Meta says it is acquiring the Chinese-founded AI firm Manus as it looks to boost the capabilities of its tech. Bloomberg analysts and The Wall Street Journal suggested the purchase could be worth more than $2bn (£1.48bn). Meta said the deal would help improve its own AI by giving people access to agents - tools which can do complex things with minimal user interaction such as planning trips or making presentations. Manus's exceptional talent will join Meta's team to deliver general-purpose agents across our consumer and business products, including Meta AI, it said in a blog post. Barton Crockett, analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, told Reuters it was a natural fit for Meta, which extended into boss Mark Zuckerberg's vision of personal AI using agents.

Octopus Energy to spin off $8.65bn tech arm Kraken Octopus Energy is set to spin off its Kraken Technologies arm as a standalone company after a deal to sell a stake in the platform valued it at $8.65bn (£6.4bn). The energy giant, Britain's biggest gas and electricity supplier, has sold a $1bn stake in the AI-based division to a group of investors led by New York-based D1 Capital Partners. The move paves the way for Kraken to be demerged from Octopus, and for a potential stock market flotation for the business in the future. Octopus founder and chief executive Greg Jackson told the BBC there was every chance Kraken would list its shares in the medium term, with the location of the flotation between London and the US. Kraken uses AI to automate customer service and billing for energy companies and can manage when customers use energy, rewarding them for reducing consumption at peak times. It was initially built for use by Octopus but has since picked up a raft of other utilities clients, including EDF, E.On Next, TalkTalk and National Grid US.

Trump says US hit'big facility' linked to alleged Venezuelan drug boats Donald Trump has said the US has carried out a strike on a dock area linked to alleged Venezuelan drug boats. The US president said there had been a major explosion where they load the boats up with drugs - but did not give more details. Venezuela's government is yet to respond. The explosion was caused by a drone strike carried out by the CIA, CNN and the New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. If confirmed, it would be the first known US operation inside Venezuela.

Music in 2026: Who's releasing new albums and will Oasis play Knebworth? As the sun sets on 2025, all the year-end lists have been published and it's time to look forward to what 2026 has in store. In many ways, the last 12 months have felt transitional. With relatively few A-list releases, and a Brat-shaped hole in the summer, music seemed to split in two. The charts were agonisingly static: Just three songs held the number one spot hostage for half the year: Taylor Swift's Fate of Ophelia, Huntr/x's Golden, and Alex Warren's Ordinary (never has a song been so aptly titled).

Ukraine denies drone attack on Putin's residence President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied allegations by Russia that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed Kyiv had launched an attack overnight using 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Putin's state residence in Russia's northwestern Novgorod region. Russia said it would now review its position in peace negotiations. Zelensky dismissed the claim as typical Russian lies, intended to give the Kremlin an excuse to continue attacks on Ukraine. He said that Russia had previously targeted government buildings in Kyiv.

Ubisoft, one of the world's largest games developers, says it's working to fix an apparent hack on popular online shooter Rainbow Six Siege. Servers for the tactical multiplayer game were taken offline on Saturday and Sunday after in-game currency thought to be worth millions of pounds was distributed to players. The company has since restored service, but suspended the game's marketplace until further notice and warned players they may face queues when trying to log on. In a statement on X, Ubisoft said it would continue to make investigations and corrections over the next two weeks. Rainbow Six Siege, commonly referred to as R6, has been a success story for Ubisoft, which is also behind the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series.

Thailand's army has accused Cambodia of breaching a newly-signed ceasefire deal reached after weeks of deadly clashes that forced nearly one million people from their homes. In a statement, the Thai army said than more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side on Sunday night. The ceasefire took effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday. Both sides agreed to freeze the front lines where they are now, ban reinforcements and allow civilians living in border areas to return as soon as possible. It had been seen as a breakthrough, which came after days of talks between both countries, with diplomatic encouragement from China and the US.

The upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light has been delayed until 27 May 2026. The much-anticipated title was due to be released on 27 March, but will now come out two months later. It will be the first video game featuring the British spy since 2012's 007 Legends. In a statement developer IO Interactive, which also makes the Hitman series, said the game was fully playable from beginning to end - but extra time was needed to further polish it. It is being developed in association with Delphi Interactive, which is also behind the upcoming Fifa game due to be released on Netflix ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Many in the UK who unwrapped a new drone this Christmas may face a rude awakening next week, when they will have to take a theory test before being allowed to fly outdoors. From 1 January, those intending to fly drones or model aircraft weighing 100g or more outside must complete a Civil Aviation Authority (CCA) online theory test to get a Flyer ID - something previously only needed for heavier drones. The regulator believes up to half a million people in the UK may be impacted by its new requirements. CAA spokesperson Jonathan Nicholson said with drones becoming a common Christmas present it was important people knew how to comply with the law. With the new drone rules coming into force this week, all drone users must register, get a Flyer ID and follow the regulations, he said.

The annual food fight festival ''Els Enfarinats'' has left the Spanish town of Ibi covered in flour and egg shells. Every year participants wear military-style costumes and stage a fake coup using eggs, flour and firecrackers. The eggers go around asking for taxes - donations to charity - from local people and if you don't pay you could end up getting splatted. The festival, held in the province of Alicante, is more than 200 years old and takes place on the 28 December each year to coincide with the Day of the Innocents - Spain's equivalent of April Fools' Day. The French model and actress has died at the age of 91.