Author: SKYNEWS

Peter Andre and his wife Emily MacDonagh have welcomed their third child together.The Mysterious Girl singer, 51, shared images of his newborn daughter at “just minutes old” on Instagram. His baby girl is “very healthy” after she was born on Tuesday, as Andre wrote: “We feel so overwhelmed right now. So happy to welcome our beautiful girl to the family.”Mum and daughter are doing amazing.”Andre married doctor MacDonagh in 2015 and one of the pictures was of her and the newborn. The singer said the baby had been “spoilt with cuddles” from his seven-year-old son, Theo, and daughter, Amelia, 10,…

Tens of thousands of people are facing crippling tax demands from HMRC for tax their employers failed to pay. It’s an injustice that has been compared with the Horizon scandal.At least 23 victims have taken – or attempted to take – their own lives. For the first time, two of those who tried to end their lives have shared their story with Sky News.This story contains references to suicide that readers may find distressing.”I went for a drink. And I don’t remember – I know why I did it – but I don’t remember making the decision to do it.…

Google is considering charging users for “premium” internet search results powered by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report.The tech giant is said to be exploring several ideas about how to use the technology, including incorporating enhanced search tools as part of its premium subscription services. Google’s main search engine would remain free to use under the proposals, with additional content available to those who pay a fee, sources told the Financial Times.Adverts would continue to appear alongside search results, even for subscribers, according to the report.More than a billion people use the search tool every month, according to estimates.…

Singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins, better known as ‘H from Steps’, is to be honoured with an 8ft statue.The statue of the 47-year-old has been announced by a community group in his hometown of Cowbridge. Funded through private donations and designed by a local artist, it will be erected at the heart of the town, outside The Bear Hotel.The aim is to unveil the statue at Cowbridge Pride in June, an event founded by ‘H’ two years ago.’H’ – one-fifth of the Brit award-winning group Steps – also hosts a weekly show on Radio Wales and sits on his local town…

The former pensions arm of KPMG, the big four accountant, is to be put up for sale, netting a potential bonanza for its private equity backer.Sky News has learnt that Exponent, the buyout firm, has hired investment bankers at Evercore to sell Isio. City sources said on Wednesday that a deal was not imminent but that an auction was likely to get underway this year.It could see Isio changing hands for several hundred million pounds, they added.Isio, which provides pensions and wealth advice to thousands of clients, was created when Exponent backed a buyout from KPMG in 2020. The business…

The moon will get its own time zone after the White House directed NASA to develop a unified lunar time standard by the end of 2026.The Coordinated Lunar Time, or LTC, would provide a time-keeping benchmark for lunar spacecraft and satellites that will require extreme precision for their missions. Having a standard lunar time is vital – and complicated – because time unfolds differently on the moon compared to how it is perceived on Earth due to the difference in gravitational force.”The same clock that we have on Earth would move at a different rate on the moon,” Kevin Coggins,…

Nigerian singer-songwriter Davido has said he is taking legal action after an April Fools article said he had been arrested for drug offences.The popular Afrobeats singer, 31, said in a statement on X that he had received a “barrage of calls” after the story – which claimed he had been detained after cocaine was found on his private jet – went viral. “I find the fabrication of allegations of such international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of ‘April Fools’,” he wrote.The three-time Grammy Award nominee added that the reports were “entirely untrue” and that he has since returned…

Scotland could become the first nation in the UK to ban egg companies from keeping chickens in cages.The Scottish government has launched a consultation on banning the use of cages to house laying hens for egg production. Views are being sought on the phasing out of “enriched cages”, which offer more room for the birds to nest, roost, scratch and rest than the battery or barren cages that were banned in the UK in 2012.Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie highlighted Holyrood’s most recent programme for government, which included a commitment to “improve the welfare of laying hens to ensure their confinement…

JK Rowling’s comments about new hate crime laws “are not assessed to be criminal”, police have said, as they confirmed no further action would be taken.The Harry Potter author dared police to arrest her on social media over the legislation that came into force in Scotland this week. The new measures aim to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice, extending protections from abusive behaviour to people on grounds including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.What are Scotland’s new hate crime laws?Those who support the new laws insist they will make Scotland more tolerant. But critics such…

Annual UK house prices edged up by 1.6% in March, according to new figures from Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society. Every region of the UK experienced growth in year-on-year prices in the first quarter of 2024, the lender said. The average cost of a home is now £261,142. While month-on-month growth in house prices fell by 0.2% in March, after taking into account seasonal effects, the overall figures have been cautiously welcomed by commentators.Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said it showed “consumer sentiment is improving” as cost of living pressures ease and inflation comes down.He added: “Surveyors report a…