Author: SKYNEWS

The typical household could see major bills rise by almost £270 by April, Sky News analysis suggests.The increase in costs for energy, water and council tax would outstrip inflation and add to pressure on family budgets. The first impact will be felt from New Year’s Day, with the domestic energy price cap rising for the second time this winter.A household paying by direct debit and using the typical amount of gas and electricity will pay an extra £21 – or 1.2% – a year, increasing their bill to £1,738, according to the regulator Ofgem.But there will be more pain in…

Ross Kemp is returning to Albert Square in celebration of EastEnders’ 40th anniversary.The 60-year-old first made his debut as Grant Mitchell in 1990 and has returned to the soap a number of times over the past 35 years. He last appeared in the show in 2016 but will reprise his role this year in what the BBC has described as an “explosive” storyline.Kemp said: “I’m delighted to be returning to EastEnders as the show heads towards its 40th anniversary.”EastEnders has always meant so much to me, so to return as the show is about to celebrate such a special anniversary…

UK business goes into the new year in a surly mood.New Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s hike in employer’s National Insurance contributions (NICs) in her autumn budget will raise the cost of employing people and that is likely to have an impact on both hiring and investment. For individual sectors, there are specific challenges: the car industry, for example, is still grappling with the threat of penalties where electric vehicles are too low a proportion of their overall sales.Consumer-facing businesses are also under considerable pressure, not only from the rise in employer’s NICs but also the forthcoming rise in the national living…

Each cigarette a person smokes could shorten their life by 20 minutes, according to new estimates.The new figures are an increase on previous estimates, which suggested a cigarette shortens a smoker’s life by 11 minutes. The data suggests if a 10-a-day smoker quits on 1 January, then by 8 January they could “prevent loss of a full day of life”.By 20 February, their lives could be extended by a whole week.If their quitting is successful until 5 August, they will likely live for a whole month longer than if they had continued to smoke. The figures come from analysis commissioned by…

Veteran radio DJ Johnnie Walker, who hosted BBC Radio 2’s Sounds Of The 70s and The Rock Show, has died aged 79.Known for championing artists like Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, Walker in October announced he would retire from radio after 58 years. He had previously diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a lung condition.Weeks later, he presented his final Sounds Of The 70s show on BBC Radio 2 and hosted his last episode of The Rock Show as he hung up his headphones due to ill health.Tiggy Walker, Johnnie’s wife, said: “I couldn’t be more proud of…

The operator of nearly 150 Pizza Hut restaurants in the UK is in advanced talks with potential buyers as it races to wrap up a deal to secure its future.Sky News has learnt that Heart With Smart (HWS), the US-owned brand’s biggest UK franchisee, is aiming to select a preferred bidder in January after weeks of talks with suitors. Sources close to the process said a range of trade and financial buyers had expressed interest in acquiring a large stake in the dine-in chain.In November, Sky News revealed that HWS had begun approaching potential bidders as it sought to mitigate…

The world has experienced a “decade of deadly heat”, the head of the UN says, as he urged countries to “exit this road to ruin”.UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the top ten hottest years on record had occurred in the past decade and warned the world was witnessing “climate breakdown in real time”. “We must exit this road to ruin – and we have no time to lose,” he said in his New Year’s message.”In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future. It is…

Gal Gadot says her baby daughter had to be delivered during emergency surgery earlier this year after a “massive blood clot” was discovered in the actress’s brain.The 39-year-old shared a long post on social media, saying she had been suffering from excruciating headaches for weeks, which left her bed-bound, before an MRI scan in the eighth month of her pregnancy revealed “the terrifying truth”. Gadot announced the birth of her fourth baby girl in March, saying at the time “the pregnancy was not easy”.She said she had now decided to talk about the experience to “raise awareness and support others…

Almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs this year after the collapse of major high street chains, according to data.It is the highest since more than 200,000 jobs in the sector were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The figures, compiled by the Centre for Retail Research, show a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date – up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.It said its latest analysis showed the number of job losses spiked amid…

Scientists have built tiny VR goggles for mice so they can better study how animals behave in virtual reality.Researchers at Cornell University created the MouseGoggles using low-cost, off-the-shelf components such as smartwatch displays and tiny lenses. They then put the headsets on the mice, seeing how they responded to different stimuli.The miniature goggles could help reveal how the brain deals with spatial navigation and memory, which may help scientists understand diseases like Alzheimer’s and its potential treatments, according to Cornell University.One of the most effective VR tests was tricking mice into believing an expanding dark blotch was approaching them, according…