Author: SKYNEWS

The petrol forecourts giant founded in Blackburn by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa will next week kick off formal plans for a $9bn (£6.7bn) US stock market listing.Sky News has learnt that EG Group, about 25% of which is owned by each of the brothers, will hold a beauty parade of banks in London ahead of a flotation expected to take place this year. Banking sources said Barclays, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley were all likely to take part in next week’s selection process.EG Group has become one of the world’s largest fuel retailing multinationals,…

Prince Harry is expected to appear at the High Court in London next week to give evidence in his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.The Duke of Sussex and six others, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, allege Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) hired private detectives to commit a series of unlawful acts between 1993 and 2011.Alleged activities included placing listening devices inside cars, using deception, or “blagging” private records, such as flight details and medical records and accessing private phone conversations.Harry’s case explained Image: Elizabeth Hurley Image: Sir Elton John. Pic: PA Harry is expected to…

The Grok AI tool on Elon Musk’s X will no longer be able to undress pictures of real people, the company has announced.”We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” said a statement. “This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.”It comes amid mounting condemnation in the UK and US of the chatbot’s image editing capabilities, with British government ministers threatening the platform with action.Sir Keir Starmer has described nonconsensual sex images produced by Grok as “disgusting” and “shameful”, and media regulator…

The UK economy recorded growth of 0.3% in November, according to official figures, showing an improvement for output at a time when households and businesses were anxiously awaiting details of the budget.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported an improvement for industrial production on the previous month amid the phased restart of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover after August’s cyber attack. The ONS measured growth on a rolling three-month basis at 0.1% – a rise on the upwardly revised zero growth covering August-October.Money latest: Why you may have a trust fund you don’t know aboutEconomists have partly put that performance…

Spanish prosecutors are investigating allegations that singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees in the Caribbean.The singer is accused of sexually assaulting the workers in his Caribbean residences between January and October 2021. It comes after Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published a joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.Iglesias – father to Hero singer Enrique – has yet to speak publicly regarding the allegations.Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment lawyer who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press. The Spanish…

Britain is “firmly on track” to meet its clean power targets for 2030, according to the government following a record offshore wind auction.It has awarded contracts to supply 8.4 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind power – enough to power 12 million homes. The auction is part of efforts to ease the country away from volatile and polluting natural gas, but the strike price of £90.91 represents an increase of 11% on contracts agreed last year.The target of a clean power grid by 2030 requires at least 43GW of operational offshore wind but the price increase will stoke political debate…

MPs have warned that recent and upcoming policies could be the final nail in the coffin for many pubs, as the Commons backed an increase in alcohol duty in line with inflation.Pubs have faced a toxic cocktail in recent years, including an increase in employer’s national insurance, the minimum wage, energy costs, business rates, inflation, new worker’s rights legislation and now a rise in alcohol duty. The alcohol duty rise will come into play from 1 February, after MPs backed the government’s Finance Bill that will enact policies announced in Rachel Reeves’s budget.Analysis of government data by tax specialists at…

K-pop superstars BTS have announced details of their much-anticipated comeback tour, after a break of almost four years to complete mandatory military service.Details released say the band is set for “world domination”, playing 79 shows across Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia between April this year and March 2027 – the highest ever number for a South Korean artist. The tour includes two dates in London in July. Image: J-Hope was greeted by his bandmate Jin after being discharged from mandatory military service in 2024. Pic: Reyters/Kim Soo-hyeon In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28…

Sir Keir Starmer has threatened to “control” X’s AI chatbot Grok if Elon Musk’s social media platform continues to create sexual images of women and children.The prime minister told his MPs the actions of Grok and X are “absolutely disgusting and shameful”. “If X cannot control Grok, we will – and we’ll do it fast because if you profit from harm and abuse, you lose the right to self regulate,” he told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Image: Sir Keir Starmer has called for action to tackle Grok creating sexualised images of children. Pic: Reuters Images are being…

Donald Trump has announced fresh tariffs on Iran’s trading partners in an apparent response to the rising number of people killed during recent protests.The US president wrote in a post on Truth Social that any country “doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran” will pay a 25% tariff “effective immediately”. He said the tariff would be imposed on “any and all business being done” with the US.Brazil, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Russia are among economies which do business with Tehran.China criticised the possible tariffs, saying it opposes “any ​illicit unilateral sanctions and ⁠long-arm jurisdiction”. It comes…