Powering change: UK battery firms aim to unlock the way to net zero

Think of battery manufacturing and it may evoke images of Elon Musk and Tesla’s sprawling “gigafactories” around the globe, or China’s vast, hi-tech clean rooms churning out cells to go in anything from electric toothbrushes to mobile phones and cars. But at Invinity Energy Systems’s small factory in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, workers slotting parts together are hoping that Britain can also play a part in the battery revolution.These batteries, which rely on vanadium ions, are put in 6-metre (20ft), 25-tonne shipping containers. They will not go into cars, but the manufacturer hopes the technology can win a place in a global rush into storage to usher in the shift to net zero carbon grids.Renewable electricity is the future of the global energy system: cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuels

UK retail sales rise but stores fear tax worries could hit festive period

Record warm weather and a Bank of England interest rate cut lifted retail sales in August, according to the latest survey, but retailers fear that speculation about tax rises could weigh on consumers in the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.Retail sales increased 3.1% year on year as consumer spending on food and drink rose, and sales of computers and related equipment performed well as parents readied children for the new school year.However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which publishes the monthly figures in conjunction with KPMG, said the 4.7% boost in spending on food and drink was due to price rises as opposed to consumers buying more products

Meta hid harms to children from VR products, whistleblowers allege

A group of six whistleblowers have come forward with allegations of a cover-up of harm to children on Meta’s virtual reality devices and apps. They say the social media company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and offers a line of VR headsets and games, deleted or doctored internal safety research that showed children being exposed to grooming, sexual harassment and violence in its 3D realms.“Meta knew that underage children were using its products, but figured, ‘Hey, kids drive engagement,’ and it was making them cash,” Jason Sattizahn, one of the whistleblowers who worked on the company’s VR research, said in a statement. “Meta has compromised their internal teams to manipulate research and straight-up erase data that they don’t like.”Sattizahn and the other whistleblowers, all current or former Meta employees, have disclosed these findings and a trove of documents to Congress, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the allegations

Amazon fires 150 unionized third-party drivers, Teamsters says

Amazon has fired more than 150 unionized drivers working for a third-party contractor in Queens, New York, according to the Teamsters union.Workers rallied at the company’s DBK4 facility in Queens on Monday after the company fired the drivers, who worked for Cornucopia, a delivery service provider (DSP) that Amazon contracted with to make deliveries. Amazon works with more than 3,000 DSPs around the world who deliver the company’s packages.The Teamsters said the firings were in retaliation for unionizing.“Amazon is breaking the law and we let the public know it,” said Antonio Rosario, a member of local 804 and a Teamster organizer, in a statement

The Sparks’ Cameron Brink is redefining what it means to be a young WNBA star

It’s the fourth quarter of a tense, close bout in Los Angeles between the hometown Sparks and the Indiana Fever. The game has serious playoff implications for both teams, so every bucket feels fraught, and it’s going down to the wire. Cameron Brink, the 6ft 4in second-year Sparks center with an unmistakable Rapunzel-esque blonde braid has fouled out of the game, but you wouldn’t know it from her enthusiasm on the bench. No one is clapping harder, cheering louder, for her teammates.That’s fundamental to who Brink is, according to everyone I talk to around the team in their final push for the playoffs in recent weeks – the Sparks are in a battle with Seattle Storm for the final spot

Take the strain: Tug of War World Championships

“Pick up the rope! Take the strain! Steady! Pull!” When the referee barks those commands, eight competitors on each team muster every ounce of strength in their bodies and attempt to haul one another across the crumbling earth. Clutching a rope made of hemp or polypropylene, the first team to tug their opponents four metres from their starting position is the winner. They dig their steel-plated heels into the dirt – but strictly no spikes are allowed – while coaching staff guide and encourage them to victory. In the round-robin stages, each contest lasts two ends and the top four teams reach the semi-finals; the semi-finals and finals are decided over three ends. With varying age and weight categories, competitors range from their teens to their 70s