Nissan ‘says Sunderland plant could close’ if UK excluded from Made in Europe rules

The Japanese carmaker Nissan has reportedly said it could be forced to close its plant in Sunderland if the UK is not fully included in new “Made in Europe” manufacturing rules proposed by the EU.The UK car industry trade representative group also said it was “gravely concerned” about the proposals, which it said could damage the £70bn annual cross-channel trade.Under the EU plans, public subsidies to speed up the development of electric vehicles would only be available to EVs made in European plants. Announced by the EU industrial strategy commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, on Wednesday, the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) is designed to protect the bloc from cheap competition from China.According to reports on Thursday, Nissan has privately warned the UK government it could be forced to close if the proposals became law

Slower UK interest rate cuts likely as some mortgage providers hike rates; oil and gas prices rising again – as it happened

The travel disruption, the higher oil price and the fall in the euro caused by the Iran war has prompted low-cost airline Wizz Air to issue a profits warning.Wizz Air warned investors last night that it believes the current crisis in the Middle East will wipe €50m off its profits this financial years.Wizz had previously predicted that earnings would fall within a profit of €25m to a loss of €25m, so today’s warning means it expects a loss for the year.The company told the City:double quotation markIn terms of the expected impact, approximately one third is a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict.Our assessment of the impact of these macroeconomic factors is based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of today, and assumes that these rates will remain at current levels for rest of Fiscal Year 2026

Mark Zuckerberg says criminal behavior on Facebook inevitable

Harms to children, such as sexual exploitation and detriments to mental health, are inevitable on Meta’s platforms, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram leader Adam Mosseri said in taped depositions played at a trial in New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday.“I just think if you’re serving billions of people, the unfortunate reality is that some very small percent of them are going to be criminals, and we should work as hard as we can to stop that activity from happening,” said Zuckerberg. “I don’t think that the standard for our platforms would be that you should assume that it will ever be perfect.”Meta’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are among the most popular in the world, each with 3 billion monthly active users.The trial has set the social media giant against New Mexico’s attorney general, who alleges that Meta’s platforms put profits and user engagement over child safety

Trump says he fired Anthropic ‘like dogs’ as Pentagon formally blacklists AI startup

Donald Trump boasted about severing ties between the US military and Anthropic on Thursday, the same day multiple reports said that negotiations between the Department of Defense and the AI startup had resumed.They’re among the latest developments in the twisting rift between the US government and the AI company.“Well, I fired Anthropic. Anthropic is in trouble because I fired [them] like dogs, because they shouldn’t have done that,” Trump told Politico on Thursday.Hours later, the Pentagon officially designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk”, a move that prevents all government contractors from using the company’s technology

Lowly Li snaps back at fans as Lowry endures another difficult day

“Snap another one!” You find brave people in hospitality areas at golf tournaments. The order came to Li Haotong, moments after his caddie had delivered a broken lob wedge to a bin at the back of the Bay Hill driving range. “Fuck off!” barked Li in immediate reply, with a gesticulation to match. What a scene.Gaining entry to the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the last minute, as a reserve, was not sufficient to boost Li’s mood

Harry Brook reiterates support for Brendon McCullum after England’s World Cup exit

Harry Brook called on the England and Wales Cricket Board to back Brendon McCullum as all-format coach after England brought their winter to a close with defeat by India in a wild T20 World Cup semi-final that became, by a margin of 45 runs, the highest-scoring game in the competition’s history.Though his position has been the subject of speculation since England’s sorry performance in the Ashes McCullum said after his side’s seven-run loss in Mumbai he would “love to carry on” and Brook that the New Zealander remained “125%” the right man for the job.“Our partnership has been good throughout the competition and since I’ve taken over,” said Brook, who was named England’s white-ball captain last April. “We get on very well and the communication has been outstanding. Long may it continue