Author: SKYNEWS

Rishi Sunak has declined to say whether he has confidence in the chief executive of the crisis-hit Post Office, Nick Read, following confirmation of an investigation into his conduct.The issue was put to him at Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons after news of the probe was explosively revealed on Tuesday by ex-chairman Henry Staunton in evidence to a committee of MPs. Mr Staunton divulged that it was the culmination of an 80-page report by a former head of human resources at the Post Office, as he maintained a war of words with the government and his former employer over…

Dramatic new images have been released of the Odysseus spacecraft landing on the moon.The pictures, along with huge amounts of data, have been downloaded just hours before night falls at the lunar south pole and the lander’s batteries run out of power. Intuitive Machines, the US company behind the mission, said it will now be possible to reconstruct the landing to understand how Odysseus came to rest on its side. Image: The Odysseus lander on its side with a crater around 500m away. Pic: Intuitive Machines/NASA The company also revealed the lander could be revived in 2-3 weeks’ time when…

Sky News has been named News Channel of the Year for the seventh consecutive year at the Royal Television Society journalism awards – as political editor Beth Rigby was awarded Political Journalist of the Year.The jury said Sky was given the award for “the comprehensive way it covered the main news stories of the year both in the UK and around the world”. Rigby was described as “the stand-out winner” among stiff competition as she was named Political Journalist of the Year.”She is always exciting to watch and her packaging is excellent, always asking the questions we are all yelling…

Thousands of farmers have descended on the Senedd to protest against Welsh government policy.More than 40 tractors also turned up at Cardiff Bay, despite South Wales Police urging protesters not to bring them. Paul Thomas, from the Vale of Glamorgan, drove his tractor to Cardiff and told Sky News he had done so because it was “a symbol of what [farmers] do”.”Everybody was beeping their horns on their way through, we’ve had great support from the general public, which is great,” he added. Image: Paul Thomas in his tractor cab Under Welsh government plans, farms in Wales would have to…

It was only a few weeks ago that scientists at the Joint European Torus (JET) in Oxfordshire announced the nuclear fusion experiment had broken a world record.The machine – designed to replicate the conditions inside a burning star – generated a five-second pulse of fusion, releasing 69 megajoules of energy. If JET was a power plant, not an experiment, and that energy harnessed, it could have powered 12,000 homes.But that pulse was to be JET’s last.After 40 years of fusion science, it’s being decommissioned. Given the promise of fusion power – providing near limitless, emissions-free energy – shutting down JET…

Kate Bush has been announced as the official ambassador for this year’s Record Store Day – and is set to release a special edition single.The annual event, which started in 2007, aims to celebrate vinyl and highlight the work and culture of record shops across the UK. Bush, whose famous 1985 track Running Up That Hill topped the charts for the first time in 2022 thanks to its inclusion in the hit sci-fi series Stranger Things, follows in the footsteps of the likes of Noel Gallagher, Taylor Swift and Sir Elton John in becoming an ambassador. Image: Kate Bush has…

Labour will inherit the worst economic situation of any incoming government since the Second World War, Rachel Reeves warned today, accusing the Conservative Party of “burning the house down” during its time in government.Talking in the run-up to next week’s budget, the shadow chancellor said that while George Osborne had promised to “fix the roof while the sun was shining” – a reference to his plans to reduce public spending and cut the deficit – in reality he had done the opposite.Follow latest: Tax cuts and child benefit change – budget speculation “This is the worst inheritance any incoming government…

Kanye West is being sued by the estate of the late US singer Donna Summer for allegedly “stealing” parts of her music for his new album.It comes after Ozzy Osbourne said earlier this month he refused West permission to use a Black Sabbath sample because he’s an “antisemite” – but claims the rapper used it anyway. The lawsuit says West asked for permission to sample from Summer’s hit song I Feel Love – and engaged in “blatant theft” after Summer’s estate “explicitly denied” the request.Ty Dolla $ign – real name Tyrone Griffin – is also named in the lawsuit filed…

How many pairs of cufflinks could £1bn buy?That was the question being asked by City wags after that sum of money was wiped from the stock market value of St James’s Place (SJP) this morning. It was a knowing reference to the most famous of the gifts with which the UK’s biggest wealth manager used to reward its most successful advisers that came to light in a Sunday Times expose back in 2017.The paper revealed that SJP’s best-performing advisers were benefiting from what the paper referred to as a “cruises-and-cufflinks bonus scheme” – with a key perk being cufflinks, in…

Bitcoin has hit $60,000 for the first time since November 2021 – putting the cryptocurrency in touching distance of a new record high.One Bitcoin cost $60,650 at one point early on Wednesday afternoon, after days of huge rises. Money latest: Tax cuts and child benefit change – budget speculation round-upIt’s close to the all time high of $67,707 recorded on 9 November 2021 when many people turned to the digital asset in the pandemic.After a collapse in price in late 2022, it has witnessed a resurgence – in large part due to new products in the US that allow people…