Author: SKYNEWS

A quick and easy cervical screening test women can do at home could be rolled out on the NHS in a move described as a “game-changer”.The self-testing kit detects human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of viruses that cause no symptoms but can lead to cervical cancer. About 13 high-risk types of HPV are known to cause 99.7% of all cervical cancers.The kit could lead to about 400,000 more checks each year and NHS leaders said they are looking at making it available in England.The biggest trial to date, known as the King’s College London YouScreen trial, shows the DIY kit…

A US country singer has apologised and admitted she was drunk when she performed an off-key version of the national anthem.Ingrid Andress’s rendition at a baseball game was widely panned and drew gasps from the crowd after one particularly shaky high note. She was opening the show at Monday’s Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas, and it didn’t take long for people to express their shock on social media.”I’m so sorry, I’m sure Ingrid Andress is a wonderful person, but that was one of the worst national anthems I think I’ve ever heard in my whole life,” said Sports Illustrated…

A rush of promotional activity to lure football fans to supermarkets has played a role in pushing grocery inflation to its lowest level since September 2021, according to industry data.Kantar Worldpanel – which tracks supermarket till prices, sales and market share – said its measure of grocery inflation slowed to 1.6% in the four weeks to 7 July from 2.1% the previous month. That left the figure at its lowest level since September 2021 and marked the 17th consecutive decline in the monthly rate following the peak seen in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Kantar said prices were rising…

The Scottish government has announced plans for a multi-million-pound package of support to help secure the future of the beleaguered Ferguson Marine shipyard.Up to £14.2m will be invested over two years if the proposal passes detailed legal, financial and commercial scrutiny, which is expected to be completed by the autumn. The support comes as a “competitive” process is now under way to award a contract to replace CalMac’s ageing fleet of small ferries.Publicly-owned Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG) is nearing completion of MV Glen Sannox and sister ship MV Glen Rosa.The ferries are some six years late and estimated costs…

Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate will not be able to leave Romania while he prepares to stand trial accused of human trafficking.It comes after a court of appeal in the capital Bucharest overturned an earlier ruling which granted the self-proclaimed misogynist and three other suspects – his brother Tristan and two Romanian women – freedom of movement within the European Union. The Tate siblings were charged in June 2023 with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.The two Romanian suspects also face charges as part of the case and all four deny the allegations…

One of the world’s most prolific investors in technology companies is in talks to lead a new investment round at Revolut, the British-based fintech.Sky News has learnt that Tiger Global Management is one of several parties which have expressed interest in acquiring more shares in Revolut. Tiger Global, which is a shareholder in Facebook-owner Meta, Microsoft and the semiconductor behemoth Nvidia, jointly led Revolut’s $800m primary funding round in 2021.The latest deal will not involve the issuance of new shares but will see many of the digital bank’s employees selling their existing holdings – known as a secondary offering.Money latest:…

A massive asteroid will skim past Earth in 2029 in an “extremely rare natural phenomenon” – and a spacecraft will be sent to track it.It’s hoped the findings from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission will help defend our planet from any similar objects on a collision course in the future. The asteroid 99942 Apophis will make an “exceptionally close flyby” of Earth on 13 April 2029, passing within 19,900 miles (32,000km) of its surface.Around 2 billion people across much of Europe and Africa and parts of Asia will be able to see it with the naked eye if the…

Jack Black has cancelled Tenacious D’s tour after his bandmate said “don’t miss Trump next time” in the wake of the former president’s attempted assassination.The School of Rock star said he was “blindsided” by Kyle Gass’s remarks on stage, adding that “all future creative plans” for the duo are on hold. The comedy rock group were on stage in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday when Gass was presented with a birthday cake and asked to make a wish. Image: Kyle Gass, left, and Jack Black of Tenacious D performing in 2022. Pic: Amy Harris/Invision/AP Gass sparked controversy when he replied “don’t…

The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that it is expecting the UK economy to grow faster than previously expected this year.The Washington-based fund, which was predicting only last October the UK would be the slowest of all the G7 nations this year, now expects it to be firmly in the middle of the pack. Money latest: What happens when you go bankrupt?The upgrade – which takes expected growth this year from 0.5% to 0.7% – does not reflect the recent change of government, since it was first announced in May, when the IMF conducted its annual assessment of the UK…

An Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to have invented Bitcoin has been referred to UK prosecutors for alleged perjury. A judge at London’s High Court found Dr Craig Wright lied “extensively and repeatedly” to support his claim that he was “Satoshi Nakamoto”, the pseudonym attributed to the person widely credited with creating the cryptocurrency. Dr Wright was sued by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a non-profit group that includes cryptocurrency firms, to stop him suing Bitcoin developers.Money latest: How to make most out of Amazon Prime dayJudge James Mellor ruled in March that the evidence Dr Wright was…