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  • Accelerated Brain Aging Tied to Neurocognition – European Medical Journal Accelerated Brain Aging in Childhood Cancer Survivors

    Accelerated Brain Aging Tied to Neurocognition – European Medical Journal Accelerated Brain Aging in Childhood Cancer Survivors

    ADULT childhood cancer survivors demonstrated accelerated brain aging that tracked with cranial radiation and poorer neurocognition.

    Accelerated Brain Aging Measured by BrainAGE

    Long term survivors of childhood cancer may carry a measurable…

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  • German manufacturing sector ends 2025 in deepening downturn, PMI shows – Reuters

    1. German manufacturing sector ends 2025 in deepening downturn, PMI shows  Reuters
    2. European factory activity ends 2025 in deeper contraction but Asia shines on improved demand  Reuters
    3. German manufacturing sees recovery in early 2025 but slumps again by year-end  Bitget
    4. Industrial Activity in the EU Closes 2025 Lower After Nine-Month Low  FXLeaders
    5. Germany: Production contracts for first time in ten months in December  Forex Factory

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  • Maureen Beattie carries on dad’s bid to save Winter Gardens

    Maureen Beattie carries on dad’s bid to save Winter Gardens

    Pauline McLeanScotland arts correspondent

    Shutterstock Maureen Beattie and her late father Johnny Beattie in an old photo leaning on a park bench in Rothesay, Isle of Bute. They are on top of a hill overlooking the town and the water below.Shutterstock

    Maureen Beattie is continuing the family support for the campaign to save Rothesay Winter Gardens after her father Johnny Beattie stopped its demolition in 1982

    Rothesay’s A-listed Winter…

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  • Before they were famous: Stars pictured at drama school

    Before they were famous: Stars pictured at drama school

    It has produced two Dr Whos, a Marvel mutant, Game of Thrones stars, UK stage royalty, several Hollywood A-listers and a Traitors icon.

    For 75 years, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) has trained generations of stage and screen talent.

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  • Monetary developments in the euro area: November 2025

    Monetary developments in the euro area: November 2025

    02 January 2026

    Components of the broad monetary aggregate M3

    The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 increased to 3.0% in November 2025 from 2.8% in October, averaging 2.9% in the three months up to November. The components of M3 showed the following developments. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits, decreased to 5.0% in November from 5.2% in October. The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) was ‑0.8% in November, compared with -1.8% in October. The annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) increased to 1.6% in November from 1.4% in October.

    Chart 1

    Monetary aggregates

    (annual growth rates)

    Data for monetary aggregates

    Looking at the components’ contributions to the annual growth rate of M3, the narrower aggregate M1 contributed 3.2 percentage points (down from 3.3 percentage points in October), short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) contributed -0.3 percentage points (up from -0.5 percentage points) and marketable instruments (M3-M2) contributed 0.1 percentage points (as in the previous month).

    Among the holding sectors of deposits in M3, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by households increased to 3.3% in November from 3.0% in October, while the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-financial corporations stood at 3.4% in November, unchanged from the previous month. Finally, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by investment funds other than money market funds decreased to 0.5% in November from 2.7% in October.

    Counterparts of the broad monetary aggregate M3

    The annual growth rate of M3 in November 2025, as a reflection of changes in the items on the monetary financial institution (MFI) consolidated balance sheet other than M3 (counterparts of M3), can be broken down as follows: claims on the private sector contributed 3.2 percentage points (up from 2.7 percentage points in October), net external assets contributed 1.9 percentage points (up from 1.7 percentage points), claims on general government contributed 0.3 percentage points (up from 0.2 percentage points), longer-term liabilities contributed -1.2 percentage points (down from -1.0 percentage points), and the remaining counterparts of M3 contributed -1.1 percentage points (down from -0.9 percentage points).

    Chart 2

    Contribution of the M3 counterparts to the annual growth rate of M3

    (percentage points)

    Data for contribution of the M3 counterparts to the annual growth rate of M3

    Claims on euro area residents

    The annual growth rate of total claims on euro area residents increased to 2.6% in November 2025 from 2.3% in the previous month. The annual growth rate of claims on general government stood at 0.7% in November, compared with 0.6% in October, while the annual growth rate of claims on the private sector increased to 3.4% in November from 2.9% in October.

    The annual growth rate of adjusted loans to the private sector (i.e. adjusted for loan transfers and notional cash pooling) increased to 3.4% in November from 3.0% in October. Among the borrowing sectors, the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households stood at 2.9% in November, compared with 2.8% in October, while the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 3.1% in November from 2.9% in October.

    Chart 3

    Adjusted loans to the private sector

    (annual growth rates)

    Data for adjusted loans to the private sector

    Notes:

    • Data in this press release are adjusted for seasonal and end-of-month calendar effects, unless stated otherwise.
    • “Private sector” refers to euro area non-MFIs excluding general government.
    • Hyperlinks lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Figures shown in annex tables are a snapshot of the data as at the time of the current release.

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  • A timeline of ‘Cats’ in the West End and beyond

    A timeline of ‘Cats’ in the West End and beyond

    Ahead of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical coming to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this summer, revisit its purr-fect production history.

    You’re officially invited to an al-fresco Jellicle Ball as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary musical…

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  • The Sky Today on Friday, January 2: Harmonia at opposition

    The Sky Today on Friday, January 2: Harmonia at opposition

    Asteroid Harmonia reaches opposition in Gemini the Twins, near the bright planet Jupiter in the evening sky.

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  • These Cree designers were inspired by their families to get into fashion

    These Cree designers were inspired by their families to get into fashion

    Listen to this article

    Estimated 4 minutes

    The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

    Two Cree fashion designers…

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  • I spent over a decade obsessed with the gym. I’ve finally let myself stop

    I spent over a decade obsessed with the gym. I’ve finally let myself stop

    Zahra Khozema taking a gym selfie in Cancun, Mexico, in April 2024. Khozema says her workout regime made her physically powerful but eventually caused some mental health issues. (Zahra Khozema)

    This is a First Person column by Zahra Khozema, a…

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  • Quebec City skydivers help set new world record for largest parachute formation

    Quebec City skydivers help set new world record for largest parachute formation

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    Estimated 4 minutes

    The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

    Leaping out of a plane more than 4,200 metres in the air, Simon-Pierre Bouchard can’t control his excitement as he opens his parachute and wonders if everyone has gotten into place. 

    “When we exit the plane, the first few seconds are in free fall, so we see the plane going away,” said Bouchard. “This is exhilarating, this is what [gets] me to fly.”

    Bouchard was one of 17 Canadians who travelled to Lake Whales, Fla., on Nov. 22 to attempt to beat the world record for largest canopy formation. 

    Some 104 skydivers from around the world jumped out of eight airplanes at various heights, each trying to make sure they didn’t cross parachutes with those next to them, as doing so could be deadly. 

    A group of people kneel on the ground and secure their parachutes into their packs.
    Simon-Pierre Bouchard, centre, has been skydiving for more than 30 years. (Submitted by Simon-Pierre Bouchard)

    Those jumping from the highest plane, more than 5,700 metres the air, need to breathe in from an oxygen tank to avoid the risk of hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

    The group only has about 11 minutes to dock their parachutes onto each other and get into the diamond-shaped formation.

    ‘It was hard to believe at first’

    Bouchard has been a skydiver for more than 30 years and, as a pilot in Quebec City, spends most of his time in the sky.

    But he’s never experienced anything quite like this.

    “I couldn’t stop smiling,” he said. “We need to trust, individually, everyone that is in this formation, even though we don’t know them personally.”

    Quebec City police officer Jean-François Denis was also one of the 104 parachutists who took part in the canopy formation.

    He trained for nearly five years to qualify and underwent a strict diet and exercise to lose the 15 pounds required for him to participate.

    I didn’t get any cheat days or cheat meals,” Denis said.

    He and his teammates waited for two hours for the international judges to declare that they had made it and beat the record set in 2007.

    “People were giving hugs, high fives and shouting with joy,” said Denis. “It was hard to believe at first.”

    The International Skydiving Commission then also needs to approve the record for largest canopy formation before it can be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

    “We have to demonstrate … that we all have proper lines to hold and the canopies of every jumper needs to be at a certain height above them,” Denis said.

    With more than 1,600 jumps under his belt, Denis hoped he and the group would manage to break their new 104-person record the following day, but it wasn’t meant to be.

    “We were so close to get 111 but there were some mistakes,” said Denis, adding he still hopes to try again someday soon.

    A rare art

    The selection process just to participate in the record-breaking event was a rigorous one, having to qualify at one of eight selection camps around the world, including one in the province.

    The act of creating a canopy formation goes against what most skydivers are taught when they first start out, Denis explained, having been an instructor himself.

    “The first thing you learn is to stay away from other [parachutes] because getting entangled or wrapped in someone else’s at low altitude can be really dangerous,” he said. “It creates a bond with the people you’re jumping with.”

    Parachute Montréal owner Gregory Perrimond says canopy formations have become a rare art.

    While there is a tight-knit community for it in the province, he knows that just finding enough people with the experience to participate in such a large formation must have been “really complicated for the organizers.”

    While the group travelled to Florida because of the weather, Perrimond says the wind remains unpredictable and that can be a challenge in events like this.

    “Imagine the wind isn’t stable on such a huge formation, it takes a lot of work to keep it in place,” he said.

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