Author: SKYNEWS

Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.The 67-year-old announced his diagnosis on social media, saying it was one of stage four “advanced” cancer.He said he was “fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team” looking after him that was “administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity”.”I’m responding positively to their excellent treatment, and feeling well,” he added.”I’m blessed to be fortified by the monumental love and support of my wife, family and close friends.”Needless to say, my message to all men over 50, in high risk groups, or displaying symptoms, is get…

Doctors are using AI software that does not meet minimum standards to record and transcribe patient meetings, according to a Sky News investigation.NHS bosses have demanded GPs and hospitals stop using artificial intelligence software that could breach data protection rules and put patients at risk. A warning sent out by NHS England this month came just weeks after the same body wrote to doctors about the benefits of using AI for notetaking – to allow them more time to concentrate on patients – using software known as Ambient Voice Technology, or “AVT”.Health Secretary Wes Streeting will next week put AI…

Smith & Williamson (S&W), the private equity-backed professional services firm, has tabled an approach that would result in the break-up of the London-listed investment bank Cavendish.Sky News has learnt that S&W, which itself was part of Evelyn Partners until earlier this year, made an offer in recent weeks to acquire Cavendish’s mergers and acquisitions arm. The value of the offer, which is said to have been rejected, was unclear on Tuesday morning.It was also unclear whether news of the approach from S&W might flush out interest from other parties in a potential deal with Cavendish.Money blog: ‘My water bill has…

Festival season is under way, and leading the charge: the Isle of Wight Festival – dubbed “Europe’s Woodstock” – with headliners including Sting and the Stereophonics.Former N-Sync star Justin Timberlake – a man who’s crooned about his love of “dance, dance, dance” and has recently become a meme for his mic-centric moves on stage – is a headliner too. Image: Justin Timberlake – and his trusty mic stand. Pic: Reuters Meanwhile, Glastonbury Festival will see headline acts including Olivia Rodrigo, the 1975, and Charli XCX.But along with the headline stars and hot weather, politics has also found its way into…

Global sea levels are now rising twice as fast as they did last century, according to a major new scientific report.The study – which takes a laser focus on climate change in the 2020s, a critical decade to stop the worst damage – finds all 10 measures are going in the wrong direction. And most of them are doing so at a faster rate.The findings are “unprecedented” but “unsurprising”, given the world continues to pump record levels of planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.”We see a clear and consistent picture that things are getting worse,” said lead author Professor Piers Forster.…

A savings and retirement services group backed by Apollo Global Management is plotting a multibillion pound takeover of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), one of the City’s biggest specialist insurers.Sky News has learnt that Athora, which was established by Apollo, the US-based alternative investments giant, is in talks to acquire control of PIC. If successfully completed, the deal – which bankers estimate could be worth between £4bn and £5bn – would represent a landmark transaction in the pension risk transfer market.Money latest: The sunscreens failing safety tests Companies such as PIC, Legal & General and Rothesay take over companies’ defined benefit…

While cinemas are struggling and London’s West End has witnessed a significant escalation in ticket prices, creatives behind immersive experiences say their sector is experiencing “a gold rush moment”.From shows built around obvious fan bases – such as Mamma Mia! The Party – to those working with established intellectual property, including Squid Game: The Experience, the UK has proven to be a world leader when it comes shows that make audiences feel part of the action, rather than just observers. Little Lion Entertainment are the team behind two shows currently running in the UK: Pac-Man Live in Manchester and the…

Every baby in the UK will have their DNA tested under a new 10-year plan for the NHS.The whole-genome sequencing will screen for hundreds of diseases and allow people to “leapfrog” killer illnesses, according to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. Speaking to the Telegraph, he revealed plans to move the NHS towards a model of sickness prevention rather than treatment.Personalised medicine, made possible through things like DNA testing, will form a big part of that plan, with £650m pledged to genomics research by the government.”The revolution in medical science means that we can transform the NHS over the coming decade,…

Sam Laidlaw, the former boss of Centrica, is among the candidates being considered as the next chairman of BP, Britain’s besieged oil and gas exploration giant.Sky News has learnt that Mr Laidlaw is being considered by BP board members as a potential successor to Helge Lund, who announced in April that he would step down. BP’s chair search comes with the £62bn oil major in a state of crisis, as industry predators circle and the pace of its strategic transformation being interrogated by shareholders.Elliott Management, the activist investor, snapped up a multibillion pound stake in BP earlier this year and…

K-pop star Suga, a rapper and songwriter from global sensation BTS, has been discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service.He is the last member of the band to finish their enlistment duties with Jin, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook already leaving the military. The other six members of the K-pop band served in the army while Suga worked as a social service agent, which is an alternative form of military service.His return is a big moment for BTS fans, known as the ARMY, as the band plans to reunite now they’ve all finished their service. Image: BTS members…