Author: SKYNEWS

Train drivers at 16 rail companies will stage a series of fresh strikes next month in their long-running pay dispute, the Aslef union has announced.The drivers will walk out from Tuesday 7 May until Thursday 9 May, overtime will also be banned for six days from 6 May. The union said it had not met employers or the government for more than a year, accusing ministers of “giving up” trying to resolve the near two-year dispute.On 7 May drivers will walk out at c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.The following day,…

One of Gogglebox’s longest-serving sofa critics has announced his divorce, six years after tying the knot.Stephen Lustig-Webb and his husband Daniel have appeared on the hit Channel 4 programme together since 2019, but quit last year, saying they wanted to “explore other opportunities”. The pair, who run a hairdressing salon together, got engaged in 2016 and later married in 2018.Over the weekend Stephen confirmed their split, but said they planned to remain “forever friends”.Demonstrating their amicable break-up, Daniel posted a short video on Instagram showing them happily riding a tandem bike around Brighton – their hometown – along with the…

The music giant which counts Kylie Minogue, Lenny Kravitz and Fatboy Slim among its roster of global artists has expressed an interest in buying Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF), the London-listed company.Sky News has learnt that BMG, which is wholly owned by the German media and publishing giant Bertelsmann, approached HSF several weeks ago with an indicative offer. City sources said on Monday that BMG’s proposal was pitched significantly below those of both Blackstone and Concord Music, which have in recent days exchanged fire in a public bidding war for HSF.BMG’s interest in a takeover of HSF is said to have…

Children under six are being manipulated into “disturbing” acts of sexual abuse, according to a report by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).Warning: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse imagery Last year was the most extreme year on record for the IWF’s abuse hotline, which saw a 22% increase in ‘category A’ imagery.Category A imagery involves penetrative sexual activity, images involving sexual activity with an animal, or sadism.For the first time, the charity analysed a whole year’s worth of data on abuse of three-to-six year olds and found these young children were being targeted while online on phones and…

Newsreader Huw Edwards has resigned from the BBC, the corporation has said.The BBC said the decision was made “on medical advice”. It comes nine months after the 62-year-old broadcaster from Llanelli faced allegations over explicit images.Edwards, who was the BBC’s highest-earning newsreader, was accused of paying a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures.A BBC spokesperson said: “Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC. After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors. “The BBC has accepted his resignation which it believes will allow…

On today’s episode of the Ian King Business Podcast, Asda’s chief financial officer Michael Gleeson responds to a 2.2% like-for-like sales growth – a slow-down of the 2.8% reported in the previous quarter.Underlying profits rose, though. Thames Water has promised to invest £1.1bn in its network over the next five years.Plus EY shares their new spring forecast.Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here. Source link

Tinder is adding a new safety feature to the app, so online daters can let friends and families know where they are. The ‘Share My Date’ feature allows users to share the location, time and a photo of their match. More than one in 10 online adults in the UK use dating apps, according to Ofcom, and Tinder is the most popular, with nearly 2.5 million adults using it in the UK.Although a huge number of people now date online, there are still safety concerns when it comes to swiping right, ranging from scams to stalking and even sexual assault. Image:…

TV host Jeremy Kyle is expected to give evidence at an inquest into the death of Steve Dymond, who died shortly after failing a lie detector test on his show in May 2019.The presenter was previously made an interested person to the inquest by the coroner because “he may have caused or contributed” to Mr Dymond’s death. Image: Steve Dymond The digger driver from Portsmouth died of a morphine overdose and heart problem seven days after appearing on the show. He was found dead in his bedroom at his home.He had taken a lie detector test for the show after…

The FTSE 100 has ended a long wait to achieve a new record high.The index, which comprises the 100 most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange, closed Monday’s session on 8,023 points following a jump of 128 points or 1.6%. That was the highest closing sum since February last year when the 8,000 barrier was breached for the first time in its history.The previous record stood at 8,012.The performance on Monday was driven by a strong showing for companies across the board, particularly financial and consumer-linked stocks such as those for retailers. Money latest: Five big lenders hike mortgage…

Hundreds of users of the gay dating app Grindr have alleged the company shared their private information, including their HIV status, with third parties, a law firm said on Monday. Austen Hays said it was filing the mass data protection lawsuit at London’s High Court and claimed thousands of Grindr users in the UK may have been affected. The firm alleges users’ highly sensitive information, including HIV status and the date of their latest HIV test, was provided to third parties for commercial purposes.It said around 670 people had signed up to the lawsuit over breaches said to have taken place…