US economic growth surges to fastest rate in two years; Tesla’s European sales drop again – as it happened

Newsflash: US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter of this year, to the fastest rate in two years.US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 4.3% in the July-September period, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, up from 3.8% in April-June.That beats Wall Street forecasts that growth would slow to 3

CDs return to Christmas shopping lists as gen Z embrace ‘retro renaissance’

Forget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted “deluxe” releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bedrooms around the country, with retailers and marketplaces experiencing an uptick in appetite for vintage tech and music to play on it.John Lewis has upped its range of CD players to meet resurgent demand and says sales are up 74% in the last year

Chinese robotaxis due in London next year as Lyft and Uber reveal tie-ups

Chinese robotaxis are due to be on the streets of London next year after the US ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber announced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving technology.Lyft is the third firm to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital next year, after Uber and Waymo, the main operator of robotaxis in the US.Its ride-hailing services are the major rival to Uber’s in the US and Canada, and this year Lyft expanded into Europe after acquiring the Freenow app in the summer.While Uber had signed a deal to work with Baidu in the summer in other global markets, it had not until now said that the Chinese tech company’s Apollo Go cars were planned for London. It had previously announced its services would be operated with self-driving technology from the UK-US firm Wayve

MPs question UK Palantir contracts after investigation reveals security concerns

UK MPs have raised concerns about the government’s contracts with Palantir after an investigation published in Switzerland highlighted allegations about the suitability and security of its products.The investigation by the Zurich-based research collective WAV and the Swiss online magazine Republik details Palantir’s efforts, over the course of seven years, to sell its products to Swiss federal agencies.Palantir is a US company that provides software to integrate and analyse data scattered across different systems, such as in the health service. It also provides artificial intelligence-enabled military targeting systems.The investigation cites an expert report, internal to the Swiss army, that assessed Palantir’s status as a US company meant there was a possibility sensitive data shared with it could be accessed by the US government and intelligence services

The Breakdown | Chile coach Pablo Lemoine: ‘Rugby is in trouble, even in countries like Wales’

How did Pablo Lemoine, Chile’s head coach, react when they were drawn with Australia and New Zealand for the 2027 Rugby World Cup? The answer is perceptive and somewhat surprising.“When countries like Chile play in a World Cup, you need a general vision,” he says. “Thinking only of sport it’s fantastic, it’s awesome. But thinking of the real impact Chile needs: development programmes, political impact, social impact … for our fans, it’s much more difficult to find tickets when you play the All Blacks or Australia.”Speaking on Zoom from Chile’s Parque Mahuida training base in Santiago, the 50-year-old sits in front of a whiteboard crammed with densely packed handwritten text, neatly illustrating his attention to detail

A brutal schedule, merciless crowds and always on the road: is professional darts all it’s cracked up to be?

For many of the performers in the 12-month circus, the tour can be soul-destroying and lonely with only the promise of untold wealth to keep them chasing the dream“It’s a lonely place,” Stephen Bunting reflected as he sat quietly in Alexandra Palace on Saturday night, the tears welling in his eyes. “If things don’t go right, you can look at your family, your management, you can look at your sponsors. But it’s down to you. And yeah, I’m getting a bit emotional, but … ”These are stories darts is less keen on telling. Ever since this sport burst out of the smoky pubs and on to our television screens, it has possessed a kind of hedonistic, hyperreal quality, a game in which normal guys slip on their superhero suits and take a shot at unimaginable riches, unimaginable fame