Author: SKYNEWS

Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting against the UK’s new online safety rules, with accusations of censorship being levelled at the government.Five days since Ofcom’s new internet regulations began being enforced, nearly 400,000 people have signed a petition asking for them to be repealed. In response to the petition, the government said it had “no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act”.Read more: New internet rules come into force – here’s what will changeReform UK’s leader Nigel Farage likened the new rules to “state suppression of genuine free speech” and said his party would reverse the regulations. In response,…

Ozzy Osbourne fans will be able to say goodbye to the heavy metal pioneer at a procession for his cortege through his home city of Birmingham tomorrow.The star’s hearse will make its way down Broad Street towards the Black Sabbath bridge and bench – where thousands of fans have left flowers, messages and other tributes since his death.Osbourne, 76, died less than three weeks after performing his “final bow” in the city – the Back The Beginning reunion with his Sabbath bandmates at Villa Park, which raised about £140m for charity. Image: Ozzy Osbourne on stage at Villa Park just…

The intense financial pressure facing Britain’s casual dining sector will be underlined this week when Gusto, the Italian restaurant chain, falls into administration.Sky News has learnt that Interpath Advisory is preparing a pre-pack insolvency of Gusto, which trades from 13 sites. Sources said that a vehicle set up by Cherry Equity Partners, the owner of Latin American restaurant concept Cabana, was the likely buyer.Money latest: Supermarkets report further food price hikes It is expected to take over most of Gusto’s sites although some job losses are likely. A deal could be announced in the coming days, according to insiders.The collapse…

Wildfires in several Turkish regions have claimed at least 17 lives in the past month, as record-breaking heatwaves and strong winds fuel devastating blazes across the eastern Mediterranean.The number of fatalities in fires outside the country’s fourth-largest city, Bursa, rose to four on Monday, as two volunteer firefighters died in hospital after being pulled from a water tanker that had overturned on the way to a forest fire. Another worker had died at the scene earlier, and a firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday. Image: A drone view shows smoke rising from a wildfire in Harmancik in the…

Grammy-winning jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine has died aged 97.Dame Cleo was a leading figure of the British jazz scene for many years and worked with the likes of Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. Her famed scat singing style, her remarkable range from tenor to contralto and her smoky voice made her Britain’s most successful jazz singer, earning her the nickname the First Lady of Jazz. Image: Cleo Laine performing in London in 2018. Pic: PA “It is with deepest sadness that we announce the passing of our dearly beloved mother, Cleo, who died peacefully yesterday afternoon,” her children Jacqui…

One of of the world’s most successful investors has warned that the UK is stuck in a “debt doom loop”. Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, who founded Bridgewater Associates, was speaking as UK debt as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) rose to 101%. Long-term borrowing costs are higher than they have been at any point this century, giving the Chancellor Rachel Reeves little room to borrow more to fund spending, and thus requiring a focus on raising taxes instead.Mr Dalio told the ‘Master Investor’ Podcast with Wilfred Frost she risked alienating the very people who could help get the…

Firefighters are battling blazes that have broken out across several countries in southeast Europe, fuelled by dry conditions, high winds and extreme temperatures.A firefighter has died and thousands of people have been evacuated in a weekend that has seen dozens of fires scorch forests and burn houses to the ground. More than 50 wildfires have erupted in Greece in the past 24 hours, leading to evacuations in some Athens suburbs and a request to the EU for six firefighting planes.A politician in Turkey’s fourth-largest city of Bursa described the scene as “an apocalypse” as forests burned and more than 1,100…

Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated. In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.”I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I…

Darren McCaffrey talks to Deann Evans, managing director for EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) at ecommerce platform Shopify, about slower-than-expected sales. Samsung’s Annika Bizon, vice president of product and marketing, discusses a new line of devices.And Andy Lulham, chief operating officer at Verifymy, talks about tough new age verification rules online.:: Listen and subscribe to the Sky News Business Podcast here.

A campaign group for a third runway at Heathrow that gets funding from the airport has been distributing “incredibly misleading” information to households in west London, according to opponents of the expansion.The group, called Back Heathrow, sent leaflets to people living near the airport, claiming expansion could be the route to a “greener” airport and suggesting it would mean only the “cleanest and quietest aircraft” fly there. It comes as the airport prepares to submit its planning application for a third runway ahead of the 31 July deadline, following the government’s statement of support for the expansion. Image: A plane…