Author: SKYNEWS

Tennis star Venus Williams, Manchester City striker Mary Fowler and seven other athletes have become the latest stars to be immortalised by Barbie dolls.Gymnasts Rebeca Andrade, from Brazil, and Alexa Moreno, from Mexico, will also get their own Barbies, alongside Canadian footballer Christine Sinclair, French boxer Estelle Mossely, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, Spanish paratriathlete and doctor Susana Rodriguez, and Polish track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda. Announcing the new dolls, Mattel said it wanted to note “the impact of sports in fostering self-confidence, ambition, and empowerment among the next generation”. Image: Man City star Mary Fowler says playing sport has…

The Coventry Building Society is racing to finalise a £780m takeover of the Co-operative Bank that would catapult the mutual into the ranks of Britain’s biggest high street lenders.Sky News has learnt that the Coventry is trying to put the finishing touches to a definitive deal within the next few days to avoid it falling under the auspices of the UK Takeover Code. Sources said the two sides were keen to avoid additional financial and regulatory complexities that could arise if the transaction became subject to the code.The Coventry and the Co-operative Bank were now hopeful of ironing out residual…

A victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has told Sky News that ex-boss Paula Vennells must “come clean” in her evidence to the statutory inquiry.Chirag Sidhpura, a former sub-postmaster who became one of the public champions for justice based on his own treatment at the hands of the Post Office, said he was expecting a “culture of denial” and “lies” over Ms Vennells’ three days of scheduled evidence. Read moreThe major questions for Post Office boss Paula Vennells to answer as three days of questioning to beginShe is due before the inquiry later this morning.The 65-year-old, who was Post…

Wylfa in North Wales is the preferred site for a major new nuclear power development, the government has announced.Ministers are beginning talks with international energy firms to explore building the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station at the Anglesey site, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The department said the gigawatt nuclear power plant could provide enough clean power for six million homes for 60 years.Britain has a target of generating a quarter of all electricity – around 24GW – from home-grown nuclear power by 2050.The aim is part of the government’s plan to enhance energy…

A former model has accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her at his New York City recording studio in 2003 in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.Crystal McKinney’s allegations are just the latest in a series of accusations made against the rapper and producer. McKinney says she was a successful 22-year-old model when she met Combs at a restaurant during Men’s Fashion Week in Manhattan.The music mogul invited her to his recording studio later that night, according to the federal complaint filed in New York City.The lawsuit states McKinney arrived and found Combs drinking and smoking cannabis with several other…

There is a “possibility” that G7 nations will support Ukraine’s war effort through the use of billions of dollars in loans linked to frozen Russian assets, the US Treasury secretary has told Sky News.In a wide-ranging interview with Sky’s Wilfred Frost, Janet Yellen said she was hopeful of a “united front” on the issue ahead of a key meeting of finance ministers in Italy, arguing that Ukraine had “substantial needs”. Ukraine war latest:Putin sacks minister in new sign of shift in strategyShe also admitted there was a possibility that China could respond to the imposition of US sanctions on its…

“Workers united, will never be defeated!” a man shouts into a loud hailer. He is part of a crowd marching through the streets of Manchester in a May Day parade, organised by some of Britain’s biggest trade unions.The sun is shining and there’s a festival atmosphere, as his fellow marchers hold aloft placards about workers’ rights and fair pay.Among the marchers is Jason Wyatt, a steelworker from South Wales. He is here to shine a spotlight on what’s happening in his hometown of Port Talbot, where several thousand of his colleagues are facing redundancy.There’s applause as Jason takes to the…

Grocery inflation has eased to its lowest level since October 2021, according to industry data released before official figures tipped to show a big dent in the overall pace of price increases in the economy.Kantar Worldpanel – which tracks supermarket till prices, sales and market share – said its measure of grocery inflation slowed to 2.4% in the four weeks to 12 May from 3.2% the previous month. The measure showed there is still upward pressure on the cost of items such as chilled fruit juices, drinks, sugar confectionery and chocolate confectionery – the latter a consequence of poor cocoa…

GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines. GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.The watchdog said the show featuring…

Cazoo, the British online car retailer once-valued at well over £5bn, will crash into administration on Tuesday.Sky News understands that insolvency practitioners from Teneo will be formally appointed just over a week after Cazoo filed to seek temporary protection from creditors. More than 700 people have already lost their jobs as a result of the crisis at Cazoo, with the administrators expected to retain a number of staff to operate the remaining marketplace model while they explore a sale.Motor industry sources said the entry into administration would allow Teneo to focus on a sale, with the marketplace model having drawn…