Author: SKYNEWS

A British man who hacked the X accounts of celebrities in a bid to con people out of Bitcoin, has been ordered to repay £4.1m-worth of the cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the United States for five years in 2023 after he pleaded guilty to charges including computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion. He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited after the country’s high court ruled the US was best placed to prosecute because the evidence and victims were there.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday it had obtained a civil recovery order…

A crackdown on online pricing has seen investigations opened into eight companies, with a further 100 facing warnings over their conduct.The competition watchdog said it was formally examining practices at StubHub, viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold’s Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the 100 other companies, which it did not identify, were getting letters outlining concerns about additional fees and sales tactics.Money latest: Nationwide ‘lost my £70k’ The action against StubHub and viagogo – part of the same company after a 2021 merger – was revealed as the government…

BBC chair Samir Shah has said there is “no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this” – after Donald Trump said he would sue the corporation for between $1bn and $5bn.It comes after the US president confirmed on Saturday he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster over the editing of his speech on Panorama – despite an apology from the BBC. Image: Samir Shah said the BBC’s position ‘has not changed’. Pic: Reuters In an email to staff, Mr Shah said: “There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the…

This week, many of the tech world’s glitterati gathered in Lisbon for Web Summit, a sprawling conference showcasing everything from dancing robots to the influencer economy. In the pavilions – warehouse-sized rooms chock full of stages, booths and people networking – the phrase “agentic AI” was everywhere. There were AI agents that hung around your neck in jewellery, software to build agents into your workflows and more than 20 panel discussions on the topic. Image: This necklace contains an AI agent called Wil Agentic AI is essentially artificial intelligence that can do specific tasks by itself, like book your flights or…

The cobbled streets of Newport in Middlesbrough survive from the Victorian era.The staggering levels of child poverty here also feel like they belong in a different time. Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty. Image: Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty The measure is defined by the Child Poverty Action Group as a household with an income less than 60% of the national average.More than half of children across the whole of the constituency of Middlesbrough and Thornaby East are growing up in poverty. As…

The Pope met with film stars and directors at a special Vatican audience to celebrate cinema.Welcoming dozens of Hollywood icons – including Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Greta Gerwig, among others – to an audience hall, Leo XIV called film “a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all”. The Vatican’s culture ministry organised the occasion as part of its efforts to reach out to the secular world. Image: Pics: AP “When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges,” the Pope, who was elected earlier this year after the death of Pope Francis,…

Brazil was “a bit surprised” Britain hasn’t contributed to a new investment fund to protect tropical forests, despite having helped to design it, a senior official has told Sky News. The Amazon nation has used its role as host of the COP30 climate talks to tout its new scheme, which it drew up with the help of countries including the UK and Indonesia. With Britain’s budget day looming, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decided against chipping in when he visited the Amazonian city of Belem this month.The news came out the day before Brazil was about to launch it.”The Brazilians were…

The future ownership of the Daily Telegraph has been plunged back into crisis after RedBird Capital Partners abandoned its proposed £500m takeover.Sky News has learnt that a consortium led by RedBird and including the UAE-based investor IMI has formally withdrawn its offer to buy the right-leaning newspaper titles. In a statement issued to Sky News, a RedBird Capital Partners spokesman confirmed: “RedBird has today withdrawn its bid for the Telegraph Media Group.”We remain fully confident that the Telegraph and its world-class team have a bright future ahead of them and we will work hard to help secure a solution which…

Three Chinese astronauts have successfully returned to Earth from their nation’s space station after their capsule was damaged.The team deployed a red and white striped parachute as they descended, before landing at a remote site in the Gobi Desert in Asia on Friday. The astronauts – Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie – had been due to return on 5 November to end their six-month rotation at the Tiangong space station. Image: Astronaut Chen Zhongrui. Pics: AP However, their journey back was delayed by nine days because the Shenzhou-20 return capsule they were due to travel in was found…

George Osborne, the former chancellor, has emerged as a shock contender to become the next chairman of HSBC Holdings, one of the world’s top banking jobs.Sky News can exclusively reveal that Mr Osborne, who was chancellor from 2010 until 2016, was approached during the summer about becoming the successor to Sir Mark Tucker. This weekend, City sources said that Mr Osborne was one of three remaining candidates in the frame to take on the chairmanship of the London-headquartered lender.Naguib Kheraj, the City veteran who was previously finance director of Barclays and deputy chairman of Standard Chartered, is also in contention.The…