Author: SKYNEWS

Ronnie O’Sullivan has described a leading snooker venue as “disgusting” and “dirty” during this year’s Masters tournament.Alexandra Palace has staged the professional event since 2012 but the seven-time champion said he was not a fan of the iconic arena. The outspoken star of the green baize said it made him “feel ill” and gave him “the heebie-jeebies”.But the hosts said the response of players and fans had been overwhelmingly positive, and that it was “disappointing” O’Sullivan felt differently.Hitting out at Ally Pally, O’Sullivan said: “I just don’t like this place. “I find it disgusting. Everywhere is dirty. It’s cold.”It’s freezing,…

The UK economy returned to growth in November. The Office for National Statistics said that GDP was estimated to have grown by 0.3% following a fall of the same amount in October. Ian King is joined by Sky’s Economics and Data Editor Ed Conway.Visits to cash machines fell last year, according to figures from Link, the UK’s cash access and ATM network. John Howells speaks to Ian King about the trends they are seeing.And according to a new IBM study, large UK companies appear to be lagging behind their international peers when it comes to the deployment of artificial intelligence.…

A highly infectious form of bird flu has been confirmed for the first time in Antarctic seals, threatening one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.Scientists working for the UK’s Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) detected the variant of the H5N1 virus in samples taken from dead elephant and fur seals on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Dozens of animals are known to have died, with many more likely to have succumbed in remote bays and out at sea.Experts at British Antarctic Survey told Sky News that the unfolding tragedy was a “mass mortality event”.Dr Marco Falchieri, from…

George Clooney says he has more fun directing than he does acting because he gets to “boss people around”.The Hollywood star steps behind the camera for his latest project, The Boys In The Boat, a sports movie about an underdog rowing team, thrust into the spotlight of Hitler’s Olympics as they compete for gold. Image: Pic: Laurie Sparham/2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc Explaining his drive to direct, Clooney told Sky News: “It’s more fun, you have a lot more control. I get to boss [the actors] around and I don’t have to learn how to row. I still like acting. I…

US flight safety regulators are to intensify their scrutiny of Boeing in the wake of the mid-air panel blowout a week ago aboard one of the company’s planes.The announcement was made by a top Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official who is working on the investigation into the scare aboard the Alaska Airlines flight on 5 January. The incident led to all 737 MAX 9 aircraft fitted with an emergency exit door panel replacement being grounded pending the outcomes of work by the FAA and other transport safety experts.FAA administrator Mike Whitaker told Sky’s US partner CNBC that the MAX 9…

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed he is raising cattle at his Hawaiian ranch on a diet of macadamia nuts and beer to produce “the highest quality beef in the world”.The 39-year-old billionaire founder of Facebook shared details of his latest venture on his Instagram and Facebook accounts – and joked that of all of his projects, it was “the most delicious”. Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, posted a photo of himself on Wednesday eating a steak from his ranch, and wrote: “Started raising cattle at Ko’olau Ranch on Kauai, and my goal is to create some of the highest quality beef…

“Our disc jockeys are husband substitutes,” Annie Nightingale was told when she knocked on Radio 1’s door following it’s launch in 1967. So why on Earth, they said, would a woman would want to join the airwaves?”They were bewildered,” Nightingale told Desert Island Disc’s presenter Lauren Laverne, during her appearance on the much-loved radio show in 2020. The male bosses were bewildered, but Nightingale was determined. Not only was she the first woman to join the station, in 1970 – remaining the only female host until Janice Long’s arrival 12 years later – she was also its longest-serving broadcaster, male…

The fintech business founded by Antony Jenkins, the former Barclays chief executive, has secured $50m in a fresh injection of capital from investors.Sky News has learnt that 10X Banking Technology recently closed its first funding round since 2021 with new money understood to have been provided by existing shareholders in the company. 10X was set up by Mr Jenkins in 2016, a year after he was ousted as the Barclays chief, and has since raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including BlackRock, JP Morgan and Nationwide.Records at Companies House suggest that the company’s accounts for 2022 are now…

Two tech giants are battling it out for the title of the world’s most valuable company. Microsoft had overtaken Apple for the first time since 2021 to become the world’s most valuable firm by market capitalisation – which measures the value and number of a company’s shares. Money latest:’Huge announcement’ on car finance could see millions get payoutMicrosoft surpassed Apple at numerous points throughout Thursday’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) when its value reached $2.87trn (£2.25trn) and Apple shares fell by 1%.But Apple reclaimed the top spot as the trading day wore on. This latest movement comes…

An American lawyer who fought a years-long battle in the 1970s to prevent John Lennon from being deported from the US has died aged 90.Leon Wildes, whose health had been declining since he suffered a series of strokes, died on Monday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, his family said. His name became part of musical and political history after, in 1972, he got involved in the case involving Lennon and Yoko Ono, who needed help getting their visas extended.He eventually succeeded, becoming a hero among Beatles fans. Image: John Lennon in New York in 1968. Pic: Ap ‘No idea…