Global Pulse

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  • Tributes flow after Australian shark attack victim named as father-of-two

    Tributes flow after Australian shark attack victim named as father-of-two

    A devastating shark attack has claimed the life of a 38-year-old Australian father of two, sparking an outpouring of grief and tributes from across Western Australia’s coastal community over the weekend.

    Steven Mattaboni was spearfishing alongside a group of friends roughly one kilometer offshore from Horseshoe Reef, a popular spot located northwest of Perth’s iconic Rottnest Island, when the incident unfolded around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday. The massive predator, measuring approximately 4 meters (13 feet) in length, bit Mattaboni on his lower leg in what law enforcement has described as a horrific attack. He was around 20 meters from his anchored vessel when the attack occurred, leaving his friends to witness the traumatic event firsthand.

    Mattaboni’s companions immediately rushed him back to shore in a desperate bid to save his life, but emergency responders were unable to resuscitate him. Western Australia Police will prepare a full report for the state coroner to formally document the circumstances of the fatality.

    In a heartbreaking statement released after the attack, Mattaboni’s wife Shirene opened up about the irreparable loss her family has suffered, remembering her husband as an incredible parent to the couple’s two young daughters — a child turning three next month and a four-month-old baby. An avid fisherman who was deeply passionate about ocean life, Mattaboni “lived and breathed the water,” his wife said. “Fiercely loyal, endlessly generous, and the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back,” she wrote. “The world has lost a truly one-of-a-kind gentleman, and our daughters have lost an incredible father far too soon. Our hearts are irrevocably broken.”

    Tributes quickly extended beyond Mattaboni’s immediate family to the local community groups he was part of. The Kingsley Amateur Football Club, based in Perth’s northern suburbs where Mattaboni played for the team, remembered him as a much-loved friend to many members. “Mattas was one of the most genuine people you could meet,” the club shared in a public online post. “He had a smile and presence that could light up a room, and he will be remembered fondly by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

    Graham Henderson, president of the Australian Underwater Federation, the national peak body representing spearfishing enthusiasts, said the entire community was reeling from the unexpected loss. “My heart goes out to his family, the club members and the people who were supporting him out on that dive,” Henderson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

    Henderson noted that while spearfishing inherently carries some level of risk, the community works proactively to mitigate threats. For organized competitive events, safety protocols include on-site patrol boats and drone surveillance to spot sharks in surrounding waters before they reach divers. “But of course when people are doing it recreationally… that is probably when they are most vulnerable,” he added.

    Reece Whitby, Western Australia’s police minister, acknowledged the courage and quick action of Mattaboni’s friends, who put themselves at risk to get him back to shore, as well as the first responders who attempted to save his life. “I want to acknowledge the diver’s friends who played a critical role in doing the best they could to bring him back to shore,” Whitby said Saturday. “They all witnessed a very confronting, disturbing and tragic scene.”

    The WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has confirmed it received an official report of the attack by the 4-meter shark, marking another tragic reminder of the risks that come with recreational ocean activity along Australia’s well-known shark-populated western coast.

  • China agrees to boost trade for US ag products such as beef and poultry following Trump-Xi summit

    China agrees to boost trade for US ag products such as beef and poultry following Trump-Xi summit

    WASHINGTON (AP) – Two days after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a high-stakes negotiating summit in Beijing aimed at mitigating economic harm to American agricultural producers from the 2024 trade war he initiated, the White House made a major announcement Sunday: China has committed to scaling up purchases of key U.S. farm products including beef and poultry, hitting an annualized purchase target of $17 billion per year starting in 2026, with this level maintained through 2027 and 2028.

    According to the White House’s statement, the agreement will restore full Chinese market access for U.S. beef and resume Chinese imports of U.S. poultry from states certified as avian influenza-free by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This new framework builds on existing soybean purchase commitments China made last year, offering a much-needed lifeline to American farmers who have lost critical export volume after China sharply cut agricultural imports amid the trade conflict.

    American agricultural producers have faced overlapping economic pressures in recent months. Beyond the trade war that erased China as a major export market for soybeans and other commodities, new disruptions stemming from the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran have restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global trade chokepoint. This disruption has shrunk global fertilizer supplies and driven input prices to record highs, squeezing farm profit margins even further.

    As of Sunday, Beijing had not issued immediate public confirmation of the specific $17 billion purchase terms outlined by the White House. On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Commerce released a more general statement confirming that the two sides had reached agreement to “resolve or make substantial progress toward resolving certain non-tariff barriers and market access issues” for agricultural products.

    Per the Chinese commerce ministry’s spokesperson, the U.S. has agreed to actively address Chinese regulatory concerns covering detained Chinese dairy and seafood shipments, U.S. import rules for Chinese potted bonsai, and Chinese requests for official recognition of Shandong Province as an avian influenza-free zone. In turn, China will actively advance U.S. priorities including registration approvals for American beef processing facilities and market access for U.S. poultry from eligible states. The two sides also committed to expanding overall agricultural and general trade through reciprocal tariff cuts for an unspecified “specific range of products.”

    In the years since the trade war escalated, China has systematically diversified its sources of imported agricultural commodities to protect its own food and national security, shifting growing volumes of purchases to Brazil, Argentina and other supplier nations instead of the U.S. USDA data underscores the scale of the drop-off in U.S. agricultural exports to China: after peaking at $38 billion in total agricultural imports in 2022, Chinese purchases fell to just $8 billion in 2025. Soybean imports alone dropped from nearly $18 billion in 2022 to only $3 billion in 2025.

    After Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese goods last year, China — long the largest foreign buyer of U.S. soybeans — halted nearly all new soybean purchases, leaving U.S. soybean producers, the hardest-hit segment of American agriculture, facing massive surplus stock and depressed prices. The new announcement builds on an October trade truce between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where China first agreed to resume soybean purchases, with an initial commitment of 12 million metric tons for the 2025-2026 marketing year and 25 million metric tons annually for the following three years.

    For the U.S. beef sector, the agreement will re-open the Chinese market to hundreds of U.S. processing facilities, including major operations run by industry giants Tyson Foods and Cargill. China allowed licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef plants to expire last year, pushing total U.S. beef export value to China down to less than $500 million in 2025, a sharp drop from the 2022 peak of $2.14 billion. U.S. poultry exports to China have followed a similar trajectory, falling from over $1 billion in 2022 to just $286 million in 2025. It remains unclear what the actual annual export volume for U.S. beef and poultry will be under the new agreement.

    Beyond agricultural trade, the Beijing summit focused on identifying new areas of bilateral economic cooperation, including expanded market access for U.S. firms in China and increased Chinese investment in U.S. domestic industries. The two leaders announced plans to establish two new bilateral coordinating bodies: a Board of Trade to manage trade in “non-sensitive goods” and address specific tariff reduction issues, and a Board of Investments to facilitate dialogue on cross-border investment issues. Both sides have offered few details on how these new bodies will differ from existing bilateral trade dialogue frameworks. The commerce ministry spokesperson noted that the two sides agreed “in principle” to reciprocal tariff cuts of equivalent scale for products of mutual concern.

    Meeting with U.S. business leaders accompanying Trump on the trip, including Cargill CEO Brian Sikes, Xi emphasized that China’s door of opportunity for international business will continue to widen.

    Soybeans, used heavily for livestock feed and biofuel production in China, have long been the top U.S. agricultural export to the country, accounting for roughly half of all U.S. agricultural exports to China in past years. As of May 7, USDA data shows U.S. exports of soybeans to China have reached 10.9 million metric tons, putting China on track to meet its original October commitment by the end of the current marketing year on August 31. That volume remains far below the 25 million to 30 million metric tons China purchased annually before the latest escalation of the trade war.

    Before Trump’s originally scheduled Beijing trip in late March — postponed amid the outbreak of the Iran conflict — the American Soybean Association publicly urged the president to prioritize expanded soybean access in trade talks with Xi. Association president Scott Metzger said Thursday that the group is pushing for additional soybean purchases in the current marketing year alongside steady progress on meeting long-term purchase commitments. “Greater certainty and consistency in the marketplace help provide farmers with the confidence they need as they make decisions for the year ahead,” Metzger said.
    AP journalist Kevin Vineys contributed reporting to this article.

  • Taiwan will not provoke conflict nor give up sovereignty, says president

    Taiwan will not provoke conflict nor give up sovereignty, says president

    Following the high-profile summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that centered heavily on cross-Strait tensions, Taiwan’s leader Lai Ching-te has issued his first public direct response, laying out the island’s stance while emphasizing the critical need for the United States to maintain its longstanding arms sales policy to Taiwan.

    During the meeting, Chinese state media reported that Xi framed the Taiwan issue—where Beijing claims the self-governing democratic island as an inalienable part of its territory—as the single most consequential matter in bilateral U.S.-China ties. Xi warned that mishandling the question of Taiwan could open the door to direct conflict between the two major global powers. After wrapping up his trip to Beijing, Trump made his own position clear in an interview with Fox News, stating he did not support any move toward formal Taiwan independence, while adding that U.S. policy toward the island had not shifted, and he had no intention of provoking a confrontation with Beijing. Trump also noted that Xi held deeply entrenched views on the Taiwan issue, but he had made no binding commitments to China on the matter during their talks.

    For years, under the administrations of Lai Ching-te and his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s government has held the position that no formal declaration of independence is necessary, as the island already considers itself a sovereign nation. Lai reiterated this long-held stance in a public post on his Facebook page, his first direct public comment following the Trump-Xi summit. He wrote, “Taiwan, the Republic of China, is a sovereign and independent democratic country,” and added that “Taiwan’s future must follow the will of all the Taiwanese people.” Public opinion data consistently shows that a majority of Taiwan’s residents identify as citizens of a sovereign nation, though most also support maintaining the current cross-Strait status quo: rejecting both immediate unification with China and an official formal declaration of independence.

    Beijing has repeatedly condemned Lai, labeling him a dangerous “troublemaker” and a threat to cross-Strait peace. In his Facebook post, Lai pushed back against these characterizations, emphasizing that Taiwan has no intention of initiating aggression or escalating tensions. “Taiwan will not provoke, will not escalate conflict, but will not under pressure give up national sovereignty and dignity, as well as the democratic and free way of life,” he wrote. He further clarified that Taiwan is a committed defender of the existing cross-Strait status quo, not a party seeking to unilaterally alter the current arrangement. Lai added that Taiwan is open to holding healthy, structured exchanges and dialogue with Beijing, as long as those talks take place on the basis of equal dignity and mutual respect. However, he firmly rejected Beijing’s practice of framing dialogue under the precondition of “unification” as a pretext to coerce Taiwan into accepting its terms.

    This position echoes an earlier statement from Lai’s presidential spokesperson, who affirmed that it is self-evident Taiwan is a sovereign, independent democratic nation, and the government remains dedicated to upholding the cross-Strait status quo. For its part, Beijing has consistently stated it prefers peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but has never formally ruled out the use of military force to bring the island under its control. In recent years, Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, conducting regular large-scale military drills—including simulated blockades of the island—around Taiwan’s territorial waters and airspace.

    For more than four decades, the United States has supplied defensive arms to Taiwan under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, a U.S. law that requires the U.S. to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself against potential aggression. The U.S. remains Taiwan’s most powerful international ally and its largest supplier of military equipment. In December prior to the summit, the Trump administration approved a massive $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, one of the largest single arms deals in the history of U.S.-Taiwan relations. That approval drew sharp condemnation from Beijing, which has long opposed all U.S. arms sales to the island.

    After leaving Beijing, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had discussed the proposed arms sale in great depth with Xi, and would make a final decision on whether to move forward with the transaction later. When pressed on the longstanding 1982 U.S. commitment that it would not consult Beijing on arms sales decisions to Taiwan, Trump dismissed the commitment, noting the 1980s were “a long time ago.”

    Over the weekend following the summit, Lai expressed gratitude to Trump for his continued support for peace across the Taiwan Strait, and reaffirmed that sustained U.S. arms sales are non-negotiable for regional stability. “Given that China has never given up the use of force to annex Taiwan and continues to expand its military power to try to change the regional and cross-strait status quo, America’s continued sale of arms to Taiwan and deeper U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation is necessary and a key factor in maintaining regional peace and stability,” Lai wrote.

  • Luke Sayers and wife Cate battle in court over ‘dick pic’ scandal trial

    Luke Sayers and wife Cate battle in court over ‘dick pic’ scandal trial

    A high-profile legal dispute has erupted in Australia’s Supreme Court between former Carlton Football Club president Luke Sayers and his estranged wife Cate Sayers, centered on a viral explicit image scandal that played out on social media platform X earlier this year. The conflict centers on an explicit photo of Luke Sayers that was posted to his personal X account in January, which also tagged one of Carlton Football Club’s major sponsors. The image was taken down just 15 minutes after it went live, but not before it sparked widespread public and media attention across the country.

    Both sides have vehemently denied responsibility for the post. Luke Sayers, who has stepped away from his leadership role at the AFL club, claims he could not have uploaded the image because he was showering at the time of the post. He has previously alleged that one day after the incident, Cate Sayers made comments implying she was behind the post, saying words to the effect of “let’s see how you get out of this one”. Cate Sayers has firmly refuted this accusation, noting she was not staying at the same hotel as her estranged husband when the post went live, and has outright denied sharing the image.

    The legal fight has now expanded beyond who posted the photo to include cross claims of defamation, as well as a dispute over where the trial should be heard. Luke Sayers’ legal team, led by prominent barrister Matthew Collins KC, is pushing to have the case transferred to the family court division of the Federal Court. Collins argued in court that the original X post itself constitutes a defamatory act against his client, noting that Luke Sayers faced relentless negative media attention in the days after the image was published. A separate internal inquiry conducted by the Australian Football League (AFL) cleared Luke Sayers of any intentional wrongdoing in connection with the post.

    For her part, Cate Sayers is pushing to keep the proceedings in the Supreme Court, and has launched her own defamation counterclaim. She argues that a statutory declaration submitted during the investigation into the X post defamed her, with legal representatives noting that the reputational damage she has suffered extends across the entire country. Last week, the *Herald Sun* revealed that Cate Sayers had issued formal subpoenas to both Carlton Football Club and the national AFL governing body as part of her case.

    During opening procedural hearings on Monday, Supreme Court Justice Andrew Watson ordered a temporary closure of the court for early closed-door arguments over whether the full trial should proceed in open court. Watson previously ordered that live streaming of the proceedings be halted, after Collins argued that heightened public and social media attention around the salacious case could complicate fair judicial proceedings. While stressing that “we don’t want to exclude the media from being able to report”, Justice Watson also shared concerns that members of the general public attending the open trial may not be prepared for the explicit nature of the evidence and legal discussions in the case.

  • Who could be the 2026 World Cup’s breakout star?

    Who could be the 2026 World Cup’s breakout star?

    The FIFA World Cup has long been the ultimate launchpad for young football talent, turning promising prospects into household global names overnight. As the 2026 tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada approaches, AFP Sport has profiled five standout young players widely tipped to emerge as the competition’s next breakout superstar.

    First up is 21-year-old Nico Paz, a product of the Real Madrid academy who currently plies his trade at Italian side Como. Though born and raised in Spain, the son of former Argentina international Pablo Paz chose to represent the reigning World Cup champions. Over the past two seasons working under manager Cesc Fabregas at Como, Paz’s game has developed rapidly, with Real Madrid already preparing to trigger their buyback clause to bring the youngster back to the Spanish capital. Renowned for his polished technical skill and deadly long-range finishing, Paz has drawn attention from top clubs across Europe. For Argentina, he could step into a critical role: with coach Lionel Scaloni expected to manage 38-year-old Lionel Messi’s minutes carefully during the side’s title defense, Paz may face the high-pressure task of filling the legendary forward’s shoes.

    Next is 20-year-old France winger Desire Doue, who has already proven his quality on the biggest club stage. Last season, he claimed the man-of-the-match award and netted twice in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final thumping of Inter Milan. The 2026 World Cup will mark his first appearance at a major senior international tournament, however. Doue faces stiff competition just to earn a starting spot in Didier Deschamps’ deep attacking corps, which already includes Kylian Mbappe, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise. But he gave Deschamps a clear reminder of his potential in March, scoring his first two international goals during a 3-1 friendly win over Colombia.

    For hosts England, 21-year-old Nico O’Reilly has emerged as a potential breakout candidate after earning the trust of Pep Guardiola to become a regular starter at treble-winning Manchester City. Originally a goal-scoring midfielder, O’Reilly has been converted into an attacking left-back by Guardiola, who has leveraged his unique combination of height, pace and technical skill to create a dangerous offensive weapon from deep positions. His emergence could also solve a long-standing problem for England manager Thomas Tuchel: during the Three Lions’ run to the Euro 2024 final, the side spent most of the tournament without a fit natural left-back after Luke Shaw’s injury. Guardiola has been full of praise for the youngster’s rapid rise, saying: “What a player. He has made an incredible step up and he has had a lot of minutes, but he deserves it.”

    Brazil’s 19-year-old Endrick, one of the most hyped teenage prospects in the world, is also primed for a breakout. The prodigy made his Palmeiras debut at 16 and was signed by Real Madrid before he turned 18, and his chances of shining at the World Cup have been boosted by a successful loan spell at French side Lyon that has reignited his scoring form. Endrick made history two years ago when he scored the match-winning goal against Brazil at Wembley, becoming the Seleção’s youngest goalscorer since Ronaldo Nazário. After a slow start following his agreement to join Real Madrid, the forward has found his touch in front of goal since moving to Lyon in January 2026. Frequently compared to Brazilian legend Romario thanks to his low, powerful build, Endrick will be hoping to replicate the great’s 1994 World Cup success, when Romario scored five goals to lead Brazil to title on U.S. soil.

    Rounding out the list is Spain’s Pedri, the 23-year-old midfield playmaker who has already been hailed as the natural heir to Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi Hernandez. Pedri first announced himself to the world as an 18-year-old at Euro 2020, and was a key part of Spain’s Euro 2024 title run before a hamstring injury ruled him out of the semi-final and final matches. At the club level, Pedri has put his past fitness issues behind him under Barcelona manager Hansi Flick, starring in the side’s back-to-back La Liga title triumphs over the past two seasons. With a full bill of health heading into the 2026 World Cup, Pedri is widely expected to anchor Spain’s title challenge and cement his status as one of the world’s top midfielders.

  • Hantavirus-hit cruise ship nears end of voyage, to dock in Rotterdam

    Hantavirus-hit cruise ship nears end of voyage, to dock in Rotterdam

    A polar expedition cruise ship that triggered international concern following a deadly hantavirus outbreak is preparing to conclude its disrupted journey at the Dutch port of Rotterdam on Monday, bringing an end to weeks of uncertainty for global health authorities. The MV Hondius, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, is scheduled to dock between 10 a.m. local time and midday, with only 27 people remaining on board: 25 skeleton crew members and two dedicated medical staff, all of whom are currently asymptomatic and under constant health monitoring.

    The vessel first made global headlines when three passengers died from complications of hantavirus, a rare zoonotic pathogen with no licensed vaccine or targeted antiviral treatment. As cases mounted and concerns over human-to-human spread grew, the World Health Organization moved quickly to calm public fears, emphasizing that the outbreak did not represent the emergence of a new pandemic similar to COVID-19. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on May 12 that there was no evidence of an emerging large-scale outbreak, though he warned that the virus’ multi-week incubation period meant additional cases could still surface among people who were exposed during the voyage.

    As of the latest official counts compiled by Agence France-Presse, hantavirus has been confirmed in six patients, with one additional probable case recorded. A seventh asymptomatic person in Canada has returned a preliminary positive test result, which is still pending final confirmation.

    The crisis unfolded after the ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 for a planned expedition through remote South Atlantic islands, scheduled to conclude in Cape Verde. When cases were first detected, the voyage was thrown into chaos, sparking diplomatic negotiations as multiple nations debated whether to allow the vessel to dock. Cape Verde declined to accept the ship, leaving it anchored off the capital Praia while three infected passengers were evacuated to Europe by air. Eventually, Spain granted permission for the vessel to anchor off the Canary Islands, a decision that drew fierce pushback from the regional government of the Atlantic archipelago.

    On May 10, the ship reached the Canary Islands, where more than 120 passengers and non-essential crew were evacuated and repatriated to their home countries or to the Netherlands, the nation under which the vessel is flagged. Among those evacuated, a 65-year-old French woman developed symptoms during her repatriation flight and was admitted to a Paris hospital in critical condition with a confirmed hantavirus infection. Two other passengers – one Dutch national and one British national – were airlifted directly to the Netherlands for urgent hospital care. Dutch officials now report both are in stable condition, with the British patient well enough to return home to complete self-isolation. All other evacuated passengers who entered the Netherlands have tested negative for the virus; some remain in quarantine in the country, while others have already returned to their home nations.

    Those remaining on board when the ship docks on Monday represent a range of nationalities: 17 crew from the Philippines, four from the Netherlands (including two crew and the two medical staffers), four from Ukraine, one from Russia and one from Poland. All will enter quarantine either at port facilities or in private accommodation after disembarkation. The body of a German passenger who died during the outbreak will also remain on the ship until docking is complete.

    Late Sunday, the WHO reaffirmed its official risk assessment for the outbreak, classifying it as “low risk.” In a statement, the organization noted that while additional cases may still occur among people exposed before public health measures were put in place, the risk of further community transmission will drop significantly once all passengers and crew have disembarked and appropriate control measures are implemented. After docking, the MV Hondius will undergo a comprehensive deep cleaning and disinfection process, with preparations already underway to begin the procedure immediately after the vessel arrives.

    Public health experts note that hantavirus is typically spread through contact with the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents, and the pathogen is endemic to parts of Argentina, where the voyage originated. The strain involved in this outbreak is the Andes variant, the only known strain of hantavirus that can transmit between humans, a detail that added to early global concern over the incident.

  • Concussion class action against AFL and clubs by players set for 12-week trial in 2027

    Concussion class action against AFL and clubs by players set for 12-week trial in 2027

    A high-stakes class action lawsuit brought by former Australian Football League (AFL) players over long-term brain damage linked to repeated on-field and training concussions is on track for a landmark 12-week trial, set to commence in the second half of 2025.

    First launched in 2023 by Max Rooke, a former defender for the Geelong Cats who played 125 top-flight games for the club between 2002 and 2010, the legal action has already grown to include nearly 100 former players as participating claimants. Rooke serves as the lead plaintiff in the case, which was brought before Victorian Supreme Court Justice Andrew Keogh for a procedural hearing on Monday, where the trial timeline was formally set.

    Per the court’s scheduling order, the 12-week trial will get underway on July 26, 2025. Alongside the trial date, the court also scheduled a directions hearing focused on pre-trial mediation for September 30 this year, with a specialized expert conclave — a closed-door meeting where independent medical and industry specialists will discuss technical issues central to the case — also planned to take place ahead of the trial.

    In his claim, Rooke alleges he sustained permanent, life-altering brain damage from repeated concussion injuries sustained during his playing and training career. He further claims that both the league and his club failed to provide reasonable care after he suffered head impacts, and never adequately warned him of the long-term health risks associated with repeated concussions.

    The class action is not limited to Rooke and the current group of claimants. It is brought on behalf of all AFL players, their families, and their estates who played in the league at any point between 1985 and March 2023, and who have since developed permanent brain injuries stemming from in-game or training head impacts. The core allegation of the lawsuit is that the AFL as the governing body, and individual participating clubs, systematically failed to properly manage and mitigate the risk of concussion injuries for players over the 38-year period covered by the claim.

    The legal battle has already seen one major pre-trial ruling. In September 2023, Justice Keogh rejected an application by the AFL and Geelong Football Club to split the class action into hundreds of separate individual claims, a move that would have significantly delayed proceedings and increased legal costs for the plaintiffs. The league and the named clubs have maintained their defense against the claims throughout the procedural process.

  • Four takeaways from Musk vs OpenAI trial

    Four takeaways from Musk vs OpenAI trial

    After three weeks of heated courtroom proceedings, one of Silicon Valley’s most consequential legal battles centered on the artificial intelligence industry is drawing to a close. The civil suit filed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk against OpenAI and its co-founders, widely labeled as the tech hub’s first major AI industry trial, is set to go to the jury for deliberation as early as Monday. As the legal process wraps up, four standout moments have come to define the clash between two of the founding factions of one of the world’s most valuable AI companies.

    First, Musk has framed his own role in OpenAI’s founding as that of a naive, altruistic pioneer who poured resources into a project for the public good, only to be pushed aside by the co-founders who built a multi-trillion-dollar business from his initial investment. Opening his case on April 28, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO positioned himself as a Good Samaritan focused on safeguarding humanity from unregulated superintelligence that could pose existential risks if controlled by bad actors. “I came up with the idea, the name, recruited the key people, taught them everything I know, provided all of the initial funding,” Musk told the court of OpenAI’s 2015 launch. He added: “I gave $38 million essentially for nothing, which they used to build a company worth $800 billion. I was literally an idiot,” blaming his own early lack of suspicion for the current conflict. Throughout his testimony, Musk displayed clear frustration, accusing OpenAI’s legal team of asking loaded questions designed to trap him. In response, OpenAI lead counsel William Savitt leaned into pointed cross-examination, wrapping his aggressive questioning in polite language that began with the line: “Mr. Musk, you are a brilliant man.”

    The second defining moment came when OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman took the stand to deliver his sharp counterattack, trading his signature casual attire of T-shirts, jeans and sneakers for a formal dark suit and tie. For most of the trial, Altman sat expressionless in the front row of the Oakland courtroom, but when his turn to testify arrived on May 12, he did not hold back. Musk’s lead attorney Steven Molo opened by asking Altman if he had always told the truth throughout his life, to which Altman replied candidly: “I’m sure there have been times in my life when I didn’t.” But he quickly pivoted to strike back at Musk’s claims, alleging that as early as 2017, Musk demanded 90% of OpenAI’s total equity and refused to put a power-sharing agreement in writing. Altman explained that the remaining co-founders had no choice but to push back on the demand, arguing that artificial general intelligence — the superintelligent system OpenAI initially set out to build — should never fall under the exclusive control of a single individual.

    Third, decades-old personal notebooks kept by OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman became a central piece of evidence in the case. Throughout the trial, Brockman has been a consistent presence in court, filling yellow notepads with detailed notes on every day’s proceedings. But during his May 4 cross-examination, it was his old private journals from the early days of OpenAI that took center stage. Musk’s legal team pulled out embarrassing excerpts that appeared to show Brockman was focused from early on on growing his personal wealth and pushing Musk out of the organization. One entry asked: “financially, what will take me to $1B?” Another noted Brockman’s goal to convert OpenAI to a benefit corporation without Musk’s involvement, and a third entry even described a plan to take control of the original non-profit foundation from Musk as “pretty morally bankrupt.” Brockman pushed back firmly against the attempt to frame him as unethical, telling the court: “There’s nothing in there I’m ashamed of.” He added that the journal failed to record details of a 2017 explosive confrontation with Musk, where Brockman said he genuinely believed Musk was about to physically assault him. While Musk never touched him, Brockman testified that Musk ripped a Tesla painting — a gift to the company from one of the co-founders — off the wall and stormed out of the room. Today, Brockman’s stake in OpenAI is valued at roughly $30 billion.

    The final high-profile moment of the trial came with the testimony of Shivon Zilis, a shadowy figure with close ties to both Musk and OpenAI who rarely appears in public. Zilis, who is the mother of four of Musk’s children, conceived via in vitro fertilization, served on OpenAI’s board of directors from 2020 to 2023, and also holds a senior role at Musk’s neurotechnology firm Neuralink. Her dual role put her in the awkward position of being a close colleague to Musk and a personal friend to Altman, and OpenAI has accused her of acting as a secret mole for Musk during her time on the board. When her relationship with Musk was brought up in court, Zilis responded with dry sarcasm, saying: “Relationship is a relative term,” before acknowledging that “there have been romantic moments.” While her in-court testimony drew intense media curiosity, the greater impact on the case may come from the content of private text messages Zilis sent to both Musk and Altman. Those communications could lead the jury to conclude that Musk was fully aware of OpenAI’s strategic shift toward for-profit development long before he filed his 2023 lawsuit. If the jury agrees that Musk had this information years earlier, his entire case could be dismissed before jurors even begin deliberating on the core legal claims.

  • Jury to decide fate of Musk’s blockbuster suit against OpenAI

    Jury to decide fate of Musk’s blockbuster suit against OpenAI

    Three weeks of dramatic, star-studded testimony in one of the most consequential Silicon Valley legal battles in recent memory drew to a close this week, with jurors set to begin deliberations Monday on Elon Musk’s blockbuster lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman. At the heart of the dispute is a bitter clash over the original founding mission of the AI firm that kicked off the global generative AI boom: Musk alleges Altman and other early leaders betrayed the organization’s founding promise to develop open, non-profit AI for the public good, instead steering it toward profit-driven growth that has turned it into an $850 billion private sector powerhouse.

    The trial, held in Oakland, California just outside the global tech hub of San Francisco, has seen dozens of Silicon Valley’s most prominent figures take the stand to testify about the behind-the-scenes clashes that have roiled OpenAI for years. Musk, the world’s richest person who helped launch OpenAI in 2015 before stepping down from the board in 2018, argues that the company’s radical transformation from a small, scrappy non-profit research lab to the creator of ChatGPT, the product that ignited today’s global AI race, amounts to a breach of the founding agreement and a misuse of his $38 million original donation.

    Musk’s legal team centered its closing argument, delivered Thursday, on challenging Altman’s personal credibility. Lead Musk attorney Steven Molo attacked the OpenAI chief’s integrity, arguing that the company’s leadership abandoned the core non-profit mission that convinced Musk and other early donors to back the project. “A non-profit devoted to the safe development of artificial intelligence, open sourced as practical, for the benefit of humanity. You know, we’re supposed to buy that,” Molo told the nine-member jury.

    OpenAI’s legal team fired back with a direct assault on Musk’s own claims, pointing out that even close associates of the billionaire have failed to back his version of events. OpenAI attorney Sarah Eddy highlighted testimony from Shivon Zilis, a business partner of Musk who is also the mother of four of his children, who acted as an intermediary between Musk and Altman in years after Musk left OpenAI. “Even the people who work for him, even the mother of his children, can’t back his story,” Eddy argued.

    The trial has also brought renewed public attention to long-swirling allegations about Altman’s leadership style. The OpenAI CEO was unexpectedly ousted by the company’s board in November 2023 over claims he lacked candor with leadership, only to be reinstated days later after massive pressure from OpenAI employees and major investors. Allegations of behind-the-scenes manipulation and a toxic internal culture dogged Altman throughout the three weeks of testimony.

    Before the jury can rule on the core claims of the lawsuit, it must first resolve a critical threshold question: whether Musk, who filed the suit in 2024, four years after his last financial contribution to OpenAI, brought the claim within the state’s statutory deadline for legal action. If jurors find the suit was filed too late, the case will be dismissed immediately. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that the jury’s decision on this timeline question will be advisory, but she has indicated she will almost certainly follow the jury’s recommendation.

    If the case moves forward, jurors will then weigh whether Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman improperly misused Musk’s $38 million donation, which Musk says was earmarked to keep OpenAI operating as a public-benefit research lab, and broke binding promises to retain the non-profit structure to pursue personal profit and commercial growth.

    Musk’s requested remedy is extraordinary: he is demanding that OpenAI reverse its transformation and return to full non-profit status. Such a ruling would force OpenAI to scrap its planned initial public offering, unwind its multi-billion dollar partnerships and investment ties with major tech backers including Microsoft, Amazon and SoftBank, and rewrite its entire corporate structure. The jury will also consider whether Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest single backer which has committed $13 billion to the company, knowingly facilitated OpenAI’s shift away from its original non-profit mandate.

    Since leaving OpenAI in 2018, Musk has built his own competing AI initiatives, first through his rocket company SpaceX and more recently through dedicated AI startup xAI, which has so far struggled to compete with OpenAI and other leading AI players like California-based Anthropic. As Judge Rogers noted during the trial, the entire dispute ultimately boils down to a fundamental question for the nine jurors: which side of this battle between two of tech’s most high-profile billionaires can they believe? A win for Musk could deliver a fatal blow to OpenAI, upending the global AI race that the company helped launch with the 2022 release of ChatGPT.

  • Treasurer orders investors dump shares of WA rare earths miner over Chinese control fears

    Treasurer orders investors dump shares of WA rare earths miner over Chinese control fears

    Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has issued binding divestment orders compelling six investors linked to China to sell their entire 17.5% stake in Northern Minerals, the ASX-listed developer of a strategically critical rare earths project in remote Western Australia, over national security and foreign investment rule compliance concerns. The forced sale, which impacts nearly 1.68 billion shares valued at around AU$40.4 million, marks the latest escalation in a months-long regulatory battle over control of the Browns Range project, which is set to produce heavy rare earth elements critical to global semiconductor manufacturing, defense supply chains, and clean energy technologies. The investors subject to the orders include three companies registered in Beijing, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands, as well as two individual Chinese citizens, all of whom have been given a 14-day deadline to complete the full divestment of their holdings. In a public statement released Monday, Chalmers emphasized that Australia maintains a rigorous, even-handed foreign investment regulatory framework designed to protect core national interests. “We operate a robust and non-discriminatory foreign investment framework and will take further action if required to protect our national interest in relation to this matter,” Chalmers said. Northern Minerals, which has already received full regulatory approval to bring the Browns Range mine into production, paused trading on the Australian Securities Exchange shortly before market open on Monday before publishing full details of the divestment orders in an official filing an hour later. When operational, the project will produce two of the most strategically vital heavy rare earths globally: dysprosium, where China controls roughly 60% of total global supply, and terbium, where China dominates approximately 90% of global refining capacity. Both elements are irreplaceable components in high-strength permanent magnets used for everything from electric vehicle motors to advanced defense weapons systems. Breakdown of the required divestments, as outlined in Northern Minerals’ ASX filing, shows the largest single stake to be sold is the 619 million shares held by British Virgin Islands-registered Real International Resources, which accumulated the holding between 2023 and early 2025. Hong Kong-based Qogir Trading and Service Co. is ordered to offload 523.5 million shares, while Beijing-registered Vastness Investment Group and Chinese national Chuanyou Cong have each been directed to sell 130 million shares. Hong Kong’s Ying Tak must dispose of 93 million shares it acquired last November, and a second Chinese national, Zhongxiong Lin, has to sell 39.8 million shares. This latest action builds on prior regulatory enforcement against non-compliant foreign investors in the project. Back in June 2025, Chalmers took two other investors to the Federal Court of Australia over alleged breaches of the country’s Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act. One of those entities, Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company, and its sole director, Chinese national Jing Tian, had already been ordered to divest their Northern Minerals stake a year prior, but failed to comply. The Federal Court ultimately imposed a combined AU$14 million fine for the violation, one of the largest penalties ever issued for foreign investment non-compliance in Australia. Vastness Investment Group, which already holds a 7.7% stake in Northern Minerals, escalated tensions earlier this year when it called for an extraordinary general meeting to vote on the removal of independent director Adam Handley. The legality of that move has been contested in court, with a ruling requiring the meeting to be held no later than June 30, 2025. The ongoing regulatory dispute dates back to 2024, when Chalmers issued his first round of divestment orders covering 613 million Northern Minerals shares. In April 2025, Northern Minerals disclosed to the ASX that roughly 60% of those ordered shares had been transferred to Ying Tak, prompting Chalmers to immediately issue a separate order barring the company from recognizing Ying Tak’s voting rights on any of its holdings.