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Pop megastar Taylor Swift has dominated yet another awards show – taking home the top prize and several other gongs at MTV’s Video Music Awards.

“This is unbelievable,” Swift told the crowd as she picked up the prize for video of the year for Anti-Hero, the first single from her 2022 album, Midnights.

The star was also named artist of the year, beating stars including Beyonce, Shakira and host Nicki Minaj to the award – for which the six nominees were all female for the first time.

Anti-Hero – a tale of insecurity featuring the much-memed line “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” – was crowned song of the year and also took the prize for best direction, while Midnights was named best album.

Taylor Swift accepts the award for video of the year for "Anti-Hero during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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Swift is now nearing Madonna’s record of 20 VMAs. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Joey Fatone, from left, Lance Bass, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick of NYSYNC present the award for best pop during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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Tearin’ up our hearts: NSYNC members Joey Fatone, from left, Lance Bass, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick reunited to present Swift with one of her many prizes. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Swift also collected the best pop video award in a moment that almost eclipsed her bigger wins – thanks to an on-stage reunion by US boyband NSYNC, who presented the gong.

“I had your dolls!” the singer said to band members including Justin Timberlake. “You are pop personified. So to receive this from your golden pop hands, it’s too much.”

NSYNC dished out the trophy more than 20 years after first picking up the award themselves, for hit single Bye Bye Bye in 2000, with Lance Bass handing Swift a friendship bracelet – as fans do at her shows.

Swift also dominated MTV’s Europe Music Awards in 2022 and her latest haul comes following the end of the US leg of her sell-out Eras tour, which resumes in South America in November. Throughout her career she has now won 18 VMAs in total, just two behind the overall record held by Madonna.

Olivia Rodrigo performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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Olivia Rodrigo was among the star performers. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Shakira performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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Shakira won a lifetime achievement prize. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

A global icon: ‘This is for 30 years’

Other winners from the MTV VMAs ceremony, held in Newark, New Jersey, included best new artist Ice Spice. Minaj took home the prize for best hip-hop video for Super Freaky Girl – and Shakira and Sean “Diddy” Combs won the Vanguard award for lifetime achievement and the global icon award respectively.

Rapper Combs, known for hits including Bad Boy For Life, Come With Me, and I’ll Be Missing You, his tribute to Notorious BIG, told the audience: “This is for 30 years. I pray to God that you get to do what you love for 30 years.”

Rema and Selena Gomez won the first MTV VMA for Afrobeats music, for their collaboration Calm Down.

Nicki Minaj accepts the award for best hip-hop for "Super Freaky Girl" during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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Nicki Minaj hosted, performed, and accepted the award for best hip-hop video. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Sean "Diddy" Combs, winner of the global icon award, poses in the press toom at the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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It’s Diddy… Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was named global icon. Pic: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

‘Thank you for helping me fight my battles’

Minaj, one of the night’s performers, joined Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J and other rap legends for a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop that concluded with Run DMC’s Walk This Way.

And Colombian pop singer Shakira sang a bilingual medley of her hits including Hips Don’t Lie and Whenever, Wherever. “I want to share this award with my fans who always, always support me through thick and thin,” she said as she accepted her award. “Thank you so much for being my army and helping me fight all my battles.”

Stars including Demi Lovato, Lil Wayne and Olivia Rodrigo also performed at the event.

Other winners included Blackpink, who were named best group; Stray Kids, who won the best K-pop award; SZA, who scored best R&B video for Shirt; and former Eurovision winners Maneskin, who took the rock video prize for The Loneliest.

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Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

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Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.

In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.

“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.

“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.

“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”

FILE - Virginia Giuffre, center, holds a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
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Pic: AP

Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.

“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.

“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

Sexual assault claims

Prince Andrew attends the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene's church. File pic: Reuters
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Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters

Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

She stuck by her version of events until the end

Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.

She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.

She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.

But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.

The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.

Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.

‘An incredible champion’

Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.

“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”

“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.

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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.

“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.

“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.

“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.

Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.

She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Undated handout photo issued by US Department of Justice of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein, which has been shown to the court during the sex trafficking trial of Maxwell in the Southern District of New York. The British socialite is accused of preying on vulnerable young girls and luring them to massage rooms to be molested by Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Issue date: Wednesday December 8, 2021.
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Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice

Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.

‘A survivor’

After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.

She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.

“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope’s funeral

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Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.

They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners

There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.

The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.

More on Ukraine

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.

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Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’

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Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are 'very close to a deal' - and says 'two sides should now meet'

Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.

Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.

“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.

“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”

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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained

Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.

On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.

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A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.

It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.

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Putin-Witkoff meeting

The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.

Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.

Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.

However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.

“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”

When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.

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