Connect with us

Published

on

Consumers are being warned they may be targeted by scammers as the government’s energy price guarantee comes into effect.

Messages asking for people to provide personal or financial details to receive support should be treated as fraudulent activity, as no applications are required, the business secretary has said.

The £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme will be applied automatically to bills each month between October and next March.

And the Energy Price Guarantee, which will limit the amount households pay per unit of gas and electricity, comes into effect from today.

In a statement, Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “Unprecedented government support is beginning this weekend, protecting families and businesses across the country from what was going to be an 80% increase in energy bills this winter.

“I also urge people today to stay alert to scams. This support will reach people automatically and there is no need to apply.”

Earlier this month, Action Fraud – the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime – said nearly 1,600 reports had been made to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) about scam emails purporting to be about energy rebates from regulator, Ofgem.

More on Cost Of Living

Ministers say the Energy Price Guarantee should mean a typical household will pay about £2,500 per year, starting this month for the next two years – protecting them against what could have been, on average, an additional £1,000 a year on their energy bills.

The government has confirmed households in Northern Ireland will also receive the same support through the Energy Price Guarantee from November, with support for October bills backdated.

People who live in areas not served by the gas grid or who use alternative fuels such as heating oil will still receive a £100 support payment.

Read more:
Energy bills are going up – here’s what you need to know
Spiralling energy bill burden will send UK into catastrophic territory
Even those who’ve done the right thing won’t escape impact of rise in energy bills

For the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme, customers on pre-payment meters will receive a credit or vouchers direct from their electricity supplier.

Support for businesses, charities and public sector organisations will also come into effect from 1 October through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

The scheme will operate for six months and could be extended subject to a review.

Ministers say the discounts it will provide on the price per unit of gas and electricity will result in payments of wholesale energy costs below half of what had been feared.

As the energy price cap comes into force, Prime Minister Liz Truss said: “Livelihoods and businesses were at stake. The government’s energy support limits the price they pay for gas and electricity, shields them from massive bill increases, and is expected to curb inflation too.

“The cost of not acting would have been enormous.”

Continue Reading

World

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Published

on

By

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a spokesperson for the royal has said.

Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, visited the city at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.

The Duke of Sussex travelled to the capital to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.

Pic: Railway of Ukraine Ukrzaliznytsia/AP
Image:
Pic: Railway of Ukraine Ukrzaliznytsia/AP

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also be travelling to Kyiv on Friday in what will be her first foreign trip since being appointed to the job last week.

Her visit coincides with the UK launching a new package of Russia-related sanctions targeting ships carrying Russian oil as well as companies and individuals supplying electronics, chemicals and explosives used to make Russian weapons.

It comes as Russia and Belarus began a major joint military exercise on on NATO’s doorstep on Friday, just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Drones shot down in Poland

The Zapad-2025 exercise – a show of force by Russia and its close ally – will involve drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.

More on Prince Harry

Meanwhile on the frontline, Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight,
including nine over the Moscow region, the ministry said on Friday.

The duke told the Guardian while on an overnight train to Kyiv: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.

“We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through.

“We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”

Read more from Sky News:
Brazil’s ex-president jailed for 27 years
Migrant hotel critics meet asylum seekers

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, previously travelled to Ukraine in April, when he visited war victims as part of his work with wounded veterans.

The prince visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.

Earlier this week, Harry said the King is “great” after he reunited with him at Clarence House for a private tea.

It was their first meeting in 19 months and lasted just 54 minutes.

The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the prince flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in California since they quit roles as senior working royals in March 2020.

Continue Reading

World

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil’s former president sentenced to 27 years in jail for attempted coup

Published

on

By

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's former president sentenced to 27 years in jail for attempted coup

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat.

The far-right politician, who ruled Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is currently under house arrest in the capital, Brasilia.

A panel of five Supreme Court justices handed down the sentence several hours after they found the 70-year-old guilty on five counts.

The counts were trying to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organisation, attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, being implicated in violence, and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.

Bolsonaro‘s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The ruling will deepen political divisions in Brazil and is also likely to prompt a backlash from the United States government – with Donald Trump already sharing his thoughts on the vote.

President Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, has said he was surprised and “very unhappy” with the decision.

More on Brazil

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, he said he always found Bolsonaro “outstanding” and said the conviction is “very bad for Brazil”.

Mr Trump previously called the case a “witch hunt”, slapped Brazil with tariff hikes, and revoked US visas for most members of Brazil’s high court.

Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.

He has not attended the court proceedings, and on Thursday, he was seen at the garage of his property, but did not talk to the media.

Read more from Sky News:
What we know about how Charlie Kirk was killed
Read Mandelson’s letter to US embassy staff after being sacked

Justice Carmen Lucia. Pic: AP
Image:
Justice Carmen Lucia. Pic: AP

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been overseeing the case, said on Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organisation, and voted in favour of convicting him. Justices Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin sided with Justice Moraes in the trial.

On Wednesday, another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges.

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Justice Lucia said she was convinced by the evidence the attorney general’s office put forward against Bolsonaro, saying: “He is the instigator, the leader of an organisation that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power.”

Bolsonaro had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a different case.

He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next year.

Continue Reading

World

FBI releases video of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect on roof of building before he vanished

Published

on

By

FBI releases video of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect on roof of building before he vanished

The FBI and officials have released new video and images of a “person of interest” in connection with the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as the manhunt continues.

At a news conference on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox showed video footage showing the suspect walking on the roof of the building from where the fatal shot was fired. He is then seen climbing down and heading toward a wooded area, where police say he abandoned his rifle.

Additional images released by police show the suspect wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a backpack.

Investigators have conducted nearly 200 interviews related to the case as 20 law enforcement partners are working on the investigation, Governor Cox said.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the attacker, he said.

Follow the latest updates on Charlie Kirk’s killing

Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Image:
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety

Earlier, authorities said the shooter was thought to have jumped off a roof and fled into a neighbourhood after firing one shot.

They also said the suspect was a male who “appears to be of college age” and blended in on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where Mr Kirk was killed.

Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing influencer, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday afternoon while speaking to university students at an event. He died in hospital after being shot.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University where he was later fatally shot. Pic: AP
Image:
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University where he was later fatally shot. Pic: AP

The rifle suspected of being used in the shooting has been found.

In a briefing on Thursday, FBI agent Robert Bohls said: “I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting… is a high-powered bolt action rifle.

“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analysing this weapon.”

Investigators have collected a footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.

Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Image:
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety

Read more:
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Moment gunshot heard at university event – Watch

The father-of-two was the chief executive and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a prominent organisation that engages conservative youth on school campuses.

He had millions of followers across social media.

Mr Kirk and Turning Point USA played a key role in driving youth support for Mr Trump in last November’s presidential election. His events at college campuses nationwide typically drew large crowds.

Many people listened both in person and online to Mr Kirk, as he advocated for conservatism among younger generations and became a leading voice in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

President Donald Trump paid tribute to Mr Kirk while on stage at a 9/11 memorial event in Virginia, saying he would be awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Image:
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

“Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt,” Mr Trump said.

“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children.”

He later added the FBI was making “big progress” in finding the shooter and he has “an indication” of the motive, but declined to expand.

“He’s an animal, total animal, hopefully they’ll have him and they’ll get him.”

Continue Reading

Trending