Author: SKYNEWS

Almost three decades on from the original Twister, a standalone sequel is ready to brew up a storm in cinemas.Starring Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones, Twisters is set against the backdrop of Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley and follows a young storm chaser’s fascination with taming Mother Nature. Speaking at the film’s European premiere in London, Edgar-Jones says leading a film feels like her childhood dream becoming a reality.”I grew up in London and I used to watch all of the premieres that came here so to be here for [my film] is wild. I feel so lucky.” Image: Pic: Warner Bros The…

The UK’s largest hotel brand has had to change its marketing after a complaint to the advertising regulator – removing claims which said buying early means getting the best price. The complaint against Premier Inn was “informally resolved” by the advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), meaning the hotel chain agreed to amend the communication and details of the issue were not made public. No formal ruling was published but the ASA told Sky News a complaint had challenged Premier Inn’s claim that booking early gave the best deals on the basis the statement was misleading and could not…

A comedy actor who had parts in Anchorman and Arrested Development faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to interfering with police officers during the US Capitol riots.Jay Johnston, who also voiced pizzeria owner Jimmy Pesto in the animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers, is one of more than 1,400 people who have been charged with crimes related to the violence in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Video footage captured the 55-year-old pushing against police and helping rioters during the disorder at the lower west tunnel leading into the Capitol.The tunnel is where some of the worst violence…

Rachel Reeves has announced mandatory housing targets and an end to the onshore wind ban to get “Britain building again”.The UK’s first ever female chancellor said Labour will create a new taskforce “to accelerate stalled housing sites in our country”. She promised her government would build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, as pledged in Labour’s election manifesto.Follow live politics updates”We’re not in the business of reneging on our manifesto commitments,” she said in her first speech as chancellor after Labour won the general election last Thursday. “We’ve received that strong mandate. We’re going to deliver on that…

Scientists in China have discovered a ‘super moss’ that could help sustain life on Mars.The super resilient Syntrichia Caninervis moss was found in the desert in the western region of Xinjiang and could help sustain colonies on the red planet, according to experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Moss is a very absorbent plant and can hold more than its own body weight in water. Image: The ‘super moss’ Syntrichia Caninervis in China. Pic: Chinese Academy of Sciences/The Innovation When the scientists dried out this particular species of moss and then rehydrated it, it sprang back to life within…

The first big announcement of Gordon Brown’s chancellorship was, arguably, the single biggest decision and the single biggest moment of his entire time in office.In a wood-panelled room on Whitehall a few days after being elected, Mr Brown announced that he was making the Bank of England independent – to the shock of many of those present. Money latest: Pubs want ‘disgraceful’ Co-op TV advert taken off air Image: Pic: Reuters Rachel Reeves’s first big speech as chancellor happened in the same room today, but lacked the drama or the big-bang surprise of that moment. Rather than announcing a big,…

We all have difficult neighbours – even the Earth.Now scientists have found that a planet close to our own world stinks of rotten eggs. The research, from scientists at the Johns Hopkins University in the US, suggests that the atmosphere of the planet HD 189733 b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant, has trace amounts of hydrogen sulphide.HD 189733 b is an exoplanet – meaning it is outside our solar system.The discovery of hydrogen sulphide on the exoplanet offers scientists new clues about how sulphur, a building block of planets, might influence the insides and atmospheres of exoplanets. At only 64 light-years…

School uniform costs can hit families’ pockets hard, especially if you’re sending more than one child off to the school gates every morning.To get the most out of your money, it pays to buy early. That’s why we’ve run through all the best deals and discounts you can get on school uniform before the new academic year starts in September.Read all the latest Money news hereStarting with Aldi, this is the third year in a row the supermarket has frozen the price of its back-to-school bundle at just £5 for ages 4-12. Customers are able to pick up two polo…

The cow flu virus that has spread through US dairy herds may have taken a “dangerous” step towards being able to infect humans through respiratory infections, scientists have warned.The H5N1 virus, more commonly found in birds, has so far been confirmed in cattle on more than 100 farms in 12 states, with inactivated fragments of the strain being found in pasteurised milk on supermarket shelves. Four people working with animals have so far been infected, though symptoms were mild and they did not pass the virus on to anyone else.Now detailed analysis by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in…

Actor Chace Crawford says a scene in which he had to simulate sex with an octopus came as a total surprise and almost led him to have a panic attack.The 38-year-old, who rose to fame playing Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl, has played one of the lead characters in all four series of the satirical superhero show The Boys on Amazon Prime. However, he had no idea his role as Kevin Moskowitz, aka The Deep – whose powers include breathing underwater and the ability to talk to sea animals – had such a demanding scene in store when he first…