Chinese EV sales surge to new high in Europe putting tariffs under scrutiny
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK

Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy.

Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers.

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AI push is putting banks at mercy of tech firms, warns Moody’s
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

Finance sector will gain from the tech but it will need substantial investment and create risks, says rating agency

The rating agency Moody’s has said the race to adopt AI is putting big banks at the mercy of a small group of Silicon Valley firms, leaving them vulnerable to widespread outages and price gouging by profit-hungry tech bosses.

The financial sector’s efforts to integrate AI into day-to-day operations will eventually cut costs and increase revenues across the City and Wall Street, Moody’s said.

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Burnham vows crackdown on ‘rip-off’ business practices to ease cost of living
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

First of PM’s ‘everyday fixes’ to be banning fake discounts and making it easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions

• Andy Burnham: I’ll end the rip-offs that people hate

Andy Burnham has promised a series of measures to tackle the cost of living, including a ban on fake discounts and making it easier for people to escape unwanted subscriptions.

The crackdown on “rip-off” business practices is expected to benefit consumers to the tune of £400m a year and will be the first in a range of “everyday fixes” to be implemented in the coming months.

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‘Like being in prison’: the ship crews stuck in Gulf since February
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

US-Iran war has stranded up to 20,000 seafarers, mostly Indian and Filipino crews, with none knowing when the nightmare will end

The panicked crew of a cargo ship broadcast a distress signal late on Monday night from their location in the strait of Hormuz. About 20 nautical miles north of the coast of Oman, the Minoan Pioneer bulk carrier was hit by an unknown projectile, causing a blackout in the engine room and a fire in the accommodation area.

The crew scrambled to put out the blaze and called for help from nearby vessels. When they managed to disembark from the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged ship on Tuesday morning, they realised the third engineer was missing. Days later, he is yet to be found.

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Rising number of UK children report seeing explicit deepfakes of themselves
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produce

Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce.

The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools.

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Google DeepMind enters a new era as co-founder Demis Hassabis shifts AI role
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Observers express concern that the division has lost its independence and commercial reality has taken over

When Sir Demis Hassabis said AI had brought the world to a “pivotal moment in human history” last month, he knew another big change was imminent.

This shift was closer to home. The Nobel prize-winning head of Google DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, announced this week he was relinquishing his day-to-day duties as chief executive and becoming chair. He is also taking on the role of chief scientist at DeepMind’s parent, Alphabet.

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Tour de France Femmes: Vollering wins second title but tactics row rumbles on
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

• Dutch cyclist finishes 1:18 clear of Kasia Niewiadoma

• ‘I know what’s right and what’s not,’ runner-up says

In the end, there was no debate. Demi Vollering went clear on the Col d’Èze, overlooking Nice, to win her second Tour de France Femmes from rival Kasia Niewiadoma, champion in 2024, by one minute and 18 seconds.

The decisive attacks came on the narrow snaking climb of the Chemin du Vinaigrier, past swimming pools and art deco villas, where breakaway rider Isabella Holmgren was finally overhauled and ­Vollering and Niewiadoma again went head-to-head.

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Premier League 2026-27 preview No 1: Arsenal
Posted on Sunday August 09, 2026

With most of their rivals changing managers, can the champions go back-to-back for the first time in more than 90 years?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 1st (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons’ prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 1st

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