Author: SKYNEWS

Global oil prices were trading slightly lower early on Monday, despite a weekend dominated by rising tensions in the Middle East.International benchmark Brent crude was down by almost 0.4% at $90 a barrel in Asia dealing, while US crude futures were also lower, according to LSEG data. Market experts said the moves reflected the fact that worries over an Iranian attack on Israel, which culminated in a non-deadly strike using drones and missiles on Saturday, had already been priced in the previous week.Follow latest: Israeli war cabinet ‘favours response’ to Iran attack but is split on scale and timingBrent rose…

The government has been accused of “betraying renters” on the fifth anniversary of a “failed” promise to ban no-fault evictions – as figures suggest that over 80,000 households have been put at risk of homelessness since then.Former Conservative prime minister Theresa May made the pledge to scrap Section 21 (S21) notices on 15 April 2019 and it was also in her successor Boris Johnson’s manifesto. But last month, the government announced an indefinite delay to the plan to ban them, pending court reforms.A Section 21 order allows landlords to evict tenants with just two months’ notice, without providing a reason…

Sunset Boulevard has dominated the Olivier Awards, winning seven of its 11 nominations at a star-studded ceremony on Sunday night.Among the musical’s triumphs were the Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical awards for its leading duo Tom Francis and Nicole Scherzinger, the former Pussycat Doll and Britain’s Got Talent judge. Best Actor went to former Sherlock and Game Of Thrones actor Mark Gatiss for his role in Jack Thorne’s The Motive And The Cue. Image: Nicole Scherzinger. Pic: PA The drama, set in 1964, follows a Broadway production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton and the fiery backstage interactions…

An arm of Standard Chartered, the FTSE-100 bank, is taking a stake in a British company set up with the objective of providing ethical financial products to customers.Sky News understands that SC Ventures will announce on Monday that it is injecting an unspecified multimillion-dollar sum into Algbra, which counts a host of illustrious names from business and finance among its backers. City sources said that SCV, which is based in Singapore, was investing at least $10m (£8.02m) into Algbra, although neither the exact sum nor the resulting valuation could be ascertained.As part of their collaboration, Algbra is understood to have…

Ryan Reynolds said he cried “tears of joy” after Wrexham secured a second successive promotion, while Rob McElhenney said he has “no words”. The Hollywood actors, who took over the Welsh football club in 2021, saw their team seal their place in League One next season with a thumping 6-0 win over Forest Green. Fans poured onto the pitch to celebrate at the end of the game at the Racecourse Ground.Wrexham were promoted to the Football League at the end of last season following a 15-year absence, with an open top bus parade which saw tens of thousands turn up…

The former JD Sports Fashion boss who presided over its soaring stock market valuation is taking a stake in Applied Nutrition, the fast-growing sports supplement maker, as it steps up preparations for a bumper flotation.Sky News has learnt that Peter Cowgill, who left the high street giant just under two years ago, is acquiring a multimillion pound shareholding in Applied Nutrition in a personal capacity. Sources said the purchase would be announced by the company on Monday.Mr Cowgill knows the Liverpool-based business well, having orchestrated the acquisition of a roughly 30% stake in it during his tenure at JD Sports.Speaking…

A date has been set for Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to UFC.After nearly three years out, McGregor will step back into the octagon at UFC 303 on 29 June. Dana White confirmed that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion will fight Michael Chandler.The UFC confirmed the welterweight bout following UFC 300 in Las Vegas on Saturday and it will be contested over five rounds, taking place at the end of International Fight Week, according to Sky Sports News.McGregor, 35, who has 22 wins and six defeats, has not competed in the UFC since July 2021 when he sustained a…

The executor of OJ Simpson’s estate has said he will try to prevent a $33.5m (£27m) payout to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.The former NFL star and Hollywood actor was cleared of their double murder in 1995 in what was dubbed the “trial of the century” but later found liable for the deaths in a civil lawsuit. Simpson died on Wednesday aged 76 from cancer without having paid the majority of the 1997 judgment but the Goldman and Brown families could be in line to get some of what he left behind.His will…

Sharon Osbourne has hit out at Amanda Holden after the presenter appeared to call her “bitter and pathetic” over comments she made about Simon Cowell. The 71-year-old music manager and wife of former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne said Cowell “doesn’t know how to keep friends” in a conversation with their fellow former X Factor judge Louis Walsh when the pair appeared together on Celebrity Big Brother. In an article in the Daily Mail, Holden, 53, who is on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent alongside Cowell, said: “I hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon…

Squatters have taken over a pub in London leased by Gordon Ramsay which is currently up for sale with a guide price of £13m. The windows of the Grade II-listed York & Albany, near Regent’s Park, have been boarded up, while a notice taped to a door said the group had a right to occupy the venue. Kitchen Nightmares host Ramsay called the police on Wednesday but was unable to have the squatters removed, it is understood.The Metropolitan Police said in a statement they were made “aware of squatters at a disused property” but added: “This is a civil matter…