Author: SKYNEWS

Reality stars Pete Wicks and Tasha Ghouri are the latest celebrities to be announced for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.Details of the 2024 contestants have been confirmed each day this week, with Go Compare singer Wynne Evans, singer and actress Toyah Willcox, TV doctor Punam Krishan, comedian Chris McCausland and JLS star JB Gill already confirmed. Image: Toyah Willcox. Pic: PA The new announcements come amid the scandal currently facing the hit BBC series, with an investigation into allegations of abusive behaviour behind the scenes taking place.Wicks, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, was…

The Royal Mint has started extracting gold embedded in old phones and TVs to make commemorative coins and jewellery in what has been hailed as a “world first”.The UK’s coinmaker has opened a factory in South Wales which will be processing up to 4,000 tonnes of printed circuit boards from e-waste every year. Anne Jessopp, Royal Mint chief executive, said it is “transforming for the future” and the opening of its Precious Metals Recovery factory “marks a pivotal step in our journey”.As well as recycling the circuit boards it receives, the Royal Mint is also working towards receiving the entire…

Video game performers could be on strike for “a full year” over artificial intelligence (AI), the union representing striking workers in the US has told Sky News. More than 2,500 performers working for blockbuster video game studios like Activision, EA, Warner Bros. Games and Blindlight have been on strike in the US since 26 July. Their union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), wants the studios to agree to new protections for performers around generative AI use in the industry. Image: Picketers at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on 1 August. Pic: AP Now, the union’s chief…

Three water companies are facing a combined fine of £168m after a series of failings, including over sewage treatment.The proposals by regulator Ofwat include a penalty of £104m for Thames Water. Yorkshire Water faces a £47m fine, while Northumbrian Water will have to pay £17m.It comes after an Ofwat investigation found the firms had “routinely released sewage into our rivers and seas, rather than ensuring that this only happens in exceptional circumstances as the law intends”.The regulator said it would consult on the level of the fines before the companies are ordered to pay up and could potentially reach a…

Google illegally maintained an online search monopoly, a US court has said, in one of the biggest rulings against the company’s market dominance. The tech giant has been successfully sued in federal court by the US Justice Department and states which argued it remained the most used internet search engine by paying smartphone makers billions to make Google the default on browsers and devices. Money blog: US recession fearThis created anti-competitive barriers to entry for potential new or smaller search engines and further entrenched Google’s position, the government and 38 states and territories, led by Colorado and Nebraska, argued.Regulators in…

Banksy has revealed a new piece of art in west London.The famous street artist’s latest work features a silhouette of a goat, perched on top of a wall. It is done in his signature stencil-style and a CCTV camera is nearby, at times pointed at the animal, as rocks fall down below it. Image: Members of the public look on at the new Banksy artwork. Pic: PA It is thought the artwork is based near Kew Bridge, in Richmond.Banksy posted the art on his Instagram – which is how he has previously claimed his work. This comes around a month…

Stock markets around the world have dropped sharply on Monday amid fears the US economy may be heading for a recession.The UK’s FTSE 100 was down more than 2% in early trading on Monday, while the FTSE 250 fell more than 3%. Other exchanges in Europe, including in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, fell by similar levels.It follows much steeper drops in Asia earlier today – and further falls are expected in the US when markets there open later.Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index was down more than 12% at the close on Monday – its biggest fall since “Black Monday”…

A Disney Channel child star has told Sky News that she “broke down in tears” after learning a criminal had used artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexual abuse images using her face.Kaylin Hayman, who is 16 years old, returned home from school one day to a phone call from the FBI. An investigator told her that a man living thousands of miles away had sexually violated her without her knowledge.Kaylin’s face, the investigator said, had been superimposed on images of adults performing sexual acts.”I broke down in tears when I heard,” Kaylin says. “It feels like such an invasion of…

Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler are just some of the musicians to have called Wales their home.This week, the talents of the land of song are on full display at one of Europe’s largest music and poetry festivals, the National Eisteddfod. But concerns have been raised about the future of the country’s arts sector due to funding cuts.Proposals from the Welsh National Opera (WNO) would see its orchestra made part-time and musicians’ pay cut by 15 per cent.More than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for the proposals to be scrapped. Image: To paraphrase Dame…

A French DJ who performed at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony has filed a legal complaint after suffering “an extremely violent campaign” of online abuse.Barbara Butch has been threatened with “death, torture, and rape, and has also been the target of numerous antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults [stigma based on body size]”, her lawyer said. Police in Paris have launched an investigation.The 43-year-old producer and activist appeared alongside a number of drag queens during a segment that has been compared with the biblical scene of the Last Supper.In it, Butch wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo.…