Global Pulse

作者： admin

  • Japan’s Honda reports robust results after its first ever annual loss

    Japan’s Honda reports robust results after its first ever annual loss

    Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. has delivered a stunning first-quarter fiscal result, with net profits more than doubling year-over-year, marking a sharp milestone in the company’s effort to rebound from its first full-year operating loss in corporate history. The Tokyo-based manufacturer announced Wednesday that net income for the April-June quarter reached 456.9 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to approximately $2.9 billion, jumping from 196.6 billion yen recorded in the same three-month period last year.

    Quarterly total revenue also climbed 13.5% year-over-year to hit 6.06 trillion yen, or $38 billion, driven by strong consumer demand for Honda’s passenger vehicles in the U.S. and Indian markets. The company, which produces models ranging from the popular Accord sedan and Fit subcompact car to the iconic Super Cub motorcycle, saw particularly robust gains in its two-wheeler segment, with motorcycle sales surging across Brazil and India to deliver outsized profitability. Automobile sales grew steadily in Honda’s home market of Japan and the U.S., but continued to face headwinds in the world’s largest passenger vehicle market, China.

    Honda’s recent turnaround effort follows a difficult full fiscal year ending in March 2024, when the company posted a net loss of 423.9 billion yen ($2.7 billion). At the time, the automaker attributed the underperformance to massive unplanned costs tied to overly ambitious electric vehicle development plans that failed to meet original targets. Company leadership also cited policy shifts from the former Trump administration as a key external headwind: the Trump administration rolled back federal EV incentive programs, paused funding for state-level EV charging infrastructure expansion amid soaring global gas prices driven by the conflict in Iran, and implemented steep 25% tariffs (later lowered to 15%) on imported automobiles and auto parts, which eroded Honda’s export margins. After discovering slower-than-expected consumer adoption of fully electric vehicles, Honda has scaled back many of its planned EV model launches to refocus on segments with stronger current demand.

    To address its ongoing sales challenges in China, Honda Chief Financial Officer Masao Kawaguchi told reporters that the company is adjusting its product lineup to align with the unique preferences of Chinese consumers, which differ significantly from buyer tastes in North America and other Asian markets. Kawaguchi noted that full strategic adjustments will require one to two more years of focused investment and localization, adding that Honda will fully redirect dedicated resources to the Chinese market to drive a rebound.

    A favorable foreign exchange environment also provided a major boost to Honda’s first-quarter results. A weaker yen against the U.S. dollar throughout the quarter translated into higher yen-denominated earnings for Honda’s overseas sales, a longstanding advantage for Japanese export-focused manufacturers. While recent joint U.S.-Japan currency intervention has lifted the yen’s value slightly, the currency’s average depreciation over the past 12 months still delivered significant bottom-line gains for the quarter, according to Kawaguchi, who described the overall first-quarter performance as “very healthy.”

    Buoyed by the strong start to the fiscal year, Honda has upgraded its full-year net profit forecast from 260 billion yen ($1.6 billion) to 400 billion yen ($2.5 billion), projecting a full return to annual profitability after last year’s loss.

    Looking ahead, the company is facing a new short-term disruption following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, last week. Like other major Japanese automakers with production facilities in the region, Honda temporarily suspended operations at some plants and saw minor supply chain interruptions. Honda is scheduled to enter its annual company-wide summer break later this month, and company officials stated they expect production and logistics to return to normal once operations resume after the break. The full financial impact of the earthquake on full-year production volumes remains under assessment.

    Investors reacted positively to the strong earnings report, driving Honda’s share price up 3.9% in Tokyo trading following the results announcement.

  • Australian airline Jetstar will charge passengers to use the overhead lockers for their bags

    Australian airline Jetstar will charge passengers to use the overhead lockers for their bags

    Australian budget airline Jetstar is set to shake up regional air travel with a groundbreaking policy change that will charge passengers for using overhead cabin compartments for carry-on luggage, a first for the Australian aviation market. Scheduled to take effect in February 2027, the new rule brings Jetstar into line with low-cost carriers across the United States and Europe that have long adopted similar fee structures for cabin storage.

    The policy shift was born from widespread customer and staff feedback identifying overcrowded overhead lockers and gate-side bag weight checks as among the most stressful parts of the air travel experience, the airline confirmed in an official statement released Wednesday. Under the new framework, passengers will still be able to bring one small personal item — such as a purse, laptop sleeve, or compact backpack — that fits under the seat in front of them at no extra cost. This small underseat item will also see its existing 7-kilogram weight limit eliminated entirely to simplify boarding procedures.

    For travelers opting to use an overhead compartment, one-way fees will start at 25 Australian dollars, equal to roughly 18 U.S. dollars, with final pricing adjusted based on the length and route of the flight. Bags stored in overhead lockers will have a maximum weight limit of 10 kilograms, and gate-side weight checks for carry-on items will be scrapped entirely under the new system, cutting down on boarding delays and crowding at departure gates.

    Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Tully explained that the restructuring is designed to address longstanding passenger frustrations during the boarding process while improving operational efficiency. “By giving customers an underseat bag with the option to add Priority Carry-on, we can make better use of overhead locker space, streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time,” Tully said, adding that the model lets passengers pay only for the extra services they choose to use.

    Like many airlines globally, Australian and New Zealand carriers have spent years unbundling ticket costs, introducing separate fees for checked luggage, seat selection, in-flight dining, and entertainment. But industry analysts note that Jetstar’s new overhead locker fee is an unprecedented move in the Australian market, one that is already expected to draw pushback from local travelers.

    Sharon Petersen, CEO of aviation industry watchdog AirlineRatings.com, noted that the change will likely ruffle widespread criticism because Australian passengers have long held higher expectations for inclusive air travel. “For such a long time they lived in a bubble of full-service options only,” Petersen explained. She also pointed out that Jetstar’s base fares remain significantly higher than those of European low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air that already charge for overhead locker access. This gap, she said, stems from Australia’s less competitive aviation market, as well as far higher operating costs for wages, taxes, and infrastructure that drive up baseline ticket prices across the country.

  • Gold Coast couple facing boot from Australia after paperwork mix-up

    Gold Coast couple facing boot from Australia after paperwork mix-up

    After more than a decade of building a life, putting down roots, and embracing every part of Australian community on the Gold Coast, a South African expat couple is confronting a devastating deportation order, all triggered by an administrative error that left one partner technically unlawfully in the country for just nine days.

    Rory and Michelle Hewitt, both 52, first made the life-altering decision to uproot their entire lives in their home country back in 2012, not 2015 as their initial relocation paperwork initially cited, bringing their two young sons Matthew and Caleb with them in pursuit of the iconic Australian dream. Over the 12 years that followed, the couple built stable, respected careers, watched their sons grow into adults, welcomed their first granddaughter 18 months ago, and fully integrated into the local way of life they now call home. What they never could have anticipated is that a long-undiscovered paperwork mix-up from three years ago would unravel all they have worked for.

    The administrative blunder only came to light during a recent visa renewal process this year. Despite the couple’s solicitor submitting all required documentation within the mandated legal timelines, processing delays left Michelle Hewitt without valid visa status for nine days in 2023 — a fact the couple remained completely unaware of until months later. This tiny technical error has derailed their entire application for permanent residency, and the couple has now been ordered to leave Australia by October 22. Cruelly, their two adult sons, who have already established their own lives in the country, are permitted to stay, meaning deportation would force the couple to leave behind their children and infant granddaughter indefinitely.

    “This has been devastating. We knew we would have to leave our extended family behind when we moved here, and we accepted that heavy sacrifice because we believed it would all be worth it in the end,” Rory Hewitt told reporters in an interview. “We never could have imagined this would be the outcome. The personal toll this has taken on our family is indescribable.”

    The Hewitts’ immigration journey has been fraught with unforeseen complications from the start. They first arrived in Australia on a sponsored work visa, but issues with Rory Hewitt’s initial employer led to the visa expiring unexpectedly. They subsequently applied for protection visas and were granted bridging visas that allowed them to work and study legally while their application was processed. Everything proceeded without issue until the 2023 processing gap derailed their latest bid for permanent status, even after they requested ministerial intervention to waive the technical error.

    “ We have exhausted every other available option, and we just beg that someone will review our case with compassion,” Michelle Hewitt, who worked as an office manager until the deportation order barred her from working, said. “Australia is our home now. This is where our family is.”

    As the couple fights to overturn the order, their community has rallied around them. A family friend launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the couple’s mounting legal fees, as both are now barred from working while their appeal is pending. A public petition calling for government intervention has already garnered more than 1,200 signatures from supportive locals.

    Rory Hewitt said he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Australian public. “We love this country and its people, and we never doubted that Australians would stand with us if they heard our story,” he said. “The support we’ve received has been incredible, and it means more than we can say.”

    If a last-minute solution does not come through, the couple says they plan to make the most of their remaining time in the country they love, with a short trip into the Australian bush to soak in the landscape they have called home for 12 years.

    Australia’s Department of Home Affairs was contacted for comment on the Hewitts’ case. In a statement provided to media, a department spokesperson said it could not comment on individual immigration cases due to privacy requirements. “All applicants lodging a visa decision review are encouraged to do so at the earliest opportunity to maintain lawful status,” the statement read. “The department is unable to grant a Judicial Review Bridging Visa A until it receives confirmation from the Federal Court that a judicial review application has been made.”

  • Flights at German airport disrupted after suspect objects sighted

    Flights at German airport disrupted after suspect objects sighted

    BERLIN – Operations at Leipzig/Halle Airport, one of Germany’s most critical air cargo hubs, were thrown into disarray overnight following two separate security incidents: an unconfirmed sighting of an unidentified flying object in the area and the discovery of a suspicious object near one of the facility’s runways, local law enforcement confirmed Wednesday.

    The first report of an airborne object near the airport came in just minutes before midnight, prompting immediate safety protocols that forced multiple inbound and outbound flights to reroute. Among the diverted aircraft was at least one commercial passenger plane, according to initial law enforcement updates. Following the sighting, crews located a second, stationary unknown object in the vicinity of the airport’s southern runway, triggering an explosive ordnance response.

    Authorities dispatched a specialized bomb disposal robot to conduct a thorough inspection of the suspicious object near the runway. As of Wednesday’s public statement, police have not released additional details about the nature of either the sighted flying object or the discovered suspicious item.

    While operations using the airport’s remaining open runway resumed shortly before 2 a.m. after the initial security lockdown, the southern runway remained fully closed to all air traffic through Wednesday morning, leaving ongoing disruptions to cargo and passenger schedules at the major transport hub.

  • Mining and tech stocks lift ASX to record high despite bank and energy losses

    Mining and tech stocks lift ASX to record high despite bank and energy losses

    Australia’s benchmark share index closed at a historic all-time high on Wednesday, powered by strong gains in mining and technology stocks, a sudden drop in global crude oil prices, and bullish momentum carried over from overnight gains on U.S. markets. The S&P/ASX 200 rallied 0.9% to end the trading day at 9227.80, an 82-point jump that pushed the index past its previous February 2025 peak of 9202.90 to claim a new record. The broader All Ordinaries followed suit, climbing 1% to close at 9405.40, a gain of 93.5 points. Against the U.S. dollar, the Australian dollar edged slightly lower to 70.45 U.S. cents by market close.

    Despite the overall market hitting a new milestone, only six of the 11 tracked industry sectors finished the day in positive territory, with large-scale mining stocks leading the upward charge. BHP Group saw shares surge 3.34% to settle at $62.54, while Rio Tinto gained 2.29% to close at $176.34, and Fortescue Metals added 0.61% to reach $18.19. Gold miners also posted double-digit and high single-digit gains, lifted by rising global gold commodity prices: Northern Star Resources climbed 5.76% to $21.49, and Evolution Mining rose 6.28% to $12.52.

    The catalyst for the day’s market movement came from an unexpected statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC that ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran could result in a breakthrough within days to reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz to unobstructed global shipping. “We are in talks with the Iranians,” Bessent said in the interview. “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised position in this conflict.”

    The prospect of eased geopolitical tension in the Persian Gulf — one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints — sent global crude prices tumbling, with Brent Crude trading between $76 and $78 U.S. per barrel on Wednesday. Falling oil prices pushed Australian energy stocks down 2% by market close. Gains were also capped by modest losses across the nation’s four largest retail banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 1.38% to $178.23, National Australia Bank dropped 0.75% to $42.53, Westpac Banking Corporation lost 0.75% to $38.53, and ANZ Group slid 0.42% to $38.01.

    Overnight, U.S. benchmarks the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed at record highs, fueled by news of the potential interim peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, which created bullish sentiment that spilled over into Australian trading. Another factor supporting the ASX’s record run is recent volatility in AI-focused global stocks, which has benefited Australian markets due to their limited direct exposure to overinflated AI valuations.

    Hugh Lam, investment strategist at Betashares, noted that Australian equities are increasingly seen as a global safe haven for investors seeking to avoid concentration risk in AI-dominated markets. “The local benchmark has reached all-time highs, driven by a rotation into blue-chip assets that has seen recent strength in July as global investors sought refuge in more diversified markets less exposed to AI concentration risk,” Lam explained. “Materials stocks have added further momentum, with Iran-linked supply disruptions keeping commodity risk premiums elevated and copper futures trading near record highs.”

    In individual company news, Endeavour Group, the owner of liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s and hospitality chain ALH Hotels, saw shares fall 1.44% to $3.43 after releasing preliminary full-year results that showed underlying net profit dropped to $363 million Australian, down from $426 million the previous year. IperionX recovered 8.95% to $3.41 after a sharp sell-off earlier in the week, following the company’s announcement that it would relocate its parent company headquarters to Texas. Neuren Pharmaceuticals surged 16.28% to $21.64 after reporting that net sales of DAYBUE, its Rett syndrome treatment for adults and children over two years old, rose 30% to $125 million U.S. from the second quarter of 2025. Gaming machine operator Light Wonder gained 3.96% to $118.00 after announcing annual consolidated revenue of $828 million Australian.

  • Police raid Starbucks Korea headquarters over ‘Tank Day’ fiasco

    Police raid Starbucks Korea headquarters over ‘Tank Day’ fiasco

    South Korean law enforcement has executed a raid on Starbucks Korea’s national headquarters, launching an official probe into allegations of defamation tied to a deeply controversial marketing campaign that sparked widespread public outrage and national debate earlier this year.

    The fiasco erupted in May, when Starbucks Korea rolled out a limited-time coffee tumbler promotion branded as “Tank Day,” timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising — a defining moment in South Korea’s pro-democracy movement that ended in a violent crackdown by military forces, leaving an estimated hundreds of pro-democracy protesters dead. For many South Koreans, the “Tank Day” name was an unavoidable reference to the military tanks deployed to crush the Gwangju uprising, triggering a nationwide mass boycott movement almost immediately after the campaign launched.

    Starbucks Korea, operated under a license by retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group, moved quickly to pull the promotion, and maintained from the outset that the insensitive timing and naming were an accidental oversight. Even so, local civic groups filed a formal criminal complaint against the company, arguing that the campaign defamed the victims of the 1980 military dictatorship crackdown and demanded a full police investigation.

    Shinsegae’s own internal investigation later concluded the blunder was unintentional, noting that the junior marketing team that planned the promotion failed to connect the “Tank Day” name to the Gwangju anniversary, and senior leadership also missed the problematic reference before the campaign went live. Beyond scrapping the promotion, the company took a series of corrective steps: in June, all Starbucks locations across South Korea closed for half a day to require all staff to attend mandatory educational lessons on modern South Korean history, including the Gwangju Uprising. Shinsegae also issued a formal public apology for the “inappropriate marketing,” terminated the company’s chief executive over the controversy, and confirmed the scandal has triggered a steep, sustained drop in sales in South Korea — one of Starbucks Coffee’s largest and most important international markets.

    The insensitivity did not end with the “Tank Day” name: promotional materials for the tumbler also included the slogan “tak on the table!”, a phrase intended to mimic the sound of an object being placed firmly on a table. But “tak” also holds painful historical resonance for many South Koreans: it was the term used in a controversial 1987 police statement describing the death of a student pro-democracy activist who died in police custody, a death that helped fuel further national protests against military rule.

    The scandal quickly spilled beyond consumer outrage into national politics, unfolding during South Korea’s local election season to become a major flashpoint between the country’s two major political parties. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was one of the most high-profile critics of the campaign, condemning it as an open “insult to the victims and the bloody struggle” of Gwangju residents. His administration’s interior ministry subsequently announced an official government-level boycott of Starbucks, a move that drew immediate pushback from opposition leaders. In a notable act of protest, the opposition leader held up a branded Starbucks cup during a major public speech to accuse the Lee administration of overstepping political bounds to capitalize on the scandal.

    In the months since, the controversy has reshaped the symbolic meaning of the Starbucks brand in South Korean politics: right-wing commentators and opposition figures have now adopted the Starbucks cup as a informal symbol of resistance to the Lee Jae-myung government, with branded cups appearing regularly at right-wing political rallies and opposition-focused online livestreams, turning a corporate marketing mistake into a lasting fixture of the country’s polarized political landscape.

  • India monsoon floods, landslides kill more than 100 since July: officials

    India monsoon floods, landslides kill more than 100 since July: officials

    As the 2026 annual monsoon season unleashes its destructive force across South Asia, deadly floods and landslides have claimed more than 100 lives in India since the start of July, forcing tens of thousands of residents to abandon their inundated homes and seek emergency shelter, official government data confirmed this Wednesday. For millions of South Asian farmers, the annual monsoon is not a natural disaster to fear—it is a lifeline that sustains crop production and underpins regional food security. But climate scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures driven by climate change are transforming this predictable seasonal pattern, making rainfall more erratic, intensely concentrated, and unpredictable, amplifying the risk of catastrophic disaster across the region’s most vulnerable communities.

    India’s northeastern state of Assam has emerged as the worst-hit region, with state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirming at least 87 monsoon-related deaths. The hardest-hit Sivasagar district alone has recorded 47 fatalities, with multiple low-lying communities remaining submerged days after the heaviest rainfall hit. State disaster management personnel have been working around the clock to rescue stranded residents, with AFP footage showing survivors using makeshift rafts and inflated vessels to navigate flooded neighborhoods to reach higher ground, assisted by official response teams. Describing the scale of the destruction as unprecedented for the region, Sarma wrote in a post on X, “The devastation here is unlike anything these areas have witnessed before. Material losses can be restored, but no compensation can replace a loved one.” State authorities have launched a public appeal for financial donations to fund urgent relief operations and long-term rehabilitation for displaced communities.

    Further south, the coastal state of Kerala has also been battered by days of relentless downpours, which have left at least 15 people dead and seven more unaccounted for, according to state Chief Minister VD Satheesan. Rains have triggered deadly landslides across the state’s hilly regions, while swollen rivers have burst their banks, inundating hundreds of residential areas. Local authorities have established more than 300 emergency relief camps across the state, which currently provide shelter to more than 10,000 displaced residents.

    In the northern Himalayan Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, short bursts of extremely intense rainfall have killed at least 31 people, according to reports from India’s public state broadcaster.

    Monsoon-related natural disasters are a recurring annual challenge for India, coming immediately after the long summer season when large swathes of the country grapple with critical water scarcity and drought. But the scale of destruction this year aligns with scientific projections of worsening extreme weather linked to climate change.

    The extreme weather has not been confined to India: neighboring Sri Lanka is also facing a dual climate crisis, driven in part by this year’s El Niño phenomenon, which raises sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and disrupts global rainfall patterns. Since Monday, unusually heavy monsoon downpours have triggered flash floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka that have killed at least eight people, according to the country’s Disaster Management Centre, forcing roughly 12,000 residents to evacuate flooded homes in the island nation’s central region. At the same time, eastern regions of Sri Lanka are locked in a severe, prolonged drought that has forced authorities to deliver emergency drinking water to residents via tanker trucks. The Sri Lankan government has established a special ministerial task force to coordinate mitigation efforts, but has not yet released an estimate of the total economic damage caused by El Niño-driven extreme weather this year.

  • Nepal’s Gandaki province legalizes medical cannabis farming and use

    Nepal’s Gandaki province legalizes medical cannabis farming and use

    KATHMANDU, Nepal — In a bold policy move that puts a regional administration at odds with federal legislation, one of Nepal’s seven provincial governments has enacted a law permitting regulated cultivation and medical use of cannabis, against the backdrop of a nationwide national ban on all production and consumption of the plant.

    The new regulation officially entered into force on Monday, following formal approval from Gandaki Province’s chief executive, confirmed Prabin Poudyal, spokesperson for the provincial chief’s office. Under the framework of the new law, any farmer seeking to grow cannabis must first obtain an official license from provincial regulatory bodies, and all operations will remain under continuous close oversight to prevent diversion of the crop to unregulated recreational markets.

    Gandaki Province, a scenic Himalayan region that draws millions of international tourists annually for its mountain peaks, iconic hiking trails and the popular resort city of Pokhara, has carved out an unexpected path on drug policy that defies national legislation currently in place. Under Nepal’s federal law, cultivation, possession and recreational use of marijuana are criminal offenses across the country. Anyone caught with small amounts of cannabis for personal use faces up to one month of prison time, while those convicted of trafficking or selling the drug can receive sentences as long as 10 years behind bars, with penalties scaled to the quantity of cannabis seized.

    Cannabis is an indigenous plant to Nepal, with deep historical roots in the nation’s cultural and religious traditions. For centuries, the plant has been integrated into local ritual practices, and cannabis advocacy groups have pushed for decades to reverse the national ban and legalize regulated use. The push toward decriminalization gained further cultural context from long-standing annual traditions: each spring during the Hindu festival of Shivaratri, devotees openly smoke cannabis at temples dedicated to the god Shiva, a practice that local authorities have traditionally tolerated despite the nationwide ban.

    The national ban on cannabis was implemented in the late 1970s, when Nepal aligned its drug policies with international efforts led by Western nations to crack down on recreational cannabis use. At that time, the government’s crackdown also pushed out the large community of international hippie travelers that had flocked to Nepal starting in the 1960s and 1970s, drawn by the country’s open cannabis culture and low cost of living.

  • South Korea pro baseball league cancels games over heatwave

    South Korea pro baseball league cancels games over heatwave

    A relentless, record-shattering heatwave that has already claimed nearly 20 lives and sickened thousands across South Korea has forced the nation’s top professional baseball circuit to scrap all scheduled matches for Wednesday and Thursday, marking one of the most visible public disruptions caused by the extreme weather event.

    For more than two months, the country has baked under unrelenting high temperatures, with three new national all-time temperature records set over the past seven days alone. The peak of the heatwave so far came Sunday, when thermometers climbed to 42.5 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. As of Wednesday, the highest-level heat alerts remained in effect for both eastern and western districts of the capital Seoul, a warning triggered when heat index is projected to hit 38C or actual temperatures are forecast to reach 39C or higher.

    The cancellation decision from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) came just one day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung directed government agencies to classify the ongoing heatwave as a national disaster, and ordered officials to deploy all necessary resources to implement emergency protective measures to save civilian lives.

    In an official statement announcing the match cancellations, the KBO noted that the decision to call off all August 5 and 6 games was driven by ongoing safety risks for both competing players and attending spectators, and that the cancellations will remain in place until comprehensive heat safety protocols can be put in place. Local media reports confirm that 10 scheduled games across the country were scrapped as a result of the order.

    The devastating public health toll of the heatwave is already substantial: data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency shows that between May 15 and August 3, more than 2,200 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses, with at least 19 confirmed deaths linked to extreme heat.

    The cancellations are not an unprecedented step for the league this week. On Tuesday, the KBO already called off two scheduled games: one at Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium and another in the southwestern city of Gwangju, after multiple spectators collapsed from heat exhaustion during pre-game and game activities. Even for matches that went ahead on Tuesday, heat-related medical incidents were widespread. An official with the SSG Landers franchise confirmed to AFP that a male attendee at the team’s Tuesday match against the LG Twins in Incheon collapsed from a suspected heat illness, forcing a nine-minute game stoppage before the fan was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. The team added that 25 additional spectators required on-site medical treatment for heat-related symptoms during the contest.

    Moving forward, the KBO announced it will convene an emergency executive committee meeting, with representatives from member clubs and the KBO Players’ Association in attendance, to negotiate and adopt additional long-term heat safety protocols for the remainder of the season.

  • ‘Outstanding’ month as Australians continue EV uprising

    ‘Outstanding’ month as Australians continue EV uprising

    Australia’s electric vehicle (EV) market has continued its explosive growth, notching a second straight month of historic sales amid ongoing global fuel price volatility that has pushed thousands of consumers to shift to battery-powered transport. New industry data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) reveals that more than 23,500 battery electric vehicles were sold across the country in July 2026, accounting for 21.7% of total new car sales for the month — the highest market share EVs have ever captured in a single month. This milestone marks the second consecutive record-breaking month for EV adoption in Australia, confirming the sector’s rapid transition away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

    “July was another outstanding month for Australian new-vehicle sales and delivered the best July result on record,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber. While Weber praised the accelerating uptake of EVs, he also issued a stark call to action for policymakers and private industry to urgently expand the country’s public charging network to match growing consumer demand. With more Australians embracing EVs, particularly drivers who lack off-street parking or home charging access and those traveling through regional areas, Weber stressed that accessible, reliable charging infrastructure is non-negotiable to preserve consumer confidence as EVs become a mainstream option.

    “Governments and the private sector must work together to ensure that the public charging network meets growing demand particularly in regional areas and for motorists who do not have access to charging at home,” Weber said. “Accessible and dependable charging will be critical to maintaining consumer confidence as electric vehicles become a larger part of Australia’s new-vehicle fleet.”

    When it comes to top-selling models, Chinese automaker BYD led the market in July, with its popular Sealion 7 SUV notching 2,548 sales to claim the number one spot. US EV giant Tesla followed close behind: its Model Y Long Range variant recorded 2,429 sales, while the standard Model Y added more than 2,200 additional sales, cementing Tesla’s position as one of Australia’s most popular EV brands.

    Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen welcomed the record sales, linking the sharp uptick in EV adoption to persistent global oil market instability that has kept petrol prices volatile for Australian motorists. Bowen noted that EV ownership is helping households shield themselves from global oil shocks and cut everyday cost-of-living expenses, a benefit that more Australians are prioritizing as energy prices remain unpredictable.

    “The lesson from Cheaper Home Batteries and EVs is clear to me: with the right policy settings Australians will respond enthusiastically in ways which can lead to globally leading outcomes,” Bowen said. He pointed to longer-term data that underscores the speed of Australia’s EV transition: in the first half of 2026, battery EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles together made up 27% of all light vehicle sales, totaling 191,830 units. That marks a dramatic jump from 2025, when the combined market share of EVs and plug-ins stood at just 13% for the full calendar year.

    Bowen added that EV tax cuts have driven the strongest uptake in fast-growing suburban and outer-urban areas including Tarneit, Werribee, Kellyville, Marsden Park, Craigieburn, Cranbourne and Baulkham Hills. He argued that widespread EV adoption reflects a common-sense choice by Australian households to cut costs and embrace modern renewable energy technology.

    “The common sense choices that Australians are making to upgrade their own energy infrastructure with modern, reliable renewables is the same as our approach for the country,” Bowen said. “People (are) getting a battery and then maximising its contribution to their cost of living by using it to power their EV at a rate much cheaper than filling up at the servo.”

    Beyond battery EVs, the overall low-emission vehicle sector now dominates the Australian new car market. When combined with hybrid vehicles, which held a 17.2% market share in July, all electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for nearly 39% of total new car sales. Internal combustion engine vehicles still hold a significant share of the market, however: petrol-powered cars led all powertrains with 27,894 sales in July, equal to just over a quarter of total market share, while diesel vehicles followed closely with 24,773 units sold.