Author: SKYNEWS

Chemical castration has been used on sex offenders in several countries over many years, with some success – but it remains controversial.The principle of treatment, when used on men, is to inhibit the action of the sex hormone testosterone. The expectation is that the offender will have fewer sexual fantasies and a lower sex drive.Many of the drugs are more widely used to treat prostate cancer, where they reduce the growth of hormone-sensitive tumours. But they vary in how effective they are at treating sex offenders – and how swiftly they act. Sky News was given exclusive access to a…

Irish rap trio Kneecap have branded the charging of one of their members with a terror offence in the UK as “political policing” in a bid to “silence voices of compassion”.Liam Og O hAannaidh has been charged over the alleged displaying of a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November. The 27-year-old from Belfast in Northern Ireland – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.In a statement on X, the group said:…

Bitcoin has surged to a new all-time high – breaking through $111,000 for the first time.It means every single person who has bought it since 2009 (and held onto it) will be sitting on a profit. The surge follows a pretty dramatic 2025 for Bitcoin (BTC), with Donald Trump’s presidency making this digital asset even more volatile than usual.Money latest: How travel insurance costs can spikeBTC had first managed to hit $109,000 on 20 January – the day Mr Trump was inaugurated – with investors hopeful that he would introduce a slew of pro-crypto policies. Despite the president coming good…

Extra cancer screenings for women with dense breasts could save hundreds of lives, according to a new study.Researchers from the University of Cambridge found extra scans for some women could identify an extra 3,500 early-stage cancers that can be “hidden” during regular mammograms. Around 10% of women have very dense breasts, which means they have more fibrous and glandular tissue and less fatty tissue than other women.These women are up to four times more likely to develop breast cancer compared to women with low breast density. Image: Mammogram images showing fatty/less dense (left) and dense (right) healthy breasts. Pic: Cambridge…

US singer Chris Brown has been released on bail by a judge in London – and must pay a £5m security fee to the court.The 36-year-old was granted bail by Judge Tony Baumgartner at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, but did not appear in person. The rapper was remanded in custody following an initial hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday – but is now free to leave ahead of his next court appearance in London on 13 June.He faces a charge of grievous bodily harm following an alleged assault at a London nightclub in 2023.His bail conditions allow him…

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has warned investors it is facing a £300m hit to trading profits as a result of last month’s ransomware attack.The company said it was aiming to reduce the figure significantly through management of some costs, including the prospect of insurance payouts, but added disruption to its operations could last into July. The continuing fallout from last month’s cyberattack is hanging over the retailer’s outlook as its online channels remain down for payments.Website sales are expected to resume, at least partially, in a couple of weeks’ time.Money latest: Reaction to inflation spike M&S said it could not…

Elon Musk has said he is committed to remaining as Tesla’s chief executive for at least five years, as the electric carmaker faces pressure from consumers and the stock market over his work with Donald Trump’s government.The world’s richest man said he will cut back on political spending after heavily backing the US president last year. During a video appearance at the Qatar Economic Forum hosted by Bloomberg, a moderator asked: “Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years’ time?”Musk responded: “Yes.”The moderator added: “No doubt about that at…

A sculpture of Dame Judi Dench is being auctioned off to raise funds for lymphoedema research.The acting legend sat for royal sculptor Frances Segelman in front of an audience at Claridge’s in London on Monday night. Speaking to Sky News, Dame Judi Dench said she wanted to do something to help her friend, photographer Gemma Levine, who was diagnosed with the disease 15 years ago and organised the event.”Gemma photographed me a very long time ago and we got on very well, we hit it off,” she said.”I didn’t know about lymphoedema then but I have an assistant Jen, who…

The steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is mounting a last-ditch bid to salvage his British operations after seeing an emergency plea for government support rejected.Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta’s Liberty Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) arm is seeking to adjourn a winding-up petition scheduled to be heard in court on Wednesday. The petition is reported to have been brought by Harsco Metals Group, a supplier of materials and labour to SSUK, and is said to be supported by other trade creditors.Unless the adjournment is granted, Mr Gupta faces the prospect of seeing SSUK forced into compulsory liquidation.That would raise questions…

The Met Office has transferred to a new off-site supercomputer – which could make 14-day forecasts as accurate as seven-day equivalents.Operating using Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure system, the new computer could also help predict extreme weather further in advance and advance climate research. The weather agency used its first supercomputer 60 years ago, but until now it has almost always been run on site.For more than a month, Azure has been running off-site simultaneously with the Met Office’s previous supercomputer, which has now been switched off.Find out the forecast for your area Chief executive officer Penny Endersby said on the agency’s…