Author: SKYNEWS

Acres of sweet, red strawberries are ripening in West Sussex this winter ready to be sold in UK supermarkets.LED lighting in vast glasshouses is enabling berries to be grown all year on a commercial scale for the first time ever. It means less reliance on fruit flown in from countries like Egypt. Image: Bartosz Pinkosz “The LED lighting is the prime reason for successful growing,” said Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director of The Summer Berry.”If it was not a sunny day, the LED lighting would create enough energy for leaves to absorb that energy, take it in and deliver the energy…

Peter Greene, the actor known for roles in Pulp Fiction and The Mask, has died aged 60.He was found dead at his New York City apartment on Friday, his manager confirmed. A cause of death has not been disclosed. Greene drew praise for the various villains and criminals he played in his acting career, which began in his 20s.”Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter,” manager Gregg Edwards told Sky News’ US sister outlet NBC News.”But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold.” Greene played the…

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s holding company has axed a fifth of its workforce, even as he plots a high street restaurant comeback six years after his Jamie’s Italian chain collapsed into administration.Sky News has learnt that Jamie Oliver Group – which is not connected to the newly revived restaurant business – is making 25 of its 126 staff redundant. A spokeswoman confirmed by email that “the consultation [process] is complete” and the numbers of staff affected, but refused to answer further questions, including about why the restructuring was taking place and whether the 25 employees had formally left the company.The…

Companies generate massive profits from people’s information, with experts describing user data as “the new oil”.Some of these companies are household names but many are unknown, with one analyst comparing the relationship between companies and users as “David vs Goliath”. Is there anything you can do about it, or are you resigned to having companies know all about you – and make money on it?How companies collect dataSam Jones, founder of Gener8, a company that helps users make money from their own data online, told our Money team how companies farmed data on users. “Companies collect data about people through…

Author Joanna Trollope has died aged 82, her family has said.Trollope was one of the nation’s most widely read authors, having published more than 30 novels during a career that began in the 1970s.Her novels include “Aga sagas” The Rector’s Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters-in-Law.In a statement, Trollope’s daughters Antonia and Louise said: “Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11, aged 82.” Image: Trollope with Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. Pic: PA Her literary agent James Gill said: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing…

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in October, according to official figures.The surprise fall in gross domestic product (GDP) – a measure of economic output – comes after a similar unexpected 0.1% drop in September and 0% growth in August. Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted that October GDP would grow by 0.1%.The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), represent more bad news for the chancellor over the state of the UK economy.Commentators had warned that consumer spending was likely to be restrained in the run-up to November’s budget, amid concerns about the impact of…

Two new projects on the site of a former oil refinery could create up to 460 new jobs in the coming years, with the help of cash from the UK and Scottish governments.Scottish Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said the announcements by two firms of plans to create jobs shows a “long-term, new industrial future at Grangemouth is achievable”. Scottish biotech firm MiAlgae hopes to create 130 direct full-time jobs over the next five years – and support 180 further posts – by making fish-free Omega 3 supplements using leftover by-products from the whisky production process.With the proposals announced in the…

OpenAI has signed its first major licensing deal to bring well-known characters to life on its Sora video generation tool.The company said the agreement with Walt Disney was part of a push to ensure the rights of creators in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) space amid growing concerns over copyright, fakes and misinformation. It forms part of a $1bn Disney investment in OpenAI, that will see the entertainment firm roll out ChatGPT to its staff and grow its AI capabilities.Money latest: Urgent warning over tumble dryers The initial three-year licensing deal will allow Sora users to generate and share videos…

Tax changes announced in the budget could have “devastating, unintended consequences” on live music venues, including widespread closures and job losses, trade bodies have warned.The bodies, representing nearly 1,000 live music venues, including grassroots sites as well as arenas such as the OVO Wembley Arena, The O2, and Co-op Live, are calling for an urgent rethink on the chancellor’s changes to the business rates system. If not, they warn that hundreds of venues could close, ticket prices could increase, and thousands could lose their jobs across the country.Politics latest: Ex-Olympic swimmer nominated for peeragesBusiness rates, which are a tax on…

Snapchat is the most commonly-used social media platform in reported child exploitation and abuse offences, according to new police figures.In 2024, 122,768 child sexual exploitation offences were recorded – an increase of 7,279, or 6%, on 2023. Child sexual exploitation and abuse online increased by 26%, with 51,672 crimes recorded – 42% of the total.Some 11,912 were on Snapchat, followed by Meta-owned WhatsApp and Instagram on 1,870 and 1,705.Acting Chief Constable Becky Riggs, national lead for child protection and abuse investigation, said social media platforms must do more to report crime and stop underage images being shared. “I know that…