Author: SKYNEWS

It was going to be the revivifying event the video games industry desperately needed – instead, thanks to Donald Trump’s tariffs, the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 is experiencing a troubled birth. Barely had Nintendo announced the pre-order date and price point of the hotly awaited new handheld console when the US president slapped tariffs on China and Vietnam, among others, prompting the Japanese gaming giant to immediately suspend US pre-orders of the Switch 2. Today, Nintendo invited Sky News to be a part of the first group of journalists in the UK to try the console, and get to…

The appointment of the inaugural chair of English football’s new watchdog has been thrown into fresh uncertainty after Whitehall officials resumed contact with applicants who did not make it onto a final shortlist.Sky News has learnt that the preferred candidate to chair the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is now “unlikely” to be drawn from a group of three contenders interviewed months ago. The search process has not been officially reopened, and insiders said the £130,000-a-year post was not expected to be readvertised.They acknowledged, however, that a shortlist including former Aston Villa Football Club chief executive Christian Purslow would probably not produce…

Rebekah Vardy has lost an appeal after claiming Coleen Rooney’s lawyers “deliberately” understated some of their client’s costs during the “Wagatha Christie” libel case.The high-profile court case took place after Mrs Rooney, wife of former Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney, accused Mrs Vardy on social media in 2019 of leaking her private information to the press. Mrs Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, unsuccessfully tried to sue Mrs Rooney in a libel battle in 2022 that captivated some areas of the public and was later dramatised for TV.The judge ordered Mrs Vardy to pay 90% of Mrs Rooney’s…

A company started by “two blokes in a Cardiff garage” is about to launch a game-changing space factory that could start a new industrial revolution.Space Forge will ship its prototype manufacturing satellite in the coming weeks from an industrial park in the city to the US, where it will be sent into orbit on a SpaceX rocket. Sky News was given exclusive access to the company’s dust-free ‘clean room’ to watch engineers carry out final checks.ForgeStar-1 is already loaded up with the raw ingredients to make a new generation of super-efficient semiconductor chips that would be impossible to produce on…

We’ve been waiting for a while for the Office for National Statistics to deliver us some good news on the British economy – and today it came.Output grew by 0.5% in February, up from zero growth in January and higher than the 0.1% forecast by economists. Some usual caveats apply. Monthly data can be volatile and prone to revision – but it can go up as well as down.While publishing the latest figures, the ONS also revised up its January figure from -0.1% to zero.It’s clear that, across the economy, sectors performed robustly. The big surprise was manufacturing.Business surveys told…

The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, will soon find out if they can be released from prison.Lyle Menendez, 56, and his 53-year-old brother Erik are serving life in prison without parole for the shotgun murders of their father and mother – Jose and Kitty Menendez. Speaking from prison for the first time in nearly 10 years, Lyle said he and his brother are “cautiously hopeful” about being freed.”Hope for the future is really kind of a new thing for us. I think Erik would probably agree with that. It’s…

A new spit test for prostate cancer which can be done at home may be better than current testing methods, a study suggests.Experts have developed a simple saliva test which analyses genetic variants in a man’s DNA, which appears to perform better than the current method for assessing prostate cancer risk. Currently, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is used to check for prostate conditions, including prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.Routine testing is not currently available on the NHS, but patients may be offered a PSA test if a GP suspects they have prostate cancer. Men over 50 can…

The chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to remain in post for a second term, following a rapprochement with the Treasury over the watchdog’s approach to pro-growth regulation.Sky News has learnt that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has approved the reappointment of Nikhil Rathi, whose initial five-year term expires in September. An announcement is expected from the Treasury later on Thursday, according to government officials.The extension of Mr Rathi’s tenure until 2030 will come at a time when the Labour government is scrutinising the performance and strategy of scores of economic regulators amid a frantic search for growth.The…

A new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire has been confirmed on what Sir Keir Starmer hailed as a “momentous” day for the UK. It will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe and is set to open in 2031, when it is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction. The government said it will bring an estimated £50bn into the British economy and will create about 28,000 jobs – nearly 20,000 during the construction phase, and 8,000 more in hospitality and the creative industries when it opens.A 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex…

Ofcom is investigating whether the provider of a suicide forum has failed to comply with its duties under the Online Safety Act.It’s the first investigation into an individual service provider under the new laws. The act was passed in 2023 and requires firms to reduce illegal and harmful content, but its protections are only just taking effect through Ofcom codes of practice.The watchdog said it was looking at whether the forum failed to have appropriate measures to protect users from illegal content and how it could be used to commit or facilitate “priority” offences, including encouraging or assisting suicide.The provider…