Author: SKYNEWS

A number of homeless people face being sent outside of Edinburgh to make way for tourists ahead of Taylor Swift performing in the city.The City of Edinburgh Council said it is working with those affected to find “alternative accommodation”. The local authority said as a result of its housing emergency, it must at times use tourist accommodation to house homeless people.However, as it won’t be available year-round – particularly over the summer holidays – it is “reluctantly” used as a last resort as a short-term fix and is only booked one week at a time. Image: Swift is set to…

The company which prints banknotes for the Bank of England has revealed it is in takeover talks.De La Rue said it was in discussions with “a number of parties who have made proposals in relation to, or expressed interest in, either of the group’s divisions”. It comes following a strategic review of the Basingstoke-based company’s authentication and currency divisions.The firm prints banknotes for central banks around the world.It recently collaborated with the Bank of England on new banknotes featuring the King’s portrait, which will enter circulation on 5 June. However, De La Rue stressed there was no certainty the talks…

Sony Music is reportedly in talks to buy Queen’s music catalogue for nearly $1bn (£800m).The rock band, fronted by Freddie Mercury until his death in 1991, were one of the most commercially successful groups in history. Sony is working with another investor on the transaction, according to Bloomberg.If the deal went ahead, it would include the rights to merchandising and other business opportunities.Talks are reported to have been ongoing since last year, and may not result in a deal. Image: Queen bandmembers (L-R): Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Brian May and Freddie Mercury. Pic: PA Despite not releasing a new song…

For many women, having kids pauses or unfairly disrupts their careers. For Louise Hill, the opposite happened.Growing up in Lowestoft on the east coast of England, she had a childhood filled with days on the beach, kayaking and exploring old boats. But her own kids arrived into a very different world – one of apps and downloads and online marketplaces. It wasn’t long before she started to think about financial education and the importance of practical money skills.Back when her two children had iPods and would download music from iTunes, she would print off an invoice every time they landed…

He’s a muscle-bound blonde from Eternia battling to save the universe – and now a 29-year-old brunette actor from Hammersmith is about to bring him to the big screen.Nicholas Galitzine – who’s fresh from playing a boy band star who falls in love with an older woman in The Idea Of You – has been announced as the new He-Man in a live-action Masters Of The Universe film. Image: Dolph Lundgren in Masters Of The Universe in 1987. Pic: Rex Features He-Man was first made into a live-action movie in 1987, starring Swedish action hero Dolph Lundgren in the lead…

Red Bull has made its first foray into English football by buying a minority stake in Leeds United.The multi-year deal will see the company become the team’s new shirt sponsor, while it will also become the side’s “exclusive energy drink partner”. The firm’s branding will also be prominently displayed at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium.Red Bull has attracted controversy over previous deals with football clubs – including in Austria where FC Red Bull Salzburg changed its name, crest and stadium name after being purchased by the company in 2005.However, in a club statement, Leeds United said its “name and logo…

A British insurtech company which provides protection against payment default has secured backing from one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms.Sky News understands Bondaval, which was founded in 2020 by Tom Powell and Sam Damoussi, has struck a deal to raise close to £15m from investors led by Dawn Capital, an early backer of iZettle, Quantexa and Tink. The new capital will be used to facilitate the launch of a reinsurance vehicle called Bondaval Re, which will diversify the start-up beyond its current status as a managing general agent.Bondaval operates in more than 30 countries, and has offices in London,…

A Canadian private equity firm has emerged as a leading contender to buy the British arm of Clear Channel, one of the world’s largest sellers of outdoor advertising space.Sky News has learnt Clairvest, which is based in Toronto, is among the parties which have expressed serious interest in acquiring the British and northern European operations of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings. Listed in New York, the billboard advertising group has been trying to offload its international assets for some time.Last autumn, it announced the sale of its business in France to Equinox Industries and said it had initiated a process to…

A Chinese national has been arrested for allegedly being the mastermind behind a huge botnet used to steal billions of dollars.The “911 S5” botnet was likely the world’s largest – and infected computers in nearly 200 countries and facilitated a whole host of crimes including financial frauds, identity theft and child exploitation, said FBI director Christopher Wray. Yunhe Wang allegedly made at least $99m (£78m) – buying luxury cars and properties all over the world – by selling access to criminals who used it for scams.A botnet is a network of infected computers that hackers operate remotely to conduct mass…

London’s Evening Standard is set to scrap its daily newspaper after almost 200 years, in favour of a weekly publication.The newspaper, first published as The Standard in 1827 before the introduction of its evening edition in 1859, is currently circulated for free at underground stations around the capital from Monday to Friday. But in an email to staff – seen by the PA news agency – the paper’s chairman Paul Kanareck said it had been making “substantial losses”, prompting the need for a change.The memo said fewer commuters travelling through London following the COVID pandemic, changing consumer behaviours, and the…