‘We’ve future-proofed’: how UK’s biggest car factory upgraded for EV revolution

Nissan builds in capability to go fully electric at Sunderland plant amid scaling back of transition targets across EuropeCar bodies suspended from overhead rails move through Nissan’s factory in Sunderland, with workers stepping in to fit parts at different stations. At the newly installed battery “marriage station”, lifting machines push the most crucial component up into the body. Robots fit and tighten 16 bolts in under a minute – quick enough to ensure the constant flow of vehicles around Britain’s biggest car factory.The electric cars in question are the third generation of Nissan’s Leaf, after the Japanese carmaker this week launched production following £450m of upgrades.Beside the brightly lit final-inspection line, the industry minister Chris McDonald hailed the investment as an important part of the UK industry’s transition to electric vehicles

Meg O’Neill: ‘hard-nosed’ outsider who will head BP’s pivot away from green energy

The surprise appointment of BP’s third chief executive in a tumultuous five years reflects the embattled fossil fuel producer’s need for profound change. The hiring of Meg O’Neill appears to offer exactly that.The 55-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, is the first female head of a major oil company, and the first “outsider” to be hired to a position usually reserved for company veterans. She joins from the Australian oil and gas company Woodside, where she took up her first chief executive role only four years ago.While BP was struggling to maintain its value amid a failing green strategy, leadership changes and swirling rumours that it could fall prey to takeover, O’Neill weathered the energy crisis to lead Woodside’s merger with BHP Group’s petroleum arm, which doubled the company’s fossil fuel production and valued the company at $40bn (£30bn)

AI boom has caused same CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, report claims

The AI boom has caused as much carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere in 2025 as emitted by the whole of New York City, it has been claimed.The global environmental impact of the rapidly spreading technology has been estimated in research published on Wednesday, which also found that AI-related water use now exceeds the entirety of global bottled-water demand.The figures have been compiled by the Dutch academic Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of Digiconomist, a company that researches the unintended consequences of digital trends. He claimed they were the first attempt to measure the specific effect of artificial intelligence rather than datacentres in general as the use of chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini soared in 2025.The figures show the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from AI use are also now equivalent to more than 8% of global aviation emissions

Third of UK citizens have used AI for emotional support, research reveals

A third of UK citizens have used artificial intelligence for emotional support, companionship or social interaction, according to the government’s AI security body.The AI Security Institute (AISI) said nearly one in 10 people used systems like chatbots for emotional purposes on a weekly basis, and 4% daily.AISI called for further research, citing the death this year of the US teenager Adam Raine, who killed himself after discussing suicide with ChatGPT.“People are increasingly turning to AI systems for emotional support or social interaction,” AISI said in its first Frontier AI Trends report. “While many users report positive experiences, recent high-profile cases of harm underline the need for research into this area, including the conditions under which harm could occur, and the safeguards that could enable beneficial use

Rory McIlroy named Sports Personality of the Year to end golf’s drought

A full-throated “Rory roar” reverberated around MediaCity in Salford as Rory McIlroy became the first golfer in 36 years to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award – and tie a bow on a year for the ages.It was a fitting reward for the 36-year-old, who completed a career grand slam at the Masters in April and then led Europe to a thrilling Ryder Cup victory in New York, in the teeth of unrelenting hostility from American fans. For good measure, he also won the European Order of Merit too.“2025 has been the year that I made my dreams come true, from Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everywhere else in between,” McIlroy said. “It has really been the year that dreams are made of

Charlotte Dujardin ‘very emotional’ at warm reception after horse-whipping ban

Charlotte Dujardin has admitted feeling “very emotional” at the warm reception received from supporters in the former Olympic dressage champion’s first major event after serving a one-year ban from the sport following a horse-whipping controversy.The 40-year-old is competing at the two-day FEI Dressage World Cup in London, her biggest event since she was banned just before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Last July a video came to light in which the Olympian was shown whipping a horse more than 20 times in a minute while coaching a young rider, resulting in condemnation from within and outside the sport.Dujardin, who has won six Olympic medals including individual gold in 2012 and 2016, had a one-year ban imposed on her by equestrian’s international federation, the FEI, last December but had been provisionally suspended since 23 July 2024. Dujardin accepted she had made “an error of judgment” and fully accepted the punishment imposed on her