Author: SKYNEWS

After Oscar winners collect their golden statuettes on stage at the Dolby Theatre, they are brought into rooms outside to have their photos taken and answer questions from journalists.For this year’s Academy Awards, this was my spot – a front-row seat to the stars everyone is talking about.The room holds several hundred reporters and there’s an Oscar-worthy buffet in the hallway outside to keep us going all day.All the journalists are hoping to be selected to ask a question. Each winner is limited to answering about three to four and you show interest by holding up numbered cards. It’s then…

The Environment Agency (EA) could get “police-style” powers as part of a government crackdown on waste crime.The newly-announced measure, which is part of its yet-to-be published Waste Crime Action Plan targeting issues such as fly-tipping and large illegal sites, could allow enforcement officers to arrest suspected criminals without a warrant. Officials could also seize assets and search premises without a warrant, the government said, adding it was adopting a “zero-tolerance” policy to illegal sites cropping up across the country.Expanding their powers would be under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and other…

Emergency help for poorer households hit by energy bills driven up by the Iran war is to be unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer.The government says it will provide “targeted” support for families that rely on heating oil, the cost of which has risen by 80% in a week. The prime minister is also threatening legal action, which could include fines or other financial penalties, against suppliers who rip off customers.”It’s moments like this that tell you what a government is about,” the prime minister will claim at a news conference in Downing Street.”My answer is clear. Whatever challenges lie ahead,…

There’s often a common thread among the Oscar nominees who go on to win – and it’s about a lot more than learning the lines.Rami Malek had singing and piano lessons and worked with a choreographer to transform himself into Freddie Mercury for Bohemian Rhapsody. Natalie Portman went through intensive ballet training for a year for Black Swan. And according to filmmaker Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro was so dedicated to his boxing training for Raging Bull that he could have gone professional himself.Oscars updates: The latest news from LA Image: Diego Schaaf and Wei Wang work with producers who need help with ping pong…

NHS hospitals are being urged by a group of doctors, human rights groups and campaigners to reconsider using a major data platform built by US tech giant Palantir, whose owners include Peter Thiel, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is a system designed to bring together information from across the health service so hospitals can analyse it more easily and improve how care is delivered. Supporters say the technology is already helping the NHS treat more patients and manage pressure on services, but critics argue it raises wider concerns about privacy, ethics and…

Targeted support for the poorest households who rely on heating oil is coming, we understand, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to make an announcement as soon as Monday.It follows calls from rural Labour MPs who have warned of constituents living in fuel poverty, unable to heat their homes, restock their supply, or afford the soaring price. “It might be a small proportion for the country overall, but where there are big clusters of people using heating oil, this is a big issue,” Labour MP Terry Jermy told Sky News.The South West Norfolk MP said he has spent the week warning…

In an unusually unpredictable Oscars race, there is only one moment experts agree is a dead cert – Jessie Buckley, on stage once again, to collect the award for best actress.The big honours started with a Critics Choice award in January. A Golden Globe followed, then a BAFTA, and most recently, a statuette at the Actor Awards.Buckley is the only acting nominee to take home all four this year, and she has picked up other smaller awards, too. The Oscar, it seems, is hers to lose.Latest updates – The Oscars Image: Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Joe Alwyn as…

Lawyers in a landmark social media addiction trial – which has seen tech giants face a jury – have made their final arguments.After a month of hearings, 12 jurors are set to decide on whether or not social media companies should be liable for harm caused to children using their platforms. The two defendants in the case are Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and video-streaming platform YouTube, which is owned by Google.TikTok and Snapchat each settled before the trial began. You need javascript enabled to view this content Enable javascript to share Share Social media’s ‘tobacco’ moment? The…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned petrol retailers of a “shared obligation” to keep prices down for motorists amid soaring prices and war in the Middle East.The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) had threatened to pull out of the Downing Street meeting with Ms Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband hours before, citing “inflammatory language”. That language had led to an increase in abuse against forecourt workers, the PRA said.The meeting only went ahead after assurances from the Treasury that it would be held largely in private, with the PRA’s Gordon Balmer saying the government did not apologise for its language. Image:…

The piano John Lennon used to compose some of his most notable songs for The Beatles has set the record for the most expensive piece of memorabilia sold from the band.Lennon used the Broadwood upright piano to write songs such as Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, A Day In The Life, and Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!, which featured on The Beatles’ eighth studio album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The piano sold for nearly $3.3m (£2.5m) at Christie’s New York auction house after being estimated it would fetch between $400,000 and $600,000, setting the record…