David Silver, leader of the reinforcement learning research group at DeepMind, being awarded an honorary “ninth dan” professional ranking for AlphaGo. JUNG YEON-JE | AFP | Getty Images Computer scientists are questioning whether DeepMind, the Alphabet-owned U.K. firm that’s widely regarded as one of the world’s premier AI labs, will ever be able to make
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A leadership hopeful for one of Labour’s biggest union backers has pulled out of the race in a bid to find a unity left-wing candidate. Howard Beckett, who had once been viewed as the heir apparent to Len McCluskey as Unite’s general secretary, is no longer seeking to lead the trade union. Instead, Mr Beckett
Almost since Channel 4 launched 38 years ago, with the first episode of Countdown, there has been speculation that it is facing privatisation. In January 1983, just two months after the channel launched, Kevin Goldstein-Jackson – the executive who helped launch hits like Tales of the Unexpected and who later headed the ITV franchise operator
A wealth management platform which works with a fifth of Britain’s financial advisers has drawn takeover interest from a blank cheque company set up by Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s richest men. Sky News has learnt that Pegasus Europe, an Amsterdam-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), was among the parties which tabled bids for
Bridgepoint, the private equity firm, is to take a big stake in Itsu, the Asian fast-food chain – a deal that will revive one of the UK casual dining industry’s most successful partnerships. Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint is putting the finishing touches to a deal, with an announcement possible as soon as Monday.
The Delta variant now accounts for almost all of the UK’s coronavirus cases, according to Public Health England. Some 33,630 cases of the strain were recorded in the last week and PHE said “the most recent data show 99% of sequenced and genotyped cases across the country are the Delta variant”. Last week, the Delta
An Arizona beta user of Starlink internet service from SpaceX, a company headed by Elon Musk, was recently forced to resort to an unconventional method to get back online after his satellite dish overheated and went into a thermal shutdown. Following the service disruption, the Starlink app displayed an error message, that read, “Offline: Thermal shutdown.
A minister has said the government is trying to “accommodate” Euro 2020 “as much as we possibly can” – amid reports thousands of VIPs will be granted quarantine-free access to England for the final. Both semi-finals and the final of the tournament are set to take place at London’s Wembley stadium next month. And, according
Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, has admitted it faces a shortage of drivers for its lorries as the haulage industry warns of a widespread UK delivery crisis ahead. Ken Murphy, Tesco’s chief executive, told a call with analysts after the company’s first quarter results that it was “working hard” to address its shortfall through
Kim Kardashian West has said she almost became a “runaway bride” before her 72-day marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries. The reality star told a Keeping Up With The Kardashians reunion special she had cold feet before tying the knot, but denied claims the wedding was a ploy to boost ratings. Kardashian West married Humphries
NASA has launched a contest for space enthusiasts to name the manikin, a spacesuit-donned dummy, that will fly around the Moon during an upcoming mission. The dummy, which the space agency affectionately calls “moonikin”, will fly around the lunar surface and help gather data during the uncrewed Artemis I test mission expected later this year before
It’s an unwritten rule of politics that every electoral action can have an opposite – if not quite equal – reaction. The question being asked by many Tories this morning will be whether the party’s recent relentless focus on winning new supporters in traditionally Labour-held areas in the north is starting to cost them in
A sharp fall in demand for groceries, as pubs and restaurants reopened to indoor customers, has driven a decline in retail sales volumes. The Office for National Statistics charted a surprise 1.4% fall in retail sales between April and May. Economists had predicted growth of 1.6% on the back of a 9% surge the previous
Originally published on NRDC Expert Blog.By Sarah Dougherty, Tom Zimpleman, & Gabriel Daly G7 leaders met in the UK last week, and climate was high on the agenda, as it must be. One of the areas of agreement among the leaders of the world’s largest economies might seem new but has been in the works for years: mandatory
A live rock festival seems at odds with the government’s decision to delay lifting restrictions, but that’s exactly what’s happening from today as Download Pilot takes place in Donington Park. It is the latest test aimed at gathering data on how live events impact the spread of coronavirus. But for some it will be too
Two women have told Sky News they were left feeling ashamed and suicidal after explicit videos of them were posted on the world’s biggest online porn website – they claim without their consent. In a legal case filed in the US, more than 30 women have accused MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, of profiting
Edwin Poots has resigned as leader of the DUP after less than a month in the post. Mr Poots is standing down following an internal revolt against him but will stay in post until a successor is elected. Speaking on Thursday evening Mr Poots said: “I have asked the Party Chairman to commence an electoral
The UK’s economy will bounce back to pre-COVID levels by the end of 2021 despite the end of lockdown being delayed, the CBI has forecast – a year earlier than expected. However, the business group has warned of devastation for some still-closed sectors if they are not given more support. The CBI has upgraded its
NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens has failed to confirm he has confidence in Matt Hancock. Asked repeatedly if, having worked alongside the health secretary during the pandemic, he has confidence in his ability, Sir Simon refused to give Mr Hancock his support. Pressed on whether the health secretary is hopeless, the NHS boss smirks after
Welcome to Backstage, the film and TV podcast from Sky News. This week Claire Gregory and Stevie Wong are joined by Chris Robertson from the Sky News entertainment team. Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker We discuss In The Heights, the new Lin Manuel Miranda musical, and hear from