Author: SKYNEWS

A watercolour used for the cover of the first Harry Potter book has sold for £1.5m in New York.Auctioneer Sotheby’s said it was “the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold at auction”. Four bidders went head to head for nearly 10 minutes before the unnamed buyer was victorious.The last time it was sold it went for £85,750 – but that was in 2001 when only four Potter books had been published.Thomas Taylor’s picture had an estimate of $400,000-$600,000 (£320,420-£480,630) for Wednesday’s auction. Taylor was only 23 when he was commissioned by Barry Cunningham at publisher Bloomsbury – and he…

American actor Bill Cobbs has died at the age of 90.He was best known for his roles as security guard Reggie in the 2006 film Night At The Museum, and as Whitney Houston’s manager Bill Devaney in the 1992 film The Bodyguard.He also featured in the former’s sequel Secret Of The Tomb, released in 2014.The veteran actor died on Tuesday evening in the Inland Empire, California, his agent told the PA news agency.His agent said Cobbs was surrounded by his family and is thought to have died of natural causes. Image: Cobbs in Night At The Museum. Pic: 20thC.Fox/Everett/Shutterstock Other…

Travis Kelce has revealed what he thought of the Prince of Wales after meeting the royal at his girlfriend Taylor Swift’s London concert. The American football tight end, who has been in a relationship with Swift since September 2023, joined the singer as she met Prince William, and his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, at last Friday’s show at London’s Wembley Stadium. A picture of the group was posted on Instagram on 21 June, the same day as William’s 42nd birthday. Image: Pic: Taylor Swift/Instagram Describing the royal meet on podcast New Heights, which he hosts with his brother…

A man suffering from Parkinson’s disease has said a procedure which has ended his tremors “feels like a miracle”.An ultrasound thalamotomy, which gives Parkinson’s patients hope of regaining independence, was carried out on a sufferer for the first time in Scotland earlier this month. Ian Keir, 63, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2018 after suffering two years of tremors in his right hand and couldn’t manage everyday tasks.But since the retired firefighter underwent the non-invasive procedure at the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine as part of an international clinical trial, he can write and cut his own food again,…

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group – the UK’s biggest lender – has warned whoever wins the general election that they will not be able to fuel growth by increasing government borrowing.Charlie Nunn said the UK’s national debt had been forced higher in the last decade and a half due to “massive shocks” such as the global financial crisis, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and also by some issues specific to the UK economy. Limits on investment And, speaking exclusively to Sky News, he said this would limit the next government’s ability to invest.He said: “We have increased…

Bill Gates has said artificial intelligence (AI) will accelerate innovation and make it easier to combat climate change – but also warned it must be “used by people with good intent”.The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder made the comments during an interview with Sky News at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London. Gates told The World With Yalda Hakim that AI had so far “played a fairly modest role” in helping to combat climate change, but was going to make innovation “far easier to do”.He said: “AI helps us model things in the sciences: understand materials better, and catalysts, and how…

A pair of Elvis Presley’s blue suede shoes are to go up for auction. The American singer wore the size 10.5 footwear on and off stage in the 1950s, including during a performance on the Steve Allen TV show. He acquired the pair after recording the hit Blue Suede Shoes, which was written by fellow singer Carl Perkins, for his debut album in 1956.Presley later gave the shoes away the night before his induction into the US army in 1958. Image: Elvis performing in 1956. Pic: AP / Shreveporttimes.com The footwear is tipped to fetch between £100,000 and £120,000 when…

Everyone seems to know the score, they’ve seen it all before…Or have we? Now England have got through the group stage, it’s time for the nation to start getting its hopes up way too early – yes, there are still a few hurdles to overcome before the Euro 2024 final, but no matter – and think about (whisper it) football possibly, maybe coming home.We have David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie to thank for that central refrain now synonymous with England and football; a song full of unashamed nostalgia for the days of the World Cup…

New details have been unveiled for Universal’s first UK theme park – including plans for the attraction to be open 365 days a year.Universal Destinations & Experiences – which is owned by Sky’s parent company Comcast – has bought land near Bedford as it plans to build Europe’s largest theme park with millions of visitors per year, as well as a 500-room hotel and dining area. Economic benefitsUniversal’s economic impact analysis, produced in line with HM Treasury guidelines on economic appraisal and published today suggests the attraction will generate nearly £50bn of economic benefits for the UK.It said the net…

Two astronauts are stuck in space because Boeing’s Starliner can’t make the journey back to Earth.Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams blasted off on 5 June in Starliner’s first mission to orbit carrying astronauts. After docking onto the International Space Station (ISS), the NASA astronauts were supposed to stay in orbit for eight days.However, the space capsule has had five helium leaks, five dead manoeuvring thrusters and a propellant valve that failed to close completely.NASA has rescheduled the planned return three times, and now has no date set for it – although internally at the agency, Starliner’s latest targeted…