Author: SKYNEWS

A Manchester-based software company which claims to deliver faster and more energy-efficient AI systems has landed millions of pounds in funding from a syndicate of prominent investors.Sky News understands that PEAK:AIO has secured the money amid a race to confront the infrastructure challenges posed by the global explosion in spending on AI and related technology advances. The company will announce the funding round publicly on Friday.The deal is being led by Pembroke VCT, which is providing £3.7m of the £5m capital injection.PEAK:AIO has developed ultra-fast storage systems for AI workloads, and has signed up a number of institutions as customers…

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap Britain’s landmark climate change law that limits pollution, and replace it with a plan for “cheap and reliable” energy.Party leader Kemi Badenoch said scrapping the Climate Change Act – brought in by Labour in 2008 and later strengthened by Tory PM Theresa May – would benefit cheap energy, economic growth and Britain’s declining industrial sector. “Climate change is real. But Labour’s laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions,” said Ms Badenoch.”Under my leadership, we will scrap those failed targets. Our priority now is growth,…

The death of journalist and author Hunter S Thompson will be reviewed by Colorado officials at the request of his widow, the state’s bureau of investigation has announced.Thompson, best known for his 1971 novel Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, died aged 67 on 20 February 2005. The original investigation concluded the death was from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound and was suicide.In a statement on Tuesday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Anita Thompson had requested a case review into her husband’s death, and that it is being carried out to provide an independent perspective on the investigation.…

A company linked to Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone breached a government contract of nearly £122m to supply surgical gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the High Court has ruled.The £121.9m sum must now be repaid by the company, PPE Medpro. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) brought the case, saying it provided 25 million “faulty”, non-sterile gowns.On Wednesday, the High Court said the gowns did not comply with the requirement of having a validated process to demonstrate sterility, and it was not possible for the DHSC to have sold them and recouped the loss.The company, a consortium led…

All GP surgeries in England are required to offer online appointment bookings from today.Practices must keep their websites and app services available from at least 8am to 6.30pm, Monday through Friday, for non-urgent appointments, medication queries and admin requests. Many surgeries are already offering online bookings and consultations, but services are typically less effective in working-class areas.The Department of Health and Social Care says there is a lack of consistency, as some surgeries that offer online services are choosing to switch the function off during busier periods.The British Medical Association (BMA) has argued safeguards have not been put in place,…

Boyzone are reuniting for their biggest ever headline show next summer, inspired by the success of their recent documentary Boyzone: No Matter What.Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham will perform live at Emirates Stadium, London, on Saturday 6 June 2026. It will be the first time they’ve performed together since a five-night run at the London Palladium in 2019, and will be the largest show of their entire career anywhere in the world.In January, a three-part documentary celebrated their success, as well as revealing the dark side of being in a boyband in the 1990s.One of the…

A total of 125 jobs are to be made redundant after administrators were appointed at one of Britain’s few remaining oil refineries.The losses come despite attempts to find a buyer for the business following the collapse of its owner, energy conglomerate Prax Group, which triggered the receivership process at the Lincolnshire site. A further 255 employees will remain at the site out of 420 directly employed staff and 500 contract workers.Money latest: Common insurance that’s probably a waste of money…At least two bids to buy and operate the location with a full workforce were received, union Unite said. “We understand…

YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5m (£18.1m) to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump after it banned his account following the January 6 Capitol riot.The US president was suspended from the Google-owned platform over his role in the insurrection, which saw his supporters attempt to stop Joe Biden’s 2020 election win from being ratified. More than four years on from the violent scenes that left a police officer dead, court documents filed on Monday revealed that $22m (£16.3m) from the settlement will go towards a trust for Washington DC’s National Mall and the construction of a White House ballroom.The…

Model Penny Lancaster has said she “felt ashamed and belittled” by how former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace treated her on the TV show.Lancaster, who is also a TV personality, and is married to singer Rod Stewart, told Sky News’ The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee programme that she also felt let down by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK. “I didn’t feel like I was supported in that moment, I felt ashamed and belittled by the way Greg Wallace had treated me but equally I felt disappointed that the production company hadn’t come to my rescue,” Lancaster, 54 and a MasterChef…

Jaguar Land Rover has said it will partially reopen “in the coming days” after being closed for nearly a month. The carmaking plants have been shut since 31 August after being hit by a cyberattack. The attack halted across the car-making supply chain, with staff off work as a result of the attack.More than 33,000 people work directly for JLR in the UK, many of whom are on assembly lines in the West Midlands, with the largest facility located in Solihull, and a plant in Halewood on Merseyside.”Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing…