Author: SKYNEWS

Two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for over a month are talking to reporters for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams blasted off on 5 June in Starliner’s first mission to orbit carrying the astronauts. After docking on the ISS, the NASA astronauts were supposed to stay in orbit for eight days.However, Boeing’s Starliner has been plagued by problems and its return to Earth has been repeatedly delayed. During their extended stay on the ISS, the astronauts have been forced to take shelter in the spacecraft…

One of the very few specific targets that the Labour Party set itself in its election manifesto was a promise to “get Britain building again, creating jobs across England, with 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament”.Rachel Reeves, the new chancellor, laid out earlier this week how the new government plans to achieve this target, equivalent to building 300,000 homes a year, a total not achieved since the 1960s. Mandatory local targets on housebuilding – abandoned by Michael Gove, the former Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Secretary, amid pressure from Conservative backbenchers – will be restored while planning restrictions…

The new environment secretary has summoned the bosses of most of Britain’s water companies for urgent talks amid signs that Labour will take a tougher approach to regulating the industry.Sky News has learnt that Steve Reed will hold talks with executives from all 16 of the suppliers in England and Wales, including Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent. The meeting will take place on the same day that Ofwat, the water industry watchdog, will publish draft determinations on companies’ investment plans for the next five years.Money latest:What are the different ways of paying for a car?The rulings, which will…

The UK has launched a multi-billion pound national wealth fund to power green invest and infrastructure development in an effort to grow the economy.So far £7.3bn in state funds has been allocated so investments can be made “immediately” in areas such as ports, manufacturing and renewable energy. The move is part of Labour’s plans to grow the economy through planning reform, housebuilding targets and the creation of state-owned power company Great British Energy.Economic growth is a core goal of Labour’s time in government – their investment plans are predicated on the increased tax yields a larger economy brings, rather than…

A fight for better pay among workers at South Korea tech giant Samsung will now result in an indefinite strike, according to a top union official.A walkout over pay and conditions by members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) in the country began on Monday. But a row over the apparent effectiveness of the action and a lack of fresh talks appears to have prompted the union to double down.It dismissed an assertion by the world’s biggest maker of memory chips that the strike had caused no disruption to production lines so far.The NSEU has 30,000 members at Samsung’s…

In 1996, US hip-hop stars Cypress Hill sent themselves up in an episode of The Simpsons, accidentally booking a gig with the London Symphony Orchestra “possibly while high”.While it might have seemed an unlikely collaboration at the time, The Simpsons has gained a reputation for being eerily good at predicting the future, and the rappers have long had classical influences and the drive to push boundaries with their music. So now, after much demand from fans and talk on social media over the years, it’s finally happening – Cypress Hill will perform with the world famous orchestra tonight at the…

Europe’s newest rocket Ariane 6 has launched from French Guiana on the northern coast of South America.If the full launch is a success, it will give the European Space Agency (ESA) the ability to launch satellites again by itself. Ariane 6 took off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, just after 8pm BST after having a four-hour launch window from 7pm to 11pm.Its inaugural flight is expected to take just under three hours.Just before 9pm BST ESA director general Josef Aschbacher posted on X to say the rocket was in circular orbit. Image: Ariane 6 launches. Pic: ESA/AP A short…

The boss of Hakluyt, the corporate intelligence firm, is being lined up for a top business role in Sir Keir Starmer’s fledgling Labour administration.Sky News has learnt that Varun Chandra, who has been Hakluyt’s managing partner since 2019, is in advanced talks to join the government. Sources said on Tuesday that he was likely to take on a senior business liaison role in 10 Downing Street – a role occupied by Lord Petitgas, the former Morgan Stanley banker, in Rishi Sunak’s administration.Like Lord Petitgas, Mr Chandra is an ex-Lehman Brothers banker who went on to establish the regulated business operations…

Harvey Weinstein is facing an investigation over “additional violent sexual assaults,” prosecutors in New York say.Speaking at a hearing in New York state criminal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said they will seek a new indictment, adding the additional assaults allegedly committed in Manhattan were still within the statute of limitations to be charged as crimes.The 72-year-old film producer’s landmark 2020 New York conviction saw him handed a 23-year prison sentence and kickstarted a global #MeToo movement – but in April it was overturned by the state’s highest court.A retrial is yet to be announced.It was ruled…

Business presenter Ian King has answered 21 questions from readers of the Sky News Money blog on what a Labour government means for your personal finances.How will a Labour government affect benefits?Marie-Kate Ian King says…The expectation is that the UK’s principal disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments or PIP, will change.Labour has promised an overhaul of the welfare system, taking in Universal Credit as well as PIP, although details are currently scant. The thrust of Labour’s policy, though, will be to try and reduce economic inactivity and get more people of working age into the labour force. The party’s manifesto said…