Author: SKYNEWS

Gladiator director Ridley Scott says he had to persuade Joaquin Phoenix to stay on the first movie, after the Joker star threatened to quit.Phoenix, 50, played the corrupt Roman emperor Commodus in the first film, and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Image: Paul Mescal and director Ridley Scott on the set of Gladiator II. Pic: Paramount Pictures Scott told The New York Times: “[Joaquin] was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it’ – I said, ‘What?’ And Russell [Crowe] said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional’.”The 86-year-old filmmaker said he used his closeness to Phoenix to persuade…

The baby formula market needs a shake-up to help parents struggling to afford it, according to the UK’s competition watchdog.There are “limited incentives” for the industry to compete on price and parents have suffered the consequences of high prices, said an interim report by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog has previously reported a 25% increase in prices over the past two years, with just two companies, Nestle and Danone, controlling 85% of the market.Among its recommendations is a call for better public health messaging and clarity for parents trying to choose between different brands.The CMA also confirmed…

China says it’s a developing country, so it doesn’t have to pay into a major new fund to help poor countries cope with climate change. The United States disagrees.This is at the heart of an almighty row about to boil over at the UN COP29 climate talks next week in Azerbaijan. Or is it all just an elaborate “distraction”?Driving this brewing storm is something called “climate finance”.It’s been whipped up further by the re-election of Donald Trump, a climate denier expected to withdraw the world’s largest historic greenhouse gas emitter from global efforts to tackle climate change. Why do countries…

Detectives investigating allegations of sexual offences against DJ Tim Westwood have submitted evidence to prosecutors to consider charges.Claims of non-recent sexual abuse were made against the former BBC Radio 1 DJ in 2022. The Met Police previously said it was investigating alleged offences in London that occurred between 1982 and 2016, and officers have now submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Westwood, 66, has previously “strongly” denied any wrongdoing.A CPS spokesperson said: “We can confirm we received a file from the Metropolitan Police Service regarding allegations of non-recent sexual offences allegedly committed by a man in his 60s.”…

The battle for control of Thames Water’s future has deepened after a second group of bondholders tabled a fully underwritten offer to provide £3bn of new debt.Sky News has learnt that the utility’s class B bondholders submitted a proposal to the company on Thursday morning which aims to trump a rival offer from its class A creditors. The submission of the class B group’s legally binding agreement sets up a tussle between some of the world’s largest pension funds, hedge funds and insurers for a key role in determining the fate of Britain’s biggest water company.Thames Water, which has about…

Australia’s government has pledged to introduce what it described as “world-leading” legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from social media.”Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online.”The legislation will be introduced in the country’s parliament during its final two weeks in session this year, beginning on 18 November.Mr Albanese said the age limit would take effect a year after the law is…

A TikTok star has announced her death from cancer in a poignant pre-recorded video.Bella Bradford, 24, created a final goodbye for her followers on the social media platform after months of sharing details of life as a young woman living with a rare form of the disease.”I’m really sad to be making this video,” she said. “As we all know, I have terminal cancer and unfortunately my life has, by now, come to an end, and I’ve passed away.”The video was a final “Get Ready With Me” post, often used by influencers to share fashion and beauty content. Image: Bella…

Planned strikes by London Underground drivers have been suspended after they received an “improved offer” over pay.Members of Aslef were due to walk out on Thursday and again next Tuesday – which would have heavily impacted Tube services. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union had already called off strikes by its members after resolving a dispute over pay.Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, said: “Following fresh talks, and an improved offer, Aslef has agreed to suspend our planned industrial action on London Underground.”Details of the offer will be discussed with our reps at a meeting on Thursday. We…

Prince William has pledged to fight for better support for those who risk their lives to protect the world’s wildlife.William was speaking at an event in Cape Town for his United for Wildlife organisation, set up by the Prince’s charitable foundation in 2014 to help protect endangered species from the illegal wildlife trade. Passionately describing the day to day risks that wildlife rangers face he said: “Rangers are fundamental if we are to meet our global conservation targets for 2030 and prevent the dangerous tipping points that threaten our planet.”These people do far more than protect wildlife. They are educators.…

Taylor Swift has given a “friendly but extremely important reminder” to her American fans to vote in the presidential election.The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – which is believed to be the closest since 2000 – has seen US stars throw their weight behind both candidates. Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change…