Author: SKYNEWS

A nearly complete fossil of a stegosaurus has sold for a record $44.6m (£34.2m), becoming the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction.An anonymous US buyer outbid six others for the set of bones, dubbed Apex, at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday. They paid an apex price, beating the previous auction record of $31.8m (£24.4m) spent on a Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Stan in 2020 and smashed the pre-sale estimate of $4m-6m (£3m-£4.6m). Image: Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP Apex stands 3.3 metres (11 feet) tall and 8.2 metres (27 feet) in length, putting it among the most complete fossils…

Historical drama Shogun leads the way in this year’s Emmy nominations, while The Crown and Baby Reindeer top the British entries.Shogun, a story of a power struggle in feudal Japan, racked up 25 nominations to lead the contenders, followed by restaurant tale The Bear with 23 – a record for a comedy. Netflix topped all networks with 107 nominations, including 18 for The Crown and 11 for Baby Reindeer.The royal drama’s final season aired in November and December last year in two parts, depicting the events surrounding Diana, Princess of Wales’ death.The show starred Dame Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth…

Johnny Depp has revealed a painting inspired by his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis, describing her as “everything I could never be”.The Empress is part of the actor’s latest collection of four tarot-inspired artworks. While Depp is best known for his work in Hollywood, he is also a musician and a painter, and released his first collection of artwork in 2022 – just weeks after winning his high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard in the US. Image: Depp and Paradis, pictured at the Los Angeles premiere of his film Sleepy Hollow in 1999, were together from 1998 to 2012 The 61-year-old…

Fraser T Smith is the producer you want on speed dial to make a hit. His CV of collaborators reads like a who’s who of chart-toppers, award-winners and A-listers, from Adele, Sam Smith and Drake, to Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Idris Elba, while his work with Stormzy, Kano and Dave has helped push the sound of UK rap and grime.We speak on Zoom, chatting about this year’s Glastonbury festival and the electric headline sets from both Dua Lipa and Coldplay. He worked with both during lockdown, when they were among 24 acts he brought together, along with Dave Grohl,…

An experimental drug that extends the lifespan of mice by 25% could also work in humans, according to the scientist who ran the trials.The treatment – an injection of an antibody called anti-IL-11 that was given to the mice when they were ‘middle-aged’ – reduced deaths from cancer. It also lowered the incidence of diseases caused by fibrosis, chronic inflammation and poor metabolism, which are the hallmarks of ageing.Professor Stuart Cook, a senior scientist on the study, said: “These findings are very exciting.”While these findings are only in mice, it raises the tantalising possibility that the drugs could have a…

The rate of inflation remained steady at 2% in June. The figure is higher than expected. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a drop to 1.9%.The Bank of England will likely wait longer to decide whether to cut the base interest rate, as they seek more evidence that inflation is under control for the medium term. There are concerns it could rise again later this year.A fall in inflation doesn’t mean prices are coming down – though some individual items might – but rather that they’re rising less quickly.Read more:BoE economists ‘will not be panic over inflation data’But how much…

Amazon workers have failed to achieve enough support for union recognition in the UK, the results of a landmark ballot have shown.More than 3,000 workers at the company’s Coventry warehouse were asked if they wanted to be represented by the GMB union. But the union fell “agonisingly short” – 49.5% of the 2,600 workers who voted backed union recognition, falling shy of a majority.It means the GMB cannot officially represent its membership among the workforce.’Just the beginning’ A legal claim has been launched by GMB against the tech giant for pressuring workers to cancel their union membership during the ballot…

The armourer for the Western film Rust is asking a judge to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter conviction or order a new trial over the fatal shooting that happened on set.Defence counsel for Hannah Gutierrez argue in a new court filing that her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors failed to share evidence that might have helped her case. This was revealed last week during the separate trial of the film’s star Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun which went off on the set in New Mexico in 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Image: Alec…

The TV retail consultant known as ‘Mary Queen of Shops’ has called on the government to block a proposed London stock market listing by Shein.Mary Portas, who undertook a review of UK high streets for the coalition government led by David Cameron, was speaking as an online petition by the Say No to Shein campaign neared its target of 35,000 signatures. The Chinese-founded fast fashion firm is expected to seek a £50bn valuation in an initial public offering (IPO) late this summer or in the early autumn.Money latest:Pound flies after inflation news – and it’s good for Brits abroad Image:…

An arm of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is plotting a bid to acquire a big stake in a major contractor to Thames Water even as the UK’s largest water utility hovers close to collapse.Sky News has learnt that BlackRock’s private markets division is among the remaining bidders for Lanes Group, which is based in Leeds. City insiders said an unspecified number of other suitors were also in the process.Money latest: Mortgage blow as rate cut forecasts rewrittenLanes Group is said to be valued at up to £350m, according to banking sources. BlackRock has begun to play an increasingly…