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TVR is attempting to raise fresh capital in order to take its reborn Griffith sports car to production, having outlined to investors a plan for adding new derivatives and even future-proofing the model for the electric age. There have been no public updates from the company since March, when it confirmed that a planning application had been submitted to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council for refurbishing a factory on an industrial estate in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. The building is to be turned around by the Welsh government before being leased to TVR. When contacted by Autocar, the council said a decision on planning approval still hasn’t been made. The Welsh government told BBC News earlier this year that the site would become TVR’s factory only once the company could prove that it had raised the capital needed to start car production. TVR chairman Les Edgar previously claimed that factory delays were the result of European Union bureaucracy caused by the Welsh government’s involvement.

Russia has begun voting on constitutional reforms that could allow President Vladimir Putin to serve another two terms in office. The official vote is scheduled for 1 July, but authorities said they were opening polling stations a week early to stop overcrowding amid the pandemic. Opposition activist Alexei Navalny has said the changes will allow Mr Putin to be "president for life". Mr Putin, however, has said they will ensure Russia's stability. Although the president has not publicly said he would run again in 2024 when his current term ends, he has said it is vital he has the option. "Otherwise I know that in two years, instead of working normally at all levels of the state, all eyes will be on the search for potential successors," he said in an interview earlier this week. The big changes would limit a president's rule to two six-year terms in total, rather than two consecutive terms, and reset the clock so Mr Putin could continue in office after 2024. Aside from potentially allowing him to lead Russia until 2036 - the reforms would give the president power to nominate top judges and prosecutors for approval by Russia's upper house of parliament. They would also entrench conservative measures in the constitution, including an effective ban on gay marriage and an affirmation of Russia's "faith in God". And economic changes would also be enshrined, including on the minimum wage and adjusting the state pension in line with inflation.

Volkswagen has revealed the new Arteon Shooting Brake alongside the facelifted version of the executive fastback – with both models gaining new plug-in hybrid and range-topping 316bhp R variants. The Arteon was launched in 2017 but has so far been offered in only a fastback bodystyle. The new Arteon Shooting Brake variant features a separate design from the B-pillars back, with an extended roofline, a tapered glasshouse, prominent haunches over the rear wheels and an angled tailgate. Official figures show the Shooting Brake offers 565 litres of boot space (versus 563 litres in the fastback) and 1632 litres with the seats folded (1557 litres), but Volkswagen says that, because the space above the beltline isn't included in these measurements, the Shooting Brake's loadspace is actually significantly larger. Both models will be launched early next year, with the R versions arriving as part of the continued range expansion of Volkswagen's R performance division. They will use the fourth evolution of the company's venerable EA288 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, producing 316bhp and 310lb ft, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and an updated version of the 4Motion four-wheel-drive system. A new R Performance Torque Vectoring System is said to have been inspired by similar systems on racing cars. It can bias up to 100% of the motor's power output 'within miliseconds' to either axle or any of the four wheels, making the Arteon "perceptively more agile", according to Volkswagen. Torque distribution is determined by a combination of steering angle, accelerator input, lateral acceleration, yaw rate and speed. The new Arteon eHybrid, available in both bodystyles, uses the plug-in hybrid powertrain from the Passat GTE: a 154bhp 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine a 113bhp electric motor. The two units have a combined output of 215bhp, which is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It offers an electric-only range of 33 miles and can operate in zero-emissions mode at speeds of up to 87mph.

America's top infectious disease expert has told lawmakers that the nation is seeing a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections in some states. A panel of health officials, including Dr Anthony Fauci, said the next few days will be crucial to stem the new outbreaks. Cases are climbing rapidly across a number of US states. The four top experts also testified they were never told by President Donald Trump to "slow down" testing. Their comments come after Mr Trump told a weekend rally in Oklahoma that he had asked his team to do less testing to help keep official case counts down. The White House has said his comment was "in jest". "To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing," Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified to a congressional committee investigating the US response to the pandemic. "In fact, we will be doing more testing," he added.

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As many as 1.3 million diesel Renault and Nissan vehicles and 100,000 petrol Nissan Qashqais could be fitted with illegal emissions 'defeat devices', a specialist UK law firm has claimed. London-based Harcus Parker, which is preparing a class action lawsuit against the two makers, claims a freedom of information request lodged with the Department for Transport (DfT) gave it “previously unseen documents” showing up to 100,000 1.2-litre petrol Nissan Qashqais breach emissions limits by “up to 15 times” in the UK. The firm cites independent test data indicating that as many as 700,000 Renault diesel vehicles and 600,000 Nissan vehicles in the UK could be fitted with the unlawful emissions defeat devices. Models affected alongside the Qashqai include the Note, Juke and X-Trail, while on the Renault side, the Clio, Espace, Captur, Megane and Scenic are all named. Cars made between 2009 and 2018 are affected. The freedom of information request reveals, it is claimed, that the UK Government attempted to persuade Nissan to recall and fix affected vehicles, but the maker refused to do so. In September 2017, the DfT allegedly wrote to Nissan and said: “A petrol Nissan Qashqai was selected for testing this year. We have now completed this testing, and we found that when conducting NEDC tests on a test track and conducting a Real Driving Emissions test, NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions results were very high for this vehicle." In 2018, the DfT again said the Qashqai was “not sufficiently well designed to control the NOx in real-world conditions”.

President Donald Trump says he did not sanction Chinese officials further over the detention of Muslims in Xinjiang as he was in the "middle of a trade deal". Mr Trump told the Axios news site that achieving a "great" deal meant he could not impose "additional sanctions". China has held about a million Uighurs and other ethnic groups in camps in Xinjiang for indoctrination and punishment but denies mistreating them. The issue arose after allegations in a book by ex-Trump aide John Bolton. Ten biggest claims in John Bolton's book John Bolton: Who is man behind Trump-Xi allegations? Mr Bolton had alleged that at a summit last year Mr Trump gave Chinese President Xi Jinping the green light on building the camps in its western region, with the US leader saying it was "exactly the right thing to do". Mr Trump denies the allegation. The president's comments were made in an interview last Friday, which was then published by the US news website on Sunday. Axios says that when Mr Trump was asked why he had held off imposing further sanctions on Communist Party officials over the issue of the camps, he said: "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal. "And when you're in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on - we've done a lot. I put tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of."

Jaguar is weighing up a number of options for replacing its slow-selling XE and XF saloons, including a radical electrified saloon and a smaller, hatchback-style model. The next 12 months will be crucial for Jaguar Land Rover as it attempts to recover from the huge financial disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s also a period in which the Jaguar brand will come under intense scrutiny as it searches for a formula that will deliver at least one more big-volume new vehicle to boost profits. Jaguar hasn’t ruled out directly replacing the two saloons but, with the market shifting away from such models, Autocar understands the firm is considering radical alternatives. One option is to replace both with a single, eco-focused compact saloon, likely offering both mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. The other option, as hinted at by new Jaguar design chief Julian Thomson recently, would be to look at building a smaller car. Possibly about 4.5 metres long, it would be more elegant and styled in a more classical way than Germany’s aggressively machined premium cars. “I’d love to do some smaller cars,” Thomson told Autocar, “and it feels as though the time is right. Jaguar needs a global product that could appeal to younger buyers, and more females as well. “Our values are ideal for owners who want more efficient cars but still like design quality, luxury and cars that are nice to drive. “But it’s a tough sector. You need big numbers, which means big factories and a big organisation to sell them. But that’s definitely where I would like us to be.” With the design language of most rivals focused on visual aggression, Thomson has clearly spotted the same opening as Ferrari when it launched the Roma coupé under ‘la nuova dolce vita’ branding: a classically styled car standing out in its line-up.

Police reinforcements have been sent to maintain a coronavirus quarantine on a tower block in the German city of Goettingen after violence on Saturday. Seven-hundred people were placed in quarantine, but 200 trying to get out clashed with police. Residents attacked police with fireworks, bottles and metal bars, officials said. The quarantine was introduced on Thursday after two residents tested positive. By Friday, 120 were found to be infected. The vast majority of residents have been complying with the quarantine. Anyone testing negative is being required to have a further test. If that is negative, they will be allowed to leave the block, but under certain conditions, such as wearing a mask. Local officials cited communication problems, with many of the residents not understanding the need for a second test. Translators have been used and information in German and Romanian is now being texted to those who need it, German media report. Several police officers were injured as people tried to break through a security cordon. Meat plant infections Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases have continued to rise at a meat plant. The number of positive tests linked to the Tonnies processing plant in north-west Germany has risen to 1,331. The authorities in the Gutersloh area told 6,500 employees and their families to go into quarantine earlier this week. The regional prime minister of North-Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, warned of "an enormous risk of pandemic" while conceding that the outbreak was currently confined to the Tonnies company and could still be dealt with through a targeted lockdown.

There is a touch of nostalgia in Paul Smith’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection. The line is inspired by the personal wardrobes of creative people that Smith came to know in his trips to New York’s up and coming art community in the SoHo district in the 1970s.

Many factors have to align for a car to become a sales hit. Even when all of those elements do come together, there’s no guarantee that looks, innovation or being first to recognise a trend will translate to glory. History is papered with cars that flopped for many different reasons, so here’s our top of the flops listed in chronological order.

At least three people have died and others injured after a serious stabbing in a park in Reading, sources say. Security sources have told the BBC a man arrested at the scene is thought to be Libyan. Counter terrorism officers are at the scene, but the motive for the attack has not yet been confirmed. The attack happened at Forbury Gardens at about 19:00 BST but neither the number of injured or fatalities have been officially confirmed by police. Sources told the BBC that police were looking at terror as a possible motivation for the attack. One eyewitness told the BBC he saw a man move from group to group stabbing people in the park. There were reports that a police officer "rugby tackled" a suspect to the ground, according to the Sunday Mirror. In pictures: Reading park stabbing Thames Valley Police said a man was arrested at the scene and was now in custody. About a dozen armed police officers carrying shields were seen entering a block of flats in Basingstoke Road in Reading at around 23:00 BST. Residents said police arrived at the block at 20:00 BST and moved some families out of the building. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his "thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading". "My thanks to the emergency services on the scene," he added. South Central Ambulance Service said it was "assessing and treating a number of casualties who had sustained injuries as a result of the incident".

Everyone has those days where everything is stressful — even the little things. While stress is a normal reaction the body has when changes occur, it can really affect your mood and your performance if you don’t learn how to alleviate the symptoms of it. Luckily, there are a number of quick remedies to reduce stress and get back to work. Here are five science-based tips for reducing work-related stress.

As the working week draws to a close, you no doubt want to catch up with everything that has happened in the world of motoring over the past few days. So we’re bringing you our favourite videos, stories, photos and quotes of the week all in one place. Here are today’s picks: Downsizing seems to be the order of the day, but nobody told the BMW M5. The latest version - revealed this week - adopts a dark new look, various software tweaks and a new infotainment display, but keeps its thumping great V8 motor. That means the 616bhp Competition variant we have here in the UK lives on, and should be even more pleasing to drive than it was before.

Oklahoma's Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump's rally on Saturday in Tulsa, his first since March, can go ahead. A lawsuit to stop the 20 June event over concerns that it could increase the spread of Covid-19 in the community was filed this week. Virus cases are rising in Oklahoma, and local health officials have expressed concerns over hosting the rally. The Trump campaign says they received over 1m ticket requests for the event. The queue for the event at the Bank of Oklahoma Center - which seats 19,000 people - began forming earlier this week.

Before March of 2020, we may have gotten strange looks from colleagues if we bent over in a downward dog position in the middle of our office, in work casual attire. But now, at home in our athleisure, there is no excuse for not moving, stretching or doing simple exercises throughout the day. These kinds of activities can keep working from home from literally becoming a pain in the neck, back and hips. I’ve had an ergonomic home office with a standing desk and this brilliant chair for years, but during quarantine, I've let my husband take over my office while I work downstairs and supervise our kids. When lockdown began, I took up residence over our kitchen counter, at the dining room table and sometimes on the couch in our family room, and quickly developed a nagging pain in my hip. This has sidelined me from running and riding my bike outdoors or doing Peloton as frequently as I’d like. I realized that I was hunching over way too much (I rarely hunch at my adjustable standing desk) and my guess is that you may be too if you are working from bed, the couch or other haphazard work stations. A recent study by the Institute for Employment that surveyed 500 people in the first few weeks of lockdown revealed that over half of the participants reported new aches and pains, especially in the neck (58%), shoulder (56%) and back (55%). The double-edged sword to this, which I’m experiencing now, is that these pains keep us from doing things the physical activities that nourish our mental and physical health. It’s been tough for me to rest as I heal, but as with this pandemic, I remind myself to be patient and trust the process — again, and again, and again. Get strategic about your daily exercises The human head makes up about 8 percent of our body weight and when we hunch down to look at our screens, which includes the Zoom Happy Hours and Netflix binges, we are putting a lot of pressure on our neck and backs. We are also likely sitting or standing with poor posture, which affects our shoulders, hips, knees. Matt Pippin, CSCS, Mobility Expert and co-Founder of Pippin Performance, is someone I met via a mutual colleague and he has helped me tremendously with my hips. Pippin explains that “more aches and pains are happening because we are walking less and our usual body treatments like massage, chiropractic adjustments, stretch practitioners, trainers, yoga class, pilates, etc. have either been completely eliminated or have been severely compromised. We are also not using our chairs properly and above all, stress levels are currently through the roof.” Research has shown that chronic high levels of stress have been associated with more pain throughout the body.

Roland Gumpert, the German-based brand backed by Chinese EV start-up Aiways, is seeking industry support to help realise its ambition to put the long-awaited Nathalie methanol fuel-cell sports EV into production. The firm, led by the renowned ex-Audi engineer of the same name, had planned to build 500 examples of the Nathalie, with deliveries proposed for early 2021. However, it is likely the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up significant road blocks. "We feel left alone by politics and the economy," Gumpert said in a statement. "We are looking for powerful partners with whom we can spread this new, ground-breaking technology. We can also imagine participation from the federal or state governments." "Our technology offers long ranges with short refuelling times, a simple infrastructure. [It] is CO2-neutral and completely harmless thanks to the use of green methanol," he said. "With the methanol fuel cell, we have managed to develop a safe energy concept from hydrogen. We generate electricity without risk and in an environmentally neutral way - and even less risky than any petrol-powered car."

The US Supreme Court has ruled against President Donald Trump's bid to end a programme that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. The justices upheld lower court rulings which found his move to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme was "unlawful". It protects "Dreamers" - undocumented youths brought to the US as children. The Trump administration has sought to end the Obama-era policy since 2017. The Supreme Court took up the case after lower courts ruled that the Trump administration did not adequately explain why it was ending the programme, criticising the White House's "capricious" explanations. On Thursday, the justices voted 5-4 to uphold the lower courts' findings that the administration's order violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which says a government action cannot be "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law" or "unsupported by substantial evidence". The other 'Dreamers' facing uncertain future The ruling, which does not prevent the Trump administration from continuing in its efforts to end the programme, affects an estimated 700,000 young people who entered the US without documents as children. Mr Trump denounced the decision in a series of tweets. "These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservative," he wrote. He called on voters to re-elect him in November to put more conservative judges in the court, should there be a vacancy. He also suggested that he would renew efforts to end the programme and "start the process all over again". Former President Obama praised the ruling and urged voters to elect a Democratic president and Congress in November to ensure "a system that's truly worthy of this nation of immigrants once and for all". Joe Biden, the expected 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, said he would seek to make the programme permanent should he win the election. Most of the children protected by the Daca programme are from Mexico and other Latin American countries. A 2012 executive order, created by former President Obama, shields these so-called "Dreamers" from deportation, and provides work and study permits. Mr Obama signed the order following failed negotiations for immigration reform on Capitol Hill.

The forthcoming Volkswagen ID 4 electric crossover has been revealed undisguised ahead of a planned launch later this year in images filed with the Chinese government. The images showing the production version of the crossover, which will initially be offered with rear-wheel-drive and a range of up to 311 miles, were contained in VW filings to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The images are part of documents all firms must submit to gain type approval for models in China. The images show how the ID 4 will look in its production bodywork and confirm that, as expected, it will share similar design features and traits to the ID 3 hatch. The documents also confirm that the machine will be 4592mm long, 1852mm wide and 1629mm high, with a wheelbase of 2765mm. Initially, the Chinese model will feature the 201bhp powertrain. The electric powered crossover will be a key part of the firm’s electric line-up, joining the ID 3 hatch, when it does on sale in Europe, China and the US in 2021. VW showed the revised camouflage livery for the machine during a webcast in place of a planned press event at the cancelled Geneva motor show. The new scheme is a two-tone blue version of the lurid pre-launch wrap used for the ID 3, and clearly shows many of the styling details of the production model. The webcast was also the first time VW had officially confirmed the model would carry the ID 4 nameplate. The ID 4 was due to be launched at this year's New York motor show, but after that show was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis, it is expected to take place in the next few months. The ID 4 will initially be sold with a single electric motor and rear-wheel drive, with a more powerful twin-motor four-wheel drive layout set to be offered within the first 12 months of sales, according to Volkswagen chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter. As suggested by the ID Crozz concept that the ID 4 is based on, the rear-wheel-drive model is expected to offer up to 201bhp and 229lb ft of torque from its rear-mounted electric motor. The four-wheel-drive model will add a front-mounted motor with an additional 101bhp and 103lb ft, taking its overall output to 302bhp and 332lb ft. The ID 4 will offered with a range of different battery options, the largest of which, a rumoured 83kWh unit, will offer a range of up to 311 miles on the WLTP test cycle. Similar in size to the Volkswagen Tiguan, the ID 4 will also offer fast-charging that will allow its battery to be charged to an 80% state of charge within 30mins on a 125-150kW system. Production of the ID. 4 is planned to take place in factories in Germany, China and USA, cementing its status as a global model, unlike the ID. 3 which is not planned to be sold in the USA.

The uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to four years in prison by a Paris court for money-laundering. Rifaat al-Assad was convicted of embezzling Syrian state funds to buy homes and offices worth €90m (£80m) to build a French property portfolio. The 82-year-old former vice-president denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers say he will appeal. His property assets in Paris and London will be seized, the court ruled. Assad, who was hospitalised with internal bleeding in France in December, was not in court for the ruling and is unlikely to serve his sentence due to his age. His London property is believed to be worth €29m (£26m). He was once the second most powerful man in Syria - the military commander at the right hand of his brother Hafez, who led Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. Rifaat is known as the "Butcher of Hama" by some Syrians because of his alleged role in the bloody suppression of an anti-government uprising in the city in 1982 but he has denied any responsibility for the massacre. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people are estimated to have died. Since 1984, when he led a failed coup against his brother, Rifaat has mostly lived in exile in France and Spain. After Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat proclaimed himself his brother's legitimate successor. But Bashar became president. When Syria descended into civil war in 2011 he called on his nephew to step down.