Author: SKYNEWS

An artist has defended plans to destroy masterpieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt and Andy Warhol with acid if Julian Assange dies in prison.Andrei Molodkin says he has gathered 16 works of art – which he estimates are collectively worth more than $45m (£42.77m) – in a 29-tonne safe with an “extremely corrosive” substance. Inside the vault are boxes containing the art and a pneumatic pump connecting two white barrels – one with acid powder and the other with an accelerator that could cause a chemical reaction strong enough to turn the safe’s contents to debris, Molodkin claims.…

A ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s is being considered by the Labour Party if it wins power, Sky News understands.The proposal has been submitted for the party’s election manifesto, amid growing evidence of the health risks to young people from the high-caffeine products. Up to a third of children in the UK consume at least one energy drink every week, particularly boys, according to a government-commissioned study.A large bottle can contain twice as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, as well as high levels of sugar.Many supermarkets have introduced a voluntary ban on the sale…

Rishi Sunak has promised to reward hard work with tax cuts as he struck an optimistic note over the UK’s economic prospects. Official figures next week may show the UK slipped into a technical recession at the end of last year, while the prime minister is facing a heavy opinion poll deficit against Labour and criticism from within his own party. But in an interview with The Times this weekend, Mr Sunak told Tory rebels he was “totally up for the fight” as he looked to paint a rosier picture of the country’s economic future.”Because economic conditions have improved, because…

Bitcoin has returned to the $50,000 level for the first time since December 2021, riding on the coat tails of a wider rally for US stocks.The world’s largest cryptocurrency, which hit one-month highs last Friday, maintained its momentum on Monday by rising almost 5%. Rivals, such as ether, saw similar percentage moves.Analysts credited several factors for recent crypto gains, saying that wider market sentiment was benefiting from growing expectations of central bank interest rate cuts.The prospect of cheaper borrowing costs ahead helped the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to record intraday highs earlier in the day. The tech-focused…

The ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Lauren Goodger has been cleared of assaulting her after she withdrew her support for the prosecution.Charles Drury, 26, was charged with inflicting actual bodily harm on the former The Only Way Is Essex star on 4 August 2022. He was also said to have left the 37-year-old fearing violence would be used against her through “controlling and coercive behaviour” during their relationship on at least two occasions between 1 August 2020 and 5 August 2022.It emerged Goodger had withdrawn her support for the prosecution during a pre-trial review hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court in…

Fujitsu is set to have received more than £3.4bn through contracts from Treasury-linked organisations since 2019, despite its role in the Post Office scandal, MPs have found.The international tech firm, which is under intense scrutiny, was awarded around £1.4bn worth of deals since a 2019 High Court ruling concluding there had been numerous bugs and errors in its Horizon IT system. More than £2bn worth of contracts were agreed before 2019 and remained active in the following period, the Commons Treasury Committee said.The committee – which examines Treasury expenditure and policy – wrote to organisations last month including HM Revenue…

Reality star Louise Thompson has revealed she became seriously ill on a recent holiday and was losing “cupfuls” of blood every 20 minutes before being rushed to hospital in the UK.The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, said she booked an early flight home from Antigua to seek treatment in January after feeling weak and disorientated while away with her family. She has suffered a string of physical and PTSD after almost dying during the birth of her two-year-old son, Leo.The star also suffers from ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition leading to parts of the gut becoming swollen, inflamed,…

A former chief economist at the Bank of England has expressed disappointment at Labour’s decision to axe its £28bn green investment pledge.Andy Haldane, who is now the managing director of the Royal Society of Arts, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that the original promise “led the world” in its ambition, and would have benefitted the country – both in achieving its net zero goals and stimulating growth. But the decision by Sir Keir Starmer last week to bin the target showed how politicians are “scaling back our plans in the UK at the same time as other countries have stepped up…

Macquarie, the Australian banking giant, is closing in on a deal to buy a big stake in the wholesale arm of TalkTalk Telecom, one of Britain’s biggest consumer broadband providers.Sky News has learnt that Macquarie could sign an exclusivity agreement as soon as this week that would pave the way for a transaction with the company founded by Sir Charles Dunstone. City sources said that Macquarie was proposing to invest £450m into PlatformX, the name given to TalkTalk’s wholesale platform, in exchange for a stake of 40% or slightly more.The proceeds would be partly used to pay down the company’s…

The most important thing about American football’s biggest night of the year? It’s the celebrity appearances, of course.Forget the score, the winners, the trophy – even without the Taylor Swift factor of this year’s event, the Super Bowl always makes headlines for the halftime show (Usher and friends), the A-lister adverts (Posh and Becks, Ben Affleck), and the stars in the crowd (see below). Here are the celebs who showed up to the NFL game in Las Vegas this year – including those hanging out in Suite Swift.First up… Image: Pic: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters Starting with the star of…