Author: SKYNEWS

An amateur photographer from the UK has won a prestigious Wildlife Photographer Of The Year award with this emotive shot of a polar bear sleeping in a makeshift bed carved into a small iceberg.Nima Sarikhani captured the image off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago after spending three days “desperately searching” for the animals through thick fog. After his expedition vessel changed course, he eventually encountered two polar bears – and witnessed the smaller male bear making his bed before falling asleep.The picture, titled Ice Bed, has been crowned the winner of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year people’s choice…

The annual cost of enjoying a moderate standard of living in retirement has risen by £8,000 in a year, according to the pensions industry body.The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) put the yearly price of a retirement income deemed “moderate” for a single person at £31,300 for 2023 to 2024 – up from £23,300 a year earlier. The increase has come due to the rising cost of living – as food inflation and energy bills remain high – and higher expectations about retirement lifestyles.A “moderate” level of retirement means retirees can afford a monthly meal out and financially help…

Taylor Swift’s lawyers have threatened legal action against a student who tracks the movements of her and other celebrities’ private jets.Jack Sweeney is the creator of social media accounts that log the takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by billionaires, politicians, and other public figures. His accounts gained traction at the start of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine for tracking the private jets of Russian oligarchs.Mr Sweeney also became involved in a high-profile spat with Elon Musk, in November 2022 over the tracking of the X and Tesla owner’s private jet.The University of Central Florida student said on…

Police investigating allegations of serious misconduct, including sexual assault, at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) say they are “not able to progress further criminally” with 10 claims looked at to date.Sky News has learned that City of London Police currently has just one matter that officers are continuing to examine. The CBI said it understood that it did not relate to a current member of staff or the organisation itself.The business lobby group’s very future was threatened when, last spring, the Guardian newspaper published a series of historical sexual misconduct claims by staff and former workers.Its report in April…

The head of the US aviation regulator said the current safety system is “not working”, that the body is increasing its oversight of Boeing and reviewing its practice of delegating some safety tasks to the beleaguered airline.It followed an early January mid-flight blowout where a door plug blew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines aircraft. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which on Tuesday appeared before US politicians of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, subsequently grounded all 171 of the MAX 9 jets and placed an unprecedented ban on raising production volumes within the entire 737 MAX fleet…

Sir Nick Clegg – the politician turned Meta executive – says the lines between human and “synthetic content” is becoming “blurred”, as the social media giant announced it would label all AI images on its platforms.Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, has already been placing “Imagined with AI” labels on photorealistic images created using its own Meta AI feature. The tech giant said it is now building “industry-leading tools” that will allow it to identify invisible markers on images generated by artificial intelligence that have come from other sites such as Google, OpenAI, Microsoft or Adobe.Meta has said it…

Four key bolts were missing from the door that blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in mid-air, according to a preliminary report from a US regulator. The door plug had been removed to fix rivets damaged in production, the initial report said. The investigation was commenced by the investigative agency National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in early January after a mid-flight blowout where the door flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines aircraft.The door plug is held down by four bolts and secured by stop fittings at 12 different locations along the side of the plug and door…

Ancient papyrus scrolls that were buried in ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD have been read for the first time with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The Herculaneum papyri are a collection of around 1,800 scrolls that, along with thousands of other relics, were carbonised during the volcanic eruption. Located in the town of Herculaneum – near to the city of Pompeii which was also destroyed – more than 800 of the scrolls have been excavated from an ancient Roman villa and are now stored in a library in Naples, with every effort to try and…

The prime minister has said it is “sad” that parents are watering down baby formula because they cannot afford to feed their children.Sky News reported last year on measures parents have turned to after inflation spiked the cost of the powdered milk product. This included watering down and even stealing products in order to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis.Follow live: Sunak responds to criticism of ‘depraved bet’Asked about the situation parents have found themselves in, Rishi Sunak told the BBC: “My job is to make sure everyone has the financial security that they want for them…

Temporary barriers are to be installed on an Edinburgh street after sat-nav errors have sent a spate of drivers down a set of steps.Images of stranded motorists have been widely shared on social media after GPS software failed to acknowledge the steps added to Greenside Lane last year. City of Edinburgh Council said Google Maps has since updated its directions, while a request for a correction has been made to Apple Maps.While this update is awaited, temporary barriers will be installed this week.Councillor Scott Arthur, transport and environment convener, said: “The footpath in this area is incredibly busy, so these…