https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/from-the-archive/archive-day-1965-0 The first ever Japanese car may have burst into life in 1907, but it took a further 58 years for one to grace British showrooms. This first example was the Daihatsu Compagno Berlina, a saloon we found to be “well made” but “technically inadvanced”. Our 1965 road test was quick to point out the technological deficit. Its engine, brakes, four-speed gearbox and separate chassis followed “very closely much that was po[CENSORED]r and conventional among British cars some 10 years ago” while the 797cc four-pot engine made just 55bhp. Straight-line tests revealed that 60mph was impossible, although frequent shifting of gears would be rewarded with “quite good progress among town traffic”. The ride was by no means its greatest asset, choppy and uneven to such an extent that we wondered if “the hard-used demonstrator we borrowed needed a suspension check-up and new dampers”. It oversteered in sharp turns and the steering, although spongy, permitted a fair bit of free play. We concluded that, despite its dynamic lapses, it “does impress for quality of workmanship”. It may have cost £280 more than the Austin Mini and racked up just six sales in the UK, but it proved a harbinger of the Japanese quality that would provide a wake-up call for Britain’s native car makers. A Brazilian reader wrote in to quell the myth that “Brazil only makes Volkswagens”, describing a brave endurance run by a Brazilian-built Simca. The Rallye Special V8 did 120,000km from Belo Horizonte to Brasília in 42 days, despite a burst tyre and a scary barrel roll. Simca do Brasil lasted only from 1958 to 1969, though, whereas Volkswagen is still a major player in the country today. Often it’s painful to see the cars that you could have bought once upon a time, had you the benefit of a crystal ball. Among the classifieds this week in 1965 was an Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ, never rallied or raced, with just 1500 miles and in mint condition, going for £3275. That’s only about £45,000 in our money, yet you need at least £1m for this Zagato beauty today!

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62571995 China's premier has called on the country's richest provinces to offer economic support to boost pro-growth measures. The country saw consumption and output unexpectedly slow down in July. "A sense of urgency must be strengthened to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery," Premier Li Keqiang said. An uncompromising zero-Covid approach sharply slowed China's economic growth in the second quarter of this year. In a rare move, China's central bank cut lending rates on Monday to revive demand. China's economy continued to recover in July, but there were "small fluctuations", Mr Li said in a video meeting with senior officials from six major provinces - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan - which account for roughly 40 percent of economic output. The government will take more steps to boost consumption and expand effective investment, Mr Li added. China, the world's second largest economy, has been badly hit by widespread coronavirus lockdowns that have affected both businesses and consumers. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter. Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing hub Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period. But Beijing has so far shown no signs of relaxing its zero-Covid policy. Key economic indicators show China is having a hard time shaking off the impact the lockdowns are having on its manufacturing and retail business. In July, retail sales rose 2.7% compared to a year ago. However, the number missed forecasts for 5% growth and fell short of June's figure - 3.1%. The latest figures also showed youth unemployment is at a record high. The property sector is taking a major hit amid a mortgage boycott with homebuyers losing faith that projects will be completed. Property investment dropped 12.3% last month, the fastest rate this year, while the drop in new sales deepened to 28.9%.

https://www.bbc.com/news The American space agency Nasa is rolling out its giant new Moon rocket to prepare it for a maiden flight. Known as the Space Launch System (SLS), the vehicle is being taken to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a lift-off scheduled for 29 August. The debut outing is a test with no crew aboard, but future missions will send astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. The near 100m-tall (328ft) SLS is riding an immense tractor to the pad. It started moving from its assembly building at Kennedy late on Tuesday evening, local time, but with a cruising speed of just over 1km/h (under 1mph), it could take 8-10 hours to complete the 6.7km (4.2 miles) journey. This is a key moment for Nasa, which will celebrate in December the half-century anniversary of Apollo 17, the very last human landing on the Moon. The agency has vowed to return with its new Artemis programme, using technology that befits the modern era (Artemis was Greek god Apollo's twin sister and goddess of the Moon). Nasa sees a return to the Moon as a way to prepare to go to Mars with astronauts sometime in the 2030s or soon after. The SLS will have 15% more thrust off the pad than Apollo's Saturn V rockets. This extra power will allow the vehicle to not only send astronauts far beyond Earth but, additionally, so much equipment and cargo that those crews could stay away for extended periods. The crew capsule, also, is a step up in capability. Called Orion, it is much more spacious, being a metre wider, at 5m (16.5ft), than the historic command modules of the 1960s and 70s. "To all of us that gaze up at the Moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface - folks, we're here! We are going back. And that journey, our journey, begins with Artemis 1," said Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson. "The first crewed launch, Artemis 2, is two years from now in 2024. We're hoping that the first landing, Artemis 3, will be in 2025," he told BBC News. Nasa has promised that this third mission will witness the first woman to put her boots down on the Moon's sur Once the SLS arrives at its launch pad, engineers will have just over a week and a half to get the vehicle ready for flight. Three possible launch opportunities exist at the end of the month, starting with Monday 29 August. If technical issues or inclement weather prevent the rocket from getting off Earth on this date, a further attempt can be made on Friday 2 September, and, failing that, on Monday 6 September. The scope of the mission is to send Orion looping around the back of the Moon before bringing it home for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California. A major objective of the test fight is to check the heatshield on the capsule can survive the heat of re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. A key partner on the upcoming mission is Europe. It is providing the propulsion module that sits on the back of Orion, pushing it through space. "More than 10 countries in Europe have been working on this European Space Agency contribution. It's a hugely important moment for us," explained Siân Cleaver from aerospace manufacturer Airbus. "The European Service Module is not just a payload, it's not just a piece of equipment - it's a really critical element because Orion can't get to the Moon without us." While Nasa is developing the SLS, the American rocket entrepreneur Elon Musk is preparing an even larger vehicle at his R&D facility in Texas. He calls his giant rocket the Starship, and it will play a role in future Artemis missions by linking up with Orion to get astronauts down to the surface of the Moon. Like SLS, Starship has yet to have a maiden flight. Unlike SLS, Starship has been designed to be totally reusable and ought therefore to be considerably cheaper to operate. A recent assessment from the Office of Inspector General, which audits Nasa programmes, found that the first four SLS missions would each cost more than $4bn to execute - a sum of money that was described as "unsustainable". The agency said changes made to the way it contracts industry would bring down future production costs significantly.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62440019 The Tories can "kiss goodbye" to winning the next election if inflation is not brought under control quickly, Rishi Sunak has said. Speaking at a leadership hustings in Eastbourne, the ex-chancellor, who wants to prioritise tackling rising prices before cutting taxes, seized on a warning by the Bank of England. Rival Liz Truss said keeping taxes low was the best way to avoid a downturn. She said the UK should not be "talking itself into a recession". The Bank of England has warned inflation - currently 9.4% - could peak at more than 13% and stay at "very elevated levels" throughout much of next year, before eventually returning to its 2% target in 2024. Ms Truss, who has promised to reverse some of Mr Sunak's tax rises, challenged the Bank's gloomy economic prognosis, at the hustings. But Mr Sunak highlighted its warning that inflation could become embedded, saying there would be "no hope that we're going to win that next election" amid continuing rising prices. Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are vying for support from Conservative party members to be elected the next party leader, and prime minister. Voting has started and the result is due to be announced on 5 September. ]There was a brief disturbance at the hustings when Ms Truss's opening remarks were interrupted by a small group of climate activists, who were believed to be from the Green New Deal Rising group. After the group was ejected from the event, Ms Truss took aim at what she called "unfair protests" that disrupted people's lives. She pledged to clamp down on "militant people who try and disrupt our country" - mentioning both trade unions and environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion. Another protester was later removed from the event after interrupting Ms Truss. Ms Truss, who will be attending the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday, is also due to set out her proposals for boosting economic growth and levelling up the UK. Her plans include reviewing the Treasury formula which determines which regional projects receive funding and creating "low-tax and low-regulation zones" across the country to create hubs for enterprise. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Truss said people should be helped with the cost-of-living crisis by lower taxes, not giving "handouts". She told the paper she would "look at what more can be done" but in a "Conservative way". Elsewhere, Mr Sunak is vowing not to let "political correctness" stop him tackling "horrific" child grooming gangs, if he becomes leader. In an interview due to be screened on GB News on Saturday, Mr Sunak said grooming gang members should face life sentences and that the police should record the ethnicity of those involved. Mr Sunak said that as the father of two young daughters he believed there needs to be greater focus on tackling the crime. A report published by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse earlier this year recommended collecting ethnicity data of the victims and perpetrators of child sexual exploitation. It said: "Many of the high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions have involved groups of men from minority ethnic communities. "This has led to polarised debate about whether there is any link between e thnicity and child sexual exploitation networks. "Poor or non-existent data collection makes it impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks." Mr Sunak told GB News "a particular group of people" were "perpetuating" child grooming and it was "far more pervasive across the country than actually we all realise". He added: "And we all know the reason that people don't focus on it. It's because of political correctness and they're scared of calling out the fact." Separately, Mr Sunak is focusing on his opposition to another referendum on Scottish independence, warning in a statement issued by his leadership campaign that ignoring the SNP would be "dangerously complacent". He said: "We can't just bury our heads in the sand and pretend they aren't there - we need to stop them in their tracks." His comment will be seen as a criticism of Ms Truss who earlier this week, said: "I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. "She's an attention seeker, that's what she is."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62442201 For years, bombastic radio host Alex Jones has peddled a stream of conspiracy theories in his distinctive loud, gravelly voice to an audience of millions. Among the most incendiary falsehoods he ever circulated was that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, which left 20 children and six adults dead, was completely fabricated by the US government in a plot to strip American citizens of their guns. After a two-week defamation trial full of twists and turns, a jury in Austin, Texas, has ordered Jones to pay nearly $50m (£41m) in compensatory and punitive damages to the parents of a boy killed in that attack. Here are five key moments from the case. Jones' text messages mistakenly sent to the opposite side Among the viral moments that emerged from the proceedings was one that left Jones visibly dumbfounded, when it was revealed that his lawyer had accidentally sent two years of potentially damaging text messages from Jones' phone to Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing the parents. According to Mr Bankston, Jones had sent texts about Sandy Hook, contradicting trial testimony that he hadn't mentioned the shooting in any private communications. Jones said that was the reason he hadn't provided his phone records to the court. Jones' claims prompted Mr Bankston to ask him: "Do you know what perjury is?" The 6 January congressional committee, which is investigating the Capitol riot, has now requested access to Jones' text messages, which Mr Bankston said he intended to provide to the committee unless the judge intervenes. The committee had previously requested records and a deposition from Jones about his role in the riot, which saw supporters of former President Donald Trump storm the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Jones' bankruptcy claims challenged Earlier this year, companies owned by Jones, including his right-wing conspiracy website Infowars, filed for bankruptcy. In the US, declaring bankruptcy provides a route for companies to remain in operation and negotiate their debts, with settlements overseen by the court. It puts a hold on other litigation. Challenging his bankruptcy claims, Mr Bankston said Jones' texts revealed that in 2018 his companies were still netting approximately $800,000 each day. That information came via an email from an Infowars employee to Jones, who had earlier testified that he did not use emails at all. Infowars store Jones was questioned about the Infowars online store and the authenticity of the products his business sells to customers, which include diet supplements, health and wellness products, gun paraphernalia and survivalist equipment. In court, Jones admitted that vitamin supplements listed on the Infowars store had not been certified for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When asked why his supplements did not have FDA approval, he claimed the products underwent rigorous checks and were "the best out there". During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jones falsely claimed on his show that some of his products, including a "supersilver whitening toothpaste" and a "superblue silver immune gargle", could stop or treat Covid, resulting in an FDA warning letter sent to him and Infowars for selling "unapproved and misbranded" products related to the pandemic. Forensic economist Bernard Pettingill testified on Friday that Jones' businesses were worth somewhere between $135m and $270m , a claim Jones and his defence team deny. Victim's mother rebukes Jones One of the most tense moments came when a plaintiff - the mother of a six-year-old boy killed at Sandy Hook - addressed Jones from the witness stand. Scarlett Lewis told the radio host that she was not an actress or part of the "deep state". She said her son, Jesse Lewis, and the other children who died at the primary school were real. She added that Jones' claims had led to 10 years of "hell". Jones acknowledged during the trial that the Sandy Hook attack was "100% real" and apologised for having "hurt these people's feelings". "I know you believe me, yet you're going to leave this courthouse and you're gonna say it again on your show," Mrs Lewis said, looking directly at Jones, as he shook his head. Ms Lewis and Jesse's father, Neil Heslin, filed the lawsuit seeking at least $150m in damages against Jones. Jones clashes with judge Judge Maya Guerra Gamble had several tense exchanges with Jones during the trial, reminding him at one point that he had to tell the truth under oath. "It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify... This is not your show," Ms Gamble said. On another occasion, she told Jones to spit out a piece of gum. Jones denied he was chewing any gum, saying that he was sticking his tongue into a gap where he had had a tooth removed. "Would you like me to show you?" Jones asked the judge, prompting her to respond: "I don't want to see the inside of your mouth." During the proceedings, Mr Bankston asked Jones if he had shown pictures of the judge "on fire" on his show, which Jones denied, resulting in the lawyer putting up a picture broadcast on Jones' show which depicted Ms Gamble in flames alongside Lady Liberty. Jones' claims about the jury were also brought up by the parents' defence team. Footage was played of Jones saying on his show that the jury was made up of "extremely blue collar folks", adding that "half that jury panel does not know who I am".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62381778 Oligarchs using UK property to launder illegal wealth are being targeted by a new register which has come into force. Any anonymous foreign company seeking to buy UK land or property will need to reveal the true owners. Foreign companies that refuse to disclose their true owner could face fines of up to £2,500 per day or up to five years in prison. The register comes amid economic sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Foreign organisations who already own land in the UK will have a six month period to register their beneficial owners or managing officers. Business Minister Lord Callanan said: "We have been clear that the UK is a place for legitimate business only, and to ensure we are free of corrupt elites with suspicious wealth, we need to know who owns what. "By getting this first of its kind register up and running at breakneck speed, we are lifting the curtain and cracking down on those criminals attempting to hide their illicitly obtained wealth." The register was part of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in February 2022, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The bill proposes that anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK to verify their identity with Companies House, a government agency, as well as giving Companies House the power to challenge suspicious information. The register applies to property bought since January 1999 in England and Wales, and since December 2014 in Scotland. Labour MP Margaret Hodge said the government needed to go further to tackle money laundering. "To truly stop the flows of corrupt wealth into our housing market, the government must urgently put in place an open register of the true owners of UK land and property, not just of those owned by companies," she said. "Anything less would demonstrate once and for all that this government is truly soft on dirty money." Any overseas body that has disposed of property since 28 February 2022 - when the legislation for the register was first announced - will be required to provide a statement to Companies House. Multi-million pound country manors in the south of England and luxury flats in London's most expensive areas are among the homes which have been linked to Vladimir Putin's regime and associates.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-62381425 The world is one misstep from devastating nuclear war and in peril not seen since the Cold War, the UN Secretary General has warned. "We have been extraordinarily lucky so far," Antonio Guterres said. Amid rising global tensions, "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation", he added. His remarks came at the opening of a conference for countries signed up to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 1968 deal was introduced after the Cuban missile crisis, an event often portrayed as the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The treaty was designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to more countries, and to pursue the ultimate goal of complete nuclear disarmament. Almost every nation on Earth is signed up to the NPT, including the five biggest nuclear powers. But among the handful of states never to sign are four known or suspected to have nuclear weapons: India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan. Secretary General Guterres said the "luck" the world had enjoyed so far in avoiding a nuclear catastrophe may not last - and urged the world to renew a push towards eliminating all such weapons. "Luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict," he said. And he warned that those international tensions were "recaching new highs" - pointing specifically to the invasion of Ukraine, tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East as examples. Russia was widely accused of escalating tensions when days after his invasion of Ukraine in February, President Vladimir Putin put Russia's substantial nuclear forces on high alert. He also threatened anyone standing in Russia's way with consequences "you have never seen in your history". Russia's nuclear strategy includes the use of nuclear weapons if the state's existence is under threat. On Monday, Mr Putin wrote to the same non-proliferation conference Mr Guterres opened, declaring that "there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed". But Russia still found itself criticised at the NPT conference. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called Russia's sabre-rattling - and pointed out that Ukraine had handed over its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, after receiving assurances of its future security from Russia and others. "What message does this send to any country around the world that may think that it needs to have nuclear weapons - to protect, to defend, to deter aggression against its sovereignty and independence?" he asked. "The worst possible message". Today, some 13,000 nuclear weapons are thought to remain in service in the arsenals of the nine nuclear-armed states - far lower than the estimated 60,000 stockpiled during the peak of the mid-1980s.

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