EU urged to exempt UK from car rules that could be worst Brexit impact yet
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Bloc’s ‘made in Europe’ regulations risk shutting out British manufacturers in ‘most spectacular own goal in history’

The EU’s car industry has called for the UK to be fully included in new “made in Europe” rules that threaten to shut out British manufacturers from their biggest export market.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) on Wednesday urged Brussels to give the UK, Turkey and Morocco “justified, targeted exemptions” to the rules, which will require cars and parts to be made within the EU to qualify for subsidies or public procurement.

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Halifax to disappear from UK high street as Lloyds axes bank brand after 173 years
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Group confirms it will stop opening new accounts under the name and move existing ones to Lloyds

Lloyds Banking Group has announced it is axing the Halifax brand, scrubbing the 173-year-old former building society’s name from UK high streets.

The group will stop opening new accounts under the Halifax brand and kickstart a process of shifting existing accounts to Lloyds branding over the coming days.

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Up to 150 former WH Smith stores to close as high court approves restructure
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Restructuring plan involves writing off debts to suppliers and cutting rent for many landlords

• Business live – latest updates

Up to 150 former WH Smith high street stores are to close after the high court approved a swingeing restructure that could affect thousands of jobs.

The retailer, which has 450 stores and employs about 5,000 staff, was bought last year by the private equity firm Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft, and rebranded as TG Jones.

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Call to suspend new EU border system in peak holiday period as planes leave half full
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Airlines and airports say passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours for biometric checks

Airlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, saying some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours.

In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system over fears the situation will get much worse during the busy summer season.

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Anthropic says US has lifted export controls on Fable and Mythos AI models after security fears
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

AI company was forced last month to suspend access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign nationals

• Business live – latest updates

Anthropic has restored customer access to its powerful newest AI model, Fable, after a more than two-week blackout resulting from US government safety concerns that it could be abused to enable serious cyber-attacks.

The San Francisco company said export controls had been lifted, citing a social media post from the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, in which he said: “Over the past two weeks, we have worked closely with Anthropic to analyze and approve Fable 5 to ensure alignment across the US Government and strengthen America’s leadership in AI.”

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Rapid spread of AI may worsen global inequality, UN warns
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Panel proses shared framework for responsible AI development as adoption grows unevenly across world

A new United Nations report warns that the development of artificial intelligence may exacerbate global inequality and proposes a shared framework for how to responsibly develop AI, as adoption and investment into the technology accelerates unevenly across the world.

“Access to AI tools alone does not produce equal benefit,” the report states. “Countries that rely on foreign models, cloud infrastructure and data pipelines may gain access to AI while losing practical control over its standards, safeguards and local fit.”

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England v DR Congo: World Cup 2026 last 32 – live
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

⚽️ Kick-off time: 12pm local/5pm BST/1am AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Top scorers | Gallery | Mail in

The DRC make one change following the 3-1 win over Uzbekistan. Striker Cédric Bakambu makes way for an extra midfielder in Ngal’ayel Mukau. There are plenty of stars familiar to fans of British football in the team: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland) and Yoane Wissa (Newcastle) start, while Aaron Tshibola (Kilmarnock) and Edo Kayembe (Watford) are on the bench.

No surprises in the England starting XI. Especially if you’ve just read that communiqué from Jacob Steinberg. Thomas Tuchel makes three changes to his starting XI after the 2-0 win over Panama. Djed Spence replaces the injured Jarell Quansah at the problem position of right-back. Declan Rice returns at the expense of Morgan Rogers. And Noni Madueke starts on the right wing again, displacing his Arsenal colleague Bukayo Saka.

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Wimbledon 2026: Krejcikova v Andreeva, Gauff battles past Sierra, Sinner beats Borges – live
Posted on Wednesday July 01, 2026

Updates from Wednesday’s action in SW19
Order of play | Joint ends Williams comeback | Mail Katy

Yara El-Shaboury was watching on No 2 Court, and has this quick report:

Naomi Osaka cruised to a second-round 6-3, 6-2 win against the Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova. There was little worry for the four-time grand slam champion, whose serves and groundstrokes were stellar as she makes it to the third round at Wimbledon in back-to-back years.

There was a small moment of frustration in the second set, with Osaka stating “What the hell?” after hitting the ball out, which garnered some chuckles from the No 2 Court crowd. She then turned to her team to complain about Gasanova’s grunting but got on with business to win in straight sets.

The Japanese was candid in her on-court interview about her nerves, saying: “​I don’t rate my performance. I have to wait a bit to do that. My current emotion is that I am happy to win. I am glad to do it in straight sets.

“Tomorrow is my daughter’s birthday so I didn’t want to make her get on a plane on her birthday. I will practise a bit in the morning and then maybe take her to the park. She loves making new friends.”

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