Author: SKYNEWS

Uber faces a multimillion-pound lawsuit from London’s black cab drivers in a revival of the longstanding dispute over the operation of the ride-hailing app in the UK capital.The action, which will be filed in the High Court on Thursday, alleges that Uber improperly obtained a licence from Transport for London in 2012 and therefore took business away from other drivers unlawfully. The value of the claim is estimated at a minimum of £250m, with each of the 10,500 black cab drivers potentially eligible for compensation of up to £25,000, according to RGL Management, the litigation claims management company representing them.All…

Wales is to get its own version of talent show The Voice, it has been announced.The series named Y Llais (Welsh for The Voice) will be presented by Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri. The Boom Cymru-produced show will make its debut on S4C next year.Opera star Sir Bryn Terfel has been announced as one of the four coaches. Image: Sir Bryn Terfel. Pic: AP The Grammy award-winning artist performed at the King’s coronation last May. The Welsh-language version becomes the 75th international adaptation of The Voice format.The series sees contestants take part in “blind auditions” as they hope to impress…

A price comparison platform which enables small businesses to assess the relative cost of payment services is raising millions of pounds to fund its growth.Sky News understands that Tuza, which launched last September, has secured £4m of seed capital from investors led by Connect Ventures. Northzone, an early-stage backer of Spotify, also participated in the round, alongside Triple Point and Entrepreneur First.Tuza, which had raised £1.5m in pre-seed funding nearly a year ago, aims to tackle inertia among SMEs in the £205bn payments sector, with more than 90% of smaller companies remaining with the same payment provider for more than…

Magic mushrooms have the potential to be an effective antidepressant, according to new research.Psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – has shown promise in reducing symptoms of depression after one or two doses, with few side effects and no signs of causing addiction. But past studies have not investigated things that might influence how effective the psychedelic is, such as the dose, whether people have taken psychedelics before and the type of depression.Researchers set out to address this by looking at randomised controlled trials that compared psilocybin with control substances such as a placebo, vitamin B or micro-dosing…

Beyonce will be included as a new entry in the latest edition of the French encyclopaedic dictionary Le Petit Larousse.The American popstar will feature alongside celebrities including Cate Blanchett, French actor Omar Sy, Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan, and French rugby captain Antoine Dupont in the 120th edition of the popular dictionary. More than 150 new words have been added this year.Many “reflect concerns, developments or strong movements this year,” Carine Girac-Marinier, director of the dictionaries and encyclopaedias department, told French news magazine Le Point.Beyonce broke records this year with her single Texas Hold ‘Em album Cowboy Carter. She became the…

One of the world’s leading economic authorities has warned the UK that borrowing should remain expensive until the rate of price rises eases further and stays there.Interest rates, which are at a post-2008-era high of 5.25%, should stay there, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Money latest:Tips for plane upgrades; Bitcoin suffers nightmare month”The fiscal and monetary policy mix is adequately restrictive and should remain so until inflation returns durably to target,” the OECD’s economic outlook for 2024 said.It’s an endorsement for the approach of the Bank of England whose statements on inflation have not indicated…

Chinese manufacturers receive nine times more government support than their Western counterparts, according to calculations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which help explain the country’s complete dominance in so many sectors, from solar panels and batteries to steel.The figures produced by the OECD show that Chinese businesses benefit from government subsidies equivalent, on average, to 3.7% of their revenues. This compares to average state aid of only 0.4% of revenues for countries in the rich world. Money latest: Bitcoin suffers nightmare monthThe data are a critical part of the explanation for Chinese dominance in certain fields,…

An “animal-centred internet” – which could allow pets to interact with each other as well as humans – may be possible, scientists have suggested.The findings come following a new study by researchers at the University of Glasgow found that parrots may prefer live chats with their friends over recorded messages – part of wider research that they said could pave the way for an online world for animals. Scientists believe parrots prefer the video calls because they may be able to tell the difference between live chats and pre-recorded messages.Lead author Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, from the University of Glasgow’s School…

US prosecutors plan to retry Harvey Weinstein after his 2020 conviction for rape was overturned in New York.The disgraced movie mogul, who has been in jail for four years, appeared in a Manhattan court on Wednesday for the first time since that conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week. A retrial could happen as soon as September.”We believe in this case and will be retrying this case,” prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said.In April, the state’s highest court ruled that Weinstein did not receive a fair trial – finding the hearing was prejudiced by “egregious” improper rulings by the judge,…

Four senior BBC newsreaders have begun legal action against the corporation on grounds of sex and age discrimination and equal pay.Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera are attending a two-day preliminary hearing in central London which is laying out the groundwork for a full tribunal against the corporation. The women, who have all been presenters on BBC News channels, claim they lost roles they held at the corporation following what they have called a “sham recruitment exercise” which they believe was “rigged”.The legal action comes after the corporation announced proposals to merge its BBC News and World News…