Author: SKYNEWS

Japan has become the fifth country to land a craft on the moon, but problems with its solar panels mean the mission hangs in the balance.Dubbed the “moon sniper”, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe was attempting a risky landing on a slope at the rim of a crater using “precision” technology. While the craft landed at about 3.20pm UK time and can communicate with the team on Earth, it cannot generate its own energy – potentially because its solar panels are angled incorrectly.It means SLIM is relying on its own battery – with 74% charge at the…

The Post Office board member responsible for overseeing the delivery of a controversial compensation scheme for sub-postmasters is to step down from its board.Sky News has learnt that Ben Tidswell, a former lawyer with the international law firm Ashurst who became a director of the Post Office in July 2021, is leaving after only one term. The government, which is responsible for board appointments at the state-owned company, has begun seeking a replacement for Mr Tidswell, and is working with the search firm GatenbySanderson on the process.Mr Tidswell is the Post Office’s senior independent director and also chairs the board…

The financial crisis facing a scandal-hit local authority will be partially mitigated next week when a vast portfolio of solar energy farms is sold for about £700m.Sky News understands that Schroders Greencoat is expected to announce in the coming days that it has agreed to buy Toucan Energy, which collapsed into administration in November 2022. The sale is expected to trigger a payout running into hundreds of millions of pounds to Thurrock Council, which invested more than £650m into it over a four-year period.The scandal led to the resignation of the council’s leader in 2022.Industry sources estimated on Friday that…

Rishi Sunak said there is “more to come” in terms of tax cuts, in a fresh hint the Tories could offer a pre-election giveaway. The prime minister said he wanted to slash taxes “when we can responsibly do so”, echoing comments made by the chancellor this week. Politics Live: Tory peer makes Rwanda admissionTalking to Sky News on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that “the direction of travel” was for the UK to emulate successful low-tax economies.Mr Sunak, speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Hampshire, said the 2p cut to…

The iconic white tutu worn by Sarah Jessica Parker during the opening credits of Sex And The City has sold at auction for $52,000 (£41,000).The “oyster white tulle three-tier tutu skirt with a matching satin waistband” was sold by auctioneers Julien’s, NBC News, Sky News’ US partner, said on Friday. No specific date was given for the sale, but NBC said it was “recent”. Image: Sarah Jessica Parker’s ‘Sex And The City’ opening credits tutu has been sold for £52,000 at auction Image: Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis in a 2000 publicity shot for the…

More than 3,000 jobs are at risk at the country’s biggest steelworks – with an announcement on the workforce expected to be made on Friday, Sky News understands.Tata Steel in September confirmed details reported by Sky News that it had secured taxpayer cash to support the Port Talbot plant in South Wales transition to cheaper, greener steel production. Job losses had been expected as part of the deal though 5,000 UK staff are due to remain within the wider UK operations following the deal with the government.Sources confirmed the steel giant is to press ahead with plans to close blast…

Four years ago, Michael Squires received a letter that turned his life upside down. He’s had sleepless nights ever since.Inside the brown envelope was a tax demand for £24,000. It came out of nowhere, and he didn’t have that kind of money.”It’s a horrible anxious feeling, I knew that I had taken due diligence and I knew that I had done what I thought was right,” he said.”So, you feel the system is against you, you feel like you can’t fight back. In a way, you know that you’ve been conned, and you feel stupid… and I felt that for…

There has been a shock fall in retail sales in the key December shopping period, sharpening the decline seen in recent months, official figures show.Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales fell an unexpected 3.2%, despite Christmas and reported discounts offered by major chains and some positive reports by major high street outfits. Not since the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, in January 2021, had retail sales fallen at such a level.It has been a far worse performance than the 0.5% drop expected by economists and a reversal of the 1.3% growth seen in November when…

One third of adults in the UK will run out of money by the end of January, a new survey has found.By 20 January, 56% of adults will have spent their entire monthly income, due to higher winter bills and financial strain from Christmas expenses, personal finance company Credit Karma said. As a result, many people are likely to turn to alternative sources of funds, such as credit, with 19 January the most likely application date, according to the finance company.The most common credit options were credit cards (22%), buy-now-pay-later schemes (6%), car finance (4%), and personal loans (4%).Akansha Nath,…

Japan hopes it is about to join an exclusive club of just four other nations that have successfully executed a “soft” landing on the moon.Its garden shed-sized Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, isn’t the biggest, or most ambitious robotic mission to our satellite – but it’s bidding to be the most precise when it launches today. Japan’s space agency, JAXA, knows it won’t be easy.The moon gained new craters in the last six months thanks to a Russian, then Japanese robotic mission failing to stick the landing.Only yesterday an American moon probe crashed back to Earth after failing…