Author: SKYNEWS

The skies over the UK were lit up in a brilliant pink and green from the Northern Lights last night due to a severe solar storm.The impressive Aurora Borealis, usually only visible from northern parts of the British Isles, was visible across large parts of the UK overnight, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, unusually, southern England. Scroll down to see some of the pictures from across the UK…It comes after America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm raced towards Earth.Fears were also raised that…

A cut in VAT and a new levy on arena and stadium tickets are urgently needed to stop grassroots music venues from closing, MPs have said. A report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said artists are facing a “cost-of-touring crisis”, with venues stopping live music or closing entirely at a rate of two per week. The cross-party inquiry heard from the Music Venues Trust (MVT), which said 2023 has been the most challenging year for the sector since the organisation was founded in 2014, while Creative UK said the grassroots music sector took a “battering”.In total the number…

A privately owned used-car platform is circling Cazoo Group, its stricken US-listed rival which is on the brink of administration.Sky News has learnt that Motors.co.uk is a leading contender to acquire Cazoo’s marketplace operation, which would include its brand and intellectual property assets. The process to auction the used-car platform’s constituent parts comes after it spent tens of millions of pounds on sponsorship deals in football, snooker and darts in a rapid attempt to gain market share.Earlier this week, Cazoo filed a notice of intention to appoint Teneo as administrator, just three years after it floated in New York with…

Ireland’s Eurovision entry, Bambie Thug, has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to “gain some conscience” and “humanity,” as the contest bosses struggle to keep politics off the stage at the annual competition.The 31-year-old, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns “they” and “them”, also said “they cried with their team” when they found out Israel had got through to the grand final of the contest. Image: Eden Golan. Pic: Reuters Bambie is currently fifth favourite to win the competition with “ouija pop” song Doomsday Blue.Israel’s act, Eden Golan, will compete with her song Hurricane which was reworked after…

The Post Office’s ex-accounting chief says he had “other priorities” when asked at the inquiry why he did not highlight inaccuracies in his report after it was published.Rod Ismay authored the first report into faulty accounting system Horizon, in August 2010, which concluded the Fujitsu software was robust. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully convicted between 1999 and 2015 as a result of flaws within the system.An email exchange in December 2010, a few months after his report was published, refers to evidence “that Fujitsu can actually put an entry into branch accounts remotely”.It also described “a problem generated by the…

Apple has apologised for its new iPad Pro advert where it crushed cameras, books and musical instruments, saying it “missed the mark”. The advert – shared online by Apple chief executive Tim Cook – also featured creative tools such as a record player and a metronome being crushed in an industrial press. It was intended to show off the wide range of tools that the thinnest ever iPad can be used for.But the advert came under fire, with actor Hugh Grant saying it showed the “destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley”. X This content is provided by…

A woman alleged to be the inspiration for the stalker character of Martha in hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has branded the show “defamatory” and plans to sue.Fiona Harvey said she had been “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”. In the Netflix drama series inspired by the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Richard Gadd, his character Donny is stalked by a woman named Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning, after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.But in an interview with Piers Morgan posted on YouTube,…

As the latest GDP figures show the UK economy has emerged from its shallow recession, Ian King hosts a special edition of his business show.To analyse what the numbers mean, he’s joined by Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, Vivek Paul from BlackRock Investment Institute and Interactive Investor’s Victoria Scholar.Plus, Lucian Cook from estate agents Savills discusses the impact of the economy and interest rates on the property market.:: Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here. Source link

The Northern Lights are set to be visible across the UK overnight as a huge solar storm is going to hit Earth.America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reportedly issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm races towards Earth – meaning it could be the most powerful experienced in almost two decades. It’s set to hit overnight, and could supercharge the Northern Lights, making them visible in Scotland, northern England and Wales and even further south if conditions are right.But the Aurora Borealis could also potentially interfere with infrastructure, including the power…

Britain is not just out of recession. It is out of recession with a bang.The economic growth we saw reported this morning by the Office for National Statistics is not just faster than most economists expected, it is the fastest growth we’ve seen since the tail-end of the pandemic when the UK was bouncing back from lockdown. But, more than that, there are three other facts that the prime minister and chancellor will be gleeful about (and you can expect them to be talking about this number for a long time).First, it’s not just that the economy is now growing…