Author: SKYNEWS

It’s summer season in the Northern Hemisphere and wildfires have been raging in Greece, Madeira and France.As the risk of forest fires changes in a hotter climate, so is the way firefighters respond to them. Traditionally firefighters have practised with live fires to prepare for the real thing.But these come with risk, cost and damage to the environment by way of air pollution and water use. Image: Mick Dewer from the Fire Service College practising with the VR kit The Fire Service College (FSC) in Gloucestershire, which trains UK and international fire services, has increasingly been using virtual reality to…

Liam Gallagher continues to fuel rumours of an Oasis reunion, writing on X: “I never did like that word FORMER.”Industry insiders are adamant next summer will be the return of the biggest band in Brit-pop, telling the Sunday Times Wembley Stadium is booked for 10 nights, smashing Taylor Swift’s eight-gig record set earlier this month. When The Times tweeted about it, Liam appeared to confirm shows were planned, telling a user on X: “See you down the front”.Glastonbury will also be hoping to lure the bickering brothers to the pyramid stage, with a headline slot open to them – if…

A British fraud detection company backed by Mike Lynch, the technology entrepreneur who died this week, is in talks about a sale to Visa, the American payments giant, worth hundreds of millions of pounds.Sky News has learnt that Featurespace, which was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Cambridge, is in advanced negotiations about a deal. Estimates of its potential value varied this weekend, but one insider said it could be worth more than £700m, while another said it could ultimately be worth less than that.Sources cautioned, however, that a deal had yet to be formally agreed and could still…

Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France, according to local reports.The 39-year-old tech chief was reportedly detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris. News broadcasters BFMTV and TF1 have quoted unnamed sources as saying the Russian-born entrepreneur – who became a French citizen in 2021 – was the subject of a search warrant.Both outlets suggest the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram and potential criminal activity by users.Neither French police, the Interior Ministry, nor Telegram have commented on those claims.…

Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced the birth of their first child.The couple have named their son Jack Blues Bieber, and announced his birth in a post on Instagram on Saturday morning. A photograph on Justin’s account, shared with his 294 million followers, showed the newborn’s foot.”Welcome Home,” he captioned the picture. Hailey also shared the post. Image: Jack Blues Bieber’s birth was announced on Instagram. Pic: @justinbieber/Instagram US reality star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner and singer Katy Perry were among the stars congratulating the couple. Read more:Animal rights charity ‘appalled’ at Lily Allen over returned puppyEd Sheeran reignites swimming…

The energy price cap will rise in October to an annual average of £1,717.Industry regulator Ofgem said the 10% rise was largely due to higher wholesale gas prices and urged bill-payers to “shop around” for fixed-rate deals. Money latest:Warning £2,500 will be added to stamp duty ‘overnight’But the latest increase – which means households paying by direct debit will pay £12 per month more – means the cap will remain around £500 up on the average annual bill levels seen before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.But what is the energy price cap? What is the real cost for households? And why…

From Beijing to Hangzhou, the sight of robotic dogs in a park is becoming more and more common.Climbing stairs? No problem. And what about hills? They can do that too. Josh Yuan showed us his robo-dog in one of Beijing’s fanciest shopping districts, guiding it through a crowd of curious onlookers with a handheld remote-controlled device.He paid £1,300 for his new companion a few months ago. “I think at the moment it’s for people like me, or tech geeks and programmers,” Mr Yuan said. “But I think in the future, it will be quite common and humanoid robots will definitely…

Ed Sheeran has reignited controversy around a “wildlife pond” he built in the garden of his Suffolk mansion, after sharing a video showing him bombing into the water in his swimming trunks after taking a run and sauna.The 33-year-old pop star applied to build the kidney-shaped pond on his estate in several years ago, angering some neighbours who felt it could be used as a swimming pool. Image: Ed Sheeran’s ‘wildlife pond’ pictured in 2019. Pic: Splash News Planning documents said it would “support nature conservation” and the application was approved on the basis it was used for wildlife and…

The energy price cap will rise to an average annual £1,717 from October, the industry regulator has confirmed as the clock ticks down to the loss of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.The new figure represents a 10% a year – or £12 per month – leap in the typical sum households face paying for gas and electricity when using direct debit. Ofgem said that the rise was largely due to higher wholesale gas prices and it urged bill-payers to “shop around” as there are fixed rate deals on the market that could offer savings.Money latest: Warning £2,500 will…

This is a bittersweet moment for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their families.Hopes had been high that for the first time they would have access to a treatment that could slow the decline in memory and thinking. When a pivotal clinical trial was released last year doctors hailed lecanemab as a game-changer, one that could delay the need for care and give families more time together.But while the medicine’s regulator has agreed that the drug can be prescribed, the NHS spending watchdog has ruled in draft guidance that it is too expensive to justify the benefits.Unusually that isn’t just…