We will take on Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. August 23 as part of our ongoing pre-season preparations ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The match will take place at Mangata Developments Stadium Meadow Park, with kick-off set for 3pm.
Tickets will go on sale here to season-ticket holders at 12pm on August 20, with general sale beginning at 2pm.
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
The mysteries of Stonehenge have baffled scientists for centuries. In the 2010s, archaeologists and geologists identified two quarries in Wales as the sources of Stonehenge’s legendary standing bluestones. Now, new evidence published by scientists in August 2025 consolidates this connection.
A century ago, in 1924, archaeologists discovered a cow’s jawbone that had been carefully placed beside Stonehenge’s south entrance and dated it to the monument’s very beginning in 2995 to 2900 BCE. The discovery has intrigued historians ever since. Why had it been placed there? Why was this animal considered special? Researchers from BGS, Cardiff University and University College London have used isotope analysis to bring this artifact to life, helping to reveal further tantalising glimpses into the origins of the historic landmark.
The scientists sliced the cow’s third molar tooth, which records chemical signals from the animal’s second year of life, into nine horizontal sections. They were then able to measure carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes, which each offer clues about the cow’s diet, environment and movement.
The oxygen isotopes revealed that the tooth captured roughly six months of growth, from winter to summer, whilst the carbon isotopes showed the animal’s diet changed with the seasons: woodland fodder in winter and open pasture in summer. Additionally, the strontium isotopes indicated the seasonal food sources came from different geological areas, suggesting that the cow either moved seasonally or that winter fodder was imported.
The lead isotopes revealed composition spikes during the late winter to spring, pointing to a lead source that was older than the lead in the rest of the tooth. The composition suggests the cow originated from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, such as the bluestones found in Wales, before moving to Stonehenge.
This is the first time that scientists have seen evidence linking cattle remains from Stonehenge to Wales, adding further weight to theories that cows were used in the transportation of the enormous rocks across the country.
This study has revealed unprecedented details of six months in a cow’s life, providing the first evidence of cattle movement from Wales as well as documenting dietary changes and life events that happened around 5000 years ago. A slice of one cow tooth has told us an extraordinary tale and, as new scientific tools emerge, we hope there is still more to learn from her long journey.
Prof Jane Evans, BGS Honorary Research Associate.
In addition to this discovery, researchers also concluded that the unusual lead signal could not be explained by local contamination or movement alone. Instead, there was another explanation: that lead stored in the cow’s bones had been remobilised during the stresses of pregnancy. If true, this would mean the cow was female and pregnant or nursing during the tooth’s formation. To test the hypothesis, the team applied a peptide-based sex determination technique at the University of Manchester, which showed there was a high probability that the animal was female.
This research has provided key new insights into the biography of this enigmatic cow whose remains were deposited in such an important location at a Stonehenge entrance. It provides unparalleled new detail on the distant origins of the animal and the arduous journey it was brought on. So often grand narratives dominate research on major archaeological sites, but this detailed biographical approach on a single animal provides a brand-new facet to the story of Stonehenge.
Richard Madgwick,professor of archaeological science at Cardiff University.
Stonehenge has many secrets left to be uncovered. However, this latest research helps fill in just a few more of those gaps as we learn more about this legendary landmark.
This is yet more fascinating evidence for Stonehenge’s link with south-west Wales, where its bluestones come from. It raises the tantalising possibility that cattle helped to haul the stones.
Michael Parker Pearson, professor of British later prehistory at University College London.
The research paper, Sequential multi-isotope sampling through a Bos taurus tooth from Stonehenge, to assess comparative sources and incorporation times of strontium and lead, is now available to read.
Gold edges up but hovers near three-week lows before Jackson Hole summit Reuters
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to Host Annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium Aug. 21-23 Kansas City – Federal Reserve
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Immobilization after major surgery and during hospitalization can substantially decrease muscle strength and function. Physical training has been shown to improve strength and functional performance in patients recovering from hip fractures [23]. This study demonstrated that telerehabilitation programs, specifically tele-resistance exercises, can significantly enhance physical function in elderly patients following hip fracture surgery. At 12 weeks postintervention, the improvements were particularly notable compared with those achieved with traditional exercise booklets. This is the first study to implement such a program for fragility hip fractures in Thailand, contributing important evidence from a low-resource context.
Advantages of real-time video conferencing
The intervention employed real-time video conferencing through the LINE application to deliver exercises and provide immediate feedback from physiotherapists. This method differs from other telerehabilitation approaches, which typically use prerecorded videos or less interactive platforms [15]. The ability to offer real-time feedback allowed for personalized adjustments, likely contributing to the observed improvements in physical function. Additionally, participants could use smartphones or tablets with a standard application, making this telerehabilitation approach more accessible and cost-effective than systems relying on complex technology.
Challenges with traditional rehabilitation
Rehabilitation after surgery primarily aims to restore mobility. In the standard approach, older adults with hip fractures and their caregivers typically receive training on home exercise programs upon discharge, supplemented by an exercise booklet. However, clinical observations have shown that some patients struggle to follow and progress with these exercises, leading to delayed mobility recovery. Furthermore, mobility issues often prevent patients from receiving outpatient therapy, as they rely on caregiver assistance and face transportation challenges. These barriers can exacerbate inequities in healthcare access, particularly for those in remote or underserved areas. The trial addressed these limitations by introducing a more structured and accessible alternative the 12-week tele-resistance exercise program which allowed patients to receive rehabilitation remotely. This approach not only enhances accessibility but also potentially reduces inequities in healthcare access, aligning with the sustainable development goals [24].
Safety considerations in telerehabilitation
Safety is paramount in remote exercise programs. Therefore, 100 patients who were considered unsafe for telerehabilitation were excluded from the study. There were 31 participants with extreme ages and 69 conditions that could prohibit active exercise were excluded from the study. A meta-analysis reported that physiotherapist-led, exercise-based telerehabilitation is noninferior to face-to-face rehabilitation and superior to no intervention for older adults with musculoskeletal conditions [25]. Systematic reviews have also indicated that progressive resistance exercises following hip fracture surgery improve mobility, activities of daily living, balance, lower-limb strength, and performance in various tasks [26, 27]. Therefore, tele-resistance exercise was selected as the intervention. Tele-resistance exercise showed an adherence rate of 70%, demonstrating its superior effectiveness compared to using exercise booklets demonstrating its effectiveness compared to exercise booklets.
Primary outcome: improvements in SPPB scores
The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) served as the primary outcome measure, evaluating balance, gait speed, and lower limb strength. At 12 weeks, the intervention group demonstrated a median improvement of 3.5 points—exceeding the threshold for substantial clinical relevance in older adults [15, 28]. This result aligns with previous meta-analyses supporting the efficacy of home-based digital interventions in enhancing physical function among elderly populations [15].
The use of real-time telerehabilitation, which provided personalized instruction and immediate feedback, likely contributed to these superior outcomes. Unlike conventional home programs that rely on static materials, the interactive nature of this approach allowed for progressive, individualized resistance training. This supports existing evidence indicating that supervised exercise produces greater functional gains than unsupervised programs in older adults [29].
Analysis of individual SPPB components revealed significant improvements across all domains within the intervention group. Notably, the chair stand test, which reflects lower limb strength, showed marked improvement as early as six weeks—a finding consistent with Vikberg et al., who reported similar early responses to resistance training. [30] Gait speed improved progressively in both groups, but significantly more in the intervention group by week 12. This is consistent with literature suggesting that resistance, multimodal, and coordination-focused training effectively enhance gait performance in older individuals [31, 32]. The early gains observed may have encouraged greater voluntary activity, thereby reinforcing ongoing improvements.
In contrast, while balance scores increased gradually over time, there was no significant between-group difference. Given that postural control involves multiple physiological systems, a multicomponent approach incorporating proprioceptive, aerobic, and neuromuscular training may be necessary to elicit more pronounced improvements in this domain [33].
Overall, the findings indicate that real-time tele-resistance exercise was effective in improving overall physical performance, particularly in total SPPB scores and gait speed, when compared to traditional unsupervised home rehabilitation.
Secondary outcomes
2-Minute walk test (2MWT)
The 2MWT revealed that both groups improved significantly from baseline at 6 and 12 weeks. Notably, the intervention group showed greater improvement at 6 weeks, though this difference did not remain statistically significant at 12 weeks. Despite this, the absolute gain in walking distance remained higher in the intervention group at both follow-up points. The mean increase of 21.4 m surpassed the minimal detectable change in older adults, suggesting clinically meaningful improvement in ambulatory capacity [19].
This finding aligns with evidence linking 2MWT performance to aerobic capacity during rehabilitation after hip fracture. [34] However, variability in the 12-week results may reflect natural recovery trajectories or increasing physical activity in the control group. Some studies have also suggested that endurance gains in this context may stem primarily from increased muscle strength [35, 36].
Knee extension strength
Contrary to expectations, no significant between-group differences were observed in knee extension strength on the fractured side. This contrasts with prior research showing strength improvements with resistance training. The limited impact may be due to the low intensity and volume of resistance used (0.5–1 kg), which may be insufficient for inducing measurable hypertrophy or strength gains, particularly in frail or sarcopenic populations [37].
Additionally, the control group had lower baseline strength, which may have motivated more self-directed exercise. Once participants regained mobility, reduced adherence may have further attenuated strength gains. While adherence to tele-resistance training was approximately 70%, no data were available for adherence to unsupervised exercises. The reduction in supervised sessions from twice weekly to once weekly after week 6 may have also affected training consistency and outcomes [38].
Anxiety scores and sociocultural factors
Improvements in anxiety were observed in both groups, though no significant between-group differences emerged. This contrasts with findings from Wu et al., who reported reduced anxiety with telerehabilitation [39]. Nevertheless, our findings are consistent with studies showing that physical activity can positively influence anxiety in older adults [40].
In the Thai context, strong familial caregiving support may have contributed to generally low baseline anxiety and steady improvements over time. Cultural values emphasizing elder care may mitigate psychological distress associated with physical decline, especially when combined with functional recovery. Additionally, greater mobility limitations and comorbidities in the control group may have been associated with higher fear of falling, which can influence anxiety scores [41, 42].
Safety and adverse events
Importantly, our study did not report any adverse effects or deaths related to the tele-resistance exercise program. One fall occurred in the intervention group; however, it was unrelated to the exercise program and did not result in serious complications. This study underscores the effectiveness of home-based digital health interventions involving communication, feedback, education, and telerehabilitation, which enhance functional outcomes among older patients recovering from hip fractures postsurgery [15].
Limitations
Several limitations must be acknowledged in this study. First, a significant number of patients were excluded due to safety concerns about remote exercise. Since this study was conducted in a tertiary, university-based medical school, the participants may have had more severe health conditions and a higher prevalence of comorbidities compared to those in community-based hospitals. Consequently, the findings may not be applicable to patients in such settings. Second, the relatively small sample size limits the generalizability of the results. This small sample size was partly due to recruitment challenges toward the end of 2022. During this period, many caregivers who were proficient in using smart devices and the LINE video call application had to resume on-site work, reducing their availability to support patients in the telerehabilitation program. Then some of the participants were institutionalized during this time, further limiting the pool of eligible participants. Increasing the sample size in future research could enhance the robustness of the findings. Additionally, the current study employed a conventional approach that included an exercise booklet and a home exercise program provided prior to discharge. This approach resulted in reduced therapist interaction for the control group, which may have negatively influenced their physical outcomes. Moreover, the participants in the control group were older and utilized gait aids more frequently compared to those in the intervention group. Previous research has established that older age and reduced walking abilities were associated with diminished functional recovery following hip fractures [6, 43]. Therefore, it is possible that the control group experienced poorer recovery outcomes than the intervention group. Finally, investigating the long-term effects of telerehabilitation is crucial for evaluating the sustainability of the observed benefits.
Speculation has turned to what could be powering such light. Loeb has suggested possibilities ranging from a rare fragment of a supernova core rich in radioactive elements, to a nuclear-powered engine created by an intelligent civilisation. ‘3I/ATLAS could be a spacecraft powered by nuclear energy, and the dust emitted from its frontal surface might be from dirt that accumulated on its surface during its interstellar travel,’ Loeb wrote in a statement according to Daily Mail. He admits both ideas are unlikely but argues they cannot yet be dismissed. Normal cometary activity, dust and gas evaporating under solar heat, does not fit the unusual dimming pattern. Nor does the absence of a visible coma, which is expected around comets.
Aviva and Tesco Insurance & Money Services have announced the launch of a new partnership.
The new life insurance offering gives Tesco shoppers and Clubcard members access to simple, affordable and trusted life cover, helping customers protect what matters most whilst also benefitting from Tesco’s customer rewards.
The partnership brings together Tesco’s strong brand and customer centric focus with Aviva’s underwriting expertise and long-standing reputation in life insurance, and significant combined insight will help shape engagement with customers to reward them in a helpful way.
The life insurance proposition will reach Tesco customers through its online and social presence as well as in hundreds of stores across the UK.
Customers will be able to take out cover via a simple digital quote and apply service at tescoinsurance.com.
Aviva’s Life Insurance Plan for Tesco customers brings a host of standout features, including:
5-star rating from Defaqto
Cover starting from just £5 per month
A fully mobile-optimised digital journey for ease and convenience.
Tesco customers also have the reassurance that over 98.8% of life insurance claims were paid across Aviva’s life insurance product range in 2024, totalling over £862m.1
In addition to financial protection, Tesco customers taking out the Life Insurance Plan can also access a suite of complementary services, designed to support their health and wellbeing.
The wellbeing services are non-contractual benefits. Aviva can change or withdraw them at any time. Terms and conditions and residency restrictions apply.
Ban Mahsoub, Partnerships Director at Tesco Insurance and Money Services, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Aviva to expand our offering into protection insurance for millions of Tesco customers and help meet the needs of families across the UK.
“Tesco’s trusted brand backed by Aviva’s expertise is bringing high-quality cover and real peace of mind for those who want to protect their loved ones.
“Life insurance is one of the most important ways people can plan for the future, and we want to make it easier and more accessible.”
Daren Boys, Protection Distribution Director at Aviva, said: “This new partnership is an exciting opportunity for our two brands to leverage our digital and data capabilities to bring life insurance to the forefront for Tesco customers across the UK.
“By combining Tesco’s reach with Aviva’s extensive expertise in protection, we’re creating wider market awareness and greater access to insurance, to help more families feel financially resilient.
“The partnership adds to our growing distribution footprint and supports our ambition to grow the market across intermediary, direct and partnership channels.”
For more information or to get a quote, visit tescoinsurance.com/lifeinsurance.
-ends-
References:
1. The figures show the combined life insurance and terminal illness claims paid in 2024 and former AIG Life policy claims paid since the acquisition completion on 9 April 2024. AIG Life rebranded to Aviva Protection UK Limited in February 2025.
About Tesco Insurance
Our goal is to make insurance more rewarding and better value for people who shop at Tesco. We’ve been insuring customers for over 20 years and today we help more than 2 million customers protect what matters. Our colleagues serve our customers seven days a week from our main centres in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, and we are also available through online and mobile banking 24/7.
With its orchards of low-growing fruit trees and a harbor dotted with yachts, Bitterfeld has an air of pastoral charm. But this former East German town, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) southwest of Berlin, also has a less bucolic side.
A shallow lake called the Silbersee is a reminder of a disused lignite mine that once provided fuel, while a tangle of pipes from one of Germany’s oldest chemical facilities has long added an industrial twist to the skyline.
Recently, this town of two tales has taken on a third persona, quietly emerging as a hub for the EU’s drive to source rare earths on home turf.
Vital to the manufacture of permanent magnets that show up in consumer electronics, renewables, and defense technologies, these chemical elements are largely sourced in China. As a result, Europe is dependent on exports — something it would like to change. Enter Bitterfeld.
Struggling despite strategic potential
The idea is to recycle rare earth elements from end-of-life electronic devices. In May 2024, the family-run German tech group Heraeus opened its facility, a grey rectangular building shielded by a high barbed-wire fence, for that purpose.
At its launch, the site was presented as “the largest rare earth magnet recycling plant in Europe.”
Home to the Heraeus Remloy plant, Bitterfeld is known as the cradle of German electrochemistryImage: Ekaterina Venkina/DW
Initially, it aimed to produce around 600 tons of rare earth magnetic powder per year, with plans to double this figure to 1,200 tons in the near future. But that’s not quite how things have panned out.
A year after the launch, Heraeus says the facility is struggling to break even, despite the field’s potential strategic importance.
“I cannot disclose the exact number, but we are nowhere near full capacity,” David Christian Bender, co-head of Heraeus Remloy, toldDW, adding that European recycling “cannot compete” with rare earth metal deliveries from China.
The holy grail of the high-tech economy
Four industrial sectors in Germany are particularly dependent on rare earth imports: the automotive industry, mechanical and plant engineering, energy, and defense. One of the key minerals they need is neodymium.
Found in countless smart devices, from electric motors and wind turbines to MRI scanners and smartphone speakers, this silvery-white metal is the holy grail of the high-tech economy. The element, primarily in the form of neodymium-iron-boron magnets, is also crucial for military applications.
Bitterfeld’s pastoral charm is tinged with industrial vibesImage: Ekaterina Venkina/DW
“These magnets are used in precision-guided weapons, radar and sonar systems, satellite communications, and the acoustic signature reduction on military vehicles,“ Stefan Steinicke from the Federation of German Industries (BDI) told DW.
Although Europe possesses some reserves, it does not currently mine neodymium. In fact, the continent imports 100% of its heavy rare earth elements (REEs), such as terbium, and 85% of its light rare earth elements, including neodymium, from China. The country also produces 90% of the world’s magnets.
“When it comes to electric motors, robotics and drones, import dependency is not only high, but system-critical,” Steinicke said.
Short-term import stoppages lead to production delays, supply bottlenecks, and price hikes. Longer-term disruptions could result in project cancellations in key tech sectors and cause strategic uncertainty among investors.
In April this year, China severely restrictedits exports of several heavy rare earth metals and rare earth magnets, leading to a drastic shortfall in Europe. In some parts of Germany, production lines came to a standstill.
Companies like France’s Caremag and Ionic Technologies in the UK are racing to lead in neodymium recycling, alongside their German rival (pictured)Image: Heraeus Remloy
A cleaner shortcut
In 2024, the EU introduced its Critical Raw Materials Act. By 2030, Europe aims to mine at least 10% of the raw materials it requires, process 40%, and recycle 25%. Dependence on any single non-EU country is to be reduced to a maximum of 65%.
Experts welcome the targets but regard them as ambitious, saying the EU needs to move faster, make greater investments and be more creative with its policy tools.
The mining-to-magnet production chain is long and costly. “A green mine is an oxymoron. It always involves environmental degradation and pollution,” said Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, a Brussels-based non-profit focused on electronic waste.
Electronic waste contains a variety of recyclable raw materialsImage: Daniel Schäfer/dpa/picture alliance
Short-loop recycling, in turn, uses vacuum melting, skipping the dirtiest, most energy-hungry steps found in the longer recycling loop. It is, therefore, held up as a cleaner alternative to mining.
Aside from Heraeus Remloy, several other European companies are racing to lead in REE-recycling. But finding customers willing to pay extra to support European producers remains difficult.
Jan Giese, a senior manager at TRADIUM, a German metal products distributor says the challenges are due to “relatively high prices for interesting scrap material,“ higher European production costs, “lower recycling capacities and resulting poorer economies of scale.“
Neodymium: The metal driving the energy transition
According to TRADIUM, the price of neodymium oxide has been gradually declining, albeit with certain volatility, since March 2022, reaching one of its low points around mid-2024. This further adds to recyclers’ profitability struggles.
So far, less than 1% of the rare earths consumed in the EU are recycled, Rüya Perincek, press officer at the EU Commission, told DW. And though Brussels has approved several projects to help tap private funding, it is not likely to tip the scales in any big way.
Early next year, the EU is planning to launch a special platform connecting buyers and suppliers of strategic raw materials to diversify sourcing.
No silver bullet
“Recycling quotas could be part of a solution,” Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary bloc, told DW.
Highlighting the need for “a coherent political effort that combines a mosaic of measures,” he did not rule out a tax credit for magnets manufactured domestically or made from reclaimed components. Such steps, however, should be taken “in close coordination within the EU,” he added.
Nearly 50% of all e-waste in the European Union remains uncollected, and less than 40% is recycled. The Commission plans to revise the WEEE Directive, an EU regulation on electronic waste management, to better align collection, treatment, and market incentives.
Recycled neodymium-iron-boron powders can be turned into strong permanent magnetsImage: Heraeus Remloy
According to Leroy, Brussels needs to introduce dedicated waste codes for permanent magnets so they can be traced and recycled before going missing or being exported.
Together with its partners, the WEEE Forum has also created an online Urban Mine Platform highlighting the volume of precious materials in EU waste — equivalent to roughly the weight of three million African elephants.
Bender, co-head of Heraeus Remloy, hopes to see a swift introduction of measures to boost the recycling of rare earth elements. He is calling for mandatory quotas and financial or tax incentives for using recycled European magnets, especially in the car industry.
“The situation is very challenging… If nothing is done right now, I can’t see any change happening by 2030,” he added — despite the goals set in Brussels.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker
This article was produced as part of the Thematic Networks ofPULSE, a European initiative that supports transnational journalistic collaborations.
LG Electronics is advancing its Gaming Portal, offering a wide range of games and versatility for webOS-powered TVs and devices. Now available in over 30 countries, the revamped Gaming Portal is transforming how players experience both native webOS games and AAA titles, whether accessed via remote control or a game pad.
The new UX upgrade, rolling out across regions this August, makes it easier for players to discover and play AAA titles. The ‘Play with Gamepad’ menu now lets players select their preferred cloud gaming service, such as Amazon Luna, Blacknut, Boosteroid and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, delivering instant access to a wide array of titles.
Further elevating the gaming experience, LG recently announced a collaboration with NVIDIA; LG TVs are the world’s first to support up to 4K 120Hz with HDR cloud gaming via the native GeForce NOW app. The new UX upgrade also streamlines the player experience by offering quick access to essential gaming accessories such as game pads and controllers. Newly launching ‘Recommended for you’ tabs connect users to promotions or purchase options.
For gamers who thrive on climbing the ranks, Gaming Portal brings ‘High Score Challenge’, a new feature designed to ignite competition. Easily accessed from the ‘All Games’ tab, this option keeps players engaged as the competition heats up on Color Mash and other games.
LG’s Gaming Portal is continuously expanding its library. Through a collaboration with Blacknut, a game streaming service, players can now access cloud games through individual title subscriptions. This includes adaptations of popular classics Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, as well as Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway. The portal also features immersive titles like Everdream Valley, where players customise clothing and interact with animals on their own farm, and Overcooked! 2, which puts teamwork skills to the ultimate test by injecting chaos into the kitchen. The Blacknut catalogue also offers a selection of titles playable without a controller, like TheJackbox Party Starter and soon-to-launch Inua – A Story in Ice and Time.
Gamers can also discover a wealth of free games through LG’s partnership with Play.Works. This collaboration brings popular titles such as Wheel of Fortune, Tetris and Pac-Man directly to webOS-powered TVs and devices. New Additions include Creature Mix, where players can blend animal DNA with AI to craft one-of-a-kind creatures, and dungeon adventure game Temple Maze.
“With over 4,000 cloud-based titles and 600 free single and multiplayer games, LG’s Gaming Portal is quickly becoming an all-in-one hub for every player,” said Chris Jo, head of the webOS Platform Business Center at the LG Media Entertainment Solution Company. “Through new UX upgrades and a growing ecosystem of partners, we are bringing every kind of game closer to users worldwide through their effortless discovery.”
