Rachel Reeves must keep promise to ease business rates burden, say retailers

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to keep her promise to ease the pressure from business rates on high street businesses amid warnings of a looming £2.7bn tax hike that would mainly hit smaller retail, leisure and hospitality firms.More than 252,000 shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants and businesses such as bowling alleys are likely to see a big step up in the property tax from April next year when a 75% relief up to a cap of £110,000 will end, according to analysis from the real-estate intelligence firm Altus Group.Business rates payers across all property types and sectors will meanwhile share a £545m increase in the tax, according to Altus, based on the consumer prices index measure of inflation – £250m of which will be shouldered by the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.Andrew Goodacre, the chief executive of the Bira trade body, which works with more than 6,000 independent businesses of all sizes across the UK, said: “The chancellor has the power to extend the retail, hospitality and leisure relief, which is absolutely vital if high streets are to be revitalised and grow

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia in exclusive talks to buy Harland & Wolff

Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia is in exclusive negotiations to buy Harland & Wolff, the owner of the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, in a deal that could rescue up to 1,000 jobs.It is understood the group could take control of the group’s four yards – in Belfast; Appledore, Devon; Arnish on the Isle of Lewis; and Methil, Fife – as early as next month.A deal is not expected to involve a pre-pack administration of the operating companies that run the yards, which could put jobs at risk. At present, only the main holding company is in administration.Navantia has already been financially supporting Harland & Wolff to continue operating as it tries to keep alive a £1

eSafety commissioner ends heated fight with Elon Musk’s X over Sydney church stabbing posts

The Australian online safety regulator has effectively abandoned its legal fight with X over the removal of videos of April’s Wakeley church stabbing attack, after agreeing with the social media firm to end a judicial review of its orders.In April, the eSafety commissioner ordered X to hide 65 posts of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel while he was giving a livestreamed service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley.The commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, subsequently sought a federal court order to entirely remove the tweets after X only made them unavailable to Australian users and the company vowed to challenge the notice through the administrative appeals tribunal (AAT).On Friday, the AAT made orders with agreement of both parties to resolve the proceedings. The office of the eSafety commissioner said in a statement that rather than test the interaction between the classification scheme and the Online Safety Act with this case, it was better to await the outcome of the review of the Online Safety Act due at the end of this month

Elon Musk unveils Tesla Cybercab self-driving robotaxi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the company’s robotaxi, Cybercab, promising it will cost less than US$30,000, and announced plans to bring autonomous driving to its Model 3 and Model Y cars in California and Texas by next year.At the much-anticipated We, Robot event hosted at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, the billionaire arrived in the Cybercab in his trademark black leather jacket, accompanied by a man dressed in a space suit. Human-like robots mingled in the crowd, danced and served drinks to those gathered for the party.In the lead-up to the announcement, analysts were sceptical that Tesla would deliver on its promise, as fully self-driving vehicles had been flagged for nine years and robotaxis for five years

Liberty and record-breaking Stewart hold off Lynx to level WNBA finals

The New York Liberty held off the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA finals on Sunday afternoon, weathering another dogged fourth-quarter comeback before pulling away for a 80-66 win that leveled the best-of-five championship series at one game apiece.Three days after blowing an 18-point lead in a stunning Game 1 overtime loss on their home floor, New York led from wire to wire behind Breanna Stewart, the two-time Most Valuable Player who stuffed the box score with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a WNBA finals-record seven steals. The Liberty also got 20 points from Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who bounced back from a quiet five-point effort on Thursday for her highest scoring output since July.ScheduleBest-of-five series. All times Eastern

Caleb Williams shines as Chicago Bears trample Jacksonville Jaguars in London

North London was orange (and a bit blue) as the Chicago Bears ­rekindled their relationship with British fans and treated a partisan crowd to a blowout victory against a limp ­Jacksonville Jaguars side for good measure.In the battle of two No 1 ­overall draft picks, the Bears’ rookie quarter­back Caleb Williams had the edge over his opposite number, Trevor Lawrence, the ­Jaguars’ first pick in 2021. ­Williams threw four touchdown passes and rushed for 58 yards, the decisive contribution in the game. But his ­performance passed the entertainment test too, the 22‑year‑old’s ­adaptability and the pinpoint power of his arm showing the 60,000 crowd why he has been marked out as a ­prospect of some talent.For Lawrence there were two touchdown passes and 234 ­passing yards