a life filled with love and dedication,” the statement says.”His passion for racing not only highlighted his exceptional talent, but also served as a way to honor his father’s legacy, a testament to the values instilled in him.”He passed his passion, knowledge and dedication down…

Babcock International, the London-listed defence contractor, is weighing a possible bid for some of the assets of Harland and Wolff, the shipbuilder which is close to collapse.Sky News has learnt that Babcock, which has a market value of £2.4bn, has expressed an interest in Harland and Wolff’s Belfast shipyard which is famous for having built The Titanic. News of its interest comes amid reports that Harland and Wolff could fall into administration as soon as next week.The company has been struggling under the weight of a substantial debt-pile, and was dealt a hammer blow soon after the general election when…

Two astronauts who are set to be stuck in space for eight months have said the International Space Station is now their “happy place” but admitted to “tough times”.Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said in a press conference on Friday that it was hard to watch their Boeing Starliner capsule return to Earth without them last week – but said they do not feel let down by the company. The pair expected to be in space for eight days but will remain there until 2025 after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to return to…

Anna Sorokin, a Russian con artist who posed as a German heiress while scamming New York’s elite out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, has appeared at a fashion show with a bejewelled ankle tag. Sorokin, 33, falsely built a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey over a number of years while conning hotels, banks and friends into bankrolling her lavish lifestyle. She was arrested in 2017 and found guilty of eight charges including grand larceny in April 2019 and sentenced for four to 12 years.Sorokin, whose family moved from Russia to Germany in 2007, has worn the…

Tens of millions of mobile phone users could end up paying more if the merger between Vodafone and Three goes ahead, the competition watchdog has warned.The deal would create the UK’s biggest mobile network and could also improve network quality, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. The proposed £15bn merger, announced last year, would bring 27 million customers together under a single provider.But claims of providing a faster 5G network are “overstated”, the CMA added, and the new combined network would not “necessarily have the incentive” to follow through on its investment and improvement plan.Customers may have to pay…

A mega-tsunami caused by a landslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for nine days, a new study has shown.The collapse of a 1.2km-high (0.7 miles) mountain peak last September caused water in the fjord below to splash back and forth, causing vibrations right through to the Earth’s crust, researchers found. It was caused by the glacier at the foot of the mountain thinning, which was the result of climate change, according to the study, which included scientists from University College London (UCL).The new phenomenon, which began above Dickson Fjord in east Greenland, left scientists “completely baffled”, the study’s…

Holly Ramsay has announced she is engaged to Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty.The 24-year-old daughter of TV chef Gordon Ramsay revealed the news in a social media post. “I am marrying my best friend,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside photos of the pair and the engagement ring on her finger.”I truly cannot put into words how I am feeling right now… Thank you for letting the little girl inside of me feel loved, seen and happier than ever. I love you & I cannot wait to be your wife.”She added that she will “always be there” for former Strictly Come Dancing…

High-end department store chain John Lewis is on course to profit tens of millions of pounds more despite cost of living pressures eating into shop sales. The profit forecast comes as the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership (JLP) behind the Waitrose and John Lewis shops reported a loss for the first half of the year amid reduced sales. Despite a £30m loss for the six months ending 27 July, the organisation said it was on track to deliver “significantly higher profits” than last year.Money blog: Most stressful jobs in UK revealedThe optimism comes as the loss is nearly half that of…

New AI technology can detect early signs of more than 1,000 diseases, long before there are any symptoms, according to new research.The computer algorithm, called MILTON, analyses patient test results commonly collected by GPs to detect patterns in the data – and predict with high confidence a disease diagnosis many years later. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which developed the artificial intelligence tool, said it will accelerate the development of more effective and targeted treatments.But it is also making the data freely available to other researchers, who could develop diagnostic tests that allow early preventative treatment to stop diseases in their tracks.…