It's useful to read articles in English, even if you don't understand every word - it will help you increase your vocabulary and keep up to date with things happening in English-speaking countries!

This page will be updated on Mondays. The first article is aimed at a B1 and upwards level and the second article is aimed at a B2 and upwards level

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

Tesla has scheduled an annual shareholders meeting for November, one day after the electric vehicle company came under pressure from major shareholders to do so.

Billionaire Elon Musk's company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that the meeting will be held on Nov. 6. A group of more than 20 Tesla shareholders said in a letter to the company a day earlier that it needed to provide public notice of the annual meeting.

Texas law states businesses must hold annual meetings within 13 months of their last one, if shareholders request it. But the law also allows for “written consent instead of the annual meeting” to be executed within the 13-month timeframe. Tesla is incorporated in Texas.

The annual meeting, given Tesla's fortunes this year, has the potential to be a raucous event and it is unclear how investors will react to the delay, which is rare for any major U.S. corporation.

Tesla shares have plunged 27% this year, largely due to blowback over Musk's affiliation with President Donald Trump, as well as rising competition.

Many shareholders have been miffed by Musk's participation in the Trump administration this year, saying he needs to focus on his EV company which is facing extraordinary pressures.

“An annual meeting provides shareholders with the opportunity to hear directly from the board about these concerns, and to vote for or against directors, the board's approach to executive compensation, and other matters of material importance,” the group said in the letter.

Tesla's last shareholders meeting was on June 13 of last year, where investors voted to restore Musk's record $44.9 billion pay package that was thrown out by a Delaware judge earlier that year.

Tesla also said in its regulatory filing on Thursday that July 31 is the new deadline for the submission of proposals to be included in the proxy statement. In a January filing, Tesla said it would file its proxy statement for this year's annual meeting by the end of April.

However, the company filed an amended report on April 30, saying that it didn't have a date for the meeting yet. Tesla also said in that filing that it was creating a special committee to look at Musk's compensation as CEO.

Also on Thursday, Musk said that the Grok chatbot will be heading to Tesla vehicles.

“Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest,” Musk said on social media platform X, in response to a post stating that Grok implementation on Teslas wasn't announced on a Grok livestream Wednesday.

Grok was developed by Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI and pitched as an alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google's Gemini, or OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Yet Grok has had a bumpy ride during its rollout.

On Wednesday xAI announced that it was taking down “inappropriate posts” made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler.

Shares of Tesla rose more than 3% in Thursday morning trading after tumbling this week as the feud between Trump and Musk heated up again.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Britain to stick close to its neighbors despite its exit from the European Union, saying France and the U.K. will “save Europe” by standing for democracy, law and international order in a dangerous world.

On a state visit that mixed royal pageantry with tough political talks on Ukraine and migration, Macron said Europe must strengthen its economy and defenses and reduce its dependence “on both the U.S. and China.”

Macron's three-day trip, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the U.K. by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the U.K. government's desire to reset relations with the bloc after Britain acrimoniously left the EU in 2020.

Macron addressed members of both houses of Britain's Parliament packed into the building's ornate Royal Gallery. He said the two countries represent “a world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity, an order that is today being attacked on a daily basis.”

“The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” Macron said, adding that “we will save Europe by our example and our solidarity.”

He said that even though Britain has left the EU, “the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines. Because defense and security, competitiveness, democracy — the very core of our identity — are connected across Europe as a continent.”

Pomp and politics

The French president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were treated to the full force of British ceremonial charm, a far cry from the chilly relations of 2022, when then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the “jury is out” on whether Macron was a friend or a foe.

The Macrons were greeted at London's RAF Northolt air base by Prince William and his wife Catherine — wearing a dress by French design house Christian Dior — before being met by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor, west of London. They were driven to the almost 1,000-year-old royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolor flags.

The king and queen hosted a banquet for the Macrons at Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, with 160 guests including politicians, diplomats and celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Elton John. They were served summer vegetables, chicken with asparagus and iced blackcurrant parfait, along with Champagne and a gin-infused cocktail called L'entente, after the “entente cordiale” struck between Britain and France in 1904.

As monarch, Charles is expected to be above politics, but he spoke about the support Britain and France give Ukraine “in defense of our shared values,” noted the challenge of “irregular migration across the English Channel” and said the two countries face “complex threats, emanating from multiple directions.

“As friends and as allies, we face them together,” Charles said.

New tactics to stop boats

Politics will take center stage on Wednesday, when Macron sits down for talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on migration, defense and investment — including a 12.5% stake by French energy firm EDF in a new nuclear power plant planned for eastern England.

Macron also came bearing a tantalizing cultural gift: an agreement to send the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain for the first time in more than 900 years. The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry showing the Norman conquest of England in 1066 will go on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.

At talks Wednesday and a U.K.-France summit on Thursday, Macron and Starmer will discuss ways to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats and try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent U.S. indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor.

Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the U.K., either by stowing away in trucks or — after a clampdown on that route — in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The U.K. has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs.

It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, and more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50% from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died trying to cross.

British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days.

France is also considering a U.K. proposal for a “one-in, one-out” deal that would see France take back some migrants who reached Britain, in return for the U.K. accepting some of those in France.

Macron said the leaders would try “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries.”

“France and the U.K. have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he said.

Keeping Ukraine in focus

Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches to U.S. President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer. Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and U.S. security guarantees.

Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the “coalition of the willing” idea is alive and well, with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference on Thursday to discuss planning for the force.

Macron said the coalition was a sign that “Europeans will never abandon Ukraine – never.”

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