Global Pulse

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  • Tesla sales jumped last quarter in a possible sign the worst of the Musk backlash is behind it

    Tesla sales jumped last quarter in a possible sign the worst of the Musk backlash is behind it

    Electric vehicle giant Tesla has delivered a surprising strong performance in the second quarter of this year, with sales surging 25% compared to the same period last year — a jump that suggests consumer backlash tied to CEO Elon Musk’s controversial political stances may be largely behind the company. The Austin-based automaker announced Thursday that it delivered 480,126 vehicles to global customers in the three-month period, far outpacing both the 384,126 deliveries recorded a year ago and the 401,000 delivery forecast that Wall Street analysts projected in a FactSet survey. This quarter marks the second consecutive period of rising sales, marking a sharp turnaround from Tesla’s slump just months ago, when the company reported two straight years of annual sales declines and ceded its long-held title as the world’s top-selling electric vehicle manufacturer to China’s BYD.

    The sales rebound comes after more than a year of consumer pushback against Tesla and Musk. Last year, widespread boycotts and protests erupted across Europe and the U.S. after Musk publicly endorsed far-right political candidates in European elections. Demonstrations included effigy burnings of Musk in Milan, vandalism targeting Tesla vehicles and stores, and pledges from thousands of consumers to avoid purchasing the brand’s EVs. In the U.S., additional anger stemmed from Musk’s leadership of a former Trump administration task force focused on cutting federal government spending, which drove many of Tesla’s traditional liberal-leaning customer base away from the brand. A U.S. federal $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases was also eliminated for Tesla late last year, raising the effective cost of the company’s vehicles and keeping many price-sensitive buyers on the sidelines even amid rising gasoline prices that have otherwise boosted overall EV demand.

    While Tesla did not release a regional breakdown of its Q2 delivery numbers, preliminary data from European industry groups already showed massive sales gains across the continent in May, including a 300% year-over-year jump in Germany alone. The rebound in European demand is largely attributed to targeted pricing moves Tesla rolled out starting last year: the company introduced lower-priced variants of its popular Model 3 and Model Y lines, and cut the cost of consumer leases and auto loans across European markets. Broader market trends have also helped: rising gasoline and diesel prices, spurred in large part by ongoing geopolitical tensions tied to the Iran conflict, have driven a widespread surge in overall EV adoption across the continent.

    Looking ahead, Tesla is betting that regulatory approval of its controversial Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver assistance system will further accelerate sales growth in Europe. The technology, which is already available to customers in the U.S., earned regulatory approval in the Netherlands back in April, with Estonia, Greece and Lithuania following suit in subsequent months. Expanded approvals across more European nations are expected to draw new customers to the brand.

    Even with the strong global headline numbers, U.S. sales continue to struggle, according to estimates from automotive research firm Cox Automotive. The group projects that Tesla’s U.S. deliveries fell 20% year-over-year in the second quarter, dragged down by the lingering impact of the eliminated federal tax credit and ongoing consumer discontent with Musk.

    In an unexpected market move, Tesla’s stock dropped 6% in midday trading Thursday despite the much-better-than-expected delivery results. Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein attributed the counterintuitive dip to profit-taking by investors, who have booked gains after a sharp recent rally in Tesla shares. Over the past 12 months, Tesla’s stock has jumped more than 40%, fully recovering from a deep decline in early 2024. The rally has been fueled in part by Musk’s successful shift in market narrative, which has reframed Tesla’s long-term growth story around its artificial intelligence, automated driving technology, humanoid robot division and planned self-driving robotaxi service rather than its core vehicle manufacturing business, a pivot that has won over Wall Street investors.

  • South Africa and Ghana in diplomatic row over killing of migrant

    South Africa and Ghana in diplomatic row over killing of migrant

    Tensions have flared into a full diplomatic dispute between South Africa and Ghana, sparked by conflicting claims over the death of a Ghanaian national amid a nationwide wave of anti-migrant unrest that has been building for months across South Africa. At the core of the disagreement are competing accounts of the death of 40-year-old Bashiru Isak, a Ghanaian tailor who had resided in South Africa for roughly two decades. Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it received deeply shocking reports that Isak was shot and killed at his workplace in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township on Tuesday, the same day that anti-migrant groups held an unofficial deadline for all undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa. According to local Ghanaian media outlet Joy FM, the attackers confronted Isak at his shop, accusing him of taking employment opportunities from native South African citizens before opening fire. Ghana has formally rejected the killing, issued a diplomatic protest note to South African authorities, filed an official police complaint, and called for a full, transparent, and rapid investigation to hold all responsible parties accountable. The Ghanaian government has also stressed that South Africa must uphold its international commitments to protect the safety, dignity, and human rights of all foreign nationals residing within its borders, including Ghanaian citizens, and has begun arrangements to repatriate Isak’s remains to Ghana for burial while extending official condolences to his bereaved family. It has also issued a public advisory urging Ghanaian citizens who choose to remain in South Africa to stay alert and avoid areas deemed high risk for anti-migrant violence.

    However, South African officials have categorically denied Ghana’s version of events, dismissing claims linking the reported killing to anti-migrant protests as a fabricated, false narrative. South Africa’s Justice Minister has publicly pushed back against Ghanaian authorities, criticizing them for spreading inaccurate information related to developments around irregular migration in the country. South African police confirm they have no official record of a murder occurring in Khayelitsha matching the details Ghana has provided, and have formally requested that Ghanaian authorities share any evidence or specific details they hold about the alleged incident to allow for a formal investigation.

    South African police do confirm that they are probing the fatal shooting of a second Ghanaian national, 35-year-old Kwabena Boagen, whose killing took place one day before the reported Isak incident in Nyanga, a separate Cape Town township. According to police accounts, Boagen resided in the Khayelitsha area but worked in Nyanga, where the attack unfolded. Investigators say suspects entered the barbershop where Boagen worked, demanded an extortion payment from him, shot him, and then fled the scene. No arrests have been made in the case to date, and a post-mortem examination is currently being conducted in line with standard police procedures.

    The disputed killing comes as anti-immigrant sentiment has reached new heights in South Africa, a nation that currently holds one of the highest unemployment rates globally, with official figures topping 30%. As Africa’s most industrialized and developed economy, South Africa has long drawn economic migrants from lower-income neighboring and regional countries, who often take up low-wage work that native citizens frequently decline. Anti-migrant groups organized mass marches across South Africa’s major cities on Tuesday, the date of their self-imposed deadline for all undocumented foreigners to leave the country. South African police reported that the majority of the protests were largely peaceful, but noted that around 900 people were taken into custody on Tuesday, with most arrests tied to immigration violations and incidents of looting.

    Ahead of the deadline, multiple African governments including Ghana, Malawi, and Nigeria have begun repatriation operations to bring their citizens back home, after many migrant residents reported facing rising violence and intimidation targeting foreign nationals. South African officials confirm that as of this week, approximately 25,000 foreign migrants have already left the country to escape the growing hostile environment.

  • Graham Norton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge spotted before rumoured Swift wedding

    Graham Norton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge spotted before rumoured Swift wedding

    Global pop icon Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce are on the cusp of tying the knot over the Fourth of July weekend, with a flurry of A-list celebrity guests touching down in New York City and heavy security shrouding their planned celebration at Madison Square Garden.

    Longtime Swift-connected celebrity Graham Norton, the beloved British chat show host, was photographed arriving at New York’s JFK Airport alongside his husband Jono McLeod. Norton’s attendance comes as no surprise to long-time fans: last year, during his own BBC chat show, Norton pressed Swift on when she would tie the knot, to which Swift responded that she would certainly invite him. Norton, who previously made a cameo appearance in Swift’s music video for *Opalite*, even joked ahead of the wedding that the event must be exceptionally large if he earned an invitation.

    Joining Norton among the confirmed celebrity arrivals is Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the award-winning creator and star of *Fleabag*, who was spotted in Manhattan earlier this week. The pair have a long history of socializing, and Waller-Bridge was counted among the high-profile attendees of Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour stop in London in 2024. Their professional connection dates back even further: Waller-Bridge hosted *Saturday Night Live* in 2019, when Swift appeared as the episode’s musical guest.

    Other high-profile names reportedly on the guest list include Kansas City Chiefs tight end George Kittle, breakout pop singer Benson Boone, British actress Suki Waterhouse, Swift’s long-time friend and frequent music video collaborator Abigail Anderson Berard, and pop star Selena Gomez. One notable name with an uncertain invitation status is actress Blake Lively, who previously drew Swift into a public legal dispute with Lively’s *It Ends With Us* co-star Justin Baldoni. That case was settled in May 2026, but it remains unclear if the rift has been repaired enough for Lively to attend.

    Multiple media outlets have confirmed that the wedding celebration is set to be hosted at Madison Square Garden, the iconic 20,000+ seat Manhattan arena best known as home to the New York Knicks and a top destination for major global concerts. The New York City Mayor’s Office confirmed to the BBC that a permit for street closures around the arena was filed in early June, covering the period from July 2 to July 4, aligned with the Independence Day weekend. The New York Times, which first broke the story of the permit, added that multiple members of Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs have booked hotel blocks in the immediate area. While the outlet stopped short of explicitly calling the event a wedding, it confirmed the celebration is tied to the couple’s nuptials. Prior to the permit confirmation, an unnamed law enforcement official briefed on the event’s security arrangements confirmed the wedding plans to the Associated Press, noting that officials have prepared for a major influx of Swift’s diehard fans, known as Swifties.

    Preparation work for the event has been underway for days, with onlookers spotting large props including a grand piano, luxury carpets, and a crate of mirror balls being hauled into the arena. A forklift operator working on the preparation was even spotted wearing a Swift tour t-shirt on the job. The venue did host a major darts championship earlier this week that drew thousands of rowdy fans, leaving arena staff with a major cleaning challenge ahead of the wedding. Celebrity photographer Mickey Blank, who has worked in New York’s celebrity space for more than a decade, told BBC Newsbeat that the floor after the darts tournament was so sticky from spilled beer that she could barely move, adding that the work required to prepare it for a luxury wedding would be substantial.

    Security for the event is described as “Pentagon-level secrecy,” according to Blank. The area around Madison Square Garden is currently swarming with press, but members of the public and media are barred from accessing most restricted areas. All high-profile guests, including the bride and groom, are expected to arrive through the venue’s private underground parking lot, meaning almost no unplanned sightings of the couple are expected. Blank noted that the chance of members of the public catching a glimpse of Swift are “lower than zero.”

    When asked about the wedding at a press conference earlier this week, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani only confirmed that the city is fully prepared for the event, adding that there was no additional information to share. He leaned into the rumors in a later social media post advising New Yorkers to stay cool amid an ongoing heatwave, quipping, “especially if you’re (hypothetically) having your wedding at MSG this weekend.”

    Swift and Kelce first went public with their relationship in 2023, and the pair announced their engagement via a joint Instagram post in August 2025. Fourth of July has long been one of Swift’s favorite holidays, with the star historically hosting large private celebrations for the occasion, making the weekend a fitting date for her wedding.

  • Watch: BBC at site of deadly Russian attack on Kyiv flats

    Watch: BBC at site of deadly Russian attack on Kyiv flats

    In the wake of a devastating Russian attack that left a residential neighborhood in Kyiv shattered, BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford has traveled to the scene of the violence to document the aftermath. The target of the strike was a nine-story apartment building, a structure that once housed dozens of ordinary Ukrainian families going about their daily lives. Today, that building stands no more; it has been reduced to a sprawling pile of twisted concrete, broken glass, and splintered rebar, a stark physical reminder of the human cost of the ongoing conflict.

    Rainsford’s on-site reporting captures the full scale of the destruction, offering audiences a first-hand look at the damage inflicted on civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. What was once a community of homes is now a scene of chaos, with rescue workers sifting through the debris in search of survivors and recovering the remains of those killed in the attack. The assault, which targeted a purely civilian site, has underscored the risks that ordinary residents of Kyiv face daily amid sustained Russian missile and drone strikes across the country.

    As one of the few international correspondents still reporting regularly from within Ukraine during the full-scale invasion, Rainsford’s dispatch from the destroyed apartment block brings unfiltered, on-the-ground context to the attack, cutting through official statements to show the real-world impact of the violence on civilian populations.

  • Top EU court dismisses Google appeal of $4.5 billion antitrust fine

    Top EU court dismisses Google appeal of $4.5 billion antitrust fine

    BRUSSELS — In a landmark decision that solidifies European regulators’ leading role in reining in the power of big tech, judges at the European Union’s highest judicial body have rejected Google’s final appeal against a record 4.1 billion euro ($4.5 billion) antitrust penalty. The fine was originally issued over allegations that Google abused the dominant market position of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition and narrow consumer options.

    The legal battle stretches back six years to 2018, when the European Commission first unveiled the penalty over Google’s business practices related to Android. Since that initial ruling, the case has wound its way through multiple layers of the EU’s judicial system, with Thursday’s judgment from the European Court of Justice bringing the long-running dispute to a definitive close.

    “The appeal filed by Google and its parent holding company Alphabet challenging the earlier ruling from the General Court is dismissed in full,” the Luxembourg-based court stated in its official ruling. This outcome formally upholds the penalty that was originally handed down for anti-competitive behavior tied to Google Search’s abuse of market power within the Android ecosystem.

    Android, an operating system Google positions as free and open-source, currently holds the title of the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, outpacing Apple’s iOS in global market share. Throughout the appeal process, Google maintained that its Android platform has driven down consumer prices for smartphones, expanded access to mobile technology, and created robust competition against its largest rival, Apple.

    This penalty against Google is just one of three major antitrust fines that the European Commission levied on the tech giant between 2017 and 2019, which together add up to more than $8 billion in total penalties. These early enforcement actions placed the 27-nation EU years ahead of other major global economies in the movement to curb anti-competitive practices by the world’s largest digital firms.

    In the years following those initial penalties, the European Commission has expanded its regulatory crackdown on big tech significantly, launching new antitrust investigations targeting other leading digital players including Amazon, Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook). It has also enacted sweeping new regulatory frameworks designed to specifically target the market power of the largest digital platforms, most notably the landmark Digital Markets Act.

    Agustín Reyna, director general of the European Consumer Organization, praised the court’s final judgment, noting that the ruling underscores the need for expanded proactive regulation like the Digital Markets Act to stop unfair corporate practices before they harm consumers and competition. “Today’s judgment sends a very clear message: dominant companies cannot use their power to shut out competition and limit consumer choice,” Reyna said. “Today is a big win for Europe.”

  • First Afcon, now World Cup – Senegal trapped in ‘football hell’

    First Afcon, now World Cup – Senegal trapped in ‘football hell’

    In Seattle, the American city best known as the birthplace of rock icons Nirvana, Senegal’s World Cup dream collapsed in gut-wrenching fashion this week, as a controversial extra-time penalty awarded via VAR intervention sealed a 3-2 last-gasp victory for Belgium that eliminated the Teranga Lions. For a side that already knows all too well the pain of contentious late VAR calls, the exit carried a devastating sense of déjà vu, mirroring the chaos and heartbreak of January’s Africa Cup of Nations final that still hangs over Senegalese football.

    For 85 minutes of the round-of-16 clash, Senegal produced one of their finest performances in recent memory, cruising to a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to clinical finishes from Premier League stars Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr. Sarr, who has been in irrepressible form throughout the tournament and just came off a club season where he scored 21 goals to lead Crystal Palace to the UEFA Conference League title, produced a candidate for goal of the tournament: a deft chest control of a long clearance that set up a blistering strike past Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois. The goal also saw the 28-year-old equal legendary Cameroon striker Roger Milla’s 34-year-old African record of four World Cup goals, set at the 1990 tournament in Italy. But for Sarr, the milestone will forever feel hollow — just as it did for Senegal as a whole, who never got the chance to build on their lead and advance to the quarter-finals.

    What followed was a historic comeback for Belgium, and another chapter of agony for Senegal. Romelu Lukaku cut the deficit in the 86th minute, before Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans scored an 89th-minute equaliser, capitalizing on a misjudged rushed punch from Senegal stand-in keeper Mory Diaw that left the net unguarded. Then, deep in the 125th minute of extra time, came the decisive moment that sealed Senegal’s fate: Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara slid in to challenge Tielemans, and referee Said Martinez sided with VAR to award a penalty, ruling Camara had caught Tielemans’ heel and disrupted his attempt to play the ball. Camara was visibly distraught after the call, and was comforted by his teammates as Tielemans stepped up to fire the spot kick into the top corner, beating the stranded Diaw. Unlike the 2025 Afcon final, there was no heroics from first-choice keeper Edouard Mendy, who was sidelined with injury for the World Cup clash and could only watch on helplessly from the touchline.

    The parallels between this exit and the controversial Afcon final against Morocco in January are almost impossible to ignore. In that match, a late controversial VAR-awarded penalty also left Senegal reeling, after a late Sarr goal was ruled out for a soft foul call, before a late penalty was given to Morocco following a VAR review. Chaos erupted after the call, with Senegal players walking off the pitch in protest, fans rioted, and stewards were injured before Sadio Mane coaxed the team back to finish the match. Morocco missed the penalty, Senegal won 1-0 in extra time, only to have the title stripped by the Confederation of African Football two months later. The case is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with Senegal continuing to fight to overturn the decision.

    FIFA had tightened regulations following the Afcon final chaos to prevent any repeat of a player walk-off, and while Senegal’s side protested the penalty call loudly, they finished the match without disruption. Still, the aftermath has already brought significant unrest for the national program. Pape Gueye, the Villarreal midfielder who scored Senegal’s disputed winning goal in the Afcon final and was recently named the best African player in La Liga, announced he would take a break from international football until head coach Pape Thiaw and his entire coaching staff are removed from their posts. Gueye was substituted off in the 66th minute of the Belgium match, a tactical change that has drawn widespread criticism from Senegalese fans back home, who have also questioned Thiaw’s decision to withdraw Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye.

    Speaking after the final whistle, Thiaw — who took charge of Senegal in December 2024 — acknowledged the crushing nature of the defeat, drawing comparisons that feel all too familiar. “We had the game in hand,” he said, describing the loss as “cruel.” When asked about the penalty, he added, “Our interpretation was that there was no penalty. You have to accept, even if it’s difficult.” He also noted that after conceding the first Belgian goal, his side dropped deeper into defense, opening the space for the equalizer. “We tried to get back on our feet, but unfortunately it didn’t work,” he said. “It’s not easy to lose this kind of match. Unfortunately, it slipped away from us, but it’s football.” For Thiaw, who has now seen two major tournament runs end in controversy, the experience evokes the legend of Sisyphus — forever rolling a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down just before reaching the top. From Afcon champions in waiting to World Cup fall guys in six months, Senegal’s latest heartbreak has once again left one of African football’s brightest nations wondering what they have to do to outrun cruel football fate.

  • Former Spain and Arsenal playmaker Santi Cazorla retires at 41

    Former Spain and Arsenal playmaker Santi Cazorla retires at 41

    After more than two decades of dazzling playmaking, trophies, and inspiring resilience against devastating injury setbacks, beloved former Spanish international footballer Santi Cazorla has called time on his professional career at the age of 41. The 41-year-old made the heartfelt announcement public via a reflective post on his personal Instagram account, bringing a close to one of the most memorable careers in modern Spanish football. “There are stories that don’t end…they live on forever,” Cazorla wrote in the caption of his retirement post, adding a simple note of gratitude: “Thank you for everything.”

    Most recently, Cazorla had returned to his boyhood club Real Oviedo in 2023, a homecoming that delivered immediate success: he played a key role in guiding the side to promotion to Spain’s top-flight La Liga at the end of the 2023-24 season. However, the club could not hold onto its top division status, dropping back to the Segunda Division in the most recently completed campaign.

    Cazorla built his reputation as one of the most technically gifted midfielders of his generation during successful stints at two of Europe’s most well-known clubs: Spain’s Villarreal and England’s Arsenal. During his six-year tenure at Arsenal from 2012 to 2018, he emerged as a fan favorite and a consistent creative catalyst under legendary manager Arsène Wenger, helping the club claim two FA Cup titles during his spell in North London.

    On the international stage, Cazorla’s legacy with the Spanish national team is defined by two major continental triumphs: he was part of the iconic Spanish squads that won back-to-back UEFA European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012, cementing his place in Spanish football history. A cruel injury kept him from featuring in Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup win, a highlight many believed he deserved to be part of after his standout performances in the years leading up to the tournament.

    Throughout his decades-long career, Cazorla faced and overcame repeated severe injury scares that many believed would end his career far earlier. Most notably, a persistent ankle injury kept him sidelined for nearly two years in the mid-2010s, requiring multiple surgeries and raising fears that he would never return to top-level football. His eventual comeback was widely hailed as one of the most inspirational stories in modern sport, showcasing his unmatched grit and love for the game.

  • Survivor buried by Venezuela quakes eight days ago is cheering rescuers on

    Survivor buried by Venezuela quakes eight days ago is cheering rescuers on

    Eight days after a pair of devastating earthquakes ripped through central Venezuela, a rare story of survival is keeping hundreds of international rescue workers pushing forward against dangerous, unstable conditions. Rescuers from seven nations have spent more than 100 hours racing against the clock to extract 40-something security guard Hernán Gil, who remains alive 9 meters beneath the collapsed ruins of a multi-story car park adjacent to Catia La Mar’s Galerias Playa Grande shopping mall.

    The international response team, with personnel from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States, first detected signs of life from Gil last Saturday. Wagner Leiva, head of emergency response for the Costa Rican Red Cross, recalled the moment his team confirmed the miracle: “We were cutting and removing concrete slabs when we got word there might be a survivor. We headed down to the basement, and after one of our members called out and listened closely, we heard someone answering back.”

    Gil had been on duty inside a small concrete booth in the parking lot’s basement when the twin quakes hit on June 24. The rigid booth structure acted as a protective shell, shielding him from the 140 tons of rubble that collapsed around it, leaving him uncrushed despite the catastrophic destruction above. “He told us he doesn’t even have a crushed nail,” shared Ricardo Arias of the Costa Rican Red Cross with local journalist Joan Camargo, confirming the 40-year-old’s unexpected good physical condition.

    For nearly three days after locating Gil, rescue crews worked cautiously to clear a narrow pathway to deliver his first sip of water, given the extreme instability of the surrounding debris. Access shafts dug by teams have collapsed multiple times during the operation, putting both rescuers and the survivor at constant risk. Just last night local time, crews achieved a critical milestone: they first made physical contact with Gil, and soon after established the first visual contact via a small inserted camera.

    Footage from the camera shows Gil with one bloodshot eye, wearing a dust mask that rescuers passed through a narrow opening earlier to protect him from flying debris. Rescuers have since provided him with water, intravenous hydration, and even the specific flavored electrolyte drinks he requested, with teams confirming he remains in stable condition.

    Far from being demoralized by his eight-day entrapment, Gil has become a source of motivation for the crews working to free him. “He’s a cheerful man, he even drives us on telling us to keep going,” said Marco Antonio Franco of the Mexican Red Cross told Mexican outlet Milenio. “He recognizes each team member, saying ‘how nice that you came back to be with me again.’ Rescuers and Gil have kept up steady conversation, talking about his family and the slow, challenging work of the rescue.”

    As of Tuesday, 350 rescuers are continuing their meticulous, slow-moving extraction effort, with the goal of pulling Gil to safety within the next 24 hours. The twin June 24 earthquakes have already claimed nearly 2,300 confirmed lives across Venezuela, with tens of thousands more still unaccounted for, making Gil’s survival all the more extraordinary for first responders and the victim’s family. His wife has already called his 8-day survival under the rubble “nothing short of a miracle.”

  • Beijing says China-EU trade talks set in the fall, to be held regularly each year

    Beijing says China-EU trade talks set in the fall, to be held regularly each year

    Against a backdrop of a ballooning bilateral trade deficit and shifting global trade dynamics, China and the European Union have formalized a new framework for regular high-level trade engagement, agreeing to hold ministerial-level trade negotiations one to two times annually to grow and rebalance their commercial relationship, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed Thursday.

    The announcement follows a Monday meeting in Brussels between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, where Beijing extended a formal invitation for Šefčovič to visit China in autumn 2024, confirmed ministry spokesperson He Yadong to reporters. Under the newly launched China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism, the two partners have also outlined plans to deepen collaborative work in two high-priority global sectors: artificial intelligence development and the global transition to renewable energy.

    The new consultation structure comes as the EU faces mounting domestic and international pressure to address its growing trade imbalance with China. Last year alone, the EU’s trade deficit with China expanded to roughly €360 billion ($410 billion), averaging nearly €1 billion per day. The surge in Chinese exports of electric vehicles and energy storage batteries to European markets has been a key driver of this widening gap, prompting increasing calls from European industry leaders for policy intervention.

    In remarks after his Brussels meeting, Šefčovič emphasized that as the trade gap grows, the bloc is committed to protecting its domestic industrial base and advancing a fair global competitive landscape, setting an October deadline for achieving tangible progress on trade rebalancing. Tensions have already escalated in recent weeks: new EU trade rules targeting Chinese imports took effect Wednesday, designed to shield the European steel sector and impose stricter controls on low-value small parcels shipped via cross-border e-commerce.

    Chinese stakeholders have pushed back on European trade restrictions, framing the imbalance as a product of EU policy choices. A post last week from Yuyuantantian, a social media account linked to Chinese state media, noted that China has signaled openness to increasing imports from the EU, but argued the bloc must ease its existing export controls on high-tech goods bound for China and stop framing trade and economic issues as geopolitical weapons.

    The current standoff also unfolds against a broader global backdrop of shifting supply chain strategy. In June 2024, G7 leaders issued a joint communique committing to building resilient alternative supply chains for critical minerals — inputs central to high-tech manufacturing and national defense production — with the explicit goal of reducing collective reliance on Chinese supplies.

  • Mickelson disputes new misconduct allegations

    Mickelson disputes new misconduct allegations

    Legendary six-time major men’s golf champion Phil Mickelson, 56, has forcefully pushed back against a series of misconduct claims published in an investigative report by golf outlet Skratch, with his legal and communications team dismissing the piece as an unfounded, anonymously sourced attack on the golfer’s reputation.

    The investigation, conducted by veteran golf journalist Alan Shipnuck, centers on two key sets of allegations: first, that Mickelson is no longer welcome at three private golf clubs across California due to repeated inappropriate behavior directed at female members and staff; second, a firsthand claim from Ashley Perez, ex-wife of PGA Tour golfer Pat Perez, that Mickelson showed her an explicit photo of himself and made a romantic advance toward her back in 2015.

    This latest report follows a separate incident last year where Mickelson resigned from another high-profile California golf club after similar allegations of inappropriate contact with a female employee, claims he has repeatedly denied. In an official statement sent to the New York Post by Mickelson’s representatives, the team addressed the specific claim from Ashley Perez, noting that Skratch’s account omitted critical context that frames the incident as a misunderstanding, one that Mickelson already apologized for years ago.

    The statement emphasized that Mickelson’s choice to apologize for the miscommunication should not be interpreted as a guilty plea to all the accusations leveled against him in the investigation. On the claim that he was forced out of multiple California golf clubs, Mickelson’s camp flatly denied the allegation, confirming that the golfer never faced expulsion or membership revocation from any club, and all decisions to end his memberships were made voluntarily by Mickelson himself.

    Mickelson’s team also raised questions about Skratch’s journalistic credibility, criticizing the outlet’s reliance on unnamed sources and pointing out the publication’s longstanding organizational ties to the PGA Tour — a relationship that takes on new significance given Mickelson’s high-profile 2022 departure from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf league, where he remains one of the most prominent competing players.

    “Credibility is not earned by publishing the most provocative narrative,” the statement read. “It is earned through transparency, verification, and a clear distinction between fact, inference, and speculation.”

    Skratch’s leadership has stood firmly behind its work in the wake of Mickelson’s denial. Ben Boskovich, editor-in-chief of Skratch, told the New York Post that the outlet gave Mickelson, his spouse, and his legal team full opportunity to comment on and respond to the allegations before the report was published, following standard journalistic protocol.

    For much of 2025, Mickelson has been absent from competitive golf. He has only competed in one LIV Golf event this year, a March tournament hosted in South Africa, and has stepped away from the rest of the circuit to focus on an undisclosed family health matter, per his own previous announcement. Mickelson made history in 2021 when he won the US PGA Championship at age 50, becoming the oldest golfer ever to claim a major men’s championship title.