Author: SKYNEWS

Elon Musk has announced the first human patient to receive a brain chip from his company Neuralink is recovering well.The billionaire also revealed he hoped the product – called ‘Telepathy’ – will eventually allow users with disabilities like Stephen Hawking to “communicate faster than an auctioneer”. “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” Mr Musk said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday.Spikes are activity by neurons, which the National Institute of Health describes as cells that use electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and to the body.Mr Musk said it will…

Musicians have to sit beside sexual abusers at award ceremonies, MPs have said as they warned that misogyny and discrimination is “endemic” in the industry.The Women and Equalities Committee has held an inquiry into the sector, where it found sexual harassment and abuse was common. But it said many women did not report the incidents as they worried about whether they would be believed – or if their careers would be over as a result.The cross-party group has recommended a number of measures to be put in place, including changing the Equalities Act to offer more protections to freelance workers…

Run DMC star Jam Master Jay was killed by his godson and a childhood friend who were both motivated by greed and revenge, say prosecutors, as the defendants’ murder trial began.The 37-year-old DJ, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was fatally shot in the head in his New York recording studio in 2002. He was part of one of the best-known rap acts of the 1980s. Image: A mural of Jam Master Jay in Queens. Pic: AP In 2020, Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington were charged with murder and on Monday their trial got under way in New York…

Iceland supermarket boss Richard Walker has switched his support from the Conservatives to Labour, saying Sir Keir Starmer’s party is “the right choice” for his customers.Mr Walker, a former Tory donor and the executive chairman of Iceland, said under Sir Keir’s leadership Labour had “progressively moved towards the ground on which I have always stood”, while the Conservatives “have moved away from it”. He accused the Tories of abandoning “basic Conservatives principles” and this had “not only fuelled my personal disenchantment, it is also reflected in the total collapse of public confidence we can see in every opinion poll”.Mr Walker’s…

Plans by Amazon and vacuum cleaner maker iRobot to merge have been abandoned following concerns that the move would harm competition.The $1.4bn (£1.1bn) deal, which was first announced in August 2022, had previously been approved by UK regulators. But in November the European Commission expressed concerns the online retailer might give iRobot’s products preferential treatment on its website – ahead of rival vacuum companies – if the merger went ahead.Amazon confirmed on Monday that the deal had now collapsed after it failed to find a way forward with EU officials during talks.The merger had also been facing scrutiny from regulators…

Gogglebox star Pat Webb has died after a long illness, the TV show has confirmed.The 75-year-old appeared with son Stephen Lustig-Webb, from Brighton, during series 10 to 12. He posted on Instagram: “Mummy Pat, you were one in a million, took everyone at face value, would share your last fiver with a stranger, the salt of the earth and the absolute centre of our world! Rest in peace mum.”Posting on X, the Channel 4 show also paid tribute.”Mummy Pat will be remembered and missed by her children Stephen, Denise, Sharon, Beverley and the extended family,” it said. “Our thoughts are…

Lloyds has confirmed it is axing its mobile banking vans – just days after it announced plans to cut 1,600 jobs as it increasingly shifts services online.The banking giant said visits to the branches had fallen by 90% since 2018, with as few as two people regularly using the service in some locations. The fleet of vans visit more than 120 towns and villages at least once a month, providing cash and cheque services, account enquiries and other help for people who are not able to easily visit a high street branch.The banking group said it has already been in…

Five people in the UK are believed to have developed Alzheimer’s Disease as a result of medical treatment decades earlier, doctors have revealed.The world-first research suggests the individuals acquired a rogue protein that causes the form of dementia from growth hormone taken from the brains of deceased people. The doctors say Alzheimer’s itself is not transmissible and there is no ongoing public health risk because growth hormone given to children is now made synthetically.At least 1,848 people in the UK were treated with cadaver-derived human growth hormone (c-hGH), between 1959 and 1985, most commonly to increase their height. Growth hormone…

Joni Mitchell will perform at the Grammy Awards for the first time in her five-decade music career this weekend.The 80-year-old singer-songwriter, who’s best known for her hit Big Yellow Taxi, is up for best folk album. Image: Mitchell in 1969. Pic: PA The Canadian star’s previously won nine Grammys and a lifetime achievement award, and has inspired artists including Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan and Prince.Mitchell was forced to re-learn how to walk, talk and play guitar after suffering a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2015.Nominated for her album Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live], the record marked her first headline show in…

The slow-motion collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted company, entered what is likely to be its final stage on Monday when a Hong Kong court ordered its liquidation.The property developer, which has more than $300bn worth of liabilities, has been approaching this point ever since, in December 2021, it first missed a bond payment and was declared to be in default. Since then, various attempts at a restructuring have been made, none of which have even come close to passing muster with Evergrande’s creditors.So today was the day the authorities finally lost patience.Follow live: Money blog Under the court’s…