Author: SKYNEWS

The Killers’ Mr Brightside has overtaken Oasis’s Wonderwall to become the biggest single to have never reached number one in the UK.The crowd-pleasing classic of student nights and cover bands only peaked at number 10 – but has remained a popular earworm for years. Two decades after its first release, it’s racked up 1.066m in physical/download sales and more than 530 million streams in the UK, according to the Official Charts Company (OCC).It’s also spent nearly eight years continuously inside the UK’s top 100 – the most of any song ever.And when combined streams and physical sales are totted up,…

Politics has thrust its way into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, with several of the finalists referring ongoing global disputes while speaking about their progression into the final stage of the competition.Latvian act Dons, whose song Hollow is about insecurity, was the first to use his platform to shine a light onto the troubled geopolitical landscape. Image: Latvia’s Dons. Pic: Corinne Cumming/EBU Appearing at a news conference following the selection of the final 10 acts on Thursday, he responded to a question from Latvian media asking him, “What was your message tonight?” by saying: “Today was a special day in…

Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump. Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up more than 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow…

Israel has made it into the Eurovision grand final, despite calls for the country’s entry to be banned from the contest.Israel’s success in reaching the final stage of the show – which will take place on Saturday – comes against a backdrop of large protests across Malmo, Sweden, which is this year’s host city. Image: The Pro-Palestinian demonstration before the Eurovision Song Contest. Pic: AP Israel’s song Hurricane – sung by 20-year-old Eden Golan – had to be reworked after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) which believed some lyrics…

How soon is too soon? That’s the question exercising members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) at the moment. All nine members know that interest rates, currently at 5.25%, will have to be cut in the coming months. After all, high interest rates represent a brake on the economy and it’s becoming clear that keeping the brake pedal down is causing economic pain.Money latest: Reaction as Bank of England holds off on rate cutUnemployment is beginning to rise; the strength of consumer demand is dropping and, most of all, inflation is coming down too. For Bank insiders,…

The team behind the Lord Of The Rings trilogy will work on two new films, Warner Bros has announced.Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind the epic Oscar-winning films released in 2001, 2002 and 2006, will produce the films alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Andy Serkis, known for playing Gollum in the original trilogy based on JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novels set in the world of Middle Earth, will again star as the character and direct the first of the new movies, Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum.In a statement sure to excite fans, Serkis used Gollum’s catchphrase, saying: “Yesssss,…

The prospect of a strike across Tata Steel’s UK operations has gained further traction after a key union secured support for industrial action.Community, which has more than 3,000 members, said 85% voted in favour of fighting the India-owned company’s plans for up to 2,800 job losses, the majority of them at the country’s biggest steelworks in Port Talbot, South Wales. Tata confirmed last month it was to press ahead with the closure of the blast furnaces at the plant, replacing them with electric arc furnaces to reduce emissions and costs.In doing so, the company rejected an alternative plan put forward…

“Boycott Eurovision” a man shouts into a microphone, “shame on Eurovision”.For a song contest striving to avoid politics, Eurovision 2024 is proving challenging.Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in Malmo today to demonstrate against Israel’s inclusion in the contest as the war in Gaza rages on.Read more: Everything you need to know about this year’s showTonight, Israeli entrant Eden Golan will find out if she’s through to the final.A decision to allow Israel to participate has been contentious, prompting some to boo during Golan’s dress rehearsal. Image: Pic: AP The outcry follows months of demonstrations and calls for a boycott.Among the…

A recommendation that a new body be appointed to handle financial claims by victims of the Post Office scandal, has been rejected by the government.A report by the Business and Trade Committee of MPs in March had called for an independent intermediary to handle every stage of the sub-postmasters’ claims amid anger over red tape and delays to payments. It had described the current redress process as an “abject failure” and demanded too that the Post Office was removed from involvement in the three main compensation schemes altogether.Money latest: Gordon Ramsay opening four new restaurantsBut in its response to the…

AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID vaccine – ending an era in which it saved millions of lives while being dogged by controversy.The jab, developed at Oxford University, was once hailed as “the vaccine for the world” because it could be stored in fridges rather than the ultra-cold freezer temperatures originally required for alternative mRNA shots, making it more suitable for developing countries. But AstraZeneca (AZ) said demand for the jab had tailed off as more up-to-date vaccines target newer variants of the virus. It no longer manufactures nor supplies the vaccine.The voluntary withdrawal has started in…