Author: SKYNEWS

Electronic musician Dave Ball, who was one half of the popular 1980s band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.The musician, who formed the duo with Marc Almond, died on Wednesday, just days after completing a new Soft Cell album. Formed in the late 1970s, Soft Cell were pioneers of the synth-pop sound which would become popular in the 1980s, and became best known for songs such as their chart-topping cover of Gloria Jones’s Tainted Love, Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, and Torch.Paying tribute, Almond, 68, described Ball as a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius” and said they were “always…

Google has struck a multimillion pound investment deal with the e-commerce fulfilment and logistics business which demerged from the online beauty and nutrition brand-owner THG earlier this year.Sky News has learnt that dozens of shareholders in THG Ingenuity were notified this week that the Alphabet-owned internet behemoth had agreed to invest in it through a structured equity deal. Sources said the investment was in the form of a convertible instrument which could eventually lead to Google holding a small direct equity stake in THG Ingenuity at a valuation of $1bn (£749m) or more.The investment forms part of a broader partnership…

Cows bred to produce less methane in their burps could prove to be an important ally in the fight against climate change, scientists have told Sky News.A groundbreaking breeding programme in Scotland is proving so successful that the amount of the greenhouse gas produced by cattle when they belch or break wind could fall by 40% in just 20 years. Cows and other farm animals produce at least 12% of global methane emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.But reducing levels could have a significant impact on global warming.The gas traps 80 times more heat…

The Louvre has reopened, three days after “priceless” pieces from the French crown jewels were stolen by thieves in an audacious daytime raid.Crowds – hundreds deep – waited outside the Paris museum’s famous glass pyramid entrance and bunched at the barriers as they were being removed on Wednesday morning. The Apollo Room, the scene of Sunday’s robbery, was still closed to visitors, with a folding screen closing off the doorway at the gallery’s entrance.The Paris landmark, the world’s most-visited museum, is normally closed on Tuesdays and has been shut since the heist for investigation. Image: The museum reopened on Wednesday.…

You know bad economic news is looming when a Chancellor of the Exchequer tries to get their retaliation in first.Treasury guidance on Tuesday afternoon that Rachel Reeves has prioritised easing the cost of living had to be seen in the light of inflation figures, published this morning, and widely expected to rise above 4% for the first time since the aftermath of the energy crisis. In that context the fact consumer price inflation in September remained level at 3.8% counts as qualified good news for the Treasury, if not consumers. Money latest: What inflation hike means for state pension and…

Elon Musk has attacked NASA’s administrator – and claimed he isn’t smart enough to hold the top job.The billionaire’s criticism of Sean Duffy came after the space agency said it was open to using moon landers that weren’t manufactured by his company SpaceX. On X, Musk accused Mr Duffy of “trying to kill NASA”, and wrote: “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:16 Lift-off for SpaceX’s Starship! While NASA has been planning to use SpaceX’s Starship rocket system to land on the lunar…

A security guard jailed for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly Willoughby has lost an appeal against his life sentence. Gavin Plumb was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years last year after being convicted of soliciting murder and encouraging or assisting others to rape and kidnap. A trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard that police found bottles of chloroform and an “abduction kit” with cable ties when officers raided the 38-year-old’s flat in Harlow, Essex.Plumb’s kidnap plan involved attempting to “ambush” Willoughby at her family home, jurors heard.Plumb argued in his defence that…

A Norwegian investment group has abandoned talks about an investment in Ovo, one of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers, amid concern that the industry’s regulatory regime is obstructing efforts to attract new capital.Sky News has learnt that Verdane, which is based in Oslo, had been in detailed talks as recently as this month about injecting a substantial sum into Ovo in return for a large stake in the business. Sources said on Tuesday, however, that Verdane had withdrawn from the talks partly as a result of uncertainty prompted by the energy regulator Ofgem’s capital adequacy rules.Ovo acknowledged earlier this month that…

If you ever fly to Washington DC, look out of the window as you land at Dulles Airport – and you might snatch a glimpse of the single biggest story in economics right now.There below you, you will see scattered around the fields and woods of the local area a set of vast warehouses that might to the untrained eye look like supermarkets or distribution centres. But no: these are in fact data centres – the biggest concentration of data centres anywhere in the world. For this area surrounding Dulles Airport has more of these buildings, housing computer servers that…

Graham Linehan will face no further action after being arrested over his social media posts about transgender people.The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator said his lawyers had been told the case wouldn’t proceed. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the move. Linehan, 57, was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence when he landed at Heathrow from his home in the US on 1 September.The incident drew criticism of the police and government from some politicians and free-speech campaigners.Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his officers were in an “impossible position” and should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”.…