Carry on collecting: why old British shopping bags are suddenly in demand

Chinese-owned AESC has pushed back plans in sign of slowing transition from petrol and diesel to electric cars Andy Burnham moves to cut new EV sales targets The UK’s biggest gigafactory has shelved plans to expand production in Sunderland because of stalled talks on a deal to supply electric car batteries to Jaguar Land Rover. Chinese-owned AESC produces batteries for Nissan at its gigafactory next door to the Japanese carmaker’s Sunderland plant. However, AESC has had to push back its ramp-up plans because of lower-than-expected demand from Nissan and the lack of a deal with JLR, according to people with knowledge of the situation...

Guardian readers reflect on the ableism rife in the debate about Ray-Ban Meta eyewear, despite the life-changing difference they can make Your editorial on Meta’s smart glasses acknowledges their value to blind and visually impaired people, then asks that this “not be allowed to distract” from the harms (The Guardian view on Meta’s smart glasses: regulators must get on the front foot, 10 August). As an optometrist who owns a small independent practice, I’d suggest that it is visually impaired people who are being treated as the distraction. I was reluctant to stock Ray‑Ban Meta, having no fondness for Meta or Luxottica, but colleagues persuaded me of the benefits for people with sight impairment. The reality has surpassed that. The majority of our buyers have a visual impairment or learning difficulty. One man, practically illiterate, now has the world read to him...

They rule the roads and, in their wake, even old-style saloons have been supersized. It’s an illusion of consumer choice Recently, while traipsing from showroom to showroom in search of a used car for my growing clan, the iconic line from Christopher Nolan’s seminal Batman movie The Dark Knight came to mind: “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” And by villain, of course, I mean an SUV driver. Because, if you haven’t shopped for a secondhand family car recently, I’ll save you the shock: wherever you look, it’s SUVs...