Author: James Martin
Sergio Busquets will leave Barcelona this summer, ending an 18-year association with the club. The 34-year-old midfielder, who joined the Catalans’ youth team in 2005, made his first-team debut in 2008 but has decided to move on after turning down the offer of a new contract on reduced terms.“The time has come to announce that this will be my last season with Barca,” he said in a farewell video released by Barcelona. “It has been an unforgettable journey. I always dreamed of playing with this shirt and at this stadium and reality has exceeded all my dreams.“I wouldn’t have believed…
Dozens of areas across southern England were on flood watch today after up to half of the average monthly rainfall for May came down in just a few hours yesterday.The Environment Agency has issued 35 flood alerts and seven warnings for England, with a map revealing the biggest clusters are around Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.And more downpours are on the way today with a Met Office thunderstorm warning in place from 1pm until 8pm for much of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.Forecasters said there was a ‘good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading…
Prince Harry has recalled the time he and Meghan Markle were invited to the home of Prince William and Princess Kate “to clear the air” – and the Duchess was amazed by the incredibly grand home.According to Harry’s memoir Spare, released earlier this year, both royal couples argued in the run-up to the 2018 royal wedding so he and Meghan later went to visit William and Kate’s home to make peace.Harry revealed that Meghan allegedly upset Kate before the 2018 royal wedding by saying the Princess had “baby brain” due to having just given birth.According to the book, Kate told…
France calls on EU to label Wagner a terrorist organisationThe French parliament has called on the EU to formally label the Russian mercenary group Wagner as terrorists, as the UK reportedly prepares to do the same.France’s parliament unanimously passed a non-binding resolution aimed at encouraging the 27 members of the EU to put Wagner on its official list of terrorist organisations.“Wherever they work, Wagner members spread instability and violence,” MP Benjamin Haddad told parliament on Tuesday. “They kill and torture. They massacre and pillage. They intimidate and manipulate with almost total impunity.”He said they were not simple mercenaries driven by…
Years before everyone was being impressed with the human-like text output of ChatGPT and other generative AI systems, IBM’s Watson was blowing our minds on Jeopardy. IBM’s cognitive computing project famously dominated its human opponents, but the company had much larger long-term goals, such as using Watson’s ability to simulate a human thought process to help doctors diagnose patients and recommend treatments. That didn’t work out. Now, IBM is pivoting its supercomputer platform into Watsonx, an AI development studio packed with foundation and open-source models companies can use to train their own AI platforms. If that sounds familiar, it may…
I hate to say this, but there is a whiff of 2008 and impending financial crisis in the spring air.While savers are not queuing to get money out of a failing bank, as they did with Northern Rock more than 15 years ago, imploding banks in the U.S. are making everyone here in the UK edgy.On top of this, we have rising interest rates — another increase to be confirmed tomorrow and more coming down the track. This means higher borrowing costs for everyone, be they homeowners, credit card users or businesses (small and large).Understandably, there are real fears that the…
Comment on this storyCommentAs an intensifying standoff over the debt ceiling roils the capital, President Biden is set to travel to New York on Wednesday to assail Republicans and make the case for urgent congressional action to stave off default.The president’s speech comes a day after he huddled with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other Democratic and Republican leaders in a discussion that laid bare their growing acrimony — and the widening chasm between their two parties — with as few as three weeks left to prevent a fiscal crisis.Traveling to Valhalla, N.Y., Biden plans to call on Congress…
The Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour made a thrilling return last month in Chicago. The event showcased some of the world’s best skateboaders, including Brazilian Olympic silver medalists Kelvin Hoefler and Rayssa Leal, both of whom captured titles to kick off the 2023 season.The season-opening event marked the latest initiative by Thrill One Sports & Entertainment group, whose portfolio that includes popular motorsport events such as Nitro Circus and Nitro Rallycross, as well as a variety of television shows. The company is co-owned by former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta (through his private equity firm) and UFC president Dana White.…
MediaTek has a simple answer to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 you see in many gaming phones: deliver an uprated version of last year’s high-end hardware. The brand has unveiled a Dimensity 9200+ system-on-chip with improvements that will be particularly noticeable with games. You’ll find higher clock speeds for the main Cortex-X3 core (up from 3.05GHz to 3.35GHz), three Cortex-A715 cores (from 2.85GHz to 3GHz) and four Cortex-A510 efficiency cores (1.8GHz to 2GHz). More importantly, the company says it has “boosted” the Immortalis-G715 graphics by 17 percent — games that were borderline playable before should be smoother. The Dimensity 9200+…
Authorities have regained control at Perth’s Banksia Hill Detention Centre after dozens of rioting juveniles allegedly burned buildings, threatened staff and tried to escape the troubled facility.The major disturbance started after a number of detainees breached their cells about 8.30pm on Tuesday and gained access to the grounds of the centre before climbing onto the roof.Banksia Hill, a juvenile facility for offenders aged 10-17 years, has been the subject of criticism, with Western Australia’s Aboriginal Legal Service (ALSWA) labelling the treatment of children inside Banksia Hill “child abuse”.Western Australia premier Mark McGowan said detainees lit fires in several accommodation blocks…