Author: SKYNEWS

EastEnders actor Shane Ritchie and comedian Paul Chuckle were among the stars at singer Linda Nolan’s funeral in Blackpool on Saturday.Nolan died at the age of 65 last month having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Image: Nolan’s sons Shane Jr (left) and Jake help carry her coffin. Pic: PA Her pink, sparkly coffin was carried into St Paul’s Church in her home city by her sons and others – while her sisters wore pink breast cancer broaches and earrings – opting for pink handbags to contrast with their black outfits. Image: Linda Nolan, Anne Nolan, Bernie Nolan, Coleen…

Consumers will see the price of alcohol rise from Saturday when a hike in tax and duties comes into effect.The alcohol tax itself will rise in line with the Retail Price Index at 3.6%, but a new system to tax wines and spirits based on strength will be introduced at the same time. This means the duty on a bottle of gin will rise by 32p, while wine at 14.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) will increase by 54p.The changes to excise duty and taxing wine according to strength came into effect on 1 August, 2023 but the Conservative government introduced…

Louise stopped drinking tap water around 12 years ago.Since then, she has spent hundreds of pounds on all manner of at-home filtration systems in a bid to ease her anxieties about water quality. “It’s always been a concern for me,” the 34-year-old nurse, from Greater Manchester, tells Sky News.”In my line of work, I deal with a lot of bacteria. E-coli, legionella, norovirus – and they can all come from water. It’s a scary thought.”She says that while her worries may just be “speculation” – and there are strict rules on hand hygiene and infection control on her NHS ward…

Cult classic film Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion appears to be moving forward with a long-awaited sequel.The follow-up to the 1997 comedy is expected to see Friends star Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reprising their roles as the unaccomplished friends. In the original, the stars played Romy (Sorvino) and Michele (Kudrow), who decide to invent fake careers to impress their former classmates at a 10-year high school reunion.Sorvino, best known for her Oscar-winning performance in the 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite, seemed to confirm the sequel was in the works after it was first reported that they were in talks…

Every Thursday, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. This week, we chat to Phil Kearsey, executive chef at the London-institution and Michelin-starred Pied à Terre.A top tip for amateur chefs is… acidity is a seasoning! Just like salt and pepper, citrus or vinegar can take a simple thing to another dimension. The most overrated single food item is… micro herbs with no flavour. Yes, it looks lovely on Instagram but if it adds nothing to the dish get it out of there! Image: Micro herbs – Kearsey isn’t…

Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.A spokesperson said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull. “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family.”She will be dearly missed.” Image: Marianne Faithfull in 1995. Pic: Reuters Faithfull was best known for her 60s hit As Tears Go By, written by Sir Mick Jagger, with whom she had a well-publicised relationship and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. She also starred in films including The Girl on a Motorcycle and…

The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed it is closely monitoring an asteroid the size of a football pitch that could hit the Earth in a little over seven years.The asteroid, called 2024 YR4, is estimated to have a one in 83 chance of a direct hit, causing “severe damage to a local region”, according to ESA. The space rock, which measures 100m by 40m, is currently at a distance of around 27 million miles and moving away from the planet. But its path will cross the Earth’s orbit on 22 December 2032.Most likely there would be a near miss,…

Love Island winner Jack Fincham has been released on bail pending an appeal – hours after being jailed for his cane corso dog attacking a man while he was running.The 32-year-old had pleaded guilty at Southend Magistrates’ Court to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog, with one of the incidents causing injury. As well as being jailed for six weeks, he was ordered to pay £3,680 in total, including a £2,000 contribution to kennelling costs, a fine of £961 and £200 compensation.But after being sentenced at the court on Wednesday, it emerged he had successfully…

A US company’s prototype jet has broken the sound barrier in a demonstration it hopes will pave the way for a successor to the Concorde.Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 is the first civilian aircraft to achieve the feat since the British-French supersonic airliner, which was retired in 2003. The XB-1 broke the sound barrier for the first time over the Mojave Desert in California. Image: The XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. Pic: Boom Supersonic During the test flight, it reached an altitude of 35,000ft before accelerating to Mach 1.1 (844mph) – 10% faster than the speed of sound.The jet, which was flown by Boom…

A former assistant to Harvey Weinstein has accused parliament of being too “slow to act” on the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – saying there has been “a clear trail” of their use at the root of “every scandal of abuse”. In 2017, Zelda Perkins was the first woman to break a Weinstein-related NDA signed decades earlier, an action which helped expose the Miramax movie producer’s predatory behaviour to the world. Since then, through her organisation Can’t Buy My Silence, she’s been a vocal campaigner to try to get changes to the law.Explaining her frustrations in an interview with Sky…