Key events 17m ago Team news 21m ago Preamble Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 5m ago 16.38 GMT Will Unwin Chelsea’s visit to Manchester City will be a homecoming for members of the travelling party. Five Chelsea players were nurtured at the academy that sits a few hundred yards from the Etihad Stadium, on the other side of a bridge. The London club’s recent recruitment has been heavily influenced by City’s teaching of players and coaches. Tosin Adarabioyo, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Roméo Lavia were members of City’s youth ranks, most working there under Enzo Maresca. If one thread was unpicked this week when Maresca dramatically departed Chelsea, the link remains strong because Sunday’s caretaker, Calum McFarlane, was formerly the under-18s assistant manager at City. Graduates reunited: Chelsea’s former Manchester City talents return Read more Share 17m ago 16.27 GMT Team news Josko Gvardiol, Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders return to the City side in place of Nathan Ake, Nico Gonzalez and Savinho. Five changes for Chelsea. Filip Jorgensen, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro come in for Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho and Liam Delap. Caicedo’s absence through suspension is a big blow to Chelsea. Man City (possible 4-1-4-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri; Cherki, Bernardo Silva, Reijnders, Foden; Haaland. Subs: Trafford, Ake, Doku, Khusanov, McAidoo, Mukasa, Lewis, Mfuni, R Heskey. Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Jorgensen; Acheampong, Chalobah, Badiashile, Gusto; James, Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Pedro Neto; Joao Pedro. Subs: Garnacho, Guiu, Hato, Santos, Bynoe-Gittens, Delap, Adarabioyo, Merrick, Slonina. Referee Michael Oliver. Share Updated at 16.44 GMT

Key Points Teladoc faces intense competition in the telehealth services market. One of its former growth drivers is losing paying users. The company is unprofitable. 10 stocks we like better than Teladoc Health › Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) was a rock star during the early days of the pandemic. It quickly became a stock market darling as its revenue soared due to the telemedicine services it provided. However, Teladoc was unable to maintain that pace, and the past few years have been horrendous for the stock. The stock is down nearly 92% over the past six years. Here's the even worse news: Teladoc Health is unlikely to bounce back anytime soon, so investors should stay away from the stock. Here are three reasons why. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » 1. Stiff competition The success Teladoc saw during the early days of the pandemic attracted significant competition. There are now many alternative platforms, including some created by well-established, highly successful corporations like Amazon. The tech giant's strong brand name and its ecosystem of more than 180 million Prime members in the U.S. is helping power its ambitions in the healthcare industry. Further, Amazon isn't the only company leveraging these advantages in the battle for telemedicine services. Some insurance companies with large existing client bases can bypass third-party virtual care platforms and create their own similar ones. All of these dynamics pose a significant threat to Teladoc's prospects. True, a company can be successful despite significant competition, but that's only one of Teladoc's many problems. 2. A growth driver no longer One of Teladoc's most important growth drivers was its virtual mental health therapy service, BetterHelp. However, this segment has been struggling in recent years, largely due to competition. BetterHelp is now a deadweight on Te...

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Transport delays, treacherous driving conditions and school closures will greet many people as they return to work and study after the Christmas break, with winter weather warnings in place across the UK. Four amber warnings for heavy snow in northern Scotland are in place until Monday morning, while yellow snow and ice warnings cover all of Northern Ireland, Wales and much of England. Forecasters said there could be 30cm of snow on high ground in Scotland overnight and people living in amber warning areas could expect travel disruption and the possibility of rural communities being cut off. Schools on the Shetland Islands will be closed on Monday while schools in Aberdeen will not open until 11am. Loganair cancelled its flights from Inverness and Aberdeen airports on Sunday and offered customers the opportunity to change their plans without charge. Transport Scotland urged drivers to carefully plan their journeys, leave extra time if needed and “drive to the conditions”. Police Scotland’s assistant chief constable Alan Waddell said: “The forecasted heavy snow showers and ice means driving conditions are likely to be hazardous in some areas. Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary during the weather warnings.” The Scottish transport secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said: “We’ve already seen challenging conditions and freezing temperatures, with more snow and ice on the way for the same areas. Of course for many Monday marks a return to work from the festive break. If you have to travel then please ensure your vehicle is winter ready and have a winter kit in your car.” She thanked the gritter drivers, chainsaw gangs, police and others who had been out in force over the weekend. Matthew Lehnert, a Met Office chief meteorologist, said that elsewhere in the UK there would be snow showers, ice and frost but “milder air will make attempts to spread eastward” from Tuesday. He added: “This will mean rain becomes more likely in the south, but the...

Known for its edge cloud platform serving global enterprises, this tech firm reported a notable insider sale in its latest SEC filing. Artur Bergman, Chief Technology Officer, executed an open-market sale of 40,000 shares of Fastly (FSLY +0.10%) for ~$409,200.00 on Dec. 29, 2025, according to a SEC Form 4 filing. Transaction summary Metric Value Shares sold (direct) 40,000 Transaction value $409,200.0 Post-transaction shares (direct) 2,730,579 Post-transaction shares (indirect) 4,450,249 Post-transaction value (direct ownership) $27,879,211.6 Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($10.23); post-transaction value based on Dec. 29, 2025 market close ($10.19). Key questions How does the scale of this transaction compare to Mr. Bergman's typical trading pattern? The 40,000 shares sold is twice the median size of Mr. Bergman's recent sell transactions (20,000 shares), but consistent with several higher-volume sales executed as his direct ownership base has shrunk over the past year. The 40,000 shares sold is twice the median size of Mr. Bergman's recent sell transactions (20,000 shares), but consistent with several higher-volume sales executed as his direct ownership base has shrunk over the past year. What impact does this sale have on Mr. Bergman's overall ownership? After the transaction, Mr. Bergman's direct stake is 2,730,579 shares; his total economic exposure, including indirect holdings via multiple trusts, is 7,180,828 shares. After the transaction, Mr. Bergman's direct stake is 2,730,579 shares; his total economic exposure, including indirect holdings via multiple trusts, is 7,180,828 shares. Were any derivative securities or option exercises involved in this transaction? No derivative or option activity occurred; the reported sale was exclusively direct, open-market common stock disposal without associated option exercises or conversions. No derivative or option activity occurred; the reported sale was exclusively direct, open-m...

ADP's business still looks solid. But the stock's pullback doesn't automatically make shares attractive. Investors love to call Automatic Data Processing (ADP 1.69%) a "boring" company. But the market has rarely priced it like one. The payroll and human resources software provider has often traded at a premium because the business is sticky, recurring, and tied to one of the most essential workflows in corporate America: getting people paid. But is the stock losing its favor with investors? After all, shares are roughly 23% below their 52-week high. Of course, there's another way to look at the scenario: Is the market finally serving up a reasonable entry point into a great, long-term compounder? What changed, and what didn't Looking to ADP's recent business results, let's start with what didn't change: steady growth. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended Sept. 30, 2025), ADP's revenue rose 7% year over year to $5.2 billion. And its earnings per share climbed 6% to $2.49, while its non- generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings per share rose 7% year over year. At a high level, ADP's steady compounding continued. Advertisement Underneath the service, however, there's a problem brewing. ADP's core volume trend, or its "pays per control," is cooling. This metric is essentially ADP's same-store sales-style measure of how many employees are on ADP clients' payrolls in the U.S. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, ADP's U.S. pays per control was approximately flat year over year. That's a deceleration from the 1% growth ADP reported in both the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2025. While this isn't a massive change in trend, it's still concerning because it represents a deterioration in a key metric. If it stays flat, or even worse, turns negative, investors may begin calling into question the durability of the company's steady growth -- and the stocks' premium valuation. For now, flat remains the expectation. For fiscal 2026, ADP guided for U.S. ...

Berlin power grid attack caused by 'extreme leftists', officials say Reuters

Raw emotions as mourners attend Mass for Swiss bar fire victims 8 minutes ago Share Save Sarah Rainsford Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent, Crans Montana Share Save Reuters In the snow-dusted street outside St Christopher's Church, hundreds joined a special Sunday Mass for the victims of the fire that tore through Le Constellation bar on New Year's Eve. Many hugged each other, crying quietly, as they remembered the dozens killed and those still in hospital with severe burns, fighting for their lives. During the service, several in the crowd fainted and fell to the ground, overcome. Police say more than 20 of the dead have now been identified, although not named publicly. Their bodies are being returned to their families, some of whom who had been holding on to the hope their children might yet be found - injured, but alive. They're now receiving the worst possible news. Ever since the fire, Laetitia Brodard had been posting pictures of her teenage son Arthur online and appealing for help to find him. On Sunday, she was at the memorial service, being comforted by friends. "He died that first day," Laetitia confirmed to me. In an emotional statement on Facebook, she said that Arthur had "gone to party in paradise". The victims' bodies were so badly burned by the fire they are difficult to identify. Even some of those injured and in hospitals haven't been named yet - they remain unconscious and unrecognisable. For the dead, forensics experts are having to use DNA samples and dental records, and for the families the wait is agonising. EPA Mourners gathered around a shrine of flowers and candles The bar was packed full of young people that night, many of them just teenagers. The drinking age in Switzerland is 16. Some of the survivors joined a silent procession after the Sunday Mass from the church towards the bar itself. Above, in the stunningly beautiful Swiss Alps, cable cars went on sliding up the mountain carrying tourists to ski. The site of the fire is sti...

The home improvement and hardware retail sectors have been dominated by Home Depot and Lowe's for decades, shoving hardware cooperatives True Value Hardware and Ace Hardware out of the way and brushing off independent hardware retailers. Home Depot captured an average of 29% of the home improvement ...

Apple Stocks 2026 outlook centers on stronger artificial intelligence integration, evolving device lineups, and continued services growth — setting the stage for a pivotal year in valuation and market momentum. Analysts highlight artificial intelligence as a key catalyst for Apple Stocks 2026. Apple has been steadily embedding AI capabilities into its ecosystem through Apple Intelligence — a suite of on-device and cloud-enhanced features. AI improvements such as generative capabilities, smarter Siri interactions and predictive features are expected to deepen device engagement and may encourage upgrade cycles once fully deployed. Many forecasts emphasize a late-2025 to early-2026 timeframe for more comprehensive AI rollout, with upgraded Siri and privacy-preserving on-device processing at the core of Apple’s strategy. Apple’s AI strategy is often described as “invisible AI” because the company focuses on embedding intelligence into everyday functions rather than launching standalone AI products. This approach taps Apple’s massive installed base of devices — more than two billion globally — allowing features to be deployed across existing users via software updates, giving this technology a broad reach that can translate into deeper ecosystem engagement. Device Lineup Expansion and Product Catalysts Beyond software, diversification of hardware in 2026 could influence Apple Stocks 2026 performance. Analysts and supply chains point toward multiple new products that might broaden revenue streams. This includes the anticipated iPhone 18 lineup and a potential foldable iPhone, rumored for a late-2026 launch, which could draw new buyer segments and contribute to shipment growth. The introduction of new Macs powered by advanced M-series chips and refreshed iPads aimed at both consumer and professional markets are also widely anticipated. Other emerging product categories, such as AI-driven smart glasses and smart home products, are also cited in market discussions as future ...

Cuba, Venezuela, China, And America's Left-Wing Revolution Yesterday's spectacle would have been unthinkable a generation ago. Donald Trump retrieved Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela and brought him to New York to be arraigned in the Southern District. Venezuelans in the diaspora celebrated the symbolic end of a tyrant's impunity. Meanwhile, in the United States, something stranger happened: American socialist organizations erupted in rage. 🧵 Who organized and funded the pro-Maduro demonstrations? I was up when the news broke that U.S. forces had possibly had a military strike on Caracas. Immediately, I knew where to look next, not for confirmation from the Pentagon, but for signals. 🔗 READ my 1st story for… pic.twitter.com/HbJUqRi4tN — Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) January 4, 2026 The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) issued a statement condemning the action and demanding Maduro's release. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani—a DSA member—reportedly consulted with Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer infamous for representing al-Qaeda figures, and allegedly called President Trump to "register his opposition." At the same time, Neville Roy Singham's network hosted a pro-Maduro protest in Times Square, even as Venezuelan exiles celebrated freedom from the man who ruined their country. 🚨BREAKING: Leftist activists and foreigners waving communist flags gathered in Times Square, NYC, calling for the release of Nicolás Maduro. U.S. authorities should take a much harder look at who is organizing and participating in these demonstrations, especially when they… pic.twitter.com/JI698DuMp7 — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) January 3, 2026 Meanwhile, actual Venezuelans... Venezuelans celebrate the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro in Times Square, gleefully sing their nation’s national anthem. pic.twitter.com/420OHet4zU — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 3, 2026 So we must ask the obvious question : why? Why are ostensibly American organizations so emotionally invested in the...

Key Points The State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF delivered a solid, but not amazing, return. It encompasses around 31 utility companies and offers a dividend. Some are growing bullish on the sector due to increased energy demand for artificial intelligence. 10 stocks we like better than Select Sector SPDR Trust - State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF › It can be fun to play what-if games, especially at the end or beginning of the year. If you're an investor interested in the utilities sector, for example, you might wonder how you'd have done, had you plunked $1,000 in the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT: XLU). It's an exchange-traded fund (ETF) -- a fund that trades like a stock -- and it's focused on utilities businesses. Here's the answer to that question: Your investment would now be worth about $2,443. That's pretty good -- more than doubling your money -- and represents an average annual gain of 9.3%. But it's worth noting that had you parked that money in a low-fee S&P 500 index fund instead, your stake would be worth around $3,658. The S&P 500 has simply had an excellent decade, averaging annual gains of more than 13%, well above the historic long-term average of close to 10%. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Note, too, that dividends matter. Had you reinvested your dividends along the way, you'd have ended up with $2,728, and an average annual gain of 10.6%. (The S&P 500 with dividends reinvested would have grown to $3,979, at an average annual growth rate of 14.8%.) To give you an idea of what the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF invests in, check out its recent top 10 holdings (out of 31): Stock Percent of ETF NextEra Energy 12.63% Constellation Energy 8.45% Southern Co. 7.28% Duke Energy 6.90% American Electric Power 4.68% Sempra 4.38% Vistra 3.89% Dominion Energy 3.82% Exelon 3.33% Xcel Energy 3.31%...

The stock is far too risky. Teladoc Health (TDOC +0.64%) was a rock star during the early days of the pandemic. It quickly became a stock market darling as its revenue soared due to the telemedicine services it provided. However, Teladoc was unable to maintain that pace, and the past few years have been horrendous for the stock. The stock is down nearly 92% over the past six years. Here's the even worse news: Teladoc Health is unlikely to bounce back anytime soon, so investors should stay away from the stock. Here are three reasons why. 1. Stiff competition The success Teladoc saw during the early days of the pandemic attracted significant competition. There are now many alternative platforms, including some created by well-established, highly successful corporations like Amazon. The tech giant's strong brand name and its ecosystem of more than 180 million Prime members in the U.S. is helping power its ambitions in the healthcare industry. Further, Amazon isn't the only company leveraging these advantages in the battle for telemedicine services. Some insurance companies with large existing client bases can bypass third-party virtual care platforms and create their own similar ones. All of these dynamics pose a significant threat to Teladoc's prospects. True, a company can be successful despite significant competition, but that's only one of Teladoc's many problems. 2. A growth driver no longer One of Teladoc's most important growth drivers was its virtual mental health therapy service, BetterHelp. However, this segment has been struggling in recent years, largely due to competition. BetterHelp is now a deadweight on Teladoc's top-line growth while it continues to lose paying members. This suggests that, although it's possible to succeed in a sea of competitors, Teladoc has yet to fully grasp how to achieve this. Advertisement Expand NYSE : TDOC Teladoc Health Today's Change ( 0.64 %) $ 0.04 Current Price $ 7.04 Key Data Points Market Cap $1.3B Day's Range $ 6.95 - $...

STRADVISION and AMD Demonstrate Multi-Camera Perception on AMD Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2 Adaptive SoC at CES 2026 StreetInsider

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) entered a new era at the start of 2026 as legendary investor Warren Buffett officially handed the reins as CEO to his protégé, Greg Abel. Buffett leaves behind stunning realized returns of 6,100,000% over the past 60 years, built on his value-investing philosophy of buying "wonderful companies at a fair price." The key question for investors now is what Berkshire will do with its record $380 billion cash pile as the AI boom sweeps across Wall Street and drives valuations higher. "Berkshire is so big now that you have to find bigger opportunities to move the needle," Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust, told Yahoo Finance. If it doesn't spend that cash, Berkshire could soon face pressure to start issuing a dividend. "As a shareholder, the amount of cash they have is excessive," Boyar Research president Jonathan Boyar said. "Since Buffett is gone, and he's the greatest stock picker of all time, I'd like them to deemphasize the actual stock picking and start paying a dividend," he added. Buffett and his longtime business partner, the late Charlie Munger, were known for a hands-off, decentralized approach that allowed Berkshire's sprawling subsidiaries to operate independently. Those businesses span industries from railroads and energy to insurance and retail, with holdings ranging from GEICO to See's Candies. The conglomerate also has stakes in Apple (AAPL), a top-performing investment and, most recently, tech giant Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL). Analysts expect Abel, a 25-year Berkshire veteran with deep experience in the company's energy and industrial operations, to lean into that background as he takes the helm. "Under his leadership, it's likely to be an important segment for the company and, I think, investors. Given some of the industrial- and energy-related demands that AI is generating, I think that could be an interesting franchise to watch within the Berkshire framework," CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert told ...

European leaders emerged divided and torn as they tried to welcome the ejection of Venezuela’s authoritarian president, but still uphold the principles of international law that did not appear to allow Donald Trump to capture Nicolás Maduro, let alone declare that the US will run Venezuela and control its oil industry. Europe tried to focus on the principle of a democratic transition, pointing out that the continent had not recognised Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since what were widely regarded as fraudulent elections in June 2024. But Trump’s rejection of the Nobel prize-winning Venezuelan opposition figurehead, María Corina Machado, was awkward. Trump said she did not have support or respect in Venezuela, but European leaders have embraced her as leading an opposition that deserves power. International lawyers say the US rejection of Maduro’s legitimacy opens a path for Washington to argue that he does not enjoy sovereign immunity as a head of state in the US domestic courts, in the same way that George Bush was allowed to try Manuel Noriega in the US after his capture in 1989. US officials have claimed the operation against Venezuela was justified on the grounds of self-defence, arguing that the government was involved in drug-trafficking. The Yale professor of international law Oona Hathaway, however, said she saw no plausible justification under the UN charter for the US use of force. “If drug trafficking is a reasonable justification for attacking another country then a whole range of possible arguments can be made that basically mean that self-defence is no longer a real exception. It’s the new rule.” 1:17 Celebrations and protests take place around the world after Venezuela strikes – video “The idea that because drugs are coming from a country justifies an invasion and a change of administration in that country gets rid of any kind of limits on the use of force,” she said. The US action was a breach of international law unlike any before, she...

Deep in the heart of Los Angeles’s Koreatown, just a few doors down from H Mart and a K-pop music superstore, an American flag hangs over the entrance of a saloon called Eastwood. The western-themed bar would normally be cranking Luke Bryan while customers play skee-ball, line dance and get bucked off their mechanical bull named Gucci. But tonight, the music is low and the loudest sounds come from the clacking of vintage mechanical typewriters. About 30 people in the bar are drafting poems about horses, sunsets and Stetson hats – which are plentiful atop the heads in the crowd. They’re here to take part in Cowboy Poetry Los Angeles, a collective dedicated to preserving the history of the American west through authentic storytelling. For city slickers unfamiliar with cowboy poetry, it’s a folk art that emerged from oral traditions. Around the 1870s, during long cattle drives west from Texas, men would trade stories and sing songs about their adventures on the frontier. There’s a misconception that cowboy poetry is a dying art form, but some 150 years later, the movement is experiencing a revival. The Eastwood workshops are just one example of new poetry gatherings sprouting across the nation. In 2021, Dakota Holdaway established the Juab Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Nephi, Utah. That same year, Leslie Miller launched the Rodear in Bridgeport, California, an arts and culture festival that highlights talent from young women across the west. While many of the US’s leading cowboy poets skew older, events like these are fast becoming a creative outlet for a younger, more diverse crowd. Cowboy Poetry Los Angeles stands out because it is one of the few scenes emerging in a major city. View image in fullscreen Nico Patino prepares to write at Eastwood bar in Los Angeles, on 20 November. Kristin Windbigler, the chief executive officer of the Western Folklife Center, which organizes the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, is thrilled to see the group thriving in Lo...

View image in fullscreen Some of those who died in detention had arrived in the US recently, seeking asylum. Others had arrived years ago, some as young children. Thirty-one people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in 2025 – making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people. Some of those who died in detention had arrived in the US recently, seeking asylum. Others had arrived years ago, some as young children. Some had been apprehended on criminal charges or had served time for convictions; others had been picked up in the administration’s indiscriminate ICE raids. They died of seizure and heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis or suicide. Some died at ICE detention centers and field offices, others after they had been transferred to hospitals, but were still under ICE custody. In some cases, their families and lawyers have alleged, they died of neglect, after repeatedly trying and failing to get medical care. These deaths occurred as the Trump administration ramped up its immigration operations, detaining a record number of people in December. The agency was holding 68,440 people in detention in mid-December; nearly 75% of them had no criminal convictions. December was also the deadliest month in ICE custody – six people died. As detention facilities across the US grow more crowded, human rights advocates, immigration lawyers and lawmakers have reported unsanitary conditions, inadequate food and poor medical care. The number of deaths this year marks the highest level since 2004. “This is a result of the deteriorating conditions inside of ICE detention,” said Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network, a non-profit that has been tracking immigration detention deaths for years. The Department of Homeland Security, which encompasses ICE, denied that conditions in detention were declining. “It is a longstanding practice to...

Outside the impressively grand, Edwardian baroque building in Durham are two wooden benches, each dedicated to men who died too young. They were, the inscription reads, both “sacked and victimised” during the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Yet they’re in grounds that look as if they might have been owned by rich, exploitative mine owners. The building is Redhills, the headquarters since 1915 of the Durham Miners’ Association, which has reopened after a £14m restoration with a hugely ambitious purpose that aligns with the original aims of the site. Redhills is considered one of the world’s finest trade union buildings. Famed for its “pitmen’s parliament” and regarded as “Durham’s other cathedral”, it was once named as one of the 10 buildings that helped change Britain. Andrew McIntyre, the interim CEO of Redhills, said it was far more than just a building. “You’re kind of standing on the spot where the welfare state was first imagined,” he said. “It has always had an aura … a magic.” View image in fullscreen Redhills, in Durham city centre, is regarded as one of the finest examples of trade union architecture. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian The building has been slowly, quietly reopening since the restoration was completed this year. It decided against a grand reopening event in favour of a softer relaunch but it has not gone unnoticed. “We’re barely open and all of our guided tours are sold out into next year,” said McIntyre. Bill Moir, who will be leading tours, took the Guardian around what is few people’s idea of what a miners’ hall should look like. “It was designed like this so that the men of the coalfields, when they came to represent their pits, would enter an entrance hall equally as glorious as the entrance hall of the owners of coalmines,” said Moir. “It was built on this grand scale to equal anything built by the aristocracy.” View image in fullscreen The Austrian oak chamber where the ‘pitmen’s parliament’ convened. Photograph: Christopher Thomon...

On the evening of Monday 1 February 2021, during the third Covid lockdown, my wife Alexa and I sat down on the sofa to have sausages and chips in front of the TV. The children were tetchy, and we were worn out from trying to home-school them while working from home, me as a lawyer in the music industry and Alexa as a charity fundraiser. But at least, Alexa said to me, we had made it through January. Then I started making strange noises. “Are you joking?” she asked. Then, “are you choking?” She knew it was my heart. Days before, my cardiologist had told me I would need surgery within the next six months to repair a leaking valve that had been getting progressively worse for years. “What if you don’t have the surgery?” Alexa had asked. I replied: “I’ll just drop down dead.” I was joking – my heart problem wasn’t thought to be that serious – but as it turned out, I was right. By the time my dinner tray started slipping from my lap to the floor, I was already clinically dead. My heart had stopped beating and I wasn’t breathing. I was having a cardiac arrest. I am alive now only because of my wife and son who got help, my friend and neighbour Peter who gave me cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the paramedics who eventually got my heart started again – 40 minutes after I had stopped breathing. I was taken to hospital in a state of deep unconsciousness, leaving Alexa standing in our living room, where the furniture had been pushed aside and there was mud on the floor and debris from the paramedics’ equipment strewn everywhere. It would be two months before I’d return home, visually impaired and with a brain injury, my perspective on life altered completely. Part of my brain had been turned off; I only experienced sensations not thoughts – it was like the silence after a crash The days after my cardiac arrest were a time of total contrast: Alexa was living a nightmare, not knowing whether I would live or die, while I was in a coma, oblivious to what was happening. Then, on...

When a mob stormed a neighbourhood in Ballymena last summer to expel families from their homes, a chilling shout echoed around the narrow streets: “Where are the foreigners?” The hunt for immigrants in the Northern Ireland town prompted Poles, Bulgarians, Filipinos, Nigerians and other nationalities to flee or barricade their doors. Police called the outburst of hate an attempted pogrom, one that made headlines around the world. Six months later, several houses around Clonavon Terrace are still scorched, empty shells, and the homes that remain occupied tend to have curtains drawn even during the day. View image in fullscreen Houses in Ballymena targeted during riots in June 2025 remain boarded up six months later. Photograph: Rory Carroll/The Guardian “Everybody is being very careful. It’s on a knife-edge,” said a health worker from Africa who declined to share his name or nationality. Another resident, from the Czech Republic, said he ventured out only when necessary. “Men with masks drive up and down. They slow down and look at you.” It is a bleak aftermath to three nights of mayhem in June when hundreds of rioters hurled rocks and petrol bombs at phalanxes of police, leaving dozens injured and turning Ballymena, a predominantly Protestant working-class town 25 miles north-west of Belfast, into a byword for intolerance. Many residents reject that description and say there is a misconception about what happened. The violence was not intended to terrorise all foreigners. Only the Roma. Other nationalities were targeted in error, said Hugh, 61, a hotel worker. “When people are rioting, accidents can happen. Innocents get caught up in the crossfire.” It was “unfortunate” that the community had to resort to such methods, he said. “They needed them people out. It seemed the only way. I think it’s better they [the Roma] stay away.” A “hardline” element lashed out at all foreigners but most in the mob were focused on the Roma, said another Ballymena native, a man aged 40....

SVNet MultiVision Showcased on AMD Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2 adaptive SoC as a Scalable Reference for Multi-Camera Perception LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- STRADVISION, a global leader in AI-based vision perception technology for autonomous driving, today announced a joint demonstration with AMD at CES 2026, showcasing STRADVISION's SVNet MultiVision perception software running on the AMD Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2 adaptive system-on-chip (SoC) platform, demonstrated using the AMD Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2 VEK385 Evaluation Kit as a technical reference environment. The demonstration will be presented at the AMD booth as a board-level reference implementation, highlighting multi-camera perception capabilities enabled by STRADVISION's SVNet MultiVision software and high-performance, AI-optimized AMD compute architecture. Multi-Camera Perception on AMD High-Performance Compute The CES 2026 demo features SVNet MultiVision, STRADVISION's perception software designed to support simultaneous, synchronized processing of multiple camera streams for advanced ADAS and automated driving use cases. Running on the AMD Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 platform, the demo illustrates how STRADVISION's software scales across heterogeneous compute resources to deliver high-throughput, real-time perception performance. Continued Collaboration Between STRADVISION and AMD The CES 2026 showcase builds on ongoing and expanding collaboration between STRADVISION and AMD, following their initial joint demonstrations at CES 2025 and a recently announced multi-year collaboration focused on advancing AI-powered vision perception for software-defined and automated vehicles. By combining STRADVISION's production-proven perception software with AMD adaptive computing platforms, the collaboration supports OEMs and Tier-1s evaluating scalable perception architectures aligned with evolving vehicle compute consolidation and domain integration strategies. "Demonstrating SVNet MultiVision on...

TSMC’s ADRs reach record US$1.657tn, becoming sixth-largest market cap firm By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter The value of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) American depositary receipts (ADRs) reached a historic high on Friday, after the leading contract chipmaker’s Taipei-listed shares continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom. TSMC’s ADRs were valued at US$1.657 trillion as of the close of the first trading day in New York this year, propelling its market capitalization to the sixth-largest globally, surpassing tech giants such as Meta Platforms Inc and Broadcom Inc, data released by CompaniesMarketCap showed. The jump, driven by strong AI demand and the company’s advanced manufacturing capabilities — such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate packaging — placed TSMC as the second-largest semiconductor company after Nvidia Corp. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co signage is pictured on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday last week. Photo: Bloomberg Nvidia remained the world’s largest stock, with a market cap of US$4.597 trillion on Friday, ahead of Apple Inc at US$4.021 trillion. Alphabet Inc ranked third with a market value of US$3.806 trillion, followed by Microsoft Corp at US$3.515 trillion and Amazon.com Inc at US$2.421 trillion, CompaniesMarketCap’s data showed. TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares hit a new high of NT$1,585 on Friday, lifting its market value to NT$41.1 trillion (US$1.31) last week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data indicated. Ahead of TSMC’s earnings conference on Thursday next week, investment advisory firm Aletheia Capital (Hong Kong) Ltd in a note raised its revenue and earnings projections for TSMC for this year and next year. “Regardless of CSPs [cloud service providers] prioritizing in-house ASICs [application-specific integrated circuit], AMD [Advanced Micro Devices Inc] gaining share, or Nvidia’s continual rapid rise, [they] all heavily rely on TSMC’s foundry services,” Aletheia Capital analys...

The year 2025 began with post-election optimism and expectations of a strong first quarter. Instead, markets were hit by the rise of low-cost AI initiatives from China, the adverse impact on the U.S. Big Tech, Trump tariffs, sticky inflation and persistently high interest rates. Stabilization in the market returned in the month of May after a tariff-led, turbulent April. Market euphoria started to solidify from midyear, thanks to easing trade tensions. There have been three Fed rate cuts this year, with the action starting in September. That momentum faded suddenly when the longest U.S. government shutdown brought the fourth-quarter economic progress to a halt, and overvaluation concerns intensified in the AI space. Even in mid-December, the AI market continued to face a tug of war between optimism and caution. Oracle’s $10 billion data center project in Michigan hit a roadblock (per Financial Times, as quoted on Yahoo Finance) after funding talks with Blue Owl stalled, weighing on tech stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, while Micron’s strong earnings and upbeat AI demand forecast lifted its shares, highlighting the market’s mix of possibilities and perils. Still, with all those worries, Wall Street has put up an upbeat show in 2025. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY has jumped 18.1% in the year-to-date frame (as of Dec. 26, 2025). The Nasdaq-100-heavy ETF Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ has surged 22.3%, and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust DIA has advanced 15% in the year-to-date frame. Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of 2025. Inside the Gainers Silver Miners iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF SLVP – Up 220.3% Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF SILJ – Up 202.1% Silver prices have surged this year on supply tightness and high demand. Fed rate cuts, a weaker dollar and high industrial usage have boosted silver's demand. Mining companies often act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal. No won...