Zipcar’s rivals consider London expansion after it reveals UK exit

Several car-sharing companies are considering launching or expanding in London, with the imminent closure of Zipcar’s UK operation leaving a large gap in the market in one of Europe’s biggest cities.Free2Move, owned by the carmaker Stellantis, said it was “closely monitoring the London market”, and “actively assessing” options for its services. It already operates fleets in cities including Berlin, Paris, Rome and Washington DC.Enterprise Car Club, which already has some cars in London, said it “will continue to seek out opportunities to expand our network and provide people with alternative transport options by the hour or day”.Co Wheels, which operates across the UK and with a handful of cars in the capital, said it was “actively discussing” options with several London boroughs in recent days

Trump demands Fed listen to him as he lines up new leader: ‘I’m a smart voice’

Donald Trump declared he “should be listened to” by the Federal Reserve, as he weighs candidates to lead the central bank amid an extraordinary campaign by the White House to exert greater control over its decisions.The US president said on Friday that former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is currently top of his list to chair the central bank.Jerome Powell, the current Fed chairperson, is scheduled to finish an eight-year stint in the role next May. He has repeatedly defied Trump’s demands for drastic cuts to interest rates, prompting the president to launch a string of public attacks.Trump is also considering his adviser Kevin Hassett, who leads the National Economic Council, as a potential chair of the Fed

Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud

Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud.The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.Kwon, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, was sentenced at a hearing in New York.The US district judge Paul Engelmayer called his crimes “a fraud of epic generational scale”

Elon Musk teams with El Salvador to bring Grok chatbot to public schools

Elon Musk is partnering with the government of El Salvador to bring his artificial intelligence company’s chatbot, Grok, to more than 1 million students across the country, according to a Thursday announcement by xAI. Over the next two years, the plan is to “deploy” the chatbot to more than 5,000 public schools in an “AI-powered education program”.xAI’s Grok is more known for referring to itself as “MechaHitler” and espousing far-right conspiracy theories than it is for public education. Over the past year, the chatbot has spewed various antisemitic content, decried “white genocide” and claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election.Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, is now entrusting the chatbot to create curricula in classrooms across the country

England caught up in Ashes media fallout over security guard’s row with TV crew

England’s embattled tour of Australia suffered a public relations setback on Saturday as the result of a testy altercation between a member of security staff and a local camera operator at Brisbane airport.In footage released by Channel Seven, England’s minder Colin Rhooms is heard repeatedly telling the camera operator Nick Carrigan to “get out of my face, mate” and eventually pushing him back as he attempted to film players in transit.The team were en route to Adelaide for the third Ashes Test that starts on Wednesday, with Channel Seven, the host broadcaster, later defending its crew’s conduct and suggesting the matter could be taken further.“While conducting routine filming in a public space, the camera operator was physically confronted despite acting respectfully and professionally,’’ a spokesperson told Code Sports. “The safety and wellbeing of our staff is paramount

Local hero Greg Blewett rates Adelaide Oval as England’s best hope for revival

The last time England played a Test match during daylight hours at Adelaide Oval was in 2013. The ground was a building site and Mitchell Johnson was the wrecking ball, with a seven-wicket spree confirming the panic he induced during the first Test in Brisbane was no one-off.Not only were England’s Ashes hopes lamented by the visiting media that year but also the ground of old. Gone were the terracotta roofs that invoked the sepia world of Don Bradman and in their place there were the early signs of what was to become a 53,000-capacity multi-purpose venue with a drop-in pitch.But heritage listing for the scoreboard that dates back to 1911 meant part of the grass hill remained untouched