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Bentley is selling five Mulsanne Grand Limousine models, coachbuilt in partnership with Mulliner, that have never been registered or used. The British firm ceased production of the £241,000 Mulsanne last year, but it built these bespoke models in 2015 for customers in the UAE. None of the five have been registered or driven on the road, despite having been shipped to the Middle Eastern country. The Grand Limousine models feature a body stretched by 1000mm, with 79mm of additional head room and unique exterior and interior designs. One model was designed with silver-over-blue exterior paint, paired with a blue and linen interior completed by Burr Walnut veneer. A second model received damson-over-black paintwork, with damson leathers and a dark walnut veneer. Another model is described as having an “Onyx over Candy Red exterior, with a Hotspur and Camel interior finished with Olive Ash veneer”, while another gains “Rubino Red over Light Gazelle bodywork, with an interior in Fireglow and Twine leather paired with Burr Walnut veneer”. The stretched limousines have a specially re-engineered chassis and suspension and are driven by Bentley’s twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre petrol V8 engine, producing 505bhp and 752lb ft of torque. The cars also received unique 21in wheels to match their exterior paintwork. All Mulsanne Grand Limousine models were equipped with custom heating, ventilation and climate control, with an intercom to speak to the driver. The model also marked the first time that electrochromic smart glass (able to switch from completely opaque to transparent) was used in a Bentley.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58052894 A fresh Covid outbreak in China has spread to more locations, raising concerns over the country's vulnerability to the highly contagious Delta variant. More than 300 cases have been detected within a span of 10 days. Chinese media is dominated by news on the outbreak, and the country's top respiratory diseases specialist has reportedly expressed grave concern.. The government has imposed fresh travel restrictions and is testing millions. It is unclear how many in China are fully vaccinated, although authorities say more than 1.6 billion doses have been administered so far. A total of 15 provinces have now confirmed cases. Cases in 12 of the provinces are connected to an outbreak that began in Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province. Authorities have attributed the spread to the Delta variant and the domestic tourism season. In Zhuzhou, in central Hunan province, more than a million people have been told not to leave home for three days while mass testing and a vaccination drive is organised. The regional government described the situation there as "grim and complicated". In other cities entire communities are being placed under emergency lockdown as cases of the Delta variant emerge. The outbreak is the largest in China for months. The country was largely successful in controlling the virus within its borders last year. What is the Delta variant? Cases of the variant first emerged in July in Nanjing airport, among workers who had cleaned a plane that arrived from Russia. Authorities promptly tested 9.2 million residents of Nanjing and imposed lockdown on hundreds of thousands of people. But over the weekend the spotlight turned to po[CENSORED]r tourist destination Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, where many of the latest cases have emerged. Travellers from Nanjing were thought to have visited the city recently. Health officials have zeroed in on a theatre in Zhangjiajie, and are now trying to track down about 5,000 people who attended performances and then travelled back to their home cities. One performance alone had hosted about 2,000 people, according to reports. All attractions in Zhangjiajie have been closed and tourists are being asked to take a Covid test before leaving the city, local media reported.. "Zhangjiajie has now become the new ground zero for China's epidemic spread," Zhong Nanshan, China's leading respiratory disease expert, told reporters. The new outbreak has reached Beijing too, with the city reporting several locally transmitted infections. All of Beijing's air, bus and travel links to areas with positive cases have been cut. All tourists have also been banned from entering the capital, and officials are only allowing "essential travellers" with negative Covid tests to enter. The virus has also reached Wuhan, in Hubei province, the Chinese city where Covid-19 first emerged, with seven people testing positive for the virus. According to Chinese state media, the city had seen zero locally transmitted infections since June 2020. China is also battling a rise in cases in Zhengzhou in northern Henan province, which saw devastating floods just last month, as well as Hainan island to the south of the mainland.

\ Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. Transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard made Olympic history but failed to record a successful lift in the women's +87kg weightlifting. She became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at a Games in a different gender category to the one in which they were born. But after a failed attempt to lift 120kg and two failed efforts at 125kg in the snatch, her competition ended. Team GB's Emily Campbell won silver, with gold going to China's Li Wenwen. Campbell became the first British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal with her combined total of 283kg. China's Li lifted an Olympic record of 320kg to take the title, with American Sarah Robles claiming bronze with 282kg. GB's Campbell wins historic weightlifting medal The reluctant history-maker at the centre of sport's transgender debate Hubbard said: "I know that from a sporting perspective I haven't really hit the standards that I put upon myself and perhaps the standards that my country has expected of me. "But one of the things for which I am profoundly grateful is that the supporters in New Zealand have given me so much and have been beyond astonishing. "I'd like to thank the New Zealand Olympic Committee - they have supported me through what have been quite difficult times. "I know that my participation at these Games has not been entirely without controversy but they have been just so wonderful and I'm so grateful to them." Who is Laurel Hubbard? As a junior, Hubbard was the national record holder and was lifting a total of 300kg in domestic men's competitions before quitting in 2001 at the age of 23. She came out as a transgender woman in 2012 at the age of 33 before resuming her sports career. Since returning to competition, Hubbard has won seven international tournament gold medals. After suffering an elbow injury when leading the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she thought her career was over but battled back and won Pacific Games gold in 2019 and finished sixth at the Worlds. Now 43, she is the third oldest lifter in Olympic history. Her selection for the Olympics sparked debate. The New Zealand Olympics committee said Hubbard was a "really important role model" who "opens up a conversation about inclusivity", and some of her fellow competitors welcomed the move. But critics, including some athletes, questioned her inclusion. A key point of contention has been whether Hubbard carries an advantage having gone through male puberty. Many of the scientists and academics cannot agree on this point. What are the rules? In 2004, the IOC permitted transgender athletes to take part in the Olympics. Since 2015, its sti[CENSORED]tions have stated athletes who have transitioned from male to female can compete in women's sport - without requiring surgery - as long as they have declared their gender identity is female for at least four years and kept their testosterone level below 10 nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months. In addition, for individual sports, the IOC allows sporting federations to set their own guidelines. World Athletics has set five nanomoles per litre as its benchmark, and it is likely others, such as the International Weightlifting Federation will adopt the same, once an ongoing IOC study is completed. According to NHS data, men's testosterone levels range between 10 and 30 nanomoles per litre dependant on factors including age and time of day, but a younger healthy male typically ranges between 20 and 30. Women's testosterone levels range between 0.7 and 2.8.

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https://uspolicy.org/sauer-biden-should-respect-vaccine-makers-patent-rights/ US Policy Editor Charles Sauer has a new piece in RealClear Policy on patent rights. The White House recently issued a patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. Here’s an excerpt of Sauer’s article: “President Biden recently made what the Wall Street Journal referred to as the worst single Presidential decision since Nixon’s wage and price Controls. Biden, in a move that he is selling as compassion for poor countries that do not have access to vaccines, agreed to support a waiver of Intellectual Property Rights of U.S. companies. The decision to issue such a waiver is a dangerous one. It takes away the I.P. rights of U.S. (and other) companies and will diminish future incentives for groundbreaking medical research, as well as research in other industries. The administration made this move despite the fact that intellectual property is the only right explicitly laid out in the Constitution. Despite the fact that our pharmaceutical companies have said that they would do whatever they could to supply these countries with vaccines. Despite the fact that the countries in question don’t have the capabilities or the manpower to manufacture the vaccines. And, despite the fact that such a waiver will do little to help nations get access to the vaccine in time. Simply giving out the “recipe” for vaccine does little to overcome the logistical hurdles for nations to ramp up their own vaccines. Many experts admitted that waiving the patent rights by itself will have little short-term impact and said the impact would be “marginal” at best. So, for a largely symbolic gesture that offers few practical benefits, President Biden struck a blow to the heart and soul of our innovation economy. This decision is so bad that many of the countries that I have referred to as socialist over years and years writing about healthcare public policy refused to sign off on the waiver. While the U.S. has abandoned support for I.P. in this case, many of our European allies are defending I.P. rights. For the last several decades, intellectual property has been under attack from various quarters, from activist groups to big tech companies. Companies like Google, consider intellectual property a cost of doing business that they would prefer not to pay. As a result of their lobbying, legislation has been passed making patents less valuable and making it harder for patent holders to defend their inventions. Some members of Congress, over the last few years, have begun to see that the pendulum swing too far against I.P. and patent rights. So, in recent years, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation to strengthen the patent system. A nice change from previous legislative attempts to undermine patent protections, bills like the STRONGER Patents Act would reverse some of the damage done in previous so-called “patent reform” bills. The silver lining to Biden’s decision to waive the patent protections on the vaccines is that it has energized voices from both sides of the political spectrum to criticize the decision and defend and proclaim the importance of I.P. Some Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the waiver, the Wall Street Journal editorial page skewered the decision, and the Washington Post editorial page — not exactly a voice of conservatism — said the move was not the way to help poor countries get the vaccine. They added that, “t is also true that stripping away their intellectual property now could discourage future innovation.” And, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a center-left technology organization has a long report out why the decision is bad and the 10 actions that would be not only better, but more effective.”

Johan van Zyl, a long-time senior Toyota executive who stood down as the head of the firm's European division earlier this year, has died at the age of 63. The South African had worked for Toyota since 1993, and was appointed president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe in 2015. He retired from that role earlier this year and moved back to South African, where he had recently taken on the role of chairman of Toyota South Africa. Van Zyl died on Friday 30 July due to illness. In a statement, Toyota said the “unfortunate loss has come as a shock to us all”, and highlighted van Zyl’s “humour, calmness and personal empathy”. During his time at the helm of Toyota’s European arm van Zyl has spearheaded the firm’s major revival in the region, including the return of the Corolla to the market, the expansion of its SUV range and the addition of po[CENSORED]r sports cars such as the GR Supra and GR Yaris. Van Zyl was also key to negotiations to secure the long-term future of the firm's Burnaston plant in Derbyshire. Matt Harrison, who succeeded van Zyl as Toyota Motor Europe’s president and CEO, said: “We have lost an inspirational leader and an amazing human being. For those of us who were fortunate to work closely with Johan, we will always remember him as a great mentor, who had a story to share on any topic and who truly cared about people. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go to his wife, daughters and his grandchildren.” After completing a doctorate in business economics van Zyl joined Toyota in 1993, initially as the firm’s South African sales boss. He rose to become Toyota South Africa’s managing director in 1997, before being promoted to president and CEO of the division in 2003. Van Zyl was eventually given responsibility for Toyota’s interests across the whole of Africa, before taking over the European division in 2015. He became a senior managing officer of the Toyota Motor Corporation in 2017.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58009605 It was one of the defining phrases of the Hong Kong protest movement. Now, it has landed one man in jail for nine years. Back in 2019, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" was an ubiquitous slogan in the city, chanted by tens of thousands as they took to the streets in pro-democracy demonstrations. But this week a man was convicted partly because he was carrying a flag emblazoned with the phrase. Activists say the landmark ruling marks "the beginning of the end" for freedom of expression in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's year under China's controversial law Where did the slogan come from? The eight-character phrase was first used by Hong Kong politician Edward Leung back in 2016, when he ran for a by-election and used it as a campaign slogan. At the time he was one of the leaders of Hong Kong Indigenous, a political party that advocates for independence for the city. Leung said the slogan "represents the people who believe in freedom, embrace freedom, and are willing to fight for freedom with their blood and sweat", according to the South China Morning Post. It did not gain traction back then. Polls consistently indicated that the majority of Hongkongers did not favour independence from the mainland. But it was a different story three years later as the pro-democracy protests erupted and anger at the Hong Kong government grew. The phrase was frequently chanted at rallies, with many waving or wearing black flags, signs and T-shirts with the slogan printed in white Chinese and English lettering. As early as 2016, Hong Kong authorities had objected to the phrase, with chief executive Carrie Lam saying at the time that it "challenges national sovereignty" and threatened China's "one country two systems" model in governing Hong Kong. But it wasn't until 30 June 2020 that China's controversial and broadly-worded national security law came into effect in Hong Kong. Among other things, the law bans anything considered as "crimes of secession and subversion" - effectively clamping down on protest slogans. Just a day later - on the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule - Tong Ying-kit drove a motorcycle into a group of police officers while carrying a flag emblazoned with the "Liberate Hong Kong" slogan. The Hong Kong government later said the slogan connoted "Hong Kong independence" and warned people not to defy the national security law.

Simone Biles has pulled out of Sunday's vault and uneven bars gymnastics finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The four-time Olympic champion, 24, withdrew from Tuesday's women's team final as well as Thursday's individual all-around final saying she had to focus on her mental health. The American is yet to decide if she will compete in the floor (2 August) and balance beam (3 August) finals. A US Gymnastics statement said Biles would "continue to be evaluated daily". It added: "After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. "MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in vault finals for the US alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second-highest score. "We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances." 'This is athletes being honest - it's not the death of sport' Biles scored her lowest Olympic vault score in the opening rotation before withdrawing from the team final. She left the arena but returned to support her team-mates as the defending champions claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee. Team silver in Tokyo was Biles' sixth Olympic medal and took her tally of Olympic and World Championship medals to 30. Afterwards, Biles said: "After the performance I did, I just didn't want to go on. I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now. "We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do. "I don't trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it's getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world. "We're not just athletes. We're people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58007313 The number of empty shops in Britain has continued to rise as retailers struggle with the effects of the Covid pandemic, the British Retail Consortium has said. Shopping centres have been hardest hit, with nearly one in five units empty, the industry group said. The north east of England had the highest vacancy rate, followed by Wales and the north west. The Covid pandemic has accelerated a shift towards online shopping. Many shops were shuttered during lockdowns, although retail sales in June were near pre-lockdown levels, as the reopening of shops released pent-up demand. Retail sales near pre-lockdown levels in June However, fashion retailers have been hit hard by the pandemic, with the closure of well-known High Street brands such as Debenhams and Topshop contributing to vacancies. But it is shopping centres which had the highest vacancy rate from April to June. "It comes as no surprise that the number of shuttered stores in the UK continues to rise, after retailers have been in and out of lockdown for over a year," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Almost one in five shopping centre units now lie empty, and more than one in eight units have been empty for more than a year. The vacancy rate in retail parks is also rising quickly as they lose stores. The number of empty shops could continue to rise following the ending of the business rates holiday, Ms Dickinson said. Since the start of the pandemic, the government announced a range of measures to help companies including business rates relief which ran until the end of June. Firms are currently paying a reduced rate. But Tony Brown, chief executive of Beales, the department store, told the BBC's Today programme that the resumption of full business rates payments "is a sword of Damocles hanging over everybody". He said that at Beales stores, which include Poole, Peterborough and the soon-to-open branch in Southport, "we pay 10 times, sometimes 30 times more in [business] rates than we do in rent". Beales, one of the UK's oldest department stores, fell into administration in January 2020 before the Covid pandemic was declared. It subsequently shut down all its shops but a business called New Start 2020 bought the name and Beales reopened a branch in Poole last year. Mr Brown said: "The pandemic has allowed us to rethink the model as to how department stores should work and how we can rebuild the High Streets. "I believe that customers still want to shop, still want to physically shop in stores, especially for fashions, and as we get further and further away from the pandemic, being able to try on clothes comfortably is what the customers are asking us to do." The BRC's Ms Dickinson said that there is a sharp divide between the south of England, including London, with lower vacancy rates compared to the north of the country, where disposable income is lower. While the increase in the vacancy rate is slowing, there "will never be enough demand to meet the supply" said Lucy Stainton, director of Local Data Company, which did the vacancy research for the BRC. "The property market will be forced to think of more creative ways to utilise this space, to avoid exacerbating the already high rates of long-term voids across our retail destinations which are not only unsightly and costly for landlords, but also have a negative impact on surrounding stores," she said. The BRC envisages future town centres to include leisure, retail centres, services and homes.

I’ve finally plumbed the depths of the Across’s Toyota build quality: after four months, I’ve unearthed a rattle. Well, it’s more of a squeak, actually, coming from slightly loose trim on the steering wheel boss. I suspect it has just worked its way loose with wear and age, both of which the car’s ride is beginning to show evidence of: it’s just a bit noisier than it was. A recent visit to my brother- in-law’s place gave me a chance to compare my Across with the car on which it is based: the Toyota RAV4. His RAV4 is a regular hybrid, rather than a plug-in hybrid, so the comparison wasn’t perfect, but it definitely looks better to my eyes. Its colour-contrasting roof and bolder frontal styling just gives it the edge on visual appeal. Even so, would I feel much different if I had been running a RAV4 PHEV for the past six months than I do about the Across now? I doubt it. This is just such a competent, agreeable car: it works well, drives well and is generally so easy to live with. That’s still what’s driving how good I feel about it. At least with the RAV4 you might feel less need to explain to people what it is, I suppose; and then how a Suzuki can have 302bhp, cost £46k and sound like a spaceship crossed with a hairdryer when you park it. In my last update, I had a moan about all the bonging alarms and reminders present in the Across. Well, it turns out they’re not all bad. If you leave a side window open (I’m always hanging out of them to take photos), you get a message to inform you; and then an option to close them automatically with a single press of ‘OK’ on the steering wheel. Now that’s a smart convenience feature. The M1 looked like it was on a rolling boil, but the Across cut through
the rain and standing water like
a kingfisher. Indeed, my partner slept peacefully the whole way to Birmingham. The rear wiper got a good workout; it did its thing very smoothly and quietly, and the fact that I noticed that reveals a lot about how well the rest of the car did.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58021911 A Covid outbreak first discovered in the Chinese city of Nanjing has spread to five provinces and Beijing, with state media calling it the most extensive contagion after Wuhan. Almost 200 people have been infected since the virus was first detected at the city's busy airport on 20 July. All flights from Nanjing airport will be suspended until 11 August, according to local media. Officials also began city-wide testing amid criticism for their "failure". All 9.3 million of the city's residents - including those visiting - will be tested, said state-controlled Xinhua news. Posts on social media show long lines of people queuing, and authorities have reportedly urged people to wear masks, stand one metre apart and avoid talking while they wait. Officials said the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus was behind the infections, adding that cases had spread further because of how busy the airport is. Ding Jie, a health official in Nanjing, told reporters the cases were linked to cleaners who worked on a flight from Russia that arrived in the city on 10 July. The cleaners did not follow strict hygiene measures, Xinhua News reported. The airport management has been rebuked, with a senior disciplinary body of the Communist Party saying it had "problems such as lack of supervision and unprofessional management". Testing has shown that the virus has now spread to at least 13 cities including Chengdu and the capital Beijing. However, experts quoted by the Global Times said they believed the outbreak was still at an early stage and could be controlled. Local officials in Nanjing said that seven of those infected were in critical condition. The new spike in cases has led some on Chinese social media to speculate about whether the Chinese vaccines were working against the Delta variant. It is unclear if those infected were vaccinated. A number of South East Asian countries relying on Chinese vaccines have recently announced they will use other jabs. China has so far managed to keep the virus largely under control by closing borders and moving quickly to stamp out local outbreaks.

The owners of Rajasthan Royals have acquired a majority stake in CPL team Barbados Tridents, becoming the third IPL franchise to be associated with the Caribbean league after Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings. Royals Sports Group (EM Sporting Holdings Ltd), the owners of the Rajasthan Royals, made the announcement on Friday. The two-time CPL champions will be rebranded as the Barbados Royals. Royals Sports Group Chairperson, and the Lead Owner of Rajasthan Royals, Manoj Badale, said: “We are delighted to have signed this deal with Manish Patel, to acquire a majority stake in the Barbados CPL franchise.” “We are extremely grateful to the Barbados government for their continued support, and we look forward to making a positive impact on both cricket and tourism for the country,” he added. Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara will also be monitoring the progress of the Barbados franchise. “Barbados Royals will be an important part of the Royals’ cricket ecosystem. With a fantastic talent pool of local players, we have the opportunity to innovate and develop strategies that will benefit the Royals Group. “We are also excited at the prospect of how we can promote growth in the game of cricket,” said the Sri Lankan legend. Minister of Tourism and International Transport for Barbados, Senator, Lisa Cummins, added: “The Caribbean, and Barbados more specifically in this instance, have long been globally revered for their cricketing prowess, which continues to be one of the strongest pillars of our sports tourism offering. “The expansion of our audience through this new partnership will enable us to showcase how we have married this beloved sport with the immersive experiences our destination has to offer, on a much wider scale.” In June, Rajasthan Royals had announced their collaboration with RedBird Capital Partners, the leading sports-focused investor from the United States. The Barbados franchise, led by the experienced Jason Holder, are scheduled to start the forthcoming CPL on August 26.

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