Author: SKYNEWS

The NHS will roll out a new treatment for advanced bladder cancer which doubles survival time.It’s estimated that 1,250 people a year could benefit from a combination of drugs called enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab. The first is an antibody-drug also known as Padcev, made by Astellas and Pfizer, while the latter is a PD-L1 inhibitor, also known as Keytruda, which is made by Merck.Clinical trials suggest the combo leads to improved survival compared to platinum-based chemotherapy – increasing from an average of around 16 months to almost 34.Researchers also found people survive for longer without their disease worsening, also known…

Retired women effectively go more than four months every year without getting a pension when their income is compared with that of men, new research finds.The Trades Union Congress (TUC) estimated women were losing the equivalent of £7,600 a year on average due to the gender gap. The union organisation said that compared to men, retired women effectively stop receiving a pension income from today.The income gap between men and women in retirement is now 36.5%, according to research from the Prospect union.The government has revived the Pension Commission to examine the causes of the gap, bringing together trade unions,…

A member of rap trio Kneecap has been released on unconditional bail after appearing in court charged with supporting a proscribed terror organisation – as hundreds turned out to support him outside.Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year. Demonstrators waving flags and holding banners in support of the rapper greeted him with cheers as he made his way into Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning. Image: The rapper was mobbed by supporters and media. Pics: PA Supported…

An investigation has been launched into the death of an internet streamer who was known for taking part in extreme online challenges.Raphael Graven, who went by Jean Pormanove, was found dead in Contes, near Nice, on Sunday night. Viewers of the Frenchman’s last live stream on the Twitch-like platform Kick had reportedly become concerned about him lying lifeless on a mattress, unresponsive to their comments.According to France24, prosecutors said the 46-year-old had been in accommodation rented for the purpose of broadcasting internet live streams. The broadcast had reportedly been running for 10 days.French newspaper Le Monde said Graven was known…

An AI start-up which claims to act as an ‘immune system’ for software has landed $17m (£12.6m) in initial funding from backers including the ventures arm of Alphabet-owned Google.Sky News has learnt that Phoebe, which uses AI agents to continuously monitor and respond to live system data in order to identify and fix software glitches, will announce this week one of the largest seed funding rounds for a UK-based company this year. The funding is led by GV – formerly Google Ventures – and Cherry Ventures, and will be announced to coincide with the public launch of Phoebe’s platform.It is…

A woman who was charged with selling Friends star Matthew Parry the dose of the drug that killed him has agreed to plead guilty. Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen”, is the fifth and final defendant to strike a plea deal with prosecutors, avoiding a trial that was set to take place in September. The 42-year-old agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the Ketamine that led to Perry’s death, federal prosecutors said in a statement.Prosecutors had cast Sangha, a dual US and UK national, as a prolific drug dealer known to her customers as…

TikTok and Instagram have been accused of targeting teenagers with suicide and self-harm content – at a higher rate than two years ago.The Molly Rose Foundation – set up by Ian Russell after his 14-year-old daughter took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media – commissioned analysis of hundreds of posts on the platforms, using accounts of a 15-year-old girl based in the UK.Politics Hub: Follow latest updatesThe charity claimed videos recommended by algorithms on the For You pages continued to feature a “tsunami” of clips containing “suicide, self-harm and intense depression” to under-16s who have previously…

There is one thing scarier than markets lurching around. And that’s markets lurching around without a very compelling explanation.Just yesterday, the yield on the government’s 30-year bonds – the best measure out there of the UK government’s long-term cost of borrowing – closed at the highest level since 1998, not long after Oasis released the album Be Here Now. Indeed, the yields on pretty much all UK government debt has been creeping up in recent weeks, though not all are back to Britpop era levels. Follow the latest in the Money blogIn some senses, this looks very odd indeed. After…

An Ozzy Osbourne documentary has disappeared from the BBC’s schedule without explanation.The film was billed by producers as “a moving and inspirational account” of the last chapter of the metal legend’s life. It was meant to air at 9pm on Monday on BBC One – as well as be available on iPlayer – but an episode of Fake Or Fortune? has replaced it.Sky News has contacted the BBC for comment on why the programme, called Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, has been pulled.The project was filmed over three years as Ozzy and his family returned to the UK, and was initially…

Sir Billy Connolly has warned fans that scammers are using artificial intelligence to impersonate him online.The Scottish comedian and actor – affectionately known as The Big Yin – said his wife Pamela Stephenson had also been targeted. In a message on his website, the 82-year-old said: “Dear friends, I have learned that, unfortunately, online scam artists are targeting my fans and supporters.”They are impersonating me, often reaching out to fans soliciting direct messaging.”They create multiple deceptive social media and email accounts, and there could well be criminal intent.” Image: Sir Billy during a Celtic and Dunfermline football game in 2019.…