The under strain car maker is said to be discussing commitments to its Sunderland operation

Car maker Nissan is said to be in advanced talks with the Government over financial support for its Sunderland operation.

Global news service Reuters has reported the Japanese manufacturer is discussing backing in return for commitments to long term investment in its Wearside plant. Grants, tax breaks and subsidies are said to be on the table in exchange for protection of jobs.

The news follows a recent announcement by Nissan that it is looking to partner with Chinese brand Chery – the maker of brands such as Jaecoo – to build its models at Sunderland. It could see Chery vehicles roll off the factory’s production Line One, which was paused earlier this year amid significant restructuring across Nissan.

Such a deal is set against widespread cost saving measures at Nissan, which is closing a number of factories globally and shedding thousands of jobs, including some in Europe. The efforts are in response to hefty losses and intense competition from global rivals.

Nissan’s Sunderland plant employs 6,000 people and is widely seen to be among the most productive in Nissan’s worldwide stable. It has received significant investment in recent years, including spending to support production of the new generation electric Leaf, which began late last year, and a much wider multibillion-pound vision to make the factory a flagship site for electric vehicle making through use of renewable energy and nearby battery production.

However, earlier this year it emerged that Nissan had decided not to produce drivetrains at the nearby Jatco factory, which was announced in early 2025 as the result of a £48m investment plan including £12m of funding from the Automotive Transformation Fund. About 80% of the Jatco facility’s capacity was to be given over to Nissan products, to be used in the building of electric models.

In recent weeks, car makers and MPs have called for the Government to bring forward a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate which legally require rising sales of electric vehicles from manufacturers. Under the rules introduced in 2024 before being relaxed last year, car and van makers must make EVs 80% of the cars they sell by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035.

Nissan did not comment directly on the report of talks with the Government. But in a statement, a spokesperson said: “We are proud of our history in the UK including our manufacturing operations at our Sunderland Plant. We have a strong and collaborative relationship with the UK Government and look forward to continuing to work together moving forward.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Nissan is an important investor and long‑standing partner in the North East and the UK, and we continue to work closely with the company to support jobs, drive growth and secure the future of the automotive sector. We are taking significant action to back British carmakers and protect jobs, including £4bn of capital and R&D funding for zero emission vehicle manufacturing, lowering electricity bills for manufacturers and launching a £2bn Electric Car Grant supporting drivers to save up to £3,750 off the cost of a new EV.

“We’re committed to the ZEV Mandate and we’ve always said we’ll review it to ensure we’re taking a pragmatic and balanced approach that supports British industry and continues to drive investment.”

UFC is all in on America 250. 

UFC announced the launch of exclusive limited-edition apparel collections with four brands that have integrated themselves into streetwear culture: Anti Social Social Club, Warren Lotas, ID Supply Co., and Culture Kings. 

The limited-edition apparel collections made their debut on the White House South Lawn on Sunday during the UFC Freedom 250 spectacle and have flown off the shelves.

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The collaborations were a massive hit, as they set an all-time UFC merchandise record for a single event. They also doubled the company’s previous revenue record.

Within the collection there are T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more that combine America 250 and UFC into one. 

Anti Social Social Club is a Los Angeles-based brand whose deliberately limited released helped grow a massive and dedicated following in streetwear. For the UFC Freedom 250 collection, the Anti Social Social Club brought its signature aesthetic to the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization. 

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Warren Lotas is also a Los Angeles-based artist and designer whose dark aesthetic, unapologetic style and hand-drawn imagery have become iconic, making him one of the most recognizable and sought-after names in streetwear. He released a fighter-themed T-shirt collection in the UFC Freedom 250 drop. 

ID Supply Co. the premium merchandise house and brand licensing group, created a graphic T-shirt line that showcases the historic UFC Freedom 250 card.

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Culture Kings offered UFC Freedom 250 fighter-themed T-shirts as the final part of the campaign. The collections are available on the UFC Store’s website but are quickly selling out. 

The UFC Freedom Spectacle saw 14 fighters compete in the cage, with an estimated 4,300 people in attendance. 

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Qantas plans to launch what it says will be the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight in October 2027, connecting Sydney and London with a journey expected to last up to 22 hours.

The Australian airline announced Wednesday that nonstop flights between the two cities will begin operating as part of its long-awaited Project Sunrise initiative, which aims to connect Australia’s east coast directly with major global destinations.

Qantas unveiled the first of its specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France. The aircraft has been modified for ultra-long-haul travel and includes an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank that allows it to travel more than 16,000 kilometers, or nearly 10,000 miles, nonstop.

The Sydney-London route will become the first nonstop service between Australia’s east coast and the United Kingdom. According to Qantas, the flights will reduce travel time by as much as four hours compared with existing one-stop itineraries.

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“Since we first flew the Kangaroo Route in 1947, where we stopped seven times on the way to London, every generation of aircraft has taken a stop out of the journey,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. “Today, we’re taking out the last one.”

The launch marks a significant milestone for Project Sunrise, an initiative first announced by Qantas in 2017 to push the limits of commercial long-haul travel.

Qantas said the A350-1000ULR aircraft were designed specifically for the project and will carry 238 passengers across four cabin classes. The airline plans to take delivery of 12 of the aircraft.

The carrier said nonstop Sydney-London flights will go on sale in February 2027 ahead of the service launch later that year.

The route is expected to surpass Singapore Airlines’ nonstop service between Singapore and New York, currently regarded as one of the world’s longest regularly scheduled commercial flights.

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Qantas cited recent research showing growing demand for ultra-long-haul travel, with 70% of surveyed Australians indicating they would consider booking a nonstop flight of that length. Among premium travelers, interest rose to 80%, according to the airline.

The company said more than 1.7 million passengers have flown on its existing nonstop long-haul routes since 2018, including services linking Perth with London, Rome and Paris.

Qantas plans to expand Project Sunrise beyond London. The airline confirmed that Sydney-to-New York will be the next route added to the network, with additional details expected next year.

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The airline said pilots, cabin crew and maintenance personnel are already undergoing training ahead of the aircraft’s arrival and entry into service.

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Wales has nearly 500,000 people classed as being economically inactive

Unemployment in Wales has risen slightly but remains below the rate for the UK as a whole.

According to the ONS, unemployment in Wales was up 0.3% in the three months from February to April to 3.8%. For the UK unemployment was down 0.3% to 4.9% on the previous quarter.

On the three months to March UK unemployment was down from 5% .Of the UK nations and regions unemployment was only lower than in Wales in the south east of England (also 3.8%) and Northern Ireland at 1.7% – although the province has the highest economic inactivity rate in the UK. The highest unemployment rate remains London at 6.6%.

On the previous quarter the number of unemployed in Wales was up 5,000 to 59,000. On the year it was down 14,000. For the UK it was down 105,000 to 1.6 million, but up 124,000 on the year.

Wales has the third lowest employment rate in the UK of working age adults, behind the north east of England (71.1%) and Northern Ireland (71.9%) at 72.3%. The rate for the UK as a whole is 75%.

The number of working age people in Wales classed as economically inactive – so not actively seeking employment – was 24.8%. It was only higher in Northern Ireland at 26.8%. For the UK as a whole it was 21%. The number of economically inactive, which includes those on long-term sick, in Wales stands at 484,000 – which was down 11,000 on the quarter. Amongst young people, aged 16 to 24, some 17% – higher than the UK level -are classed at Neets (not in education, employment or training.)

As with the previous Labour Welsh Government, the new Plaid Cymru administration said say that the ONS figures, based on its Labour Force Survey, had to taken with a degree of caution. While the ONS, headquartered in Newport, is continuing its work on improving the robustness of the survey, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity Adam Price is seeking a meeting to discuss the reliability of the data.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said; “As a newly elected Government we are committed to driving investment, innovation and higher productivity across Wales.

We have announced a National Productivity Goal to close the gap with the rest of the UK and help unlock the full potential of the Welsh economy.

“By focusing on productivity, we will deliver more jobs, higher pay, stronger businesses and thriving communities.

“This goal will give direction to our new Welsh innovation and development agency, shaping how we support businesses, develop skills and invest in the foundations of a stronger, more competitive Welsh economy.

“Evidence from a range of sources suggest the labour market in Wales is following a similar trend to the UK as a whole.

Amid continued interventions from the Office for National Statistics to increase the quality of the Labour Force Survey data, we continue to recommend using the LFS data alongside the trends in other measures of the labour market to gain a clearer picture of the Welsh labour market.

Latest figures from the Annual Population Survey (APS) show the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over in Wales was 4.5% compared to the UK rate of 4.4%. It also shows Wales’ employment rate is relatively close to the all-time high.

“The Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, Adam Price, is keen to meet with the ONS to discuss the reliability of Labour Market data for Wales.”

On the UK picture Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The labour market remained broadly stable in the latest quarter, with further softening evident in some measures.

Payroll numbers continued to fall over this period, with new recruits at their lowest level in five years.”

She added there were “some signs of workers moving into self‑employment”, while the vacancies decline signalled firms are “becoming more cautious about taking on new staff”.

The ONS said its vacancies survey showed some firms are putting recruitment on hold due to economic uncertainty and higher labour costs.

Burmese pythons, already blamed for damaging wildlife populations in Florida’s Everglades, may be affecting the ecosystem in another unexpected way. A new study has found that these invasive snakes could accidentally help spread plant seeds after eating birds and mammals that feed on fruits.

The research suggests that the impact of Burmese pythons goes beyond hunting native animals. By moving seeds through their digestive systems, the snakes may influence how plants spread across South Florida’s wetlands and could play an unnoticed role in changing the region’s natural landscape.

Scientists found plant seeds inside Burmese pythons

The study, published in the Journal of Zoology, was carried out by researchers from the University of Florida, the US Geological Survey and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
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Scientists examined digestive tract samples collected from Burmese pythons in South Florida and discovered 25 different types of seeds inside the snakes. The seeds included those from native plants such as cabbage palm and creeping cucumber.

Researchers said the snakes likely picked up the seeds indirectly by eating birds and mammals that had already consumed fruits. This process is known as secondary seed dispersal, where one animal helps move seeds after another animal has eaten them.
The researchers explained that invasive reptiles can influence plant movement in different ways. A python may directly spread seeds by consuming them, or it may transport seeds after eating another animal that carries them.

Some seeds survived after passing through python digestion

The study also tested whether the seeds could still grow after being inside a python. The results showed that nearly 40 per cent of cabbage palm seeds survived digestion and were able to germinate.
This indicates that Burmese pythons may unintentionally help plants reach new locations. Scientists said this could affect the balance of vegetation in the Everglades, where even small changes in plant distribution can influence the wider ecosystem.

Researchers believe the effect could apply to both native plants and invasive species, making the role of Burmese pythons more complex than previously understood.

Invasive snakes have already damaged native wildlife

Burmese pythons are considered one of Florida’s most harmful invasive species. Over the last two decades, the snakes have contributed to a sharp decline in several native mammals, including raccoons, rabbits and foxes.

These animals were important seed carriers in the ecosystem. As their numbers reduced, pythons may have started replacing part of that role, although scientists warn that a predator taking over the work of native animals can create uncertain consequences.

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The researchers said the change highlights how invasive species can affect nature in unexpected ways.

Scientists warn that invasive species can have hidden impacts

The study’s authors said invasive species “reshape ecosystems in ways that are not always obvious”. While Burmese pythons are widely known for reducing native animal populations, their influence may extend to other parts of the environment.

Melissa Miller, a University of Florida researcher involved in related python studies, previously said, “Our study links python ecology with removal efforts,” adding that long-term research is essential to better understand “cryptic, long-lived species such as Burmese pythons.”

Scientists said the findings show that invasive animals can create environmental changes through multiple pathways. Some effects may only become visible after years of research.

The study adds another layer to the growing understanding of Burmese pythons in Florida. Even after decades of monitoring the species, researchers continue to discover new ways these giant snakes are influencing the Everglades.

Understanding these hidden connections could help conservation teams develop better strategies to protect one of the world’s most important wetland ecosystems.