Author: SKYNEWS

It’s been another eventful year.From Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, to the continuation of the war in Ukraine and several natural disasters, the world hasn’t felt particularly stable.As if the scale of these events wasn’t clear enough, many of them have also been captured from space.We’ve picked out some of the most striking images – and don’t worry, they’re not all bad news.Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine Image: Pic: Maxar This picture was taken above the snow-covered towns of Soledar and Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on 10 January, showing bomb craters scattered across the area…

Actor Iwan Rheon hopes his new film Men Up will encourage men to speak out about the impact erectile dysfunction can have on mental health and relationships.The BBC drama is inspired by the real-life medical trial that took place at Morriston Hospital in Swansea in 1994, for the drug that would become Viagra. Rheon, known for his roles in Game Of Thrones, Misfits and Wolf, plays one of a group of Welshmen who volunteer for the trial, starring alongside Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk), Phaldut Sharma (Eastenders), Paul Rhys (Napoleon), Steffan Rhodri (Gavin And Stacey), and Mark Lewis Jones (Gangs Of London).…

Chocolate giant Hershey is being sued by a disgruntled customer who said its Halloween-themed peanut butter treats didn’t match the packaging.Cynthia Kelly, from Florida, argues she bought them because she liked the “artistic designs” of the holiday sweeties. She was especially fond of the “cute looking” eyes and mouth shown on the packets of the peanut butter pumpkins, prompting her to spend $4.49 (£3.52) on them at an Aldi supermarket.When she opened the bag, she found not only were the facial features missing – there were no carvings whatsoever.Her legal case, a class action lawsuit seeking at least $5m (£3.9m,…

A Tesla engineer was injured by a robot that pinned him to the wall at the company’s giant factory in Texas, according to reports.The 2021 incident came to light through an injury record filed to regulators. It noted the injury type as “laceration, cut, open wound” and recorded the “cause object” as a robot.The robot “pushed its claws” into the man’s body and drew blood from his back and arm, two witnesses told US technology website The Information. Image: The Tesla giga factory in Texas After another worker hit the emergency stop button, the engineer managed to escape the robot’s…

Witnesses in the case of a man charged with orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur may be the target of a kill order, prosecutors have warned.Duane “Keffe D” Davis, an ex-gang leader from Compton, California, is the only person still alive who was in the vehicle from which shots were fired towards the hip-hop icon. He is also the only person ever charged in connection with the case, and has denied involvement in the killing. Image: Former gang member Duane Davis Ahead of his trial, prosecutors have alleged that members of his family have been handed a list of…

More vinyl LPs were bought this year than at any time since 1990 and are growing at their fastest rate this decade.With just a few more days to go to year-end, the vinyl market has increased by nearly 12%, rising for the 16th year in a row, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Over a quarter of a million vinyl albums were sold in the week before Christmas, the highest sales for the format this century.Continuing her domination of the music industry and pop culture as a whole, Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version)…

Apple has won the right to import two of its most popular smartwatches into the United States, after the appeals court paused a previous ban on imports.The tech giant was ordered in October to stop importing and selling Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, following a complaint from medical-monitoring technology company Masimo that it had infringed patents. Masimo accused Apple of hoovering up its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into Apple watches.US President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto the ban by Boxing Day, allowing it to come into effect.Apple had appealed the ban that was…

Actress Sophie Winkleman said she hardly knew anyone at her wedding to the King’s second cousin, after her mother-in-law Princess Michael of Kent took charge of everything – including her dress.Best known for playing “mental posho” Big Suze in the cult comedy Peep Show, Winkleman married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009 after a chance meeting 17 years ago. She has since become a regular in royal circles.”I didn’t know anyone at my wedding,” she told Tatler, for this month’s cover issue.”I had my best pals there but basically it was full of faces I’d never seen before. My mother-in-law, Princess…

The owner of one of Britain’s biggest bingo businesses has picked bankers to oversee an auction next year.Sky News understands that Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has asked Nomura to prepare a sale process for Buzz Bingo, which it has owned since 2021. The timing of an auction and ICG’s price expectations were unclear on Thursday, with one insider saying that the launch of an attempt to find new owners would be dependent upon market conditions.Buzz Bingo operates more than 80 clubs across the country, and has a prominent digital presence offering bingo, casino and other gaming products.The company was acquired…

The father of Molly Russell, the teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful material, has been given an MBE in the New Year Honours. Ian Russell is among hundreds of activists, campaigners, and charity workers being recognised by the King in this year’s honours list. He has been recognised for services to child online safety.On what Molly would have made of his MBE, he said: “Molly was quite content to get on stage and take part in school plays, but she was a quiet person, she didn’t like the limelight, so I think she would have found this…