EVIL BABY.

Renault's board of directors has voted to remove CEO Thierry Bollore as head of the company with immediate effect. Financial director Clotilde Delbos has been installed as interim CEO, with Olivier Murguet and José-Vicente de los Mozos taking positions as deputy managing directors to assist Delbos in the role. The firm has already begun the process of appointing a permanent replacement Renault officially announced the move in a press release on Friday, confirming the Board of Directors "decided to end the mandate of Mr Thierry Bolloré as Chief Executive Officer of Renault SA and President of Renault s.a.s with immediate effect." The surprise announcement came after rumours of a management shake-up appeared in French newspapers earlier this week, and is understood to be an effort by the brand to further distance itself further from former boss Carlos Ghosn. According to the Financial Times, Bolloré was considered by alliance partner Nissan to be a 'disruptive force' and didn't do enough with regards to Ghosn's arrest over financial misconduct allegations last year. He served as Ghosn's second in command until being made CEO in January. Prior to an official announcement, Bolloré had described the move as "a coup" and "shocking power grab" in an interview with French business title Les Echos. “The brutality and the totally unexpected nature of what is happening are staggering. Operationally, I do not see where the fault is.” It is understood the French government, which holds a 15% in the company, has pushed for Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard to sever connections to the Ghosn era and ease tensions with Nissan, which could potentially lead to renewed talks with rival carmaker FCA over a possible merger.

European Health Insurance Cards let UK residents get medical care for free, or at a reduced cost, in 31 countries. But if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, that will no longer be the case. The government has asked all 31 countries to keep EHICs in use until 31 December 2020, no matter what happens with Brexit. But only three have agreed to cover UK tourists if there's no deal. The UK's largest travel insurance provider is warning that this would mean prices will go up, especially for people with health problems. Michaela Sheehan always takes her EHIC on holiday to Europe. The 24-year-old, from Woking, has epilepsy. Her first seizure happened when she was a teenager on a school trip to France. She remembers queuing for a ride at Disneyland Paris. The next thing she knew, she woke up in a French hospital. She had been rushed there in an ambulance and had emergency treatment. She explains: "It was all completely free, because of my EHIC card." Earlier this year she went to Majorca with a group of friends. Her health condition meant that at £60, her insurance for just one week was three times more expensive than her boyfriend's annual policy. Epilepsy Action senior policy and campaigns officer, Sam Mountney said: "For some people with long-term health conditions such as epilepsy, travelling abroad can be a challenge. "European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) have made it much easier for people like Michaela to travel safely to 31 European countries, without the additional worry about potential costs should they need medical treatment following a seizure abroad." Deal or no deal The EHIC scheme covers the EU countries as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. British people get about £150m worth of treatment a year, using the EHIC scheme. It can be used for unexpected medical emergencies, as well as pre-existing conditions. The government has made it very clear that it wants EHIC to continue, deal or no deal. But so far, only Spain has agreed to that. Portugal says it won't carry on with the scheme if there is a no-deal Brexit. But it has passed a law saying that UK tourists can still get healthcare as before, for now, if they show their passport. There is a similar agreement with Ireland, too. But that leaves 28 countries. If British people need medical help in any of them, after a no-deal Brexit, they will either need to pay or rely on travel insurance. The government says it is still trying to sort more healthcare deals. But a spokesperson points out it "always advises UK citizens to take out comprehensive travel insurance when going overseas, both to EU and non-EU destinations. This remains our advice". The Association of British Insurers says that if EHICs largely disappear in a no-deal Brexit "insurers will inevitably see an increase in claims costs - this could have a direct impact on the prices charged to consumers". Axa Insurance's travel director, Nel Mooy, agrees: "If nothing changes between now and 31 October and there was no deal, then I'm expecting prices to go up." She says there are "too many unknowns" to predict how much prices could go up by but points out that travel insurance generally is not all that expensive. She adds: "People who are not well at all already have a higher premium and therefore anything extra, I can totally appreciate that anything more, might be more difficult for them to afford." This tallies with the government's own analysis of a reasonable worst case scenario for a no-deal Brexit. The Operation Yellowhammer document says that people could need to pay for treatment in the EU and a minority of patients "could face substantial costs." Health experts warn that even if there is a Brexit deal, EHIC may not continue after a transition period. Mark Dayan, from the Nuffield Trust, says he is not "optimistic". He explains: "EHIC is connected to the part of EU law that deals with free movement of people.

The US has agreed to suspend its next tariff hike on Chinese imports after two days of trade talks in Washington. US President Donald Trump said negotiators had reached a "phase one deal" that would include increased agricultural purchases and address financial services and technology theft. China's top negotiator Liu He also said he was "happy" with progress. The US was due to raise tariffs on some Chinese goods to 30% next week. US share markets, which had risen on reports of a deal, closed higher, but shed some gains in the final minutes of trade as it became clear any agreement was relatively limited. 'A deal, pretty much' "We've come to a deal, pretty much, subject to getting it written," Mr Trump said, adding that negotiators would begin discussing additional phases as soon as this set of agreements is put to paper. Mr Trump said he might sign the deal alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping at a United Nations summit in Chile in December. The US has claimed progress in the past on similar issues, such as increased agricultural purchases and foreign exchange and currency, without the dispute being resolved. Another planned tariff hike, in December, remains on the table, said Robert Lighthizer, America's top trade negotiator. Lobby group Farmers for Free Trade said the promise of increased agricultural purchases by China - to between $40bn and $50bn, according to Mr Trump - was welcome, but noted that details were scant. "While we are pleased that tariffs aren't going up, this agreement seemingly does nothing to address the crippling tariffs farmers currently face," said Brian Kuehl, the group's co-executive director. "From the very beginning of the trade war, farmers have been promised that their patience would be rewarded. To date, the deal they've been promised has not come." Long dispute The US and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods over the past 15 months, casting a pall over the global economy. The US wants better protection for US intellectual property, and an end to both cyber theft and the forced transfer of technology to Chinese firms. It also wants China to reduce industrial subsidies and improve access to Chinese markets for US companies. This week's talks were the first high-level negotiations in more than two months. They kicked off amid a backdrop of renewed tensions, as the US blacklisted 28 Chinese entities over human rights concerns. US business groups, which have largely opposed the tariffs, said they hoped the breakthrough would set the stage for a bigger deal that would remove the import tax hikes already imposed. Mr Trump said the range of issues under discussion warranted breaking up the negotiations into parts. "It's going to be such a big deal that doing it in sections and phases I think is really better," he said.

playing Paradox's newest grand strategy title, Imperator: Rome, at launch was a bit like walking around a Roman ruin turned museum. It was undeniably grand in scope and vision, and was still an excellent way to spend some time, but the world didn’t exactly feel lived-in — a place more of legacy than vitality. Boasting plenty of features inherited from Paradox Development Studio’s other hits, the game was a nice synergy of everything the studio has learned since the release of Victoria II, but it also had a strange, empty quality. After a few dozen hours, Imperator felt like a good, potentially great, strategy title that was lacking some fundamental things: culture-specific events, fleshed our features and mechanics, a lack of competent enemies, and generally a lack of decisions and flavor to add any kind of goal-setting for the player. That is, until now. Patch 1.2, dubbed the “Cicero” update went live on September 24th. If you’re someone who hadn't dipped their toes into the patch’s beta, the scale of the changes will come as a bit of a surprise. Cicero is a dramatic overhaul of the base game, changing some of the most foundational elements that Imperator was built on, as well as a litany of smaller, but much needed, additions that have helped to flesh out some areas that were overlooked at launch. While there’s still areas for improvement, Cicero is a great leap forward, and one that shows that the ship is (thankfully) headed in the right direction. Mana Must be Destroyed The most dramatic change to come to Imperator in Cicero is the abandonment of the Monarch Power system that was previously at the core of just about every mechanic. At launch, the central way by which you would interact with essentially every aspect of the game was through spending either Military, Religious, Oratory, or Civic power — derisively dubbed Helmet, Sun, Scroll, and Laurel mana by the community. The system was a hereditary mechanic passed on from the Europa Universalis series, but was a serious point of contention with some players who chafed at the system’s ahistorical abstraction of many of the era’s most fundamental features. The only remaining remnants of the original mana-like system are the new Political Influence points and a revamped Military Experience system. Political Influence, which attempts to abstractly model a kind of back-room-dealing political capital in your would-be empire, can be used to add province modifiers and boost the building capacity of cities. It’s generated by the loyalty of your cabinet, adding an extra incentive to stack your offices with cronies, rather than disloyal, but high-stat rivals. Military Experience, the other remaining currency, is what is now used in lieu of Military Power to acquire Military Traditions, the doctrinal backbone that largely determines your army composition. It ticks up passively based on your leaders military skill, but also gets a significant boost from your cohort’s experience in combat, adding a logical incentive to increase your military experience by actually engaging in combat. The new system also promotes the use of your own cohorts, as relying on mercenaries now provides a malus towards military experience — adding a bit more value to your own soldier’s blood, sweat, and toil. Organic Systems Other than those two systems, however, the only other currency you can spend to shift and shape your empire is, well, money. All of the other systems that used to rely on Monarch Points now either cost gold or occur organically from your policy decisions. Po[CENSORED]tion migration, conversion, and promotion, for example, which used to (quite ahistorically) be changeable for a slight price in Religious or Oratory points, now happen slowly over time. Different governor policies, buildings, and toggles can promote a shift in migration or conversion, but the changes will happen slowly, rather than instantly. No longer can you convert an entire province to a radically different ethnic or religious group after banking enough points for a few years, changing a province full of scruffy germanic tribesman into happy hellanistic latins at the stroke of your imperial pen. Now, the system operates less like Europa Universalis IV and more like Victoria II where policy decisions, rather than some abstracted currency, have knock-on effects that can produce your desired outcome. For a game that was previously so fundamentally centered around the Monarch Points system, the Cicero update represents a radical break from the past, and a bold statement by the development team that they are willing to go back to the drawing board to meet the expectations of their community. The system’s not perfect, but it’s an excellent leap forward in the right direction. Cities and Settlements The other notable dramatic overhaul the update has brought on is a complete revamp of the city system. Previously, the map would be divided into regions composed of provinces, and provinces composed of cities, with each discrete tile representing an individual city in an area. This system was a useful, albeit ahistorical, abstraction that would allow you to build copies of Imperator's four key buildings in each city, depending on the po[CENSORED]tion. But the limitations inherent in the lack of building variety and the resulting simplification of each individual tile as a “city,” even in areas with extremely light po[CENSORED]tion density resulted in a system that worked, but wasn't very fun to engage with, and didn’t feel particularly right for the era. The new, overhauled system Cicero has ushered in has solved many of these issues. Now, instead of four buildings, there are fifteen possible options with a much wider array of abilities and effects. The added variety makes for a much more thoughtful decision making process, and gives you the option to specialize certain provinces to be a breadbasket (for the newly added food mechanic) or a manpower pool, while also giving the player added options for promoting migration, happiness, or cultural and religious conversion, among a litany of other choices. In order to do this, however, the old all-tiles-are-cities system has been dropped and replaced with a new classification system. Tiles can now be either a settlement, a city, or a metropolis, each having unique features. Settlements, the new basic unit, can only have 1 building, as they are less densely po[CENSORED]ted, and the building options are limited. Most of the tiles in a province will be settlements, but for a bit of gold, you can transform a settlement tile into a city, greatly increasing the tile’s potential po[CENSORED]tion and building capacity, while also unlocking all of the city specific buildings. When one of your cities reaches eighty po[CENSORED]tion, it can be further transformed into a metropolis, a kind of megacity with a much higher po[CENSORED]tion capacity and some additional bonuses. With the addition of these new city and settlement options, tailoring your provinces to serve a specific function is now a much more realistic prospect, allowing the player to engage in some long-term planning that was missing in the game at launch. It also opens up the possibility to 'play tall' as one might do in other Paradox titles — instead of expanding as rapidly as possible across the map, crafting a smaller, highly developed empire that can punch way above its weight class. In a genre so defined by player-directed goals, this is a very welcome addition that starts to open up an entirely new avenue of play. While there has been plenty of other minor improvements, like the fan-demanded introduction of co-consuls for Rome and other Republics, as well as a new war council feature and some other changes to tribal mechanics that have made them far more playable, the last major introduction has been the new, and much needed, food system. Now you will need to exploit the food resources in your provinces or use trade routes to bring in food from abroad. The feature adds a logistical dimension that was lacking at launch, and now also provides a new way for roving armies to avoid the previously punishing attrition, at least for a little while. This feature will hopefully become part of a future trade/logistics overhaul in the next update - 1.3 Livy - but it's good to have even a token bit of realism to a critical concern of the ancient period that was previously just hand-waved away. The Future of the Empire Cicero has brought Imperator a long way since launch. It’s an extraordinarily impressive leap forward for a game that is not yet even a year old. In its current incarnation, the game is reminiscent of Paradox’s far-future grand strategy title Stellaris in its early incarnations: a fun, well-crafted game that will undeniably come into its own after some TLC to flesh out the parts that still feel a bit empty. One of the key issues that still remains in the game is the lack of notable peer enemies— competent rivals to compete with the player in the late game. (Although famously Rome never officially recognised anyone as a 'peer'-ED) Once the player can get over the strategic tipping point, by either eliminating all possible rivals or militarily outpacing them, the eventual outcome of total regional supremacy becomes something of a fait accompli, preventable only by some self-sabotage or some excessively quick and reckless expansion. This is a problem that plagues many a grand strategy game, including many of Paradox’s other mainline titles, but seems to be excessively damming in the ancient world. The most fun I had with Imperator pre-Cicero was playing as Syracuse, manoeuvring between the two Mediterranean colossi, walking a tight-rope of risk and reward as you navigate one of the most undesirable positions in the Mediterranean. Ultimately, I never saw that run through to conclusion. Not because it was too difficult, but because as soon as I had strangled the nascent Roman Empire in its crib and the Punic menace collapsed into warring vassal states, there was little left to do besides stretch out endlessly across the Mediterranean, with no one left to stop me. 1.2 Cicero has taken some steps towards rectifying this particular issue with the introduction of the Antagonist system. Operating in a similar way to EUIV’s Lucky Nation system, it is designed to give some historically successful states a slight stat boost to prevent them from getting pummelled into obscurity after a single war goes south. While this may irk some people who enjoy seeing a new tapestry of colors on the map every game, it's a necessary evil. Watching someone else rise in the Italian peninsular was amusing pre-1.2, but they were almost never a credible challenge the player. Ultimately, Imperator will need some mechanism to replicate the social decay that unrestrained expansion brought to Rome, as the mid-to-late game still lacks some truly engaging depth. This is a problem that Paradox has resolved before, and I’m confident they will solve again. The overhauls Cicero ushers in are a great sign of what's to come. The scope and scale of the update shows that the dev team is actively looking at the community feedback, and is willing to take bold steps to address the issues Imperator will face as it reinvents itself and grows with future patchs & DLC. A new content update due out in Q4 of 2019, and the future is looking bright.

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for those who have been living in a cave (with or without a box of scraps), John Wick is the protagonist of a trio of films, soon to be a quartet, focused on an assassin who has worked very hard to get out of the business and the complicated criminal subculture which just can't seem to leave him alone. Starring the breathtaking Keanu Reeves, all three entries are brutal high action affairs which become increasingly political and high-minded. As much as you can while kicking guys square in the crotch and shooting them in the face. It's important to set the stage, because John Wick Hex is a licensed property produced by a very small studio in a genre which at first glance seems completely wrong, but in practice ends up being an amazing realization in a rarely attempted style. It's a real-time-turn-based (?) game in which you control only one unit, John Wick, and your job is to proceed through each map with extremely limited resources, bobbing and weaving, grappling and shooting, until you reach the exit. Along the way you'll pick up guns off downed foes, kick men and women squarely in the crotch, and get into hard-core punch-ups with guys who would otherwise find it easy to dodge your bullets. All lit by stark neon cell shading. Is it the strategy/first-person shooter without actually being a first-person shooter that I've always wanted? Let's talk about that. The Tech Curve We need to talk about options. JWH is a very indie game. That means only a few people worked on it, the technical overhead is very low, but conversely there aren't a lot of moving parts to break. The options screen shows this off, both good and bad. There is almost nothing there. Resolution, whether it's full-screen or not, whether you don't mind a little light bloom, and some motion blur (which I can't say that I've seen in-game), and that's it. Audio volume is on different panel and Accessibility is really just subtitles. You'll notice that the Resolution options repeat several resolutions but without any note to differentiate why they are separate entries. I'm assuming that they're different frame rates, but at least with this build there's no way of knowing. It's a minor thing, but there it is. In play, it doesn't really matter. You put in your commands for John Wick one at a time on the interface and watch them play out. I would be shocked if this game didn't make its way to mobile at some point because it seems like the sort of thing that should be straightforward, although it doesn't feel like a game which was designed and implemented for mobile but released on PC first. Is it doing anything brand-new at a technical level? Nope, but it doesn't have to. Making the Scene You could be forgiven for thinking that a tactics game featuring John Wick would probably go light on the narrative and heavy on the violence. You would be half right. There is quite a lot of violence. There is also a surprising amount of narrative delivered, the bulk of which happens between chapters, and is presented as a lightly animated set of comic panels, with voice acting provided by the original actors Ian McShane and Lance Reddick reprising their roles of Winston and Charon. The omnipresent Troy Baker comes in as the antagonistic Hex, having kidnapped Winston and Charon sometime before we catch up. John Wick, in the full flower of his pre-film assassin awesomeness, is looking for our two agents of the High Table, in his usual style. Cue the ballet of blood and death. But How Was the Play, Mrs. Lincoln? Mechanically, the game itself is relatively simple. You have one unit which moves within the play area on a hex grid. Each action you can take requires a certain amount of time and appears above the play area on a timeline. Moving one hex takes a certain amount of time, firing your gun takes a certain amount of time, punching a guy in the face takes a certain amount of time. Complicating matters is that most actions have the time they take split up into two sections, the gray set up section which can be interrupted, and the magenta execution section which is where whatever was set up actually happens. Your job as John Wick is to get from one end of the play space to the other through multiple maps, with each chapter ending with a boss who has a lot of Focus as well as hit points. Their Focus can only be brought down by punching and hit points can only be brought down by shooting. Along the way you will run into a plethora of henchfolk who themselves would like very much to stop you in a very fatal way. Each of them has their own number of hit points and Stun, the first of which is depleted by doing all sorts of horrible things to them and the latter by punching or throwing them. Or throwing your gun at them. Speaking of guns, you'll start off with a rather nice automatic pistol with one reload, but you will go through those rounds pretty quickly and the only way to get more is by picking up guns dropped by your enemies. Picking up a gun will take time. There is a nice selection of guns that opens up as you move through the levels, from simple semi-automatic pistols at the beginning, to more powerful though slower to aim revolvers, and even a fully automatic machine pistol toward the end of the second chapter. As you can imagine, each of them do different damage and have different timing. When it comes to hand-to-hand, John Wick is no slouch. Sure, there is the straightforward melee strike (which often turns into a kick to the groin and palm to the nose), but there is also the takedown, a lovely judo throw combined with a one hex movement, and the push, which pushes your enemy up to two hexes away as you follow along. On top of all these options, you can choose to crouch, which increases your accuracy with a gun while not allowing you to engage in melee shenanigans. Yes, you heard me say accuracy. All gunshots have a chance to hit based on whether the target is moving or standing still at the moment of execution, if the target is stunned, and – in the case of John Wick – whether or not his suit has been tailored appropriately. Keep moving laterally and you'll be harder to hit. Crouch at long range and you'll be harder to hit. Be temporarily stunned because a bruiser walked up and punched you in the back of your favorite head and you will be coughing up lead. It is the careful interplay of trying to manage how difficult you are to hit and whether or not somebody with a gun has line of sight to you with your need to take out your opponents in order to proceed that really drives the game and creates the difficulty. The resource that you will never have enough of is not bullets or enemies but time. Taking out a single target is easy. Juggling three attackers at once at multiple ranges in a meaningful way is not. You will be doing a delicate dance of ducking around high cover to break line of sight, crouching behind low cover and rolling (using up some of your limited supply of Focus, which can only be restored by spending a chunk of time standing still), and engaging in disturbingly precise physical engagements in tight quarters against multiple enemies. It is a lot harder than it looks, but for those people who are true sadomasochists there is an Operator play mode which only allows you six real-time seconds to make your decisions. Combine all of this with combat environments which often involve vertical levels as well as movement bottlenecks which work both for and against you and you have a shockingly complicated environment to deal with. Having been introduced to the idea that your action proceeds from area to area on a larger map, at the beginning of the second chapter you're given a certain amount of "coins" to purchase either temporary upgrades for your suit (moving reduces more shot accuracy on you more, dodging out of the way of a melee attack costs less Focus, pushes go further, etc.) or planting guns and bandages in the maps ahead for you to find – with the reminder that there won't be any bandages to be found that you don't place. Bandages are the only way that you will heal up outside of the time between chapters. Polite Mass-Murder R Us You know how the game plays. You have some idea of where the difficulty lies. You know that this review is based on the pre-release press build of the game. What is really on the table? Is it any good? Should you throw your hard earned kopecks, pounds sterling, or almighty dollars on the altar to Moloch for the pleasure? Is it really worth $20 USD on the Epic Game Store? I'd say so. It is a departure from the tactical experiences of the past, and as an experiment alone it's probably worth $20. That the game is incredibly difficult once you get into it just makes it more rewarding when you finally figure out not only what you should be doing but that you can do something in a different way than you had been thinking about it. As an example, I had been stuck on the second boss fight in the game for a little more than half of the week that I've had to review it. I must've thrown myself at that fight a couple of hundred times. The combination of needing to close and grapple with the boss with the literal endless stream of mooks shoving their way through doorways and shooting me when I needed to recover was incredibly frustrating. But then it occurred to me – I had no reason to actually go into the room with the boss. I could kick open the door, shoot the guy standing next to him, then dash down the hallway and around the corner to a much more defensible position and wait until he came to me. It was still a nightmarish fight that required as much luck as skill, but coming up with the right tactic made all the difference. Don't go into this game thinking that it is going to be a heavily polished, mainstream-targeting AAA game because it just isn't. It is an extremely indie small team product for a surprisingly large licensed IP, and it shows. There are still some rough spots. I fully expect the release version to smooth out a little bit of the difficulty spikes and probably give another pass of spit polishing to the graphics. My major complaint about the game are the monster closets, the doors through which enemies can enter at what feels like anytime to screw up your day. While you generally have a bit of warning, even if they're out of sight, because they make a door opening sound, in some areas they can be a little dense when they pop all at the same time. That is a gameplay tuning issue and that'll get worked out. Some people may find JWH to be a little too much like a puzzle game, and in some ways it is. Most levels have a set of enemies which are pre-placed when you enter and some that are randomly inserted. Figuring out the best way to make your way through can feel like blind groping when you reach a new area. Working out how best to duck, dodge, throw, and punch your way through the thick of things while keeping an eye on the timeline and juggling who can do what when is very much a puzzle. If you don't like puzzles, this is not a game for you. If you're looking for a steep tactical challenge, if you like the John Wick franchise, if you've been looking for a strategu shooter without actually being a shooter (though there is a replay button at the end of each section which allows you to watch the action as if you were looking through cinematic cameras following Wick around), then this is a good investment of your time and money.

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Family life for today’s parents is way more than just 2.4 kids. You’ve got to factor in relatives, friends and work colleagues – all the other people that add something to your world. Luckily, the Vauxhall Crossland X has been designed for modern tribes like these. That’s why we gave one to the Wilkinsons – mum Stephanie, dad Ian and their kids Caleb (9) and Clara (5). They spent a long summer weekend putting it through its paces – with a wealth of family day trips and hanging out with friends – and we asked them to put together a video diary of what they got up to. As they discovered, the Vauxhall Crossland X has plenty of space for the kids and their stuff, loads of tech to keep everyone safe and entertained, and it’s comfortable and efficient enough for all the different trips you make as a family. Style and features that stand out The Vauxhall Crossland X’s sleek muscular design – with a choice of bold metallic paints and roof colour combinations, as well as LED daytime running lights with a distinctive signature – marks you out from the rest of the pack. Inside, the Crossland X is packed with lots of clever features and touches that make everyday driving <and> long journeys easier, more comfortable and safer. It all starts with an interior that is spacious and flexible enough to fit everything that life – and your family – throws at you, with lots of clever little storage spaces, drinks holders and cubby holes. The Crossland X’s interior is also incredibly durable: perfect for even the muckiest of little monsters. The large 7-inch infotainment touchscreen is the standout feature on the clean uncluttered dashboard, with smartphone connectivity via USB and Bluetooth letting you use features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as voice control for calls and texts. Nav models add the 8-inch Navi 5.0 IntelliLink touchscreen system, which includes satellite navigation with European coverage and 3D street-level mapping – perfect for navigating the concrete jungle or going even further afield to more exotic climes. You can also choose to add a Premium Sound System with six speakers and a separate amplifier for the subwoofer for spirited in-car singalongs. Space for all the family – and more As any parent knows, space is perhaps the most valuable commodity in a family car, and the Vauxhall Crossland X has an expansive load area that belies its compact external dimensions. There’s up to 410 litres of luggage space and 793mm of load length with the 60:40 split-rear seats up, and as much as 1,255 litres and 1,483mm of load length with them folded down. You also have the option of adding the Versatility Pack, which features a sliding rear bench with a central ski flap for even more loading options. Plus, for carrying and securing your most vital cargo, you’ve got dual ISOFIX child seat mountings in the rear with child-proof locks on the rear doors. Keeping every member of the family comfortable is also key to successful family journeys, and the Vauxhall Crossland X has been designed with long trips in all weathers in mind. Optional ergonomic active front seats feature 16-way adjustment and lumbar support for the driver, earning them the stamp of approval from the AGR Campaign For Healthier Backs. Dual-zone electronic climate control gives you more control over the temperature between the driver and passenger. You’ve also got the choice of adding the Winter Pack with heated front seats and a heated leather-covered steering wheel – or a heated front windscreen – for really cold winter days. Performance that doesn’t break the bank Under the bonnet, a range of three 1.2-litre normally aspirated and turbo petrol engines is available with up to 130PS and 230Nm of torque. Depending on which variant you go for, these petrol engines offer fuel economy as high as 44.8mpg (combined) and CO2 emissions as low as 106g/km. Alternatively, there’s also a 1.5-litre TurboD diesel engine. Available with either 102PS or 120PS, these diesels offer a great choice of even better fuel economy – up to 61.4mpg (combined) on the 102PS engine – or slightly more grunt for big family loads. The Vauxhall Crossland X’s chassis has been engineered to offer handling that’s responsive and engaging on the open road, without every compromising ride or comfort. And, when it comes to tight and twisty city streets and car parks, front and rear parking sensors and a front camera and reversing camera are available on selected trims. There are also plenty of safety features – including lane departure warning and speed sign recognition – that come fitted as standard, while you also have the choice of adding a Safety Pack with forward collision alert and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection for added peace of mind. Working with driver-friendly functions such as automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, Hill Start Assist and cruise control with speed limiter and intelligent speed adaptation, it all helps to take the worry off driving, giving you more time to focus on the people who really matter – your family. To learn more about the Vauxhall Crossland X, head to vauxhall.co.uk Fuel consumption figures are determined according to the WLTP test cycle. CO2 emissions figures are determined according to the WLTP test cycle. However, a Government formula is then applied to translate these figures back to what they would have been under the outgoing NEDC test cycle, which WLTP replaces. The correct tax treatment is then applied. Figures are intended for comparability purposes only. The fuel consumption you achieve under real life driving conditions and CO2 produced will depend upon a number of factors, including the accessories fitted after registration, variations in driving styles, weather conditions and vehicle load. Only compare fuel consumption and CO2 with other vehicles tested using the same technical procedures.

Three scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels have won the 2019 Nobel Prize. Sir Peter Ratcliffe, of the University of Oxford and Francis Crick Institute, William Kaelin, of Harvard, and Gregg Semenza, of Johns Hopkins University share the physiology or medicine prize. Their work is leading to new treatments for anaemia and even cancer. The role of oxygen-sensing is also being investigated in diseases from heart failure to chronic lung disease. Sir Peter said: "I'm honoured and delighted at the news. "It's a tribute to the lab, to those who helped me set it up and worked with me on the project over the years, to many others in the field, and not least to my family for their forbearance of all the up and downs." The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said: "The fundamental importance of oxygen has been understood for centuries but how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen has long been unknown." Oxygen levels vary in the body, particularly: Why does this matter? The oxygen-sensing ability of the body has a role in the immune system and the earliest stages of development inside the womb. If oxygen levels are low, it can trigger the production of red blood cells or the construction of blood vessels to remedy this. More red blood cells mean the body is able to carry more oxygen and is why athletes train at altitude. So, drugs that mimic it may be an effective treatment for anaemia. Tumours, meanwhile, can hijack this process to selfishly create new blood vessels and grow. So, drugs that reverse it may help halt cancer. "The work of these three scientists and their teams has paved the way to a greater understanding of these common, life-threatening conditions and new strategies to treat them," Dr Andrew Murray, from the University of Cambridge, said. "Congratulations to the three new Nobel Laureates. This is richly deserved." How was the discovery made? Levels of hormone erythropoietin (EPO) were shown to rise as those of oxygen fell. And the scientists discovered this was because a cluster of proteins called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) was changing the behaviour of DNA, the genetic code. Further work showed when oxygen levels were normal, cells constantly produced HIF only for it to be destroyed by another protein, VHL. But when oxygen levels fell, VHL could no longer stick to HIF, leading to the build-up sufficient levels to change the behaviour of DNA.

Sweden's king has removed five of his grandchildren from the royal house. The decision by King Carl XVI Gustaf means the children no longer have the title of royal highness and are not expected to perform official royal duties. They will remain members of the royal family and retain their titles of dukes and duchesses. The change has not affected the king's two grandchildren who are in direct line to the throne. Observers say the move reflects a wider view that there is no need to pay so many members of the royal family for official duties. Which royals are involved? The decision, announced in a statement published by the Royal Court of Sweden, regards the two sons of Prince Carl Philip and the three children of Princess Madeleine. As well as relieving them of their royal duties, the change means that the children - aged between one and five - will not be entitled to receive the taxpayer-funded annual sum known as appanage which is given to members of the royal house. Royal expert Roger Lundgren said the decision followed scrutiny over the increasing number of royals. "Parliament announced a few years ago that it would have a review of some principles regarding the monarchy. One thing was the size of the family," he said. He said the king had taken action on his own to deal with the issue and compared the move to reports that the UK's Prince of Wales wanted to "streamline the Royal Family". He also likened the new role of the five Swedish royals to that of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who have pursued their own careers. What does it mean? Swedish historian Dick Harrison said the decision was likely made to meet the modern needs of the family, explaining that the Royal House had grown larger than it had been in 100 years and that many thought there was no need to pay so many members or to have them available for official duties. Being removed from the royal house would also allow the youngsters to "live ordinary lives", he said. "They don't have to bother with being fenced in. They are made into ordinary people but still members of the royal club," he told the BBC. He added that the children, who are still princes and princesses, retained a "theoretical claim to the throne" and would likely continue to appear at social gatherings through their titles. Mr Harrison said there was also ongoing controversy about the funding of the royal house in Sweden but that it had not yet focused on the young children. "The king is preventing a discussion that otherwise would have taken place," he said. Sweden is just one of several European countries to have a monarchy, along with the UK, Norway, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. The traditions and number of people in royal roles vary between countries. The move on Monday does not affect the position of the children's parents. Princess Madeleine, Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia "will continue their work in the non-profit foundations and organisations which they have founded or in which they are involved. In addition, they will perform official duties to the extent decided by His Majesty," the statement said. It noted that King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel were "Sweden's highest representatives".

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