Author: SKYNEWS

Rachel Reeves has announced mandatory housing targets and an end to the onshore wind ban to get “Britain building again”.The UK’s first ever female chancellor said Labour will create a new taskforce “to accelerate stalled housing sites in our country”. She promised her government would build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, as pledged in Labour’s election manifesto.Follow live politics updates”We’re not in the business of reneging on our manifesto commitments,” she said in her first speech as chancellor after Labour won the general election last Thursday. “We’ve received that strong mandate. We’re going to deliver on that…

Scientists in China have discovered a ‘super moss’ that could help sustain life on Mars.The super resilient Syntrichia Caninervis moss was found in the desert in the western region of Xinjiang and could help sustain colonies on the red planet, according to experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Moss is a very absorbent plant and can hold more than its own body weight in water. Image: The ‘super moss’ Syntrichia Caninervis in China. Pic: Chinese Academy of Sciences/The Innovation When the scientists dried out this particular species of moss and then rehydrated it, it sprang back to life within…

The first big announcement of Gordon Brown’s chancellorship was, arguably, the single biggest decision and the single biggest moment of his entire time in office.In a wood-panelled room on Whitehall a few days after being elected, Mr Brown announced that he was making the Bank of England independent – to the shock of many of those present. Money latest: Pubs want ‘disgraceful’ Co-op TV advert taken off air Image: Pic: Reuters Rachel Reeves’s first big speech as chancellor happened in the same room today, but lacked the drama or the big-bang surprise of that moment. Rather than announcing a big,…

We all have difficult neighbours – even the Earth.Now scientists have found that a planet close to our own world stinks of rotten eggs. The research, from scientists at the Johns Hopkins University in the US, suggests that the atmosphere of the planet HD 189733 b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant, has trace amounts of hydrogen sulphide.HD 189733 b is an exoplanet – meaning it is outside our solar system.The discovery of hydrogen sulphide on the exoplanet offers scientists new clues about how sulphur, a building block of planets, might influence the insides and atmospheres of exoplanets. At only 64 light-years…

School uniform costs can hit families’ pockets hard, especially if you’re sending more than one child off to the school gates every morning.To get the most out of your money, it pays to buy early. That’s why we’ve run through all the best deals and discounts you can get on school uniform before the new academic year starts in September.Read all the latest Money news hereStarting with Aldi, this is the third year in a row the supermarket has frozen the price of its back-to-school bundle at just £5 for ages 4-12. Customers are able to pick up two polo…

The cow flu virus that has spread through US dairy herds may have taken a “dangerous” step towards being able to infect humans through respiratory infections, scientists have warned.The H5N1 virus, more commonly found in birds, has so far been confirmed in cattle on more than 100 farms in 12 states, with inactivated fragments of the strain being found in pasteurised milk on supermarket shelves. Four people working with animals have so far been infected, though symptoms were mild and they did not pass the virus on to anyone else.Now detailed analysis by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in…

Actor Chace Crawford says a scene in which he had to simulate sex with an octopus came as a total surprise and almost led him to have a panic attack.The 38-year-old, who rose to fame playing Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl, has played one of the lead characters in all four series of the satirical superhero show The Boys on Amazon Prime. However, he had no idea his role as Kevin Moskowitz, aka The Deep – whose powers include breathing underwater and the ability to talk to sea animals – had such a demanding scene in store when he first…

Hopes of a summer interest rate cut have been knocked by a member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee.Jonathan Haskel said he wanted to keep interest rates on hold because inflation pressures remain in the jobs market, according to the text of a speech he is due to deliver at King’s College London later on Monday. The document, released by the Bank, said Mr Haskel would declare: “The labour market continues to be tight, and I worry it is still impaired.”I would rather hold rates until there is more certainty that underlying inflationary pressures have subsided sustainably.”Money latest: Pubs…

An asteroid is whipping past Earth today, travelling at more than 40,000 miles per hour.NASA says the asteroid will pass just 936,000 miles away from Earth, a relatively close-shave in space terms. It’s the closest the asteroid, known as 2024 MT-1, will come to the planet during its orbit around the sun – however, it poses no risk to life on Earth.2024 MT-1 takes around 1.2 years to orbit the sun and is just over 79 metres wide. For context, Westminster Abbey’s tower height is about 68m.An asteroid is a relatively small rock that orbits the sun, usually made up…

James Corden delayed the start of his West End stage show on Saturday evening to watch the penalty shootout between England and Switzerland with his audience.The 45-year-old actor and football fan brought an iPad out onto the Old Vic stage, where he is currently starring in new political play The Constituent. With the score 1-1 after extra-time, England beat the Swiss 5-3 on penalties in Dusseldorf, Germany, securing Gareth Southgate’s team a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.Audience member Carla Feltham, 37, filmed the moment, which showed the Gavin And Stacey star propping the iPad up on a table…