英国财相里夫斯（Rachel Reeves）访华前夕，连日来有议员要求她取消行程，以回应港府悬红通缉居英港人及处理国内经济危机。前香港总督彭定康（Lord Chris Patten）更断言里夫斯此行不会有任何收获，直指向中国“下跪”也难以拯救英国经济。而被悬红通缉的在英港人及人权组织则呼吁里夫斯就人权问题向中方交涉，不应牺牲人权换取经济利益。
彭定康批评英国国内不少人妄想向中国出口更多商品、引入更多中国投资，就必须向北京下跪、跟从其政治取向，甚至无视香港传媒大亨黎智英被囚禁，以及北京对在英港人的监控等。他认为，若英国只能在会议纪录中低调提出这些问题就当已经捍卫了自身价值，“那就只能求主保佑我们了” （then God help us all）。
The historic ranch house of Will Rogers and an important residence by Ray Kappe were destroyed by the fires, which threaten L.A.’s spectacular design legacy.
Charred remains of the Will Rogers historic Ranch House in Pacific Palisades, which dated from 1926. The beloved comedian and Hollywood cowboy hosted Walt Disney, along with Clark Gable and Charles Lindbergh.
The US has announced an increased $25m (£20.4m) reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office.
The inauguration ceremony was overshadowed by recrimination from the international community and Venezuelan opposition leaders.
Rewards have also been offered for information leading to the arrest and or conviction of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
A new reward of up to $15m for Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino has also been offered.
The UK also issued sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials, including judges, members of the security forces and military officials.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said those sanctioned were responsible for "undermining democracy, the rule of law, and human rights violations".
Foreign Secretary David Lammy went on to describe Maduro's regime as "fraudulent".
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
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Donald Trump and his lawyer Todd Blanche (left) appear virtually from Florida for his sentencing in his Manhattan hush money case.
A judge has sentenced US President-elect Donald Trump to an "unconditional discharge," bringing to an end the first criminal trial of a former US president.
The sentence in the hush-money payment case means the incoming president has been spared any penalty, including jail time or a fine, but he will still take office as the first US president with a felony conviction.
"Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances," Justice Juan Merchan said shortly before announcing the sentence, calling it a "truly extraordinary case".
Appearing via video call from Florida and flanked by his attorney and two prominent American flags, Trump declared he was "totally innocent".
It was the first time in this year-and-half long legal saga that Trump had uttered more than a "not guilty" or given a brief affirmative answer.
Granted the chance to speak ahead of his sentencing, Trump railed against the case for several minutes.
"This has been a very terrible experience," he said.
He claimed there had been a "weaponisation" of the judicial system and claimed the case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for political reasons.
"I would like to explain that I was treated very, very unfairly, and I thank you very much," he said, before falling silent.
As Bragg watched Trump address him directly for the first time, he maintained a mostly stoic expression. He did, however, chuckle when Trump claimed Bragg had never wanted to bring the case.
After Trump had his say, Justice Merchan then took several moments to reflect on the "paradox" of the trial.
Justice Merchan noted that despite the media and political circus outside, "once the courtroom doors were closed, it was no more unique than all the other cases taking place at the same time".
But he added that after Trump was convicted, the case took another turn when the American people elected him in November to a second presidential term.
After careful consideration, he had determined that "the only lawful sentence, without encroaching upon the highest office of the land", was unconditional discharge - a sentence that would allow the American people a president unencumbered by pending court proceedings.
Getty Images
One of Trump's attorneys, Emil Bove, attends his sentencing hearing in person.
The end of a historic trial
Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. His sentencing was delayed multiple times due to Supreme Court rulings and the November presidential election.
The charges stemmed from a plot to cover up a hush-money payment to an adult film star in the waning days of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued the payment was a form of election interference aimed at keeping vital information from voters, and therefore broke the law.
In October 2016, Trump's then-attorney, Michael Cohen, paid a woman named Stormy Daniels $130,000 (£106,000) to remain silent about a years-old alleged sexual encounter with the soon-to-be president.
After he was elected, Trump reimbursed Cohen in installments – and then falsely recorded them as legal expenses. Each of Trump's guilty verdicts correlates to a false document related to the cover-up.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied the sexual encounter with Ms Daniels. He repeatedly claimed the case was politically motivated persecution.
The six-week trial became a legal, political and media firestorm. Larger-than-life characters like Cohen and Daniels took the stand to face questioning from Trump's attorneys.
Trump brought a string of family members and Republican allies to court with him each day to fill the benches behind his defence table. Each day, he turned a small media pen in the hallway outside the courtroom into his personal pulpit, using the opportunities to rail against the justice system, the press, and other adversaries.
Trump also used the furore of the trial to raise millions from supporters for his legal battles, and his campaign to retake the White House.
In the four years between his terms in office, Trump was indicted in four separate criminal cases, including his New York case. In the end, this was the only one to go to trial.
On the campaign trail and social media, Trump used his legal quagmires to portray himself – and his supporters – as victims of a rigged justice system.
Despite the multiple indictments, including two that centred on his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Trump decisively defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris in November.
His victory quashed the two federal prosecutions against him, including his federal election interference case and one involving alleged mishandling of classified documents. The third, an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, has been stuck in a series of delays and side dramas for months.
Only Trump's hush-money trial ever reached its conclusion, after Justice Merchan dug his heels in early January and demanded Trump appear virtually or in person for his sentencing.
The battles did not stop there, however. Trump's lawyers frantically filed appeals and even petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt the Friday hearing.
The Supreme Court rejected him in a brief order issued Thursday night.
They also fought to have the case dismissed by arguing that presidents-elect have immunity from criminal prosecution, an argument Justice Merchan rejected but they have continued to argue to higher courts.
When Trump's New York trial adjourned with a final bang of the gavel on Friday, it also brought to a close this particularly fraught chapter in his personal and political history.
When he is sworn in 10 days from now, he will do so as the first US president to have ever been convicted of a felony.
As he concluded his sentencing on Friday, Justice Merchan had one final message for Trump.
"I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office," he said.
A.J. Weberman sifted through the prophetic singer’s trash in search of meaning. He turned on him as a sellout and has spent decades trying to reclaim him for the counterculture.
In the 1960s, A.J. Weberman helped organize smoke-ins, marijuana marches and pranks on establishment figures. Bob Dylan provided much of the soundtrack.
He was the sole resident of Budelli, an undeveloped sliver of paradise off the northern coast of Sardinia. He embraced the solitude, until he was evicted.
The measures largely echo agreements the family made for his first term, including appointing an outside ethics lawyer and limiting Mr. Trump’s access to detailed financial information.
From left, Eric Trump, Lara Trump and Donald Trump Jr. at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in November. The Trump family’s new ethics agreement largely echoes pledges it made eight years ago.
综合国际媒体周五报道，这三人分别为Herwig F，Ina F和Thomas R。德国检方指出，自2017年起，Thomas R 便担任中国国家安全部的代理人，并与经营企业的Herwig F 和Ina F 夫妇建立联系，通过他们的公司接洽企业和科研机构。从2017年2月至2024年4月，他们共同向中国政府提供了多项可用于军事目的的创新技术，包括船用发动机、声纳系统、飞机防护系统、装甲车驱动器和军用无人机等，这些技术被认为能够显著提升中国海军战斗力。
据法广报道，在一次间谍活动中，Herwig F 和Ina F 曾与德国一所大学签署科技转移协议，在向中国政府取得资金后，他们协助中方获得了船舶发动机最新的滑动轴承技术。在另一起活动中，他们接受中国国家安全部的委托，利用中方资金购买并秘密出口了三台特种激光器。
A show by the artist Isabelle Brourman, who sketched the trials of Donald J. Trump, attracted figures from the art world, the media and some lawyers from his civil fraud trial.
The artist Isabelle Brourman, in a blue coat, poses for a selfie with Andrew Amer and Colleen Faherty, lawyers who helped New York’s attorney general argue Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud case, at the Will Shott Gallery in Manhattan.
Special guests, including Simone Biles and Oprah Winfrey, offered tributes to the longtime host, capping off a week that “Today” had called a “Hoda-bration!”
A judge annulled the marriage after accepting the woman was tricked
A woman in Australia has annulled her marriage after realising that a fake wedding ceremony she took part in for a social media stunt was in fact real.
The unknowing bride said her partner was a social media influencer who convinced her to take part in the ceremony as a "prank" for his Instagram account.
She only discovered the marriage was genuine when he tried to use it to gain permanent residency in Australia.
A Melbourne judge granted the annulment after accepting the woman was tricked into getting married, in a judgment published on Thursday.
The bizarre case began in September 2023 when the woman met her partner on an online dating platform. They began seeing each other regularly in Melbourne, where they lived at the time.
In December that year, the man proposed to the woman and she accepted.
Two days later, the woman attended an event with the man in Sydney. She was told it would be a "white party" - where attendees would wear white-coloured clothing - and was told to pack a white dress.
But when they arrived she was "shocked" and "furious" to find no other guests present except for her partner, a photographer, the photographer's friend and a celebrant, according to her deposition quoted in court documents.
"So when I got there, and I didn't see anybody in white, I asked him, 'What's happening?'. And he pulled me aside, and he told me that he's organising a prank wedding for his social media, to be precise, Instagram, because he wants to boost his content, and wants to start monetising his Instagram page," she said.
She said she accepted his explanation as "he was a social media person" who had more than 17,000 followers on Instagram. She also believed that a civil marriage would only be valid if it was held in a court.
Still, she remained concerned. The woman rang a friend and voiced her worries, but the friend "laughed it off" and said it would be fine because, if it were real, they would have had to file a notice of intended marriage first, which they had not.
Reassured, the woman went through the ceremony where she and her partner exchanged wedding vows and kissed in front of a camera. She said she was happy at that time to "play along" to "make it look real".
Two months later, her partner asked her to add him as a dependent in her application for permanent residency in Australia. Both of them are foreigners.
When she told him she could not as they were technically not married, he then revealed that their Sydney wedding ceremony had been genuine, according to the woman's testimony.
The woman later found their marriage certificate, and discovered a notice of intended marriage which had been filed the month before their Sydney trip - before they even got engaged - which she said she did not sign. According to the court documents, the signature on the notice bears little resemblance to the woman's.
"I'm furious with the fact that I didn't know that that was a real marriage, and the fact that he also lied from the beginning, and the fact that he also wanted me to add him in my application," she said.
In his deposition, the man claimed they had "both agreed to these circumstances" and that following his proposal the woman had agreed to marry him at an "intimate ceremony" in Sydney.
The judge ruled that the woman was "mistaken about the nature of the ceremony performed" and "did not provide real consent to her participation" in the marriage.
"She believed she was acting. She called the event 'a prank'. It made perfect sense for her to adopt the persona of a bride in all things at the impugned ceremony so as to enhance the credibility of the video depicting a legally valid marriage," he stated in the judgement.
A panel found Insp Charles Ehikioya's messages amounted to gross miscounduct
The head of the Met's Black Police Association (MBPA) has been found to have committed gross misconduct over a group chat where racist, sexist and inappropriate messages were sent and received.
Insp Charles Ehikioya was in a WhatsApp chat with former officer Carlo Francisco where offensive messages sent and received.
The officer had denied the allegations against him and said the claims were fabricated or falsely attributed to him because of his race or position as chair of the MBPA.
A panel found his conduct amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour and said it was "so serious as to potentially justify dismissal".
The panel, led by Cdr Jason Prins, found Insp Ehikioya breached standards in respect of equality and diversity, discreditable conduct and challenging and reporting improper conduct proven at a hearing on Friday.
A decision on whether he will be dismissed has not been made yet.
In more than 7,000 messages between 2017 and 2020, the officer was said to have sent and received jokes, pictures and videos, it was heard previously.
He sent an image of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, with the comment "message from the other side, tell the Muslims there's no 72 virgins left", it was previously said.
There was also a series of "racist" messages about Chinese people, the hearing was told.
Jokes about sex with a girl with Down's syndrome, and mockery of the late Duke of Edinburgh's car crash, were also in the chatlog, as was a video in which there was a child with a naked bottom, James Berry, representing the Met, said previously.
PA Media
Insp Ehikioya's conduct was "so serious as to potentially justify dismissal", the panel found
On 1 April 2019, Insp Ehikioya told Mr Francisco to "stop sending or receiving these silly porns", saying he could get into "trouble", the hearing was told.
Cdr Prins said the panel "found that Inspector Ehikioya has engaged in racist, sexist, misogynistic and otherwise inappropriate behaviour".
He added: "The panel finds to a large extent that the messages speak for themselves."
He also said they found his defence of the allegations to be "fanciful" and "far-fetched".
Commander Prins said: "The panel found that the messages sent by Inspector Ehikioya or received by him, which he failed to challenge or report, deeply damage public confidence in the police service."
The hearing was adjourned until later on Friday for the panel to consider its sanction.
The US has announced an increased $25m (£20.4m) reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office.
The inauguration ceremony was overshadowed by recrimination from the international community and Venezuelan opposition leaders.
Rewards have also been offered for information leading to the arrest and or conviction of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
A new reward of up to $15m for Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino has also been offered.
The UK also issued sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials, including judges, members of the security forces and military officials.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said those sanctioned were responsible for "undermining democracy, the rule of law, and human rights violations".
Foreign Secretary David Lammy went on to describe Maduro's regime as "fraudulent".
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Moment house collapses in Studio City as LA wildfires rage on
Out-of-control wildfires are ripping across parts of Los Angeles, leading to at least five deaths, burning down hundreds of buildings, and prompting more than 130,000 people to flee their homes in America's second-largest city.
Despite the efforts of firefighters, the biggest blazes remain totally uncontained - with weather conditions and the underlying impact of climate change expected to continue fanning the flames for days to come.
What's the latest?
More than 137,000 people have been forced to leave their homes - many of them simply carrying whatever belongings they can.
Police say at least five people have died, and their bodies found near the Eaton Fire - but their cause of death is not yet known.
Like the even larger Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire remains totally uncontained. Meanwhile, the new Sunset Fire is menacing the well-known Hollywood Hills area.
More than 1,000 structures are known to have been destroyed - including houses, schools and businesses on the iconic Sunset Boulevard. A fire ecologist has told the BBC that "entire neighbourhoods... have been wiped out".
Among the celebrities who have lost their homes are Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, who attended the Golden Globes just days ago, and Paris Hilton.
There is a glimmer of hope for firefighters, as the fire weather outlook for southern California has been downgraded from "extremely critical" to "critical".
But BBC weather forecaster Sarah Keith-Lucas says there is no rain forecast in the area for at least the next week, meaning conditions remain ripe for fire.
Mass disruption has been reported due to traffic buildup. A number of schools and the the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been forced to close.
A political row about the city's preparedness has erupted after it emerged that some firefighters' hoses have run dry - an issue seized upon by US President-elect Donald Trump.
There are at least five fires raging in the wider area, according to California fire officials early on Thursday:
Palisades: The first fire to erupt on Tuesday and the biggest fire in the region, which could become the most destructive fire in state history. It has scorched a sizable part of land, covering more than 17,200 acres, including the upscale Pacific Palisades neighbourhood
Eaton: It has struck the northern part of Los Angeles, blazing through cities such as Altadena. It's the second biggest fire in the area, burning around 10,600 acres
Hurst: Located just north of San Fernando, it began burning on Tuesday night and has grown to 855 acres, though firefighters have had some successlimited in containing it
Lidia: It broke out on Wednesday afternoon in the mountainous Acton area north of Los Angeles and grew to cover almost 350 acres. Authorities say it has been 40% contained
Sunset: It broke out Wednesday evening in Hollywood Hills, growing to about 20 acres in less than an hour. It now covers around 43 acres
The earlier Woodley and Olivas fires have now been contained, according to local fire authorities.
Officials have pointed to high winds and drought in the area, which has made vegetation very dry and easy to burn.
The likely impact of climate change has also been cited been blamed - although the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Some 95% of wildfires in the area are started by humans, according to David Acuna, a battalion chief at the Californian Fire Service, although officials are yet to state how they think the current fires started.
An important factor that has been cited in the spread of the blazes is the Santa Ana winds, which blow from inland towards the coast. With speeds of more than 60mph (97 km/h), these are believed to have fanned the flames.
Although strong winds and lack of rain are driving the blazes, experts say climate change is altering the background conditions and increasing the likelihood of such fires.
US government research is unequivocal in linking climate change to larger and more severe wildfires in the western United States.
"Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.
And following a very warm summer and lack of rain in recent months, California is particularly vulnerable.
Fire season in southern California is generally thought to stretch from May to October - but the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, has pointed out earlier that blazes had become a perennial issue. "There's no fire season," he said. "It's fire year."
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Acuna said the Palisades Fire represented only the third occasion in the past 30 years that a major fire had broken out in January.
The affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades typically has strangers walking around, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' houses.
Now, though, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.
Across the city, more than 30,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes as winds stoke three fires. A state of emergency has been declared, leaving roads gridlocked as people flee.
Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their usually idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.
James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described evacuating his home on social media, and said he was not sure if it was still standing.
"It feels like losing a loved one," he wrote.
Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing $4.5m (£3.6m) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.
The north LA neighbourhood is bordered on the south with a three-mile (4.8km) stretch of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.
It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmers' market.
But the Palisades fire - which grew from 10 acres to over 2,900 in a matter of hours - has shattered they area's idyllic nature.
Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the blaze the "most horrific fire since '93" - which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu - in a post on Instagram.
He said he evacuated his home in Malibu "so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road".
Levy, who rose to fame for his role in film series American Pie, told local media he was forced to evacuate his home.
"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark," he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.
Reality star's Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.
"I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi and the kids," she said. "Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down."
Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh, also live in the area.
Posting on Instagram, Mrs Teller shared a picture of the fires and a heart-break emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for animals as they evacuate their homes.
Meanwhile, Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for Police Academy, stayed to help firefighters by moving cars in order to make room for incoming fire trucks.
He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out the way of firefighters.
"We really need people to move their cars," he told news outlet KTLA: "This is not a parking lot."
Getty Images
It is not just famous residents affected by the wildfire - notable buildings in the area are under threat as well.
The Palisades Charter High School - which has served as a set for movies and counts several notable people as former students - has been damaged by fire, local media reports.
The fire-stricken school has been used in films including 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.
The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.
The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it had closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned - but said that "no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe".
Star studded events due to take place in the area have also been cancelled.
Film premiers for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been called off, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.
Stronger-than-expected data on the labor market has added to clues that the economy continues to run at a solid pace, amplifying fears about stubborn inflation.
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