TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with US and global investors to sell the majority of its business in America, TikTok's boss told employees on Thursday.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on 22 January, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
The deal is line with one unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community".
The White House referred the BBC to TikTok when contacted for comment.
Close to Tottenham Hotspur’s shiny football stadium in London is a squat, nondescript block of flats. It holds a grim secret beyond the unremarkable beige brickwork – a cramped, second-floor apartment in the British capital, linked to murderous atrocities unfolding 3,000 miles south.
The one-bedroom flat off north London’s Creighton Road is, according to UK government records, tied to a transnational network of companies involved in the mass recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries accused of myriad war crimes and genocide.
Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been enlisted to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter and the systematic killing of women and children.
Colombian mercenaries were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which prompted a killing frenzy that analysts say has cost at least 60,000 lives.
As news of atrocities continue to mount, a Guardian investigation has found connections between the mercenaries hired to overrun El Fasher and addresses in the UK capital.
The flat in Tottenham is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two individuals named and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for the RSF.
Both figures – Colombian nationals in their 50s – are described in documents at Companies House, the government register of firms operating in the UK, as living in Britain.
The firm is active. The day after the US treasury announced sanctions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation – 9 December – Zeuz Global abruptly moved its operation to the very heart of London. On 10 December the firm shared “new address details”. Its new postcode matches One Aldwych, a five-star hotel in Covent Garden.
Yet the first line of Zeuz Global’s new address is, confusingly, “4dd Aldwych,” which corresponds to the Waldorf Hilton hotel 100 metres away.
Both hotels said they had no link to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the firm had used their postcodes.
Experts say the saga raised questions over how individuals whom the US has openly censured for “their roles in fuelling the civil war in Sudan” were able to seemingly set up and run a company in the UK capital.
The British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has condemned the RSF for “systematic killings, torture and sexual violence” after the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US of genocide.
Mike Lewis, a researcher and former member of the UN panel of experts on Sudan, said: “It is of major concern that the key individuals the US government claims are directing this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company operating from a flat in north London, and even to claim that they’re resident in the UK.”
When Companies House was asked if it had any knowledge of what Zeuz Global actually did, or is doing, it did not respond. The government agency would also not confirm whether the sanctioned individuals were, in fact, resident in the UK.
Contacting Zeuz proved fruitless; its website, set up in May, was labelled as “under construction” with no contact details provided.
According to the US treasury, the man at the centre of the Colombian recruiting network for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra.
The US treasury accuses Quijano of playing a central role in recruiting former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based employment agency he co-founded. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency.
A dual Colombian-Spanish national called Mateo Andrés Duque Botero was similarly censured by the US for managing a business accused of handling funds and payroll for the network hiring the Colombian fighters.
“In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars,” the US treasury statement said.
On 8 April this year Duque and Oliveros registered a company in north London called ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global – with £10,000 capital.
Three days later, the RSF attacked Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering more than 1,500 civilians. After its capture, the camp was handed over to Colombian mercenaries who began the preparations for attacking El Fasher, eight miles to the north.
Duque and Oliveros are named in Companies House records as owning “initial shareholdings”, with the latter named as a person of “significant control” within the company.
Oliveros, a 52-year-old Colombian, describes Britain as her “country of residence”.
On 17 July 2025 Duque was appointed as a director and is also described as resident in the UK. The hiring of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the conflict, analysts say, and its nationals have trained children to be soldiers, as well fighting as snipers and infantrymen.
They have also served as instructors and pilots for the drones that proved instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during fighting in Kordofan, the region bordering Darfur.
Lewis said: “The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with guided weapons and long-range drones causing daily civilian deaths. These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the Colombian mercenary operation has been a major component of this external assistance.”
He added that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a London firm underlined broader concerns over the lack of rigorous checks undertaken when companies were set up.
“Having a UK company like this is a passport for criminals to do business with legitimate counterparts. It’s still harder to join a gym in most cases than to set up a UK company,” said Lewis.
“As a result, there is a long, well publicised history of UK shell companies being used to broker weapons and military assistance to embargoed actors in Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, North Korea – even to Isis [Islamic State].”
Lewis added that the issue raised concerns over what the British government was doing to ensure UK companies were not involved in the mercenary operation.
A government source said the recent introduction of “mandatory identity verification” for directors and persons with significant control would provide greater assurance about who was setting up, running and controlling UK companies.
New powers for Companies House, they added, had made significant progress in tackling false information entered on the register and improving support to police.
The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first emerged last year, when an investigation by the Bogotá-based outlet La Silla Vacía revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to fight. The revelation prompted an apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.
The UAE, which has long been accused of arming the RSF, has also been linked to the hiring of Colombian mercenaries.
A report by the investigative organisation the Sentry alleged last month that Emirati business people supplying Colombians to the RSF were linked to a senior UAE government official. The United Arab Emirates has consistently denied these allegations.
A British government spokesperson said: “The UK is calling for an immediate end to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the removal of barriers to humanitarian access by all parties to the conflict.
“We recently sanctioned RSF commanders for their role in the atrocities in El Fasher,” they said.
Drivers are being advised to allow extra time to travel
Britain's roads, railways and airports are set to be thronged by festive travellers on what is is anticipated to be the busiest day for Christmas trips.
The AA has warned of gridlock on Friday as 24.4 million cars are expected to hit the roads.
It is also expected to be the busiest day of the Christmas period for airports, with 460,000 journeys planned.
Network Rail has also advised travellers to check their journeys and book a seat if possible.
Drivers told to allow extra time
The AA said this Christmas could be the busiest on record for UK roads, and advised drivers to allow extra time to complete their journeys.
The insurance company said most people driving during the festive period travelled less than 100 miles, meaning congestion is likely around motorway interchanges and retail destinations.
AA patrol expert Shaun Jones said patience behind the wheel "will be your best present this year".
"Plan ahead, check your route, and allow extra time," he said.
The M27 will be closed between Junction 9 (Whiteley/Park Gate) and Junction 11 (Fareham East/Gosport) from Christmas Eve to 4 January, so anyone travelling in Hampshire should plan alternative routes.
Rail closures
Network Rail also encouraged passengers to allow extra time for train travel. Improvement works taking place over the Christmas period mean several routes will be closed or restricted.
Information on what routes will be closed for repairs can be found on the Network Rail website.
National Rail trains do not run on Christmas Day and only a small number will run on Boxing Day.
Daniel Mann, Director of Industry Operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: "We encourage customers to reserve seats where possible, bring only luggage that is easy to carry and fits in designated storage areas, and allow extra time for their journeys."
Flights
Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the festive season for airports, but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said flying on Christmas Day was becoming more popular.
If this happens, airlines are required to support passengers. This can include:
Providing food and drink during extended delays
Covering accommodation if passengers are delayed overnight
Offering a refund or alternative travel if a flight is cancelled
If your flight is cancelled, and it is covered by UK law, your airline must let you choose between either getting a refund or being booked on to an alternative flight.
You can check if your flight is covered under UK law here.
The CAA also said that travellers can minimise their risk of delays by ensuring their cases are packed correctly.
This includes leaving presents unwrapped as they may need to be inspected.
A typical Christmas dinner with all the trimmings will cost slightly more than last year
Turkey and sprouts are synonymous with Christmas dinner and this year a rise in the price of both means the festive feast will cost you slightly more at the supermarket.
A typical turkey dinner with all the trimmings will cost about £32.45, according to research done for the BBC - a £1.24 or nearly4% rise on last year.
It comes after bird flu led to large numbers of turkeys being culled early, while a drier spring and summer hit sprout harvests.
However, the humble but golden potato and parsnip have gone down in price, along with - if you have any room - Christmas pudding and mince pies. Our seasonal snapshot reflects that overall food price rises are beginning to slow down.
The centre piece to the traditional family feast - the turkey - costs £20, for a standard 10lb (4.55kg) frozen one. The same bird was £18.62 last year - that's a 7.37% rise, according to the research from retail tracking platform Assosia.
The ever-divisive Brussels sprouts went up by more than 9% to 94p a bag, it found.
The data is based on prices on 6 December 2025 and the same date in 2024, across own-brand products from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl.
However, every year as supermarkets compete for our Christmas custom many slash the prices of their bags of veg as low as 8p so there are bargains to be had.
She says turkeys eat more feed when they can't graze outdoors so this pushed up her costs. But she says her customers understand she has to pass this on.
"I think people are now generally expecting an increase on most things year on year," she says.
Susan Gorst
Susan Gorst and her son Freddie on their turkey farm
The rising price of turkey "could have been a lot worse," according to John Muff, co-owner of Muff's Butchers in Wirral. He estimates it's up by £1-2 per kilo since last Christmas.
"All year round we've seen price increases, almost on a weekly basis, 5p here, 10p there," he says.
Pork has also gone up in price, with pigs in blankets now £2.59, or 5.3% higher than last year.
John says this didn't surprise him. The cost of making their sausages from scratch has seen a "steady increase throughout the year," he says.
Butcher John Muff said the price of turkey has crept up all year
He says "every aspect is going up," from animal feed, energy, transport and wages.
But he thinks higher supermarket prices might be tempting shoppers into a trip to the butchers.
"They're thinking to themselves: If I'm going to pay that sort of price, I may as well come in here and get the proper stuff," he says.
Sprout prices
Whether you celebrate or shun the sprouts at Christmas, the success of this little green veg is highly dependent on the weather.
Alan Steven, a sprout farmer in Fife, says this spring the ground was so dry he had to water his fields before he could plant his seeds - for the first time in 10 years.
He had the cost of irrigating twice more over the summer due to prolonged hot weather.
And so far the winter has been milder which means the sprout plants are more prone to disease, he says.
Alan Steven said he had to irrigate his sprout seeds as they were being planted because the ground was so dry
Spud prices hold steady
The price of root vegetables has remained firmly planted - with no change to the cost of carrots - and potatoes and parsnips just a penny cheaper than last year.
Scott Walker, chief executive of GB Potatoes, said planting and harvesting conditions were favourable this year, but the middle of the season, was "one of the driest in modern memory". The summer was the hottest on record in the UK.
Farmers who didn't have irrigation systems would have suffered and those who could water their crops would have had higher electricity and fuel costs, he says.
"We've had more modest rises than we've had over the past couple of years, but costs have still gone up," he says.
Lucy Munns
Lucy Munns grows potatoes, sugar beet, wheat and barley
The trouble with potato prices is you never know what you're going to get, says Lucy Munns, a potato farmer in Cambridgeshire.
She said a good price for her potatoes would be £200 a tonne, but she was anticipating prices as low as £80 in December.
Hot spells while potatoes are growing causes them to be oddly shaped and they can be rejected by supermarkets and fish and chip shops, she says.
Lucy Munns
Hot weather can cause potatoes to grow in odd shapes
Pudding and mince pies fall in price
Another side dish which saw a slight dip in price was stuffing mix - dropping 1.32% to 50p for 170g.
And lashings of gravy will also be cheaper this year, with gravy granules dropping 7.35% to 91p for 200-300g.
If after the Christmas feast you still have appetite for a sweet treat you'll be glad to hear that Christmas pudding and mince pies are cheaper this year.
A pack of six iced mince pies will cost £1.77, which is 2.75% cheaper than in 2024. A standard 400g pudding comes in at £2.35, or a drop of 7.42%.
It's down to falling flour and sugar prices - there is currently a global sugar surplus.
The widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is "likely" to displace people from jobs in a similar way seen during the Industrial Revolution, the governor of the Bank of England has said.
Andrew Bailey said the UK needed to have the "training, education, [and] skills in place" so workers could shift into jobs that use AI.
He told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme people looking for a job would find securing employment "a lot easier" if they had such skills.
However, he warned that there was an issue with younger, inexperienced professionals finding it difficult to secure entry-level roles due to AI.
"We do have to think about, what is it doing to the pipeline of people? Is it changing it or not?" he said.
"I think if it's people working with AI, I'm not sure it will change the pipeline, but I think we're right to have a have an eye on that point."
Artificial intelligence has become part of everyday life in recent years and is increasingly being adopted by businesses and the public sector.
The technology allows computers to process large amounts of data, identify patterns and follow detailed instructions about what to do with that information.
However, there are concerns over the impact it may already be having on the jobs market.
Official figures released this week revealed the UK unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in the three months to October, with younger workers particularly affected.
The number of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds increased by 85,000 in the three months to October, the largest rise since November 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Some have argued rises to the minimum wage and increased taxes has made it less appealing for businesses to hire entry-level staff.
"Now we have artificial intelligence. We want to hire, but I don't know if it's going to be the same level of people that we hire - it will be a different set of people," said global chairman Mohamed Kande.
Firms who would have previously contracted PwC consultants to sift through data and documents may now use AI models instead, turning weeks of costly work into minutes.
Mr Bailey said worries over the impact of technology on populations cropped over at various times in history, stretching back centuries to when Queen Elizabeth I was worried about the impact of the invention of the knitting machine on her then subjects.
"As you saw in the Industrial Revolution, now over time, I think we can now sort of look back and say it didn't cause mass unemployment, but it did displace people from jobs and this is important.
"My guess would be that it's most likely that AI may well have a similar effect. So we need to be prepared for that, in a sense."
Mr Bailey said AI was the "most likely source of the next leg up" for UK economic growth.
"In terms of its potential to improve productivity growth, I think it's pretty substantial. It will get used across the economy. How quickly it comes through is another question, history would suggest that it does take some time."
Mr Bailey said the Bank of England, which sets UK interest rates, were using AI but added the institution, along with others, were "probably all still experimenting".
"To get it into sort of mainstream, everyday use will take some time, but it's critically important that we obviously focus on getting the pre-conditions and all the conditions in place for that to happen," he added.
Aside from the jobs market being impacted by AI, there are concerns there could be an AI bubble - whether the big tech firms are being overvalued.
The Bank of England has recently sounded the alarm over a potential crash in the value of AI firms reminiscent of previous incidents such as the dotcom bubble.
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of US bank JP Morgan, told the BBC in October he was "far more worried than others" about the risk of a serious market correction in the coming years.
Mr Bailey told the Today programme that policymakers would "have to watch the valuation question".
However, he did acknowledge that the majority of the big companies were generating cash flow.
"Of course, it's still the case that it doesn't mean they'll all be winners. We're watching it very closely, because we do need to watch, obviously, what the consequences of any sharp unwinding could be."
Bank of England governor 'encouraged' by falling inflation
The future of the economy can sometimes be seen in minor gestures of a Bank of England governor, such as the arch of his eyebrows. So what to make of Andrew Bailey sporting a rather exuberant festive tie full of Christmas trees at the moment he delivered his so-called "Santa cut"?
It probably means nothing. Just maybe it is a sign that the timing and messaging behind this cut is designed to pump life into a "subdued" economy.
It was a narrow decision, with the governor as the swing voter after he said the UK had "passed the peak of inflation", and the target of 2% now in sight in April rather than early 2027.
Mr Bailey was at pains to say the direction of travel next year remained cuts, but that decisions would now be a closer call.
"We're going to come back to target sooner than we thought. So that's encouraging. All of this is very encouraging, and for me certainly, you know, it was a strong basis to cut today," he said.
"Looking forwards, I do think we'll continue to have something of a gradual downward path... the calls do get closer."
There has been a debate on the Monetary Policy Committee about what a normal level of interest would be, with some members seeing that as low as 3%. Markets interpreted the deliberations of the committee as meaning just two further cuts next year.
Much is up in the air, however, about what the committee said was a "lacklustre" economy, that they forecast is not growing in the current quarter.
The uncertainty around the Budget has now lifted, but businesses told the Bank there had been no rebound yet. The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, said that the cuts showed the economy was on "life support" and rate cuts were "CPR".
Governor Bailey said the Budget measures aimed at containing inflation had helped the Bank's decision to lower interest rates.
"It's part of the reason I can be more confident inflation is going to come down sooner," he said.
The governor has also identified an unusually high rate of savings as holding back the economy, driven by a lack of consumer confidence among older savers in particular. Rate cuts mechanically lower the incentive to save, and help spending.
He said he didn't want to be "judgemental" about how much people save, but that it was true "how confident and cautious" people feel about the global and local economy does affect savings.
More economic policy stability, lower inflation and lower interest rates should help the economy gain some new momentum in the new year. It certainly needs it.
But it might take a lot more for the much-needed jolt of confidence and festive spirit to spread across the economy.
It’s a simple question: which users can upgrade macOS? It was put to me by Cory, whose son had apparently upgraded their family Mac mini M4 to Tahoe from his standard user account. This article explains how that came about.
Upgrade or update?
Although the two words are sometimes used loosely, in strict senses updating takes macOS up in minor version or patch number, such as 26.0.1 to 26.1 or 26.2, while upgrading moves up to a newer major version, say from 15.7.2 to 26.2. Apple still makes this clear distinction too, although it has all become blurred.
Before it released macOS 12.3, upgrades were different from updates. For a Mac to be upgraded to a new major version, a full installer was downloaded and run, and that required an admin user to authenticate the installation. Updates were smaller and simpler, downloaded through Software Update, and could be installed by any user (apart from Guest).
For the last three years, with the upgrades to Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and now Tahoe, whenever possible upgrades have been performed using the update method instead of a full installer. It’s significantly faster, with less to download, decompress and install. Although Apple still claims that “before installation begins, you’re asked to enter your administrator password”, that’s no longer correct, even on Apple silicon Macs.
Who can update macOS?
The requirements for a user to be able to update macOS are:
a standard or admin user account on that Mac, and
ownership of the boot volume group to be updated.
The first user, or primary admin user, on that Mac is granted a secure token to enable them to take ownership of the boot volume group on that Mac’s internal SSD. Rights of that ownership include
being able to change startup security policy for that boot volume group, using Startup Security Utility in Recovery mode;
authorising installation of macOS updates and upgrades;
being able to initiate Erase All Content and Settings (EACAS);
granting secure tokens and ownership to other users.
When that primary admin user creates another user account, a secure token and ownership is handed over to that account, even when it’s only a standard account. That enables subsequent users to automatically unlock FileVault at login, and to authorise the installation of macOS updates. As upgrades now work the same as updates, that means that standard users whose passwords can unlock FileVault (if enabled) can now authorise the installation of macOS upgrades as well as updates.
What do others say?
Search for answers to the question, and you’ll mostly see outdated accounts from before macOS 12.3, and those clearly influenced Google AI, which wrote:
“Any user with a Secure Token and volume ownership can install minor macOS updates (like 14.1 to 14.2), but major macOS upgrades (like Sonoma to Sequoia) typically still require an Administrator password, unless managed by an organization with specific Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies that grant permissions to standard users. Essentially, standard users can update, but major upgrades need admin power, though MDM can override this for managed devices.”
(For interest, Grok didn’t even understand the question, and simply listed models of Mac that can be upgraded to Tahoe.)
That has been wrong for over three years now, but that error is still widely propagated.
What can you do?
If you want to give another user access to your Mac as a standard user, but don’t want them to update and/or upgrade macOS, you will need to explain this to them, and caution them not to succumb to Apple’s aggressive schemes to trick users to upgrade.
A Reddit user provided information that helped identify Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as not only the suspect in the campus shooting, but also the murder of an M.I.T. professor.
A vehicle is loaded onto a tow truck outside the storage facility in Salem, N.H., where the Brown University shooting suspect’s body was found on Thursday.
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Susan Gorst
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