Author: SKYNEWS

A new British military laser could be used in Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones, the defence secretary has suggested.The DragonFire weapon, which is expected to be ready for deployment by 2027 at the latest, could have “huge ramifications” for Kyiv’s conflict against Russia, Grant Shapps said. New reforms aimed at speeding up procurement mean the laser, which was originally set to be rolled out in 2032, will now be operational five years earlier than planned, according to the Ministry of Defence.Russia-Ukraine war latest: Moscow accuses British special forces of operating in Ukraine Image: A target drone and mortar casing…

OJ Simpson, the former American football star and Hollywood actor who was cleared of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a criminal trial, has died aged 76.He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren when he “succumbed to his battle with cancer” on Wednesday, his family said on X. X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can…

Human waste could soon be used to fuel air travel, following the announcement of a world-first factory.Biofuel company Firefly said it would develop a plant in Harwich, Essex, to convert sewage into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It said it expects to begin supplying the lower carbon fuel from around 2028 and has reached an agreement with Wizz Air to provide up to 525,000 tonnes of SAF over 15 years.Utility company Anglian Water has committed to providing biosolids, a product of its wastewater treatment process, to Firefly for an initial pilot SAF facility.SAF is made from sustainable sources, meaning its production…

British astronaut Tim Peake hopes to take an all-British crew to the International Space Station (ISS), he has revealed to Sky’s FYI children’s news show.”Possibly as early as next year, we’re taking four astronauts back [to the ISS] to do lots of science and lots of education outreach,” he said. The 52-year-old became the first Briton to complete a spacewalk outside the ISS in 2016 and is one of only two astronauts Britain has ever sent to space.”We’re hoping to announce the whole crew in June this year,” he told FYI.Asked if he would be part of that mission, Major…

Taylor Swift’s music is reportedly back on TikTok just weeks after the social media app and her record label Universal Music publicly exchanged furious messages.Universal accused TikTok of bullying ahead of their agreement to license content on the video platform expiring on 31 January – while the social media firm dismissed the “false narrative and rhetoric”. After the deal expired, TikTok removed the music label’s songs from its platform and muted videos featuring those songs, written by anyone signed on to Universal.But the Financial Times reports Swift’s return to the Chinese short-video app had been in the works for some…

Financial markets are scaling back expectations about interest rate cuts in countries such as the UK this year.Many Western nations have imposed rate hikes in recent years as part of attempts to bring down soaring inflation – which has now started to ease. However, new figures in the US on Wednesday showed that inflation was stronger than expected in March – and the pace of price rises remains “sticky” in other nations too.Investors believe the Federal Reserve will now take longer to cut interest rates as a result of the latest data – and that other central banks could act…

Baldur’s Gate 3 was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes including the prestigious best game.It also won BAFTAs for music, narrative, and performer in a supporting role for Andrew Wincott, along with the EE players’ choice award, which is voted for by the public. The Dungeons and Dragons-based game faced strong competition from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2 and indie hit Dave the Diver. Image: (L-R) Sarah Baylus, Swen Vincke and David Walgrave who won the best game award for Baldur’s Gate 3 Alan Wake 2 won two BAFTAs for…

Caroline Flack’s mother has told Sky News that her daughter’s celebrity status is likely to have contributed towards the Metropolitan Police’s decision to charge the TV presenter with domestic abuse.Chris Flack has called for the Met Police to give its side of the story in the lead-up to her daughter’s death. It comes as the force announced it would reinvestigate the circumstances leading up to the decision to charge the TV presenter with assaulting her boyfriend.The 40-year-old former Love Island host died in February 2020, with a coroner saying she took her own life after discovering she was definitely going…

The drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZ) promised this morning to raise its annual dividend by 7% this year.The UK’s biggest company said the pledge underlined its confidence in its performance and cash generation and had taken into account other capital allocation priorities as well as previously announced acquisitions and business development. What is particularly interesting about the announcement, which has sent shares of AZ up by 2%, is its timing.Because it comes just hours before AZ’s annual general meeting, during which shareholders will vote on whether to raise pay for the company’s chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot.The vote comes at a time…

The owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram is going to introduce a new safety tool to stop children from receiving nude pictures – and discourage sending them.It follows months of criticism from police chiefs and children’s charities over Meta’s decision to encrypt chats on its Messenger app by default. The company argues that encryption protects privacy, but critics have said it makes it harder for the company to detect child abuse. Image: Pic: Meta The new nudity protection feature for Instagram direct messages will blur images detected as containing nudity, and prompt users to think before sending nude images.It will…