Author: SKYNEWS

Hollywood stars have begun campaigning for Kevin Spacey to resume his acting career “after seven years of exile”.Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson and Stephen Fry are among the names speaking up for the Oscar-winner following the release of a Channel 4 documentary levelling fresh allegations against 64-year-old Spacey, which he denies. The Oscar-winning actor was one of Hollywood’s biggest names when allegations of sexual misconduct were made in 2017, leading Netflix to cut all ties with him at the height of his House of Cards fame.Despite being acquitted of numerous sexual offences after a trial in London, and winning a US…

Britain’s biggest banks are bracing themselves for talks with the Post Office over a new deal to allow millions of their customers to withdraw cash at its branches.Sky News has learnt that a group of lenders including Barclays and HSBC are in the process of forming a shared interest group to represent the industry in talks with the government-owned company during the coming months. The negotiations will be aimed at thrashing out a new Banking Framework Agreement, the latest iteration of which will expire at the end of next year.Roughly 30 banks and building societies participate in the existing deal,…

Bumble has apologised after it appeared to make fun of celibate women in a new advertising campaign.The dating app ran a billboard campaign with slogans including “you know full well a vow of celibacy is not the answer”, and “thou shall not give up dating and become a nun”. Social media users called the campaign “unbelievably insulting”, “patronising” and “tone-deaf”.The company has now apologised and admitted: “We made a mistake.”It added: “Our ads referencing celibacy were an attempt to lean into a community frustrated by modern dating and instead of bringing joy and humour, we unintentionally did the opposite.” X…

Gudrun Ure, the star of hit 1980s children’s TV show Super Gran, has died aged 98.Ure’s portrayal of Granny Smith – who gained superpowers after being struck by a magic ray – won her legions of fans across the globe. Ure lived in London and died at her home.Her death was confirmed by her niece, Kate McNeill.Ms McNeill said: “She had a very memorable voice. “I remember my husband was watching Casualty one night, and I went ‘that’s Gudrun’ as soon as I heard the voice.” Image: Pic: ITV/Shutterstock Ure was born in Scotland in Milton of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire,…

Representatives of Thames Water’s multinational syndicate of shareholders are poised to quit as directors of its corporate entities after refusing to inject the billions of pounds of funding required to bail it out.Sky News has learnt that a number of board members at companies connected to Kemble Water Finance, Thames’s parent, are expected to resign in the coming days. City sources described the move as “the logical next step” after the owners of Britain’s biggest water utility said they would not commit more than £3bn to help upgrade its ageing infrastructure and shore up its debt-laden balance sheet.A default on…

Astronomers have identified a planet as light and fluffy as candy floss – despite being far bigger than our solar system’s gas giant Jupiter.Scientists said WASP-193b is “basically super fluffy” because it has remarkably low density for its size. It’s thought to consist mostly of hydrogen and helium, according to a study published in Nature Astronomy.WASP-193b is the second least dense planet discovered by astronomers – but is proving a mystery to experts due to its size, which is around 50 per cent bigger than Jupiter.”The planet is basically super fluffy” because it’s made mostly of light gases rather than…

If you know the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance and the importance of a scented resumé, you’re going to be excited about Reese Witherspoon’s latest news.The Hollywood star has announced a prequel series to her hit 2001 film, Legally Blonde, which will premiere in 2025. Wearing a hot pink suit and pale pink stilettos (because whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed), Witherspoon shared details on her social media channels.The TV series will follow her character, Elle Woods, as a schoolgirl in the 1990s, before the events of Legally Blonde and its 2003 sequel.In a video…

Britain has a chance to compete in the green industrial revolution, but only if the government takes rapid steps to help shore up its industry, according to an important new report.The analysis from The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank reveals that while the UK has deindustrialised faster than any other comparable nation in the developed world, it still has a chance to rebuild its manufacturing base and compete on the green technologies needed to reach net zero. The new report comes as countries around the world compete to dominate green technologies such as electric cars, solar panels and…

Scientists have identified proteins in the blood which could warn people of cancer more than seven years before it is diagnosed.Researchers found 618 proteins linked to 19 types of the disease, including bowel, prostate and breast cancers. Some 107 of the proteins were found in a group of people whose blood was collected at least seven years before diagnosis.It is hoped that the findings could help efforts to stop cancer before it starts and be a “crucial first step” towards offering preventative therapies.The two Cancer Research UK-funded studies from Oxford Population Health suggest the proteins could be involved at the…

The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.Hannah Gutierrez was jailed in April after being found guilty by jurors following a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US. She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal. Image: Alec Baldwin, pictured on the Rust set, faces a separate trial Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while…