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A wildlife ranger had a close encounter with a young basking shark in the St Kilda archipelago. The endangered animal, measuring almost 3m (9ft) long, was spotted at Village Bay on the island of Hirta. Craig Nisbet, who works for National trust for Scotland (NTS), grabbed his snorkelling gear and camera in the hope of photographing it from a distance. During Mr Nisbet's swim, the harmless shark moved closer and swam within a metre of him. Basking sharks migrate from waters off west Africa to Scotland's west coast where they gather to breed. The fins and snout of the young shark were visible from the beach at Village Bay. 'SharkCam' films world's second largest fish Basking sharks 'hang out' in family groups Mr Nisbet, a seabird and marine ranger with NTS, kept his distance and managed to snap a "blurry" image of the shark. While swimming back to shore, he paused near a mooring buoy and was "in awe" as the shark swam towards him and passed within 2m, and then again at about 1m away. Mr Nisbet said: "I returned to land, scarcely able to believe what I'd just seen. I washed my camera and downloaded my images and video and was delighted with the images and footage I'd captured." The ranger added : "It was clearly feeding, occasionally closing its mouth to swallow microscopic zooplankton sifted out through the water as it went." Basking sharks are the world's second largest fish, after whale sharks, growing up 10m long. Its size and upturned snout indicated it was a young animal - the second young basking shark to be spotted off St Kilda in the last two weeks. The islands of St Kilda, 40 miles west of the Western Isles, are a Unesco-designated World Heritage Site managed and protected by NTS. There are strict rules around wildlife watching, and organisations such as NatureScot have advice on how to observe legally protected marine animals while avoiding causing them distress.

A sleek, shiny car breezes along an open road, zipping easily through narrow city streets. Its paintwork is pristine, its electric engine is clean and silent. When it arrives there is parking right outside the front door. So much for the advert. In reality, traffic in the UK is often slow and the roads can be clogged. A 60-mile (96km) journey on 60mph roads is reckoned to take 85 minutes - an average speed of 42mph (67km/h). Drivers already own 32 million cars - that's up 28% since 2001, during which time the po[CENSORED]tion has only risen by 13%. And by 2050 there will be 44 million cars in the UK - so start looking for that parking space now. Last year, the government announced a £2.8bn package to encourage drivers to switch to greener vehicles. This included a £1.3bn investment in charging infrastructure as well as discounts of up to £2,500 on low emission vehicles costing under £30,000. Yet the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warns that, rather than improving air quality by lowering exhaust emissions, these incentives risk making highways far busier and even slower - as people buy so-called "zero-emission, guilt-free" vehicles. Electric vehicle sales outpace diesel again Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think Set target to cut car use, minister told 'I saved £5,000 charging my electric car for free' Car buyers still sceptical about electric - Ford Indeed, sales of Battery Electric Vehicles or BEVs, described by the government as zero emission vehicles, were up 73% compared to last year. But while exhaust emissions might fall, the so-called "embedded emissions" needed to build, charge and maintain this army of cars - will increase with growing car ownership. Congestion and traffic jams come down to one simple fact - cars are space-inefficient. They take up seven times the space of a bike but usually carry only up to five people. Often this number is much lower - and that's only when they're moving. In June, the RAC Foundation published a report that revealed cars are empty and parked 23 hours out of every 24. They're only used for an hour a day. And there aren't enough car parking spaces to go round. "Everybody knows of places where the parking pressure is enormous," says Leeds University's Prof Jillian Anable. "Not only do people not have off-street parking, on-street parking can be really chaotic [and] not guaranteed." Unless all 18 million car-owning household has access to charging there is likely to be a rise in what she calls "parking politics". "People who have electric vehicles (EVs) are going to feel entitled to certain car-parking spaces, and those without EVs are going to get further squeezed in terms of space," she says. At the current rate, managing these neighbourhood battles over territory will require more space to be surrendered from either the road or the pavement. Someone will have to give way. For the last 20 years the proportion of owners parking cars in the street has remained at around 25% - that's some eight million cars. Often, they can be found straddling the pavement so as not to take up an entire lane. But even this is becoming more difficult, as the average car is 28% bigger than it was in 1965. And the three best-selling battery electric vehicles in 2020 - the Tesla Model 3, Kia Niro and Jaguar I-Pace - are all wider and longer than the three best-selling petrol or diesel cars - the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and VW Golf. The problem is that building more roads won't help, says Mark Frost, chair of The Transport Planning Society (TPS), which is calling for a halt to any new major road-building projects. "If you build more roads you get more traffic. When we build a new road, journeys get a bit faster because there's a little bit more capacity." But drivers then realise this road is faster and it fills up with more traffic - undermining any benefits of the original intervention, he adds. In June, the Welsh government suspended future road-building, saying it was essential to "shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive". Encouraging ownership of electric vehicles risks only make things worse, says Mr Frost. "The way we use our network is pretty bonkers at the moment and electric mobility is going to supercharge that bonkers-ness." His argument is that running electric cars will be cheap. The costs of charging them at home will be a fraction of the price of a full tank of petrol. And, after spending thousands on a vehicle marketed as ethical and clean, drivers will understandably want to actually drive them. "That could potentially drive a real avalanche of e-congestion and e-traffic onto the network." Car clubs, where members hire and share locally-parked cars by the hour, are one solution to curbing private car ownership while still allowing access if a car is the only option. More ambitiously, fleets of self-driving vehicles that could shift to an out-of-town car park when demand is low is another option. But these could be decades away. Lucy Marstrand-Taussig is a transport planner who has advised the government on walking and cycling. She argues that the scale of spending on roads does not make sense: "We know new roads induce congestion and warm the planet, creating more problems." Electric vehicles should be secondary, she says, and the government should be investing far more in space-efficient transport modes - public transport, walking and cycling. She points out that 58% of UK car trips are less than five miles so there is huge potential for reducing motor traffic. In July, the Department for Transport reiterated the UK's £2bn commitment to active travel over five years, but Ms Marstrand-Taussig says this is not enough. "It does seem a bit bonkers that we're looking at £27bn for new roads, when we need £6bn for walking and cycling over the term of this parliament. "Most of our shorter trips take place in urban areas, so it's really in cities and towns we need to see significantly more spending on walking and cycling." But that needn't exclude rural areas, where UK public transport cuts often mean driving is the only option, she adds. The Department for Transport says it is not a case of either improving roads or the cycling and walking infrastructure. It points out that "in any scenario" the majority of longer passenger and freight journeys will be made by road, and so upgrading the UK's road network "remains of vital importance". "At the same time, we're investing unprecedented funding to make public transport, cycling and walking the natural first choice for all those who can use these options - especially for shorter journeys," says the department. Ms Marstrand-Taussig, and others like her, say roads need to be made available for non-car users, too. "Roads make up about three quarters of public space. There's an equity argument. Everybody needs to be able to use them, not just car drivers."

It has been a long time coming. Genesis as a brand, I mean. We know why it exists: premium means profit. Manufacturers of ordinary cars look at the space that Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz occupy with envious eyes. And it was as long ago as 2004 that Hyundai first developed posh car aspirations of its own. It took until 2008 for it to happen, with a car badged Hyundai Genesis, the second generation of which came to the UK from 2015, in right-hand drive and small numbers. Small, because while sales of the original Hyundai model in the US were good enough to prompt the establishment of the name as a brand in its own right, we’re a bit sniffy about that sort of thing in Europe. Lexus was launched 31 years ago with a car – the LS400 – that did things unlike any other luxury saloon. And yet three decades later, its sales in the UK of posh Toyotas hover between 10,000 and 15,000 cars a year. Mercedes sells nearly five times that many A-Classes alone, because it’s easier to go downmarket than up. Ford’s Vignale models will show that. Likewise DS. Infiniti gave up entirely. But, well, look: the Genesis brand is going to do well in the US, in China and likely elsewhere. Genesis and Hyundai have design, engineering and development centres in South Korea, the US and Europe, so it’s a global range. Even if it doesn’t do huge numbers in Europe, we’ll contribute a bit. This, then, is a GV70. G for Genesis, V for Versatile, billed in some markets as a ‘premium urban SUV’, but it’s quite a big car here. It’s 4.7 metres long, which puts it at the same length as a BMW 3 Series, while prices start from £40,000. This one, a Luxury Line, starts at £42,820, but this test car sits at £50,620 including options. And although there are electrified Genesis models around or coming, this one, curiously, is launched as a petrol or diesel only. This one’s a diesel. It goes up against, in terms of volume, a big player. With the GV70, Genesis isn’t trying to find a niche from where nobody else operates (I mean, good luck to it if it could these days), but instead it’s just a few quid and a few centimetres away from a BMW X3 or Mercedes-Benz GLC. Or, as we’ve chosen for these pages, an Audi Q5, a car that sold so many in its first iteration that it surprised even its own maker. It’s a car that in China sometimes outsold the US and Europe combined. It’s a global car – and one we like – so it fits the bill. And at this money, you get very similar positioning, power and performance to those of the Genesis. The Genesis’s 2.2-litre diesel makes 207bhp while the Q5, facelifted late last year, is a 40 TDI, a £45,235 S line with options taking it to £54,465. Its 2.0-litre makes 201bhp, but its response is augmented slightly at low revs with a 12V mild-hybrid starter-generator that chips in while the turbo is spooling. Both cars are four-wheel drive and have longitudinally mounted engines, but the Genesis is predominantly rear-wheel drive, via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic, with the front axle occasionally receiving torque when needed. The Audi’s lengthways engine orientation, meanwhile, is a red herring – plenty of cars on this platform are front-driven only. Via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, this is a ‘mostly front-drive but sometimes thinking about the rear’ kind of car. If you want to get a feel for how important – or otherwise – Europe is in Genesis terms, take a look at the design. That big, chrome-laden smiling grille, the up-and-over chrome stripes and a waistband falling towards what one colleague unkindly compared to a Ssangyong Rodius rear. I don’t mind it, but subtle Euro-chic it isn’t. Open the door and it’s the same. Genesis has gone to a great effort to make the GV70 feel plush: there are only tiny areas of black plastic, a dearth of brittle plastics and instead an array of plum and grey leather and satin metallics. In places – the steering wheel, for one – it’s weird, but it’s very clean, and I mean it as a compliment when I say there’s a touch of concept car about it. Besides, maybe the fact that it feels less ‘Euro’ matters less than it once would have. But Mercedes is swaying away from trad materials and today’s proliferation of electronics and user interfaces are generally world-friendly: you’ll look at the same screen wherever on the planet you buy your gadgets. With the leather and a big soft-tone screen, this is more American golf club luxe; it doesn’t have the ambience of an appliance. The Audi is more conservative, more conventionally European in feel. More black. More austere. More precise. Most customers won’t be accustomed to lots of other Volkswagen Group products, but if you are, this is yet another one out of the big VW playbook. There are soft-feel plastics on the door tops and dash, and tight and consistent finishes. But there’s a point in the cabin – generally where that big metallic strip lies – below which the plastics turn harder and more scratchy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58604677 France has said it is recalling its ambassadors in the US and Australia for consultations, in protest at a security deal which also includes the UK. The French foreign minister said the "exceptional decision" was justified by the situation's "exceptional gravity". The alliance, known as Aukus, will see Australia being given the technology to build nuclear-powered submarines. The move angered France as it scuppered a multibillion-dollar deal it had signed with Australia. The agreement is widely seen as an effort to counter China's influence in the contested South China Sea. It was announced on Wednesday by US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. France was informed of the alliance only hours before the public announcement was made. In a statement late on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who had described the pact as a "stab in back", said the ambassadors were being recalled at the request of President Emmanuel Macron. The deal "constitute unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners whose consequences directly affect the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe," Mr Le Drian said. A White House official said the Biden administration regretted the move and would be engaged with France in the coming days to resolve their differences. Speaking in Washington, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she understood the "disappointment" in France and hoped to work with the country to ensure it understood "the value we place on the bilateral relationship". A recall of ambassadors is highly unusual between allies, and it is believed to be the first time France has recalled envoys from the two countries. French diplomats in Washington had already cancelled a gala to celebrate ties between the US and France which was scheduled for Friday. Fury from America's oldest ally Paris was blindsided by Australia's move. That was an economic hit. But French officials were even more incensed that they only heard about the arrangement just hours before the public announcement, and that it was part of a new security agreement involving three countries including the UK - also a complete surprise, they said. France's decision to recall its ambassadors is probably unprecedented. The country is America's "oldest ally," as a White House official noted. He said Washington would be engaged with France in the coming days to resolve their differences. But this looks at the very least like an embarrassing misjudgement by an administration that has promised to work closely with allies. The pact means Australia will become just the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear-powered submarines. It will also see the allies share cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence and other undersea technologies. The announcement ended a deal worth $37bn (£27bn) that France had signed with Australia in 2016 to build 12 conventional submarines. China meanwhile accused the three powers involved in the pact of having a "Cold War mentality". Quote

He is known for his muscly physique. And Dwayne Johnson flexed his bulging biceps following another grueling workout at a gym in Los Angeles on Friday. The actor, 49, sported an orange sweat-soaked tank top paired with some skintight athletic leggings and white sneakers. John charged out of the gym, clearly feeling the energy high post-workout. The Jungle Cruise stair had a white towel in one hand and his cellphone in the other as he approached his parked SUV.

The e-up! is Volkswagen's shy attempt to offer an entry-level electric car and you'll have to wait until the middle of the decade for a bespoke EV from Wolfsburg easier on the wallet. That's because the ID. Life concept debuting today at IAA Munich won't arrive in production guise until 2025 when it will slot below the ID.3 compact electric hatchback. Unlike its bigger brother which sends power to the rear wheels, the concept car has been engineered as a front-wheel-drive EV on a shortened version of the same MEB platform adapted specifically for city cars. The e-motor packs a respectable punch by delivering a healthy 231 hp (172 kW) and 290 Nm (214 lb-ft) to the front wheels, good for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 6.9 seconds en route to 112 mph (180 km/h). The ID. Life gets its necessary juice from a battery pack with a useable capacity of 57 kWh (62 kWh gross) providing approximately 249 miles (400 kilometers) of range based on the WLTP cycle. It supports DC fast-charging, which translates to 101 miles (163 kilometers) of range in just 10 minutes. With four years until it hits the road, it will be interesting to see whether VW will improve these numbers for the production car. Because apparently nearly everything has to be an SUV these days, VW has designed the ID. Life as a "city car with crossover character.” It has a generous ground clearance of 190 millimeters (7.5 inches) combined with 26° and 37° approach and departure angles, respectively. Being developed on a bespoke EV platform, it's also remarkably spacious and practical despite its petite size of just 4091 mm (161.6 in) long, 1845 mm (72.6 in) wide, and 1599 mm (63 in) height.

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