Author: SKYNEWS

The boss of the UK motor industry’s lobby group has blamed “criminal activity” for UK-made luxury cars finding their way into sanction-hit Russia.The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Mike Hawes was speaking just over a week after Sky News uncovered a system of getting vehicles from the UK and other European nations across the border from Georgia. Vehicles including Solihull-made Range Rovers were filmed being taken to the border at a time when official statistics show no such trade exists, calling into question whether UK manufacturers were failing in their obligations.Money latest: Zuckerberg becomes…

A 20-year-old TikTok personality has been charged with murder after the body of a therapist was discovered wrapped in a tarpaulin on a motorway.Terryon Thomas, best known online as Mr Prada, was arrested in East Baton Rouge, Louisana, on Tuesday after 69-year-old therapist William Nicholas Abraham was found dead on the side of a road near Tangipahoa Parish a few days earlier.His cause of death was blunt force trauma, according to authorities, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported.Thomas has multiple accounts on TikTok, one of which has 4.3 million followers and over 500 million likes.He is believed to have…

A special set of stamps is being issued to mark the 60th anniversary of veteran rock band The Who.Royal Mail revealed details of 12 stamps which feature images of some of The Who’s most popular album covers and group shots from some of their live performances. The album covers are My Generation from 1965; Tommy from 1969; Who’s Next from 1971; Quadrophenia from 1973; Who Are You from 1978; Face Dances from 1981; Endless Wire from 2006; and Who from 2019. Image: The Who’s album My Generation. Pic: PA Image: The Who’s album Tommy. Pic: PA Image: The Who’s album…

Financial markets are now pricing in a shock interest rate cut for the UK at the next Bank of England meeting following remarks by its governor.There was a huge shift in expectations after Andrew Bailey told the Guardian that the bank could be “a bit more aggressive” in its approach. He talked about inflation pressures being less persistent than expected but tempered his comments by saying that its main indicators on the pace of price growth would need to continue to fall.Money latest: The great second home sell-off?Mr Bailey also worried about the potential threat to prices from oil costs,…

A comet that was last seen when Neanderthals roamed the Earth is about to make an appearance again, as it swings through orbit towards us.The A3 comet is described as “the most impressive comet of the year” by the Royal Greenwich Observatory and should be visible to the naked eye if the conditions are right. The comet, also known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas), was discovered in January 2023 and visits the inner solar system roughly every 80,000 years.It comes from the Oort Cloud, a huge shell that surrounds our solar system.NASA describes the Oort Cloud as a “big, thick-walled bubble…

Sir Daniel Day-Lewis is set to come out of his retirement from acting to star in his son’s directorial debut.The British star is a triple Oscar winner, named best actor for his performances in My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln, and widely regarded as one of the greatest stars of his generation. He announced he was quitting acting after his appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread, based on the fashion world of 1950s London, for which he was also nominated for the Academy Award. Image: The actor has won the Oscar for best actor…

A prolonged strike by US port workers risks a new wave of freight-led inflation, according to experts.The walkout, at each of the 36 major ports along the US east and Gulf coasts, is the first since the 1970s and explained by a failure to agree new collective contracts covering the next six years. In addition to a disagreement over pay, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union also wants guarantees over port automation that it says is threatening jobs among its 45,000 members.Money latest: Different ways you can beat inheritance taxThe United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group said it had…

It was a grim day for a send-off.Rain poured down the giant cooling towers at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant in Nottinghamshire as the last wisps of steam floated away from them – the fading warmth of the furnaces shut down the night before bleeding into the low cloud above. A slow end to the UK’s 142-year reliance on coal for electricity.In a marquee below, former workers, power industry executives, civil servants and a government minister gathered to say thanks to the staff at the UK’s last coal-fired power plant.Like any good wake, this was also a celebration of the 57-year-long life…

Colin Farrell has said he went undercover in his prosthetic make-up playing Penguin in the early days of production on The Batman.The Irish actor stars once again as the infamous DC villain Oswald Cobb in the new Sky Original series The Penguin, recreating his version of the character viewers first met in Matt Reeves’ 2022 film starring Robert Pattinson. After three hours a day in the make-up chair, he is unrecognisable as the star best known for films including In Bruges and The Banshees Of Inisherin.”I’m left alone most of the time anyway,” Farrell told Sky News about being out…

Mulberry, the struggling UK luxury brand, has rejected a proposed takeover bid by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.Frasers, which is majority owned by the tycoon and best-known for its Sports Direct brand, made an offer on Monday that valued Mulberry at £83m. The company is the second largest shareholder in Mulberry, with a 37% holding.Money latest:Tipping rule changes now in effect – what’s changed?It claimed to be acting to prevent “another Debenhams situation” after apparently being kept in the dark over a move by Mulberry, last Friday, to raise cash. Mulberry, best known for its handbags, has been battling weak demand…