Author: SKYNEWS

Netflix’s $72bn takeover of Warner Brothers is a blockbuster in every sense.It is less than 30 years since Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph began their mail order DVD rental business, barely 20 since Netflix began streaming content online, and just over a decade since its first wave of original content, including House Of Cards. Yet, if approved, this deal will see the upstart swallow one of the giants of Hollywood’s Golden Era. Warner Brothers, the studio that made Casablanca, finds itself a subplot in the dramatic transformation of 21st-century entertainment, working title: The Triumph Of The Streamers.Money latest: Budget airline…

A groundbreaking trial for a prostate cancer treatment has been launched in the UK, with the hope of reducing the side effects.Backed by the government-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the trial will examine whether Aquablation – a therapy using robotics, AI and real-time imaging – works as well or better than traditional surgery. Currently, the entire prostate gland is removed in a bid to cure men of prostate cancer, in a procedure called radical prostatectomy.It is only suitable for men whose cancer has not spread outside of the prostate gland or has spread to the area…

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have attended the Together at Christmas carol service where they were joined by Hollywood stars. But the focus of Kate’s annual service at Westminster Abbey was the UK’s local communities and the princess took the time beforehand to thank volunteers from across the country. Her smartly-dressed children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, hung loops of red paper bearing their handwritten names on a “Connection Tree”. Image: Royals attend the Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey, in London, on 5 December. Pic: Reuters The tree…

Piers Morgan, the broadcaster and journalist, is raising tens of millions of dollars of funding from heavyweight investors as he seeks to turn Uncensored, his YouTube-based venture, into a broad-based global media business.Sky News can exclusively reveal that Mr Morgan is in the process of finalising a roughly $30m (£22.5m) fundraising for Uncensored that will give it a pre-money valuation of about $130m (£97m). The new investors are understood to include The Raine Group, the New York-based merchant bank, and Theo Kyriakou, the media mogul behind Greece’s Antenna Group, owner of a stake in London-based digital venture The News Movement.Michael…

Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been fined €120m (£105m) by the EU after it found rule breaches had left users vulnerable to scams and manipulation.The European Commission started investigating X under the Digital Services Act (DSA) two years ago and has now issued its first non-compliance decision against the site. In a decision that could anger the US President Donald Trump the commission censured Elon Musk’s platform for three different breaches of DSA transparency requirements. Image: Elon Musk with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters The Trump administration has previously criticised Brussels’…

Jamie Oliver is relaunching his high street chain, Jamie’s Italian, six years after the business collapsed, causing hundreds of job losses.The TV chef will start by opening a restaurant in London’s Leicester Square next spring in partnership with Brava Hospitality Group, which runs another Italian eatery chain, Prezzo. Oliver, 50, has presented a host of TV shows since first appearing on screen in The Naked Chef in 1999 and has written more than two dozen cookery books. Image: Jamie Oliver at the launch of Billy and the Epic Escape in 2024. File pic: PA Image: Customers at Jamie’s Italian in…

It’s a debate that has raged since the end of the COVID pandemic but, despite regulatory scrutiny, it’s fair to say there’s been no clear answer to accusations that UK drivers pay over the odds for fuel.What was once a promotional loss leader for supermarkets desperate for drivers to fill their car boots with groceries, unleaded and diesel costs have been unusually high for years. Fuel retailers say there is a simple explanation: rising costs being passed on to motorists.But critics argue there is a reason why the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has consistently found that we’re paying more…

Iran’s capital is counting down to “day zero” – the day the water runs out and the taps run dry.Reservoirs that supply Tehran’s 15 million residents are almost empty. The Karaj dam, which supplies a quarter of the city’s drinking water, is just 8% full.Water rationing has begun in some areas, with the flow from taps reduced or even stopped altogether overnight.President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged people to use water sparingly – or the city, or at least parts of it, may even have to evacuate. So what’s going on?Rain should start falling in the autumn after Iran’s hot dry…

Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV. Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot. Image: The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP The announcement follows the…

The energy regulator has confirmed plans for a massive upgrade to the UK’s energy grids, adding £108 to customer bills by 2031.Ofgem said on Thursday that the £28bn investment over the next five years would bolster resilience in the transition to a renewable energy future and that much of the bill would be offset by increased efficiency. It pointed to estimated savings for households of around £80 because of the planned investment in gas and power infrastructure, leaving a net additional contribution of £28.Money latest: Is property still a good investment? Ofgem said the £28bn sum formed part of an…