Author: SKYNEWS

A “shoplifters’ charter” has seen thefts rise significantly – to about one offence every minute – but police are charging fewer people, according to Labour.The party said data showed a record 402,482 shoplifting offences in England and Wales in the year to September 2023. However, offences resulting in a police charge fell from 20% to 15% between 2018 and 2023, according to a Freedom of Information request.Labour said offenders were getting off “scot-free” as the fall had not been matched by a rise in other penalties.More than 54% of shoplifting offences are also dropped with no suspect identified, according to…

As the title suggests, The Tortured Poets Department is a break-up album, and one that doesn’t disappoint in deconstructing Taylor Swift’s failed relationships and old boyfriends gone bad.We hear about a chain-smoking man who tells jokes that are “revolting and far too loud” in I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can); a “coward” who pretends to be a “lion” in loml; and we learn about a ghosted Swift in I Can Do It With A Broken Heart, as she sings “I’m so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague”. We’ve all been there, and that’s the…

Pension funds are braced for a hit worth tens of billions of pounds as Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, tries to salvage his ambition of overhauling Britain’s centuries-old property leasehold system.Sky News has learnt that the insurance and pensions industries believe that Mr Gove’s now-favoured option of imposing a £250 cap on ground rent and transitioning to ‘peppercorn’ levels over a 20-year period will cost in the region of £30bn. The figure is understood to mirror the Treasury’s internal estimate of the cost to investors, according to insiders.Mr Gove has been determined to overhaul what he describes as the…

Tesla has recalled more than 3,800 of its Cybertruck models following complaints that the accelerator pedal is at risk of getting stuck, US regulators have announced.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had contacted the carmaker, founded and run by Elon Musk, about the issue earlier in the week. That was after a video came to light, on the billionaire entrepreneur’s X platform and TikTok, showing how a rubber cover attached to the accelerator could come loose, pinning the pedal down.It has since been watched millions of times on both platforms.Money latest: The ketchup swaps that could eliminate tablespoons of…

Taylor Swift’s latest album has been out for less than a day – but fans and critics alike are already deep into decoding the meaning of her somewhat cryptic lyrics.The pop icon’s mammoth project, The Tortured Poets Department, ended up being a secret double album, with the first part ending on a track simply titled Clara Bow. Unless you’re something of a Hollywood history buff, the reference may have been lost on you.So here’s what you need to know about Bow and more on how Swift referenced her and the possible reasons why.The original ‘it girl’ American actress Clara Bow…

A lawyer for the Post Office at the height of the Horizon IT scandal has told the public inquiry he feels “no pride” to be employed by the company.Rodric Williams, a civil law specialist who joined the organisation in 2012, told the hearing he was “truly sorry” for being associated with the “greatest miscarriage of justice we’ve seen”. A first day of evidence for the New Zealand national, now among three legal leads at the Post Office, saw Mr Williams admit a “bunker mentality” among staff in relation to the media’s coverage of the faulty Horizon IT system.Money latest: Bank…

The world’s first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI has been carried out in California, the US military has said.In a drill over Edwards Air Force Base, the pair of F-16 fighter jets flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and got as close as 600 metres during aerial combat, also known as dogfighting. One was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA (variable in-flight simulator test aircraft). Image: The AI-run plane in action. Pic: Kyle Brasier/USAF While in flight, the AI algorithm…

“An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time.”In her own words, Taylor Swift’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department is a product of her personal life – which is often played out in the most public way. Fans have already spent hours poring over her raft of new lyrics in the 31 new songs.Two hours after its release, the singer announced The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, which includes 15 additional new songs.From Kim Kardashian to Travis Kelce, here we take a look at who the lyrics might be…

There was a worse than expected performance for retail sales last month, defying predictions of a consumer-led pick up from recession for the UK economy.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported sales volumes were flat in March, following an upwardly revised figure of 0.1% for the previous month. It said sales at non-food stores helped offset declines at supermarkets.Sales of fuel rose by 3.2%.Money latest: Do solar panels work in the UK’s wet and cloudy climate? ONS senior statistician Heather Bovill said of the overall picture: “Retail sales registered no growth in March.”Hardware stores, furniture shops, petrol stations and clothing…

Taylor Swift has revealed her latest release is a “secret double album” – with 15 more tracks than fans were expecting.In a 2am surprise (around 7am UK time), the 34-year-old announced on social media that The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology includes a second instalment. She wrote: “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second instalment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all…