Author: SKYNEWS

Author Sir Salman Rushdie has described the moment before he was stabbed at a literary festival, saying he saw a “murderous shape rushing towards” him like a “squat missile”.The novelist was stabbed multiple times during the attack, which took place moments before he was due to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state in August 2022. The attack left the 76-year-old with life-changing injuries, including the loss of his sight in one eye and limited feeling in his hand.The Indian-born British author has now written about the incident in his upcoming memoir, titled Knife: Meditations After…

A victim of the Post Office scandal who was wrongly jailed while pregnant has rejected an apology from a former Post Office executive – who celebrated her conviction as “brilliant news” at the time.Former managing director David Smith made the apology to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, saying: “I would absolutely never think that it was ‘brilliant news’ for a pregnant woman to go to prison and I am hugely apologetic that my email can be read as such.” That victim, Seema Misra – who was sentenced to 15 months in jail and served four months while pregnant -…

It’s more than 150 years since the American Civil War, but in Oscar-nominated director Alex Garland’s new film the present-day United States is divided – and the country is at war with itself again.In Civil War, Kirsten Dunst plays photojournalist Lee who braves the lawless frontlines for an exclusive interview with the president, played by Nick Offerman. Three years after the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol, it’s easy to draw similarities to current-day US politics, but talking to Sky News, Dunst said that wasn’t what motivated her to take the role.”Alex wrote this movie before that happened so…

London Gatwick was the worst airport for UK flight delays last year, analysis has found.Departures from the airport, which is the second busiest in the UK, were an average of almost 27 minutes behind schedule in 2023, according to a Press Association study of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. Gatwick was badly affected by air traffic control staff shortages across Europe last year, and repeatedly suffered the same problem in its own control tower. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:17 From 6 April: Planes struggle to land in high winds The airport has said in…

Rapper Drake has been dismissed from a lawsuit brought over the Astroworld festival tragedy, in which 10 concertgoers died.The families of those killed in a crush at the gig, along with hundreds who were injured, sued Drake, fellow rap star Travis Scott and promotor Live Nation as well as other individuals and companies, alleging they were responsible for the crowd surge. Drake made a guest appearance during Scott’s headlining set at the festival in Houston, Texas, on 5 November 2021.As the crowd surged, revellers were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms or legs.Those killed,…

The Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle that had been on the brink of buying The Daily Telegraph is in detailed talks with Whitehall officials about the structure of an onward sale of the newspaper.Sky News has learnt that RedBird IMI is negotiating with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about whether it can convert a call option which constitutes the right to take ownership of the Telegraph and Spectator into shares in the assets prior to their purchase by a new owner. City sources said the discussions were key to the value that RedBird IMI could generate from the sale…

Comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont have announced they are divorcing after nine years of marriage.In a statement, the couple said they had “jointly and amicably made the difficult decision to divorce and go our separate ways”. They added: “As our only priority is managing this difficult transition for our daughter, we would ask that our privacy is respected at this sensitive time to protect her well-being.”We will be making no further comment.”The couple have starred together in the mockumentary Meet The Richardsons – in which they play “exaggerated versions of themselves” – since 2020. The duo, who have a…

Newly-released figures suggest the UK will be out of its technical recession early this year, following two quarters in a row of negative growth in late 2023.Ian King discusses the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data about gross domestic product (GDP) with Victoria Clarke, chief UK economist at Santander corporate and investment banking. Also, the financial regulator has written to providers of motor finance reminding them they must maintain adequate financial resources.It is carrying out a review of discretionary commission agreements on car loans – a practice banned in 2021.Plus, the state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi has reportedly…

Meta has lowered the minimum age to use the popular messaging platform WhatsApp.The move, which came into effect on Thursday, reduces the age limit from 16 down to 13 in the UK and EU. It has been criticised by a number of campaign groups who have urged the company to reverse the decision.Smartphone Free Childhood told Sky News that it was an example of “a tech giant putting shareholder profits first and children’s safety second”.A spokesperson for the group said: “Reducing their age of use from 16 to 13 sends a message to parents that WhatsApp is safe for children,…

The telecoms entrepreneur who turned Daisy Group into one of the industry’s most successful private companies is closing in on the latest in a string of significant takeover deals.Sky News has learnt that Matthew Riley, Daisy’s chairman, has orchestrated a £215m deal to acquire 4Com, a provider of cloud communications services to more than 17,000 corporate customers. City sources said the deal was expected to be signed within days and was likely to hand 4Com founder Daron Hutt a windfall worth more than £100m.Daisy is understood to have targeted 4Com because of its cloud communication product, HiHi, which has been…