CES boss slams UK government’s support of tech firms
The CEO of the world’s biggest technology trade show has slammed the UK government over a lack of support for its technology startups. CES expects to welcome 100,000 visitors who are keen to experience the latest developments in technology. “The British presence has been spotty, which is surprising to me.”Last year he said the failure of the Labour government to support CES was “kind of crazy”. They’re also in disarray, and that’s every government, including our own government, is having big issues in these western democracies. The number of UK exhibitors has fallen from more than 100 in 2019 to fewer than 30 this year.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 08:17 UTC
Irvine Burns Club prepares to celebrate 200th anniversary
Tickets are priced at £37, with further information available via irvineburnsclub@gmail.com or the club’s website www.irvineburnsclub.org. Later that afternoon, at 3pm, President Donald Wilson will lay a floral tribute at the Burns Statue on Irvine Moor - the only major public statue of Robert Burns in North Ayrshire. Irvine Burns Club was established in 1826 (Image: Irvine Burns Club)Provost Anthea Dickson and Burns Clubs from across the region have been invited to attend. In 2026, around 500 pupils from Irvine, Dreghorn, Springside and Troon will take part, learning about Burns and, in particular, his time in Irvine. Event updates will be posted on the club’s website and Facebook page.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 08:04 UTC
Reddit overtakes TikTok in the UK as Google, Gen Z drive its rise
SynopsisReddit has overtaken TikTok to become the UK’s fourth most-visited social media platform, boosted by Google search changes and Gen Z usage. The site now reaches 60% of UK internet users, with strong growth among young and female audiences. Partnerships with Google and OpenAI, GenZ seeking real advice and plus live sports discussion, have driven traffic.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 07:01 UTC
Inside an interior designer’s thoughtfully decorated London apartment
9:13 Living with styleInterior designer Ananth Ramaswamy invites us into his apartment in Kennington, a light-filled home designed for entertaining and collecting. Spanning two Victorian terraced houses, the apartment features wide rooms and generous proportions that echo Georgian architecture. Living here with his husband Alex, Ananth has shaped each space around hosting, layering inherited furniture, antiques and pieces sourced from India, Italy and UK auctions. Join us for a house tour that explores how designers really live, with interior ideas rooted in calm, craft and personal meaning.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 06:33 UTC
Khamenei plans to flee to Russia if protests not crushed - The Times
Videos showed crowds chanting slogans at security forces as tear gas was fired and motorcycle-mounted units were deployed along Jomhouri Street in Tehran. Labor, retiree, civil, and teachers’ organizations inside Iran also issued statements backing the protests, citing inflation, unemployment, and economic pressure. Opposition figures pay tribute to slain protestorsIran International has verified the identities 16 protestors who have been killed during the protests. US-based human rights group, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), reported the deaths of at least 19 protestors on Sunday. Addressing the families of slain protestors, Pahlavi said: “On this irreversible path, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”“I assure you that those who ordered and carried out these crimes will be identified and, without doubt, punished,” he added.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 06:26 UTC
Landmark junk food ad ban to protect kid’s health
Kids will be protected from exposure to junk food advertising on TV and online as new regulations come into force to help tackle childhood obesity. From today, adverts for less healthy food and drinks will be banned on television before 9pm, and online at all times. Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for young children (typically ages 5-9) in the UK. We welcome the government taking action to put children’s health front and centre, to protect young people from the predatory and manipulative marketing of unhealthy food by junk food giants. These new rules are an important first step that begins to rip down the wallpaper of junk food advertising that surrounds young people on TV and online every day.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 06:21 UTC
Do you live in one of Britain’s most desirable towns? The top 50 places revealed
Do you live in one of Britain’s most desirable towns? Telegraph Money has narrowed down a list of the 50 most coveted places to live that offer a great quality of life. In half of the top 20 most desirable towns, average property values have fallen or have been at a standstill in the period between June 2024 and August 2025. Towns which have bucked the trend include Harpenden and St Albans in Hertfordshire, Sevenoaks in Kent, Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, and North Ascot in Berkshire. “Even the housing markets of the UK’s most desirable towns have had to face up to some headwinds in recent times,” says Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 06:05 UTC
New Venezuelan leader invites US to ‘collaborate’ after Maduro’s removal
Mr Trump later reiterated his comments that the US would take control, telling reporters on Air Force One “we’re going to run everything” with elections “at the right time”. Hours after Mr Rubio’s comments, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez issued a public message to the US, asserting Venezuela’s “right to peace, development, sovereignty, and a future”. “The United Kingdom was not involved in any way,” Mr Jones told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime. “It’s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days,” he said.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 04:59 UTC
HSBC becomes first big UK lender to cut its mortgage rates in 2026
HSBC has become the first major lender to cut mortgage rates this year, a move that could spark a price war over the coming months. The banking group, which is one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, has cut rates across a range of residential and landlord buy-to-let mortgage products. Last week the financial data firm Moneyfacts said the average rate on a two-year fixed residential mortgage was running at 4.83%. The average two-year, buy-to-let residential mortgage rate stood at 4.7%. “The cheapest two- and five-year fixes remain below bank rate, reflecting expectations of further cuts,” he said.
Source:The Times
January 05, 2026 04:19 UTC
The Guardian view on Zohran Mamdani’s task: a high-stakes test case for progressive ambition | Editorial
And politically, he is probably the most leftwing incumbent of the office since Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s and 40s. Hardly surprising then, that Mr Mamdani’s extraordinary rise to prominence should be accompanied by high expectations and tense anticipation. In order to finance this programme, he has restated his intention to raise tax rates on the very wealthy, and on corporations. The political dynamics of New York, the home of Wall Street and a global centre for the arts, are not straightforwardly generalisable. But the affordability agenda that delivered Mr Mamdani’s flagship success has also fuelled a political revival for Democrats in states such as New Jersey and Virginia.
Source:The Guardian
January 04, 2026 22:42 UTC
Starmer hedges his bets as Trump’s international gamble tests allies
Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
Source:The Times
January 04, 2026 22:03 UTC
Top Republicans backpedal from Trump claim that US will run Venezuela
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and prominent Republicans swiftly backpedaled from Donald Trump’s assertion that the US will run Venezuela in transition after US forces snatched the president, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to the US to face federal criminal charges. The secretary of state was challenged repeatedly in a number of appearances to confirm whether the US would run Venezuela. Rubio said on ABC that the US had “leverage” over the country and that: “We expect that it’s going to lead to results here. Maduro was widely considered to have lost the 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, but stayed in power anyway. We want them to expel the Cubans and the Iranians and the Islamic radicals.”Congressman Jim Jordan, a Republican representing Ohio and the chairman of the House judiciary committee, also could not confirm that the US would run Venezuela.
Source:The Guardian
January 04, 2026 21:59 UTC
We have to live in hope
It would seem that Donald Trump and his cohort of henchmen and women in Washington, DC can be ranked amongst their number. Trump has started a war against Venezuela. Third, disastrous as this action is, hope remains possible because Trump's ineptitude has made the likelihood of the long-term success of what he has set out to achieve so unlikely. You can accuse me of struggling to find any good interpretation of unfolding events in what I have written here. As I have said many times before, at the end of many blog posts, we have to live in hope.
Source:The Guardian
January 04, 2026 21:47 UTC
Google update could bring massive change for Gmail users
The long-overdue update, which has been demanded by users for years now, will allow people to change their email address. If Google users wanted to change their name, they would have to start a totally new account. Google to allow users to change their Gmail account in massive updateAccording to the eagle-eyed observers over at 9to5Google, those who change their old email address will have emails automatically forwarded to the new one. Discussing the change, a Google support document said: "The email address associated with your Google Account is the address you use to sign in to Google services." If you’d like, you can change your Google Account email address that ends in gmail.com to a new email address that ends in gmail.com.
Source:The Times
January 04, 2026 20:58 UTC
We were spared a factory-floor pep talk… but it may have been preferable
Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
Source:The Times
January 04, 2026 20:30 UTC