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Today — 3 January 2025News

Attempt to arrest S Korea president suspended after dramatic standoff

3 January 2025 at 15:49
Reuters Police officers gather near the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials as people await the arrival of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk YeoReuters
Investigators say they will decide on next steps after a review

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

Court strikes down US net neutrality rules

3 January 2025 at 06:55
Getty Images A Christmas wreath hangs above the entry to the Federal Communications Commission officeGetty Images

A US court has rejected the Biden administration's bid to restore "net neutrality" rules, finding that the federal government does not have the authority to regulate internet providers like utilities.

It marks a major defeat for so-called open internet advocates, who have long fought for protections that would require internet providers such as AT&T to treat all legal content equally.

Such rules were first introduced by the Federal Communications Commission under former Democratic president Barack Obama but later repealed during Republican Donald Trump's first term.

The decision, just as Trump is poised to enter the White House for a second term, likely puts an end to the long-running legal battle over the issue.

In their decision, the judges noted that different administrations have gone back and forth on the issue.

But they said the court no longer had to give "deference" to the FCC's reading of the law, pointing to a recent Supreme Court decision that limits the authority of federal agencies to interpret laws, a decision that critics expect will be used to weaken regulation in the years ahead.

"Applying Loper Bright, means we can end the FCC's vacillations," the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said.

Brendan Carr, a Republican member of the FCC who Trump has tapped to lead the agency, said he was pleased the court had invalidated the Biden administration's "Internet power grab".

The FCC's outgoing Democratic commissioner said the ruling turned the issue over to Congress.

"Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair," Jessica Rosenworcel said.

"With this decision it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality, and put open internet principles in federal law."

The fight over net neutrality was once a heated issue in the US, pitting internet providers against big tech companies such as Google and Netflix.

Comedian John Oliver famously urged his audience to express support for the rules, leading to a deluge of comments that crashed the government's site.

But the issue has faded in prominence since the rules were repealed in 2018.

Thursday's ruling does not affect state-level net neutrality laws, which in some places offer similar protections.

But advocates, like Mr Oliver, have said that national rules are important to preventing internet providers from having powers to throttle certain content or charge more for speedy delivery of their service.

Public Knowledge, a progressive-leaning internet policy group, said the decision had weakened the FCC's power to shape privacy protections, implement public safety measures and take other action.

It said it believed the court had erred in ruling that internet service providers were simply offering an "information service" rather than acting as telecommunications companies.

"The court has created a dangerous regulatory gap that leaves consumers vulnerable and gives broadband providers unchecked power over Americans' internet access," it said.

But USTelecom, an industry group whose members include AT&T and Verizon, said the decision was "a victory for American consumers that will lead to more investment, innovation, and competition in the dynamic digital marketplace."

Security barriers removed for repairs before New Orleans attack

3 January 2025 at 01:04
AFP via Getty Images A police officer patrols the French Quarter, after an attack by a man driving a truck down Bourbon street the day before, early on January 2, 2025 in New OrleansAFP via Getty Images

Security posts known as bollards were not in place before a suspect drove a truck into a crowd in the French Quarter of New Orleans early on New Year's Day, killing 14 and injuring at least 35.

Louisiana officials have said the street barriers were malfunctioning and were undergoing renovations before the city hosts the NFL Super Bowl on 9 February.

The short and sturdy posts - made of concrete, metal or other materials - are meant to block cars from entering pedestrian areas.

Christopher Raia, a deputy assistant director with the FBI, on Thursday called the attack an act of terrorism.

During the early morning hours on New Year's Day, a police vehicle was parked at an intersection to block access to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, where the attack took place, but the suspect drove around the car and onto the sidewalk, police said.

Police have named Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas resident and US Army veteran, as the suspect. He died in the attack.

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said on Wednesday that police had been "aware of the bollard situation" and took steps to "harden those target areas".

"We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it," she said.

Ms Kirkpatrick said the city planned to take a number of steps to increase security at the Sugar Bowl American football game, which was moved from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon because of the attack.

Bourbon Street will be re-opened on Thursday shortly ahead of the game.

"We have re-enforced the area," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on Thursday.

  • Follow live updates on the attack here

New Orleans began placing bollards on Bourbon Street over ten years ago, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said on Wednesday.

But, she added, the bollards began to malfunction because of clogs from Mardi Gras beads, leading officials to try to replace them before the Super Bowl, which is scheduled to take place at the Caesars Superdome, near the site of the attack.

At the news conference, Ms Kirkpatrick defended the other security measures the city had in place.

"We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around," she said.

A number of cities in the US and around the world have installed bollards to prevent attacks.

New York City put the security measures in place along the Hudson River Park bike path after a man drove a rented pick-up truck into cyclists and runners along the path, killing eight people, in 2017.

It's too difficult to say for certain whether the New Orleans bollards being in place would have prevented such an incident, said University of Michigan professor and counterterrorism expert Javed Ali.

"He had a Ford 150 pick-up truck. You gun that thing at 50, 60 miles an hour, and who knows, even with bollards in place, would the car just - through physics - have rammed through them anyways?" he said.

"There must have been a lot of luck involved," Mr Ali added. "That's unfortunately what happens in these types of attacks."

A 2017 report commissioned by the city of New Orleans found the French Quarter was a "risk and target area for terrorism that the FBI has identified as a concern that the city must address".

The report noted that the neighbourhood was "often densely packed with pedestrians and represents an area where a mass casualty incident could occur".

Fans flock to Sugar Bowl in New Orleans after deadly New Year's attack

3 January 2025 at 09:15
Getty Images Crowds of people gather on a New Orleans street as police tape can be seen in a blur in the foregroundGetty Images

Fans from two US universities filled a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated American football game as the city reels from a New Year's Day attack.

The annual Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at 15:00 local time (21:00 GMT) after a Texas man drove through a crowded New Orleans street, killing 14 people.

People gathered in the stadium partook in a moment of silence to remember the victims of Wednesday's attack.

The game brought thousands of fans to the city to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia at the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.

Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish" ultimately emerged the winner, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.

Ahead of the game's start, Bourbon Street - where the attack took place on Wednesday - reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly event.

Yellow barriers, designed to prevent cars from driving onto the pavement, lined both sides of the street.

Fourteen flowers were laid against a wall at the spot where the attacker first drove into a crowd.

Many who trickled in had come to have a few drinks before heading over to the stadium for the game, with almost everyone wearing red for Georgia, and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.

As the street reopened, a fan of the Notre Dame college football team yelled: "Go fighting Irish! We love life! So let's live!"

A New Orleans man who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday afternoon after being caught up in the attack, headed straight back to Bourbon Street dressed in the same clothes he was wearing on 1 January.

Speaking to the BBC, Jovon Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to show cuts and bruises across his torso, which he said were the result of getting trampled.

"I'm blessed, to be honest. God is good," he said. "Blessings to the victims and their families."

Mr Bell admitted he was "drunk as hell" at the time of the attack, but does vaguely remember what landed him in hospital.

"I'm walking down the street and I hear the screams. Ruckus. Chaos," he said. "As soon as I turn around, I got hit [by a person] and fall to the ground. I got stepped on, multiple times."

Now free from hospital, he headed straight back to the bars of Bourbon Street as the Sugar Bowl game was ongoing, where he said he felt lucky he escaped with minor injuries.

Ahead of the game, state authorities assured the public that the city had taken additional safety precautions.

Brian Williams, a Georgia supporter, told the BBC that "the bad guys would have won" if the game had been cancelled or further postponed after the attack.

"Nowhere will be safer than New Orleans now," he said, as he gestured at a small group of state troopers on Bourbon Street. "There's nothing to worry about."

Like other football fans in town for the game, Mr Williams said the mood was sombre when he arrived in town early Wednesday.

"It felt off. It felt weird to be out in town, and we couldn't even get to Bourbon Street," Mr Williams said. "But this place will be back to normal soon."

Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer whose full name is Percy Robert Miller, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to reassure local resident he would do whatever he could to help the city recover.

Rap singer Master P speaks to reporters in New Orleans' French Quarter. He wears gold-rimmed glasses, a black shirt and beige suit jacket. A microphone is being held in front of his face.

"We've got to show the people we're not stopping. We are going to move on," he said. "Even this evil stuff that came against us is not going to stop us."

Mr Miller described the city as one where people come to "celebrate" and described it as "our culture".

Jefferson County Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters Thursday the college football match would be secure for fans who have come to the city.

"It's probably going to be one of the safest places in the country," Mr Lopinto said. "If my kid wanted to come to the game, I'd have no problem."

As the sun set over Bourbon Street on Thursday, many locals said they were confident that the vibrant area would bounce back quickly after the attack.

Among them was Darnell Simmons, a 23-year-old member of a brass band playing at the Bourbon House Oyster bar.

"A terrible thing happened here," he said. "But we're back, we're here to remember those we lost."

The bar's owner, Dickie Brennan, said he felt "incredibly emotional" to hear music return to Bourbon Street.

"We overcame Katrina. God knows how many hurricanes, oil spills, crime," he added, referring to the 2005 hurricane that left more than 1,300 dead. "One guy will not stop this beautiful city and special neighbourhood."

"This city is resilient. We have to be."

Just after 3:00 local time on 1 January officials say 42-year-old army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, killed 14 people and wounded dozens more when he drove a pick-up truck into crowds for the New Years holiday.

Before Jabbar was killed in a shoot-out with police during the attack, he had proclaimed his allegiance to the Islamic State group in videos uploaded to social media, according to the FBI.

The Sugar Bowl is watched by millions of Americans every year, traditionally on New Year's Day.

The game, along with the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, is a big tourist draw for the city.

The Sugar Bowl dates back to 1935, playing host to many of the best coaches, players and teams in college football history.

The Super Bowl, America's biggest sporting event, is scheduled for 9 February at the same New Orleans venue as the Sugar Bowl.

Additional reporting from the BBC's Anna Adams.

Sweden's green industry hopes hit by Northvolt woes

3 January 2025 at 08:04
Getty Images A Northvolt worker holds up a battery outside the Northvolt plant in Skellefteå, SwedenGetty Images
There were great hopes for the Northvolt battery plant Skellefteå, Sweden

Heavy snow blends into white thick clouds in Skellefteå, a riverside city in northern Sweden that is home to 78,000 residents.

It's also the location of what was supposed to become Europe's biggest and greenest electric battery factory, powered by the region's abundance of renewable energy.

Swedish start-up Northvolt opened its flagship production plant here in 2022, after signing multi-billion euro contracts with carmakers including BMV, Volkswagen and Nordic truck manufacturer Scania.

But it ran into major financial troubles last year, reporting debts of $5.8bn (£4.6bn) in November, and filing for bankruptcy in the US, where it had been hoping to expand its operations.

Since September it's laid off around a quarter of its global workforce including more than 1,000 staff in Skellefteå.

"A lot of people have moved out already," says 43-year-old Ghanaian Justice Dey-Seshie, who relocated to Skellefteå for a job at Northvolt, after previously studying and working in southern Sweden.

"I need to secure a job in order to extend my work permit. Otherwise, I have to exit the country, sadly."

Maddy Savage Bicycles covered in snow stand in an almost deserted shopping street in Skellefteå.Maddy Savage
Northvolt's problems have seen many move out of Skellefteå

Many researchers and journalists tracking Northvolt's downfall share the view that it was at least partly caused by a global dip in demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

In September Volvo abandoned its target to only produce EVs by 2030, arguing that "customers and markets are moving at different speeds". Meanwhile China, the market leader in electric batteries, has been able to undercut Northvolt's prices.

Missing production targets (a key factor in BMW pulling out of a €2bn deal in June), expanding too quickly, and the company's leadership have also been widely cited as factors fuelling the crisis.

"To build batteries is a very complex process. It takes a lot of capital, it takes time, and they obviously just didn't have the right personnel running the company," argues Andreas Cervenka, a business author and economics commentator for Swedish daily Aftonbladet.

At Umeå university, Madeleine Eriksson, a geographer researching the impact of so-called "green industries" says Northvolt presented a "save the world mentality" that impressed investors, media and local politicians.

But this "now-or-never" approach, she argues, glossed over the fact it was a risk-taking start-up that "never finished attracting investment".

Northvolt did not respond to multiple requests from the BBC to respond to comments about its downfall or future plans.

The firm has hired German Marcus Dangelmaier, from global electronics company TE Connectivity to run Northvolt's operations in Skellefeå, from January, as it seeks to attract fresh investment.

Northvolt's co-founder and CEO Peter Carlsson – a former Tesla executive – resigned in November.

As the postmortem into the crisis continues, there are debates about the potential impact on Sweden's green ambitions.

Northern Sweden, dubbed the "Nordic Silicon Valley of sustainability" by consultancy firm McKinsey, has swiftly gained global reputation for new industries designed to fast-track Europe's green transition.

The region is a hub for biotech and renewable energy. Alongside Northvolt, high profile companies include Stegra (formerly called H2 Green Steel) and Hybrit, which are both developing fossil-free fuel using hydrogen.

But Mr Cervenka, the economics commentator, argues Northvolt's downfall has damaged Sweden's "very good brand" when it comes to green technologies.

"There was a huge opportunity to build this champion, and to build this Swedish icon, but I think investors that lost money are going to be hesitant to invest again in a similar project in the north of Sweden," he says.

Some local businesses say the publicity around Northvolt's crisis is already having a negative impact.

"I feel it myself when I travel now – even to the southern parts of Sweden – and abroad, that people really ask me questions," says Joakim Nordin, CEO of Skellefteå Kraft, a major hydropower and wind energy provider, which was an early investor in Northvolt.

Cleantech Scandanavia Eva Andersson smiles standing next to some artworkCleantech Scandanavia
Sustainable industry "not doomed" says Eva Andersson

Headquartered in Malmö in southern Sweden, Cleantech for Nordics is an organisation that represents a coalition of 15 major investors in sustainability-focussed start-ups.

Here, climate policy analyst Eva Andersson believes the nation's long legacy as an environmental champion will remain relevant.

"I think it would be presumptuous to say that, okay, now we are doomed here in the Nordics because one company has failed," she argues.

Cleantech for Nordics' research suggests there were more than 200 investments in clean tech projects in Sweden in 2023.

Another study by Dealroom, which gathers data on start-ups indicates 74% of all venture capital funding to Swedish start-ups went to so-called impact companies which prioritise environmental or social sustainability, compared to a European average of just 35%.

"Sweden is still punching above its weight in this sector. And I think we could expect it to continue to do so moving forward as well," predicts Anderson.

There are growing calls for increased state support to help Sweden maintain its position. The Swedish government refused to bail out Northvolt, suggesting all startups – sustainable or not – should be subject to market forces rather than bailed out by taxpayers. But as other parts of the world ramp up battery production and other carbon-cutting industries, the decision has faced a backlash.

"The US and China have massive support packages for green industry, and they definitely are catching up and overtaking in some sectors. And so that is definitely a threat to be reckoned with," argues Andersson.

Just 3% of global battery cell production currently takes place in Europe - according to research for international consultancy firm McKinsey - with Asian firms leading the market.

Getty Images Sweden's minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch looks serious at a meeting. Getty Images
Northvolt "not a Swedish crisis" says Business Minister Ebba Busch

Sweden's minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch argues more EU support rather than funding from individual governments is the answer.

Last month she told Swedish television the situation at Northvolt was "not a Swedish crisis", rather a reflection of a Europe-wide challenge when it comes to competitiveness in the electric battery sector.

But while the government insists it wants Sweden to play a key role in Europe's battery industry, and the wider green transition, it has been accused of sending mixed messages. The right-wing coalition, which came into power in 2022 has cut taxes on petrol and diesel, and abolished subsidies for EVs.

"This is a very politically sensitive area," says journalist Cervenka. "The Swedish government is being actually criticised internationally for not fulfilling its climate obligations. And that is a stark contrast to the image of Sweden as a pioneer."

The BBC approached Busch's media team, but was not granted an interview.

Skellefteå Kraft Joakim Nordin, CEO of Skellefteå KraftSkellefteå Kraft
Joakim Nordin hopes Northvolt's problems will be a "bump in the road"

Back in Skellefteå, where it has been dark since just after lunch, Joachim Nordin is preparing to commute home in the snow.

He says there's a strong industrial will for Sweden to remain a green tech role model, despite policymakers being "not as ambitious" as previous administrations.

The criteria that enticed Northvolt to establish its first factory in Skellefteå will also attract other big global players to the region, according to the energy company CEO.

"It's 100% almost renewable energy up here… and that's that's pretty unique if you compare it to the rest of Europe. But on top of that we are among the cheapest places in the world for the electricity prices. So if you combine those two things, it's a huge opportunity."

Skellefeå Kraft recently announced a collaboration with Dutch fuel company Sky NRG. Their ambition is to open a large factory by 2030, making fossil-free plane fuel (produced using hydrogen combined with carbon dioxide captured from biogenic sources).

"The publicity around Northvolt is not helping now, of course. But I hope that that's just something that will be remembered as a little bump in the road, when we look back at this 10 years from now," says Mr Nordin.

《鱿鱼游戏2》遭遇红灯:剧情停滞不前

3 January 2025 at 03:58

简繁中文
纽约时报 出版语言
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《鱿鱼游戏2》遭遇红灯:剧情停滞不前

JAMES PONIEWOZIK
《鱿鱼游戏》第二季中的一个场景,第一季的赢家奇勋(李政宰饰)又回到了致命的游戏中,这次他发誓要报复。
《鱿鱼游戏》第二季中的一个场景,第一季的赢家奇勋(李政宰饰)又回到了致命的游戏中,这次他发誓要报复。 No Ju-han/Netflix
新一季《鱿鱼游戏》(Squid Game)过半,本剧主角奇勋(李政宰饰)设法回到了这场有巨额奖金的杀人竞赛中,并与另一名参赛者聊了起来。在上一季中,奇勋以牺牲数百名同伴为代价赢得了头奖,这一次,他希望选手们行使投票权来结束比赛。而他的朋友认为,如果多活一轮,他们所有人就能带着更多的奖金离开。
“上次来这里的时候,”奇勋回答说,“有人也说过同样的话。”
如果你看了本季回归Netflix的七集《鱿鱼游戏》,你可能也会有同感。你会听到第一季里听过的东西。你会看到第一季里看过的东西。如果你碰巧听到或看到一些新的东西,它很可能来自和第一季中某个死去或杀死他人的角色非常相似的角色。
有人怀疑这是故意的。这一季的《鱿鱼游戏》是一种“你以前见过的东西”的传送装置。
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这部反乌托邦的韩国惊悚剧集在2021年首次播放时引起了国际轰动,不是因为它的主题(资本主义剥削绝望者)或结构(参见《饥饿游戏》和许多真人秀电视)有多么新颖,而是因为它的血腥华丽场面和视觉创新。杀人玩偶!连体服!小猪存钱罐!这些都是人们花了钱想看的,《鱿鱼游戏2》尽职尽责地再次提供了这些东西。
在第一季中,奇勋是一个一无所有的欠债者,他接受了一个邀请,去一个偏僻的地方玩一系列儿童游戏,以便获得一笔可以改变人生的奖金,所有这些都是为了给一群骄奢淫逸的亿万富翁“VIP”观赏。失败者会死去——通常会喷出大量的动脉血——然后扑通一声,一叠代表他们身价的钞票就会掉进贪得无厌的小猪肚子里。
奇勋获得了456亿韩元的财富,但他深受打击,发誓要报复比赛的组织者。三年后,我们在第二季中见到的奇勋是一个极为严肃冷酷的人,这让他变得更可怕,但却没那么有趣了。(李政宰曾为这个时乖命蹇的主角赋予一种迷人的普通人精神,然而在这一季里,他经常怒目而视,还做了很多演讲。)
当然,他必须回到游戏中才能摧毁这个游戏,但《鱿鱼游戏》没有急着让他回归。一切都是不慌不忙的,走走停停,就像在玩自己的“红绿灯”游戏。
我们认识了一组新的参赛者——他们中的许多人都是对第一季那些牺牲品稍加变化——包括一个傲慢的说唱歌手,一个年迈的母亲和她笨手笨手的儿子,一个恶炒了一种失败的加密币的网红。(一个反复出现的主题是游戏中有些猎物本身就是捕食者。)上季一名警察(魏嘏隽饰)追捕游戏组织者的故事线得到了延续,这次是在海上,就像刮蹭着海底的船锚一样在拖慢叙事的前进。
这一季确实试图通过深入探讨运行游戏的工作人员来扩大叙事范围,特别是危险的“负责人”(李炳宪饰),他是这场游戏的主理人,也是奇勋的最终猎物。另一个次要情节涉及一名脱北者(朴珪瑛饰),一开始很有趣,但并未真正展开。
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由黄东赫导演的《鱿鱼游戏》在视觉想象力方面仍有精彩之处。与《寄生虫》(Parasite)和《雪国列车》(Snowpiercer)等韩国电影一样,它也出色地呈现了阶级斗争主题,斗争不只是发生在游戏的粉彩色屠宰场中。
第二季中令人难忘的一幕发生在一个儿童主题公园,我们在后台看到那些穿着戏服的吉祥物,他们穿着毛茸茸的外套,汗流浃背。与致命的游乐场竞赛游戏一样,这里的童年快乐被成人世界的残酷经济扭曲了,一个人的快乐建筑在另一个人的痛苦之上。
第二季呈现了负责游戏运行的工作人员的生活,尤其是游戏的“负责人”(李炳宪饰,中)。
第二季呈现了负责游戏运行的工作人员的生活,尤其是游戏的“负责人”(李炳宪饰,中)。 No Ju-han/Netflix
但是,随着剧集回到游戏当中,痛苦多过了快乐,重复着血腥的场面,故事有了新的转折,但体现“螃蟹效应”的个人动机却如出一辙。
本季名为《鱿鱼游戏2》,仿佛一部电影的续集,这引发了一个问题:这到底是什么意思?它是为一部连续剧推进更大故事线的第二季吗?还是在原作的刺激基础上带来独立变体的大片续集?《鱿鱼游戏2》两者都不是。它继续讲述一个故事,但在长达七个小时的时间里,它几乎没有对故事进行扩展。
也许这对观众来说没有问题。但是,如果这个系列只是一个载体,用来呈现更多同样的高设计感屠杀,那么,我们这些观众是否只是廉价版的VIP?看过无数遍捅刺和机枪处决的场景,我不得不怀疑这是否应该被当做一种乐子,而剧集对社会的批判在什么时候变成了宿命论。(此外还有一些让我疑惑的东西,比如在地板上洒满鲜血的情况下,参赛者们的运动鞋为何依然白得刺眼。)
当然,讲述这样一个故事并不需要简单地重复每一季的模式。在主题相似的《饥饿游戏》系列书籍和电影中,每一部的故事越来越与游戏无关,而是更多地讲述了一个反乌托邦的大社会,这个社会的存在依赖于残酷的奇观。
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这一季的《鱿鱼游戏》暗示了更大的野心,但并没有具体实现。正如一个对手告诉奇勋的那样,“除非世界改变,否则游戏不会结束。”
这句台词是一种嘲弄和回绝,但你也可以把它当作一种线索来解读。如果一场经济的生死对决会自然而然地发展成流血的竞技,而世界各地的每个人都在参与,那么这个更大问题的解决办法一定在游戏之外。
现在还不清楚《鱿鱼游戏》是否准备离开这个竞技场——至少还得再比一轮,再得一分。

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韩国官员尝试拘捕总统尹锡悦未果,双方僵持数小时

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韩国官员尝试拘捕总统尹锡悦未果,双方僵持数小时

CHOE SANG-HUN, JIN YU YOUNG, JOHN YOON
首尔,上周举行的反对尹锡悦的抗议活动。
首尔,上周举行的反对尹锡悦的抗议活动。 Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
周五,韩国官员放弃了以叛乱指控将总统尹锡悦带走问讯的尝试,此前双方在总统官邸内僵持了数小时。
调查人员在一份简短声明中表示:“由于与总统个人安保团队的僵持时间过长,我们认为已无法执行拘留令。”他们称尹锡悦拒绝配合的行为“令人深感遗憾”。调查人员表示,他们将在稍后决定是否以及何时再次尝试拘捕尹锡悦。
这一行动是官员为追究尹锡悦上月短暂宣布戒严令的责任做出的最新努力,戒严令使韩国陷入了政治危机。
早上进入尹锡悦官邸的官员们于当地时间下午1时30分开始撤离。在这个场事关重大的戏剧性事件中,为了进入官邸,官员们驱散了试图阻挡他们去路的支持者人群,然后似乎在官邸内与总统的个人安保团队陷入僵持。
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上个月被议会弹劾的尹锡悦无视调查人员多次传唤他出庭接受质询,称45年来首次将国家置于军事统治之下的做法是他作为总统的权力。最近几天,数以千名他的支持者在他的住所附近扎营,誓言阻止官员对他的拘捕。大批警察部署在附近维持秩序。
尹锡悦的律师周五重申,他们认为试图拘留尹锡悦是非法的。他们在一份声明中表示:“执行非法和无效的逮捕令显然违背法律。”
周五上午,当携带拘押令的官员乘坐的车队驶近尹锡悦的住所时,在附近人行道上扎营过夜的支持者们爆发出愤怒的情绪。他们挥舞着旗帜,高呼:“就在今天!我们会取得胜利!让我们保护尹锡悦!”
但警察用路障挡住这些支持者,防止他们阻挡官员前往尹锡悦位于首尔市中心、山脉环绕的官邸。
早上8点过后不久,官员们被允许通过白色钢门进入尹锡悦的住所。MBC电视台的画面显示,在大门外,警察和似乎驻扎在里面的官员之间爆发了短暂的争吵。
这里是你需要知道的其他信息:
· 拘留令:高级官员腐败调查办公室是一个独立的政府机构,专门负责处理涉及高级领导人的犯罪案件,该机构周二获得了一张法庭令状,获准对尹锡悦进行拘留。如果官员们想正式逮捕并继续扣留尹锡悦,必须在48小时内向法院申请另外一张逮捕令。
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· 对抗指控:尹锡悦誓言要对指控提出抗辩,他的律师尹甲权(音)本周申请了一项禁令,对拘留令的有效性提出质疑。

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No long-term social care reforms until 2028, ministers say

3 January 2025 at 13:39
Getty Images Carer helps older woman down some stairs - they are both smilingGetty Images

Proposals on the long-term funding of adult social care in England are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 at the earliest, the government has confirmed.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting is promising "to finally grasp the nettle on social care reform", with an independent commission due to begin work in April.

But the commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, is not due to publish its final report until 2028.

Councils and care providers say it is too long to wait for reform of vital services which are already on their knees.

The government also announced immediate plans to get care workers to do more health checks, and a funding boost for services to help elderly and disabled people remain in their homes.

Social care means help for older or disabled people with day-to-day tasks like washing, dressing, medication and eating.

Only those with the most complex health needs get social care provided free by the NHS, so most care is paid for by councils.

In England, only people with high needs and savings or assets of less than £23,250 are eligible for that help, leaving a growing number of people to fund themselves.

Some face paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for their care and may be forced to sell their own home as a result.

The government's ultimate aim is "a new National Care Service, able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st Century", said Streeting.

He said he had invited opposition parties to take part in the commission "to build a cross-party consensus to ensure the National Care Service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years".

Baroness Casey - who has led several high-profile reviews, including into homelessness, the Rotherham child exploitation scandal and the Metropolitan Police - said she was pleased "to lead this vital work".

She is viewed in government as being straight-talking, with good cross-party links, and as someone who gets things done.

Even so, drawing up a plan for a National Care Service that meets the needs of an ageing population and is affordable is perhaps her biggest challenge yet.

There is agreement that the care system has been in crisis for years, struggling with growing demand, under-funding and staff shortages.

The problem has been getting political agreement on how overdue reform will be funded.

In 2010, Labour plans to fund social care were labelled a "death tax"' in that year's election, and Conservative plans were called a "dementia tax" in the 2017 election.

There have also been numerous commissions, reviews and inquiries over the past 25 years which have failed to bring change.

The 2011 Dilnot Commission plan for a cap on individual care costs came closest, making it into legislation, but was not implemented.

It was finally scrapped by the new Labour government last summer because it said the last Conservative administration had not set aside the money to fund the reform.

However, providing enough support for people in their own homes, care homes and supported living remains a pressing issue.

The care systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are slightly more generous, but all are facing the pressures of growing demand and squeezed finances.

"Our ageing society, with costs of care set to double in the next 20 years, demands longer-term action," said Streeting.

The government had promised a National Care Service in its manifesto, although provided little detail.

The independent commission will work with users of care services, their families, staff, politicians and the public to recommend how best to build a care service to meet current and future needs.

"Millions of older people, disabled people, their families and carers rely upon an effective adult social care system to live their lives to the full with independence and dignity," said Baroness Casey.

"An independent commission is an opportunity to start a national conversation, find the solutions and build consensus on a long-term plan to fix the system."

Baroness Casey wears a pink and orange patterned blouse and talks to an interviewer while on camera during a television interview with the BBC
Baroness Casey has chaired a series of high-profile reviews

The commission will report to the prime minister and its work will be split into two phases.

Phase one will identify critical issues and recommend medium-term improvements. This will report by mid-2026.

Phase two will look at how to organise care services and fund them for the future. This report is not due until 2028 - a year before the next election.

The King's Fund independent health think-tank urged the government to "accelerate the timing".

"The current timetable to report by 2028 is far too long to wait for people who need social care, and their families," said its chief executive, Sarah Woolnough.

Councils, which are under huge financial pressure, pay for care services for most people.

Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, agreed that the "timescales are too long".

She believes much of the evidence and options on how to reform adult social care are already known and worries that "continuing to tread water until a commission concludes will be at the detriment of people's health and well-being".

About 835,000 people received publicly funded care in 2022, according to the King's Fund. The charity Age UK estimates there are about two million people in England who have unmet care needs - and according to workforce organisation Skills for Care, while 1.59 million people work in adult social care in England, there are currently 131,000 vacancies.

Helen Walker, the head of Carers UK, which represents millions of unpaid people who provide care to family members, said families were "under intense pressure and providing more care than ever before"

When older or disabled people are unable to get the help they need in the community they are more likely to end up in hospital, or get stuck on a ward when they are ready to leave.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said: "We hope this vital action plan and commitment to create a National Care Service will both help better support people and ease pressure on hospital wards."

The government also confirmed an extra £86m would be spent before the end of the financial year in April to help thousands more elderly and disabled people to remain in their homes.

The money is on top of a similar sum announced in the Budget for the next financial year.

Overall, it should allow 7,800 disabled and elderly people to make vital improvements to their homes which should increase their independence and reduce hospitalisations, says the government.

Other changes include:

  • better career pathways for care workers
  • better use of technology and new national standards to support elderly people to live at home for longer
  • up-skilling care workers to deliver basic checks such as blood pressure monitoring
  • a new digital platform to share medical information between NHS and care staff.

'No-one deserves this': Victims' families seek answers in New Orleans attack

3 January 2025 at 09:12
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Flowers placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street. EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Fourteen flowers were placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street - one for each victim killed in the attack.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

New Orleans victim's brother says family will have to deal with his death 'every day'

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Christina Bounds Matthew TenedorioChristina Bounds
Matthew Tenedorio's family says they begged him not to head into New Orleans on New Year's Eve

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

To conserve or cull? Life in Australia's crocodile capital

3 January 2025 at 09:01
BBC Saltwater crocodiles were almost hunted to extinction in Australia's Northern Territory (NT). Now they're thrivingBBC
Saltwater crocodiles were almost hunted to extinction in Australia's Northern Territory (NT). Now they're thriving

It's dawn on Darwin Harbour and government ranger Kelly Ewin - whose job is to catch and remove crocodiles - is balancing precariously on a floating trap.

Heavy rain clouds from the storm that has recently passed are overhead. The engine of the boat has been cut so now it's mostly silent – that is, apart from the intermittent splashing coming from inside the trap.

"You get pretty much zero chances with these guys," says Ewin as he attempts to loop a noose around the jaw of the agitated reptile.

We're in Australia's Northern Territory (NT), home to an estimated 100,000 wild saltwater crocodiles, more than anywhere in the world.

The capital, Darwin, is a small coastal city surrounded by beaches and wetlands.

And, as you quickly learn here in the NT, where there is water, there usually are crocs.

Watch: The BBC's Katy Watson is onboard with crocodile rangers in Darwin Harbour, Australia

Saltwater crocs - or salties, as they are known to locals - were nearly hunted to extinction 50 years ago.

After World War Two, the uncontrolled trade in their skins soared and numbers fell to around 3,000.

But when hunting was banned in 1971, the population started rising again - and fast.

They still are a protected species, but are no longer threatened.

The recovery of the saltwater crocodile has been so dramatic that Australia now faces a different dilemma: managing their numbers to keep people safe and the public onside.

"The worst thing that can happen is when people turn [against crocodiles]," explains croc expert Prof Grahame Webb.

"And then a politician will invariably come along with some knee-jerk reaction [that] they're going to 'solve' the crocodile problem."

Living with predators

The NT's hot temperatures and abundant coastal surroundings create the perfect habitat for cold-blooded crocs, who need warmth to keep their body temperature constant.

There also are big saltie populations in Northern Queensland and Western Australia as well as in parts of South East Asia.

While most species of crocodile are harmless, the saltie is territorial and aggressive.

Fatal incidents are rare in Australia, but they do happen.

Last year, a 12-year-old was taken - the first death from a crocodile in the NT since 2018.

This is busiest time of year for Ewin and his colleagues.

Breeding season has just started, which means salties are on the move.

His team are on the water several times a week, checking the 24 crocodile traps surrounding the city of Darwin.

The area is popular for fishing, as well as for some brave swimmers.

The crocodiles that are removed from the harbour are most often killed, because if they are released elsewhere, they're likely to return to the harbour.

"It's our job to try and keep people as safe as we can," says Ewin, who's been doing his "dream job" for two years. Before that, he was a policeman.

"Obviously, we're not going to capture every crocodile, but the more we take out of the harbour, the less risk there's going to be an encounter with crocodiles and people."

Kelly Ewin's job is to capture and remove crocodiles from Darwin Harbour
Kelly Ewin's job is to capture and remove crocodiles from Darwin Harbour

Another tool helping to keep the public safe is education.

The NT government goes into schools with its programme "Be Crocwise" - which teaches people how to behave responsibly around croc habitats.

It's been such a success that Florida and the Philippines are now looking to borrow it, in order to better understand how the world's most dangerous predators can live alongside humans with minimal interactions.

"We're living in crocodile country, so it's about how we [keep ourselves] safe around the waterways - how should we be responding?" says Natasha Hoffman, a ranger who runs the programme in the NT.

"If you're on the boats when you're fishing, you need to be aware that they're there. They're ambush hunters, they sit, watch and wait. If the opportunity is there for them to grab some food, that's what they're going to do."

In the NT, mass culling is currently not on the table given the protected status of the species.

A sign warning that "crocodiles bite", with a crocodile swimming underneath it
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptile in the world

Last year though, the government approved a new 10-year crocodile management plan to help control the numbers, which increased the quota of crocs that can be killed annually from 300 to 1,200.

This is on top of the work Ewin's team is doing to remove any crocodiles that pose a direct threat to humans.

Every time there's a death, it reignites the debate about crocodiles living in close proximity to people.

In the days after the 12-year-old girl was taken last year, the Territory's then leader Eva Lawler made it clear she wouldn't allow the reptiles to outnumber the human population of the NT.

Currently that stands at 250,000, well above the number of wild crocs.

It's a conversation that goes beyond the NT.

Queensland is home to about a quarter of the number of crocs that the Top End of NT has, but there are far more tourists, and more deaths, which means talk of culls sometimes feature in election debates.

Big business

The apex predators may court controversy, but they're also a big draw card for the NT – for tourists but also for fashion brands keen to buy their leather.

Visitors can head to the Adelaide River to watch "croc jumping" - which involves salties being fed bits of meat on the end of a stick if they can leap out of the water for their audience.

"I'm supposed to tell you to put your [life-jackets] on," jokes the head skipper at Spectacular Jumping Croc Cruises, Alex 'Wookie' Williams, as he explains the house rules of the boat.

"The bit I don't have to tell you… [is that] life jackets are pretty useless out here."

For Williams, who's been obsessed with crocs since childhood, there's plenty of opportunity to work alongside them.

"It's boomed over the last 10 years or so," he says of the number of tourists coming to the region.

Getty Images Shows with wild crocodiles are organised in the NT to attract touristsGetty Images
Shows with wild crocodiles are organised in the NT to attract tourists

Farming, which was brought in when hunting was banned, has also become an economic driver.

It's estimated there are now about 150,000 crocodiles in captivity in the NT.

Fashion labels such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès - which sells a Birkin 35 croc handbag for as much as A$800,000 ($500,000; £398,000) - have all invested in the industry.

"The commercial incentives were effectively put in place to help people tolerate crocodiles, because we need a social licence to be able to use wildlife," says Mick Burns, one of the NT's most prominent farmers who works with luxury brands.

His office is in downtown Darwin. Spread across the floor is a massive croc skin. Pinned to the wall of the conference room, there is another skin that spans at least four metres.

Mick Burns
Mick Burns has been working in the NT's crocodile farming industry for years

Burns is also involved with a ranch in remote Arnhem Land, about 500km (310 miles) east of Darwin. There, he works with Aboriginal rangers to harvest and hatch croc eggs to sell their skins to the luxury goods industry.

One of the area's Traditional Owners, Otto Bulmaniya Campion, who works alongside Burns, says more partnerships like theirs are crucial for ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities share in the financial benefits of the industry.

For tens of thousands of years, crocs have played a significant role in Indigenous cultures, shaping their sacred stories, lives and livelihoods.

"My father, all the elders, used to go and harpoon crocodiles, get a skin, and go and trade it for tea, flour, and sugar. [However] there was no money at that time," the Balngarra man says.

"Now, we want to see our own people handling reptiles."

But not everyone is on board with farming as a practice - even if those involved say it helps with conservation.

The concern among animal activists lies in the way the crocs are held in captivity.

Despite being social animals, they are usually confined to individual pens to ensure their skins are flawless - as a scrap between two territorial crocs would almost certainly damage a valuable commodity.

Aboriginal Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation Otto Campion is a Traditional owner of the Central Arnhem Land region of the Top EndAboriginal Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation
Otto Bulmaniya Campion is a Traditional Owner of the Central Arnhem Land region in the Top End

Everyone in Darwin has a story about these formidable creatures, regardless of whether they want to see them hunted in greater numbers or more rigorously preserved.

But the threat they continue to pose is not imagined.

"If you go [swimming in] the Adelaide river next to Darwin, there's a 100% chance you'll be killed," says Prof Webb matter-of-factly.

"The only question is whether it's going to take five minutes or 10 minutes. I don't think you'll ever get to 15 - you'll be torn apart," he adds, pushing up his trouser leg to reveal a huge scar on his calf - evidence of a close encounter with one angry female nearly forty years ago as he was collecting eggs.

He is unapologetic about what he calls the pragmatism of authorities to manage numbers and make money out of crocs along the way - a way of life that, in the near future at least, is here to stay.

"We've done what very few people can do, which is take a very serious predator…and then manage them in such a way that the public is prepared to [tolerate] them.

"You try and get people in Sydney or London or New York to put up with a serious predator - they aren't going to do it."

Weekly quiz: Who beat Sabrina Carpenter to the best-selling song of 2024?

3 January 2025 at 01:58

The Papers: Sara Sharif's dad 'attacked in prison' and social care 'shake-up'

3 January 2025 at 13:45

Sun front page for 3 January 2025 - headline reads "Sara's killer dad slashed with tuna tin lid"
The Sun leads with reports that the father of Sara Sharif has been attacked in prison where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of the 10-year-old. The paper says two inmates "ambushed" Urfan Sharif in his cell and slashed his throat. The Prison Service says police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on New Year's Day but did not confirm any identities.
Guardian front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Ministers plan biggest shake-up of adult social care for decades"
The Guardian says ministers are to launch a historic independent commission to reform adult social care in England. It notes the proposed timeline has been criticised by health and care leaders, who say a "crisis" is being "kicked into the long grass".
Times front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Reform of social care is pushed back again"
The Times says reform of the social care system is being "pushed back again", with reform not likely to be delivered until 2028, until after the commission reports back. However, it adds the government hopes to build a "national consensus" as Baroness Casey, a "veteran Whitehall troubleshooter" leads the review and aims to seek the support of the main political parties.
Daily Express front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Kemi: Inquiry into UK's rape gangs is long overdue"
The Daily Express reports on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's demand for a national public inquiry into the UK's "rape gangs scandal". The call came after the Home Office rejected Oldham Council's request for a government-led inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation in the town - saying the council should lead it instead.
Daily Telegraph front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Labour blocks grooming gang probe"
The Daily Telegraph also leads with the government's rejection of an inquiry into grooming gangs - interpreting it as meaning that Labour has "blocked" a probe into Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's conduct while he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service between 2008 and 2013. The Telegraph joins several other papers in featuring a picture of the Duchess of Sussex in a kitchen, from a newly-released trailer for her upcoming lifestyle show on Netflix.
Daily Mirror front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Your country needs you"
"Your country needs you" is the Daily Mirror's headline as it reports the call by the Royal British Legion for veterans of World War Two to join this year's 80th-anniversary commemorations for VE and VJ Day.
Financial Times front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Insipid growth means tax rises are almost inevitable, economists warn"
The Financial Times leads on a poll it has conducted with economists that suggests the government is likely to have to raise taxes again before the next election. The survey found that although the UK is expected to return to growth this year, the upturn may not be strong enough to spare the country from a fresh round of tax hikes.
i front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Millions face bill to install heat pumps in net zero push"
The i focuses on government plans to see heat pumps replace gas boilers in almost all homes in the UK. It says not all households are eligible for government help with the cost and some people will also be made to improve insulation in their properties.
Daily Mail front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "Pay of NHS managers soars £1.1bn"
The Daily Mail highlights its findings that NHS managers' salaries in England have risen by more than £1.1bn in the last decade, amid a 36% rise in senior staffing levels.
Daily Star front page for 3 January 2025 - the headline reads "The Grit Escape"
The upcoming cold snap that forecasters say will bring snow to many parts of the UK in the next few days is the focus for the Daily Star. Under a headline the "Grit Escape", the paper highlights the fact that six million sunshine holidays will also be booked this month, amid the amber warnings and plunging temperatures.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting writes in the Guardian that the new commission on adult social care in England will "finally grasp the nettle". He says it will set the country on the path to building a service which "meets the urgent need of our generation".

The Daily Mirror it is "imperative" that the commission succeeds. But the Times points out that the "long-promised" review has been "pushed back again" and won't offer its final proposals until 2028. The paper highlights concerns by care home providers that the government is in danger of producing "yet another report that gathers dust while the sector crumbles".

In its leader column, the Sun calls on the head of the commission, Baroness Casey, to "get on with it" - claiming that "voters are sick of Whitehall lethargy" and want results.

Getty Images Elderly couple on a row of seats. Their faces are not shown but a man and a woman, both wearing cream-coloured trousers and blue sweaters, can be seen sitting next to each other on a row of seats. The woman is holding a walking stick Getty Images

The Daily Mail has analysed official figures which it says show that salaries for NHS managers in England have soared by more than a £1bn.

The paper says the "spiralling bill" reached £2.8bn last year, while "hospitals and ambulances routinely fail to meet performance targets".

But the NHS Confederation tells the paper the health service is not "over-managed", but rather "under-managed" compared with its foreign counterparts.

"Labour blocks grooming gang probe" is the headline in the Daily Telegraph, which leads with the news that the government declined to hold an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Ministers say the local council should lead a review instead.

But the Daily Express warns that "anything less than a fully empowered independent inquiry will fail the survivors and leave more women and girls at risk".

Economists tell the Financial Times it is "almost inevitable" that the government will have to raise taxes again before the next election - fearing that growth this year will be weaker than official forecasts suggest.

They expect it to fall short of the 2% rebound predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. One expert tells the paper the chancellor will face a "dawning realisation" that, without increasing income tax or VAT, she "can't make the damn sums work".

The Sun leads with its report that Urfan Sharif - who murdered his 10-year-old daughter Sara - has been attacked at Belmarsh Prison.

A source tells the paper that Sharif was "sliced up badly in his cell" by two inmates using the lid of a tuna can and was "lucky to survive" the attack.

Analysis by the Telegraph reveals that, in the past three years, police have failed to solve a single burglary or theft in 30% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

It says that in one part of Westminster - an area with one of the highest crime rates -just four of the nearly 2,000 burglaries or thefts were solved.

A Home Office spokesman tells the paper that victims are being let down, saying that "too often people fear that no one will come when crimes are committed, and nothing will be done".

And the Daily Mirror features an appeal for World War Two veterans to sign up to lead events marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.

The Royal British Legion says it may be the last chance to honour them in person. The paper's headline is: "Your country needs you".

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Attempt to arrest S Korea president suspended after dramatic standoff

3 January 2025 at 14:57
Reuters Police officers gather near the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials as people await the arrival of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk YeoReuters
Investigators say they will decide on next steps after a review

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

'I learned to play guitar with one arm after a stroke'

3 January 2025 at 14:22
Tony Romaine Tony Romaine sits onstage playing the guitar with his right arm. He has a headband and long dreadlocked hair, while he is singing into a microphone attached to his ear.Tony Romaine
Tony Romaine spent seven months in hospital recovering from his stroke

An Inverness man has been able to resume his music career despite suffering a stroke that left him unable to speak or walk - by teaching himself to play the guitar one-handed.

Tony Romaine spent seven months in hospital recovering from a stroke that hit him "out of the blue" two years ago.

The 49-year-old dad of four was found by his wife Lynn lying on their couch unable to move or even cry for help after a clot caused the blood supply to his brain to be interrupted.

However, earlier this year he took to the stage to play his first gig since the incident, with plans for further shows in 2025.

"I couldn't imagine not doing music in my life," says Tony, who was initially unable to even swallow after the stroke happened.

"When people said I probably wouldn't be able to play again, I wasn't going to listen to that. There was probably a part of me that was like 'I'll prove you wrong' but I just had to get back to playing again."

Tony Romaine Tony sitting in his hospital bed. He has a grey-T-shirt on, is propped up against the pillows in his bed, has medical and is smiling towards the camera. Tony Romaine
Tony had to relearn how to walk, talk and eat after his stroke

A music lover from childhood, Tony regularly played gigs around Inverness. In 2022 he forced himself to play a couple of shows despite feeling unwell - not realising that within days doctors would be telling his family to prepare for the worst.

"The day after the gig I had a rest day, so I was sitting on the couch and ordering a takeaway.

"By the time the takeaway got there, I was finding it difficult to move around but I just thought I was tired and under the weather. I never thought it would be anything like a stroke.

"By the time everyone was going to bed I was saying I would just stay there a bit longer, and I lay down. Next thing I knew, I couldn't move at all. I went to shout out, and realised I couldn't speak either.

"I was lying there all night, wide awake and thinking 'what the hell is going on?'."

'I might not be here tomorrow'

Tony's wife Lynn came downstairs early the next morning and discovered her husband, quickly phoning for an ambulance.

However, doctors said they could not do anything to break up the clot to his brain stem that caused the stroke.

"My family were told the day I went in that I might not be here tomorrow. I was having trouble breathing and had tubes going in and out of me."

The stroke was so severe that Tony had to be fed through tubes for several weeks while being cared for at at Inverness's Raigmore Hospital, firstly in the ICU and then the stroke unit.

Tony Romaine Tony sitting in a wheelchair in hospital, with a pillow on his lap and tubes attached to his face.Tony Romaine
Tony never lost hope that he would be able to make music again

He then moved to the RNI Community Hospital, for a further five months of rehab and physio.

Although the initial targets were focused simply on helping Tony to walk again, he was already thinking about how to play guitar.

"The first thing the physiotherapist said to me was that she just wanted me to sit up. I said to them 'I don't know how to do that', so she helped me, and eventually I managed to sit at the edge of the bed," he says.

"That was the start. But to be honest, I was thinking about music from the first day I was in hospital.

"There was so much stuff going through my head at that point but I was thinking that I'd have to cancel gigs and I was trying to figure out how I was going to do it."

PA Media Edwyn Collins standing on the red carpet at an awards ceremony. He is wearing a blue suit with white shirt and has brownish hair.PA Media
Edywn Collins recovered from a stroke and was able to resume his music career

Progress was slow at times, and Tony recalls being told how his brain needed to be "taught" that his leg was still there and could work.

As he continued to make progress with his body, he was able to start trying to play guitar again as well, even though his left hand and arm were out of action.

"I had no idea how I was going to do it," he recalls.

"It's not like I could just go to a guitar teacher, but once I figured out a couple of techniques it became a case of practicing them, which was easier."

The first song he re-learned was Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, with a stripped-back arrangement to make it easier on him.

He could find inspiration in the likes of Edywn Collins, the former Orange Juice singer who suffered a stroke following a cerebral haemorrhage in 2005 but later returned to performing and making music.

Soon Tony was not just re-learning old songs but working on new material too, and in August the song Standing Stone was released on streaming services.

Another milestone came the same month when he played a gig for the first time in two years, taking the stage at the Rose Street Foundry in Inverness for 30 minutes.

"I was absolutely exhausted," he recalls.

"I stood out of my wheelchair at the end and my legs were shaking. But I'm growing in stamina all the time – I'm hoping to do an hour and a half, maybe split in two 45 minute sets, for my next gigs."

Charity support

Those upcoming gigs will be aimed at helping others, too.

He is hoping fundraise for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland in the coming months, after they helped him with his rehab after the stroke, while his next show at the Tooth and Claw in Inverness will be to benefit the Oxygen Works charity in the city.

"When I was in hospital I saw people who had given up, and that made me really sad," he explains.

"I understand it, it's a terrible thing to go through but I wouldn't want anyone to give up - I want people to know that you can come through this."

The failed attempt to arrest S Korea president explained

3 January 2025 at 14:31
Reuters Police officers gather near the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials as people await the arrival of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk YeoReuters
Investigators say they will decide on next steps after a review

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

'No-one deserves this': Victims' families seek answers in New Orleans attack

3 January 2025 at 09:12
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Flowers placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street. EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Fourteen flowers were placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street - one for each victim killed in the attack.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

New Orleans victim's brother says family will have to deal with his death 'every day'

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Christina Bounds Matthew TenedorioChristina Bounds
Matthew Tenedorio's family says they begged him not to head into New Orleans on New Year's Eve

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Venezuela offers reward for candidate's arrest

3 January 2025 at 13:28
Reuters Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition candidate Edmundo González gesture as they address supporters, in Caracas, VenezuelaReuters
Edmundo González (right), the exiled presidential candidate for Venezuela, alongside the opposition's leader María Corina Machado (left) in July 2024

Venezuela's government has offered a $100,000 (£81,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the opposition's exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González.

He fled the country in September and was granted political asylum in Spain after Venezuela's authorities ordered his arrest, accusing González of conspiracy and of forging documents.

González had vowed to return to Venezuela before President Nicolás Maduro's inauguration next Friday, accusing the government of rigging the vote.

Shortly after the reward was announced, González said he was travelling to Argentina to begin a tour of Latin America, where he will meet fierce Maduro critic President Javier Milei on Saturday.

The United Nations' Human Rights Committee has ordered Venezuela "to refrain from destroying" the voting tallies from the presidential election in July 2024.

The voting tallies - a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station - have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) declared the incumbent, Maduro, the winner but failed to provide the voting tallies to back up its claim.

The opposition, which with the help of accredited election witnesses collected and published more than 80% of the voting tallies, says these prove that its candidate, González, was the overwhelming winner.

González was not well known in Venezuela when he registered as a candidate for the country's presidential election back in March.

He had never run for public office before and was not even widely known in opposition circles.

But months after he decided to run for the top office, the low-key former diplomat overtook Maduro in the opinion polls.

Venezuela has seen divisions between government and opposition supporters get ever deeper over the past decade or so.

González's reconciliatory tone during the presidential campaign was in stark contrast to that of Maduro, who warned of a "bloodbath" should González win.

The 2018 re-election of Maduro was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.

Temperatures drop across UK as arctic blast brings more snow

3 January 2025 at 11:31
BBC A police 'road closed' sign and two cones blocks a snow and slush covered country road. The hedges and trees either side of the track are covered in a blanket of wet snow.BBC

Much of the UK could be set for three days of snow as temperatures plunge across the country.

A Met Office yellow warning for snow has been issued for all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland this weekend, with icy conditions forecast to continue into Monday.

It means there is a risk of rural communities being cut off, schools being closed and power cuts, as well as widespread travel disruption.

The wintry conditions will hit days after much of the UK was lashed by strong winds and heavy rain, which led to widespread flooding across the north-west of England.

The snow warning starts at noon on Saturday until 09:00 GMT on Monday and covers all regions of England apart from the South West, the majority of Wales and parts of southern Scotland.

About 5cm of snow is expected across the Midlands, Wales and northern England over the weekend, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and the Pennines. With strong winds, some drifting may also be possible.

Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland may also see some disruptive snow. In southern England any snow is likely to turn back to rain as milder air temporarily arrives.

Temperatures will begin to fall overnight on Wednesday, with parts of the country warned to expect icy conditions on Thursday morning and some snow expected in Scotland.

It will feel increasingly bitter as the Arctic air reaches all areas of the UK by Thursday, with a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers, paving the way for widespread snowfall across the weekend.

BBC Weather lead presenter Ben Rich warned that snow is notoriously hard to forecast, and the warning will likely be modified closer to the time as confidence in in the data behind it grows.

"With just a small change in temperature or the track of the low pressure can mean an area gets rain or sleet instead of snow," he said.

The warnings come after many Britons saw their New Year's celebrations accompanied by heavy rain and extensive flooding, including in Greater Manchester where a major incident was declared on New Year's Day.

Places affected include Bolton, Didsbury, South Manchester, Harpurhey, north Manchester, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan.

In Cheshire, the banks of the Bridgewater Canal collapsed with water pouring into surrounding fields at Little Bollington, prompting road closures and property evacuations.

Around 90mm of rain has fallen widely across north west England over the last 24 hours with over 100mm recorded on some hills in north Wales and Cumbria.

And in London, the New Year's Day parade suffered a short delay due to the high winds and a brief squall of torrential rain in the capital.

You can keep up to date with BBC Weather forecasts online and on the app.

Ex-college football player and aspiring nurse among attack victims

3 January 2025 at 00:34
Michelle Bech Martin BechMichelle Bech

A well-known American football player, a young aspiring nurse and a mother of a four-year-old are among the victims of the New Year's day attack in New Orleans in which at least 15 people were killed.

Their names are being released by families and relatives before authorities complete post-mortem examinations.

Here's what we know so far.

Martin 'Tiger' Bech

Martin "Tiger" Bech is a former football player at Princeton University.

His death was confirmed in a statement by the university.

"There was no more appropriate nickname of a Princeton player I coached," Princeton football coach Bob Surace said in a statement.

"He was a 'Tiger' in every way - a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend."

Martin Bech's brother, Jack Bech, posted a tribute on X alongside a news article reporting his death.

"Love you always brother!" he wrote. "You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don't worry. This is for us."

Mr Bech was a member of the 2016 and 2018 Ivy League Championship teams.

Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux

The 18-year-old was an aspiring nurse.

Her death was confirmed by her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, on social media.

"I lost my baby just pray for me and my family pleaseeeeee!!! God I need you now!!," the mother pleaded, along with a photograph of her daughter wearing a red graduation cap and gown from this year.

Ms Dedeaux - who is also a nurse - told local media outlet Nola that her daughter had been due to start her nurse training later this month.

She added that Nikyra had snuck out with a cousin and friend, who both survived.

Reggie Hunter

The death of the store manager and father of two was confirmed to CBS News, the BBC News' US partner, by his cousin Shirell Robinson Jackson.

Ms Jackson described him as "full of life", and said the 37-year-old had messaged the family minutes after midnight to wish them a Happy New Near.

He was with another cousin who was injured in the attack.

Nicole Perez

Kimberly Usher Fall, Ms Perez's friend and boss at the deli store she worked at, called her a dedicated, smart and a "good-hearted person", according to CBS.

The 27-year-old was also a mother to a four-year-old boy.

Matthew Tenedorio

The 25-year-old audio-visual technician had a "laid-back spirit and infectious laughter" that brought joy to those around him, according to a fundraiser his family set up in his name.

His mother Cathy Tenedorio, told US broadcaster NBC News, she last saw her son alive at 21:00 local time on New Year's Eve, adding she remembered hugging and kissing him.

What we know about the New Orleans attack and driver

3 January 2025 at 02:25
Reuters Police stand in dark at attack scene in new orleans.
Reuters

Ten people are dead and at least 35 injured after a man drove into a large crowd in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day, authorities have said.

Here's what we know so far.

When did the incident happen?

At 0315 on New Year's day, a man drove a pickup truck at speed into a large crowd in Bourbon Street.

Police described the act as "very intentional", adding that the man was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did".

"This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could", said New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

The driver fired at officers from his vehicle, injuring two officers. They are in a stable condition, authorities said.

In a later update, the FBI confirmed the driver was dead and that the incident was being investigated as an "act of terrorism".

Who was injured?

Police said 10 people were killed and at least 35 injured. None of them have been identified yet.

The injured have been sent to several area hospitals for treatment.

Police said it appeared that the victims were mainly locals.

Where did it happen?

The man drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the southern US city of New Orleans in Louisiana.

Bourbon Street is a well-known nightlife and tourist hotspot that is filled with bars, clubs with live music and restaurants.

It is within New Orleans' French Quarter, a lively area that attracts tourists and locals, especially to celebrate the new year.

What about the driver?

The driver of the vehicle has died, but the cause of death is not yet clear.

He has not been identified by police, who said earlier that he had fired at officers when they responded to the scene.

The truck, a white Ford F-150 Lightning, with a heavily damaged bonnet was geolocated by the BBC Verify team in front of Rick's Cabaret on Bourbon Street, near the Conti Street intersection.

Officials are investigating whether the suspect was connected to or inspired by a foreign terror organization, according to BBC's US news partner CBS.

Investigators also are analyzing potential explosive devices recovered at or near the scene.

A long gun was recovered from the scene, CBS reported.

What was found at the scene?

Special agent Althea Duncan of the the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed at a morning news conference that the agency had taken over the investigation.

Ms Duncan said a possible explosive device had been found at the scene and authorities were working to find out if it was "viable".

She stressed that the public should stay away from the area "until we can figure out what is going on".

Police asked that the public stay clear of Bourbon Street between Canal and St Ann streets.

What did witnesses say?

A witness who was on Bourbon Street at the time of the incident has just shared some of the harrowing scenes.

Whit Davis, from Shreveport, Louisiana, told the BBC: "We had been on and around Bourbon Street since the beginning of the evening.

"When we were in the bar we didn't hear shooting or crashes because the music was so loud," Mr Davis said.

Police held Mr Davis and a group of people in the bar, and when they were allowed to leave he said they "were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street".

Bereaved whale spotted pushing another dead calf

3 January 2025 at 12:11
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research Tahlequah the whale seen supporting dead calfKen Balcomb, Center for Whale Research
Whale J35 (known as Tahlequah) seen supporting the dead calf in 2018

A killer whale, which captured the world's attention in 2018 when it was spotted pushing the dead body of its newborn calf for 17 days, appears to be grieving again.

The whale, known as Tahlequah, has lost another calf and is again pushing the body, according to the Center for Whale Research.

Tahlequah has this time been spotted off the coast of the US state of Seattle.

Killer whales have been known to carry dead calves for a week but scientists in 2018 said Tahlequah had set a "record".

The Center for Whale Research said the death of any calf was a "tremendous loss" but added that the death of Tahlequah's newborn was "particularly devastating" given its history.

The centre, which studies the Southern Resident killer whale and works on its conservation, said Tahlequah had now lost two out of four documented calves - both of which were female.

Both Canada and the US list Southern Resident killer whales as endangered.

The whales depend on Chinook salmon - which have been in dramatic decline in recent years - for food.

Failures to reproduce are linked to nutrition and access to these salmon, according to research from the University of Washington.

Whales can travel an average of 120km (75 miles) a day.

The 2018 sighting of Tahlequah pushing a dead calf happened when it was off the shores of Victoria, British Columbia.

Why Apple is offering rare iPhone discounts in China

3 January 2025 at 11:53
Getty Images Shoppers look at iPhone 16 Pro at an Apple Store in Chengdu, China.Getty Images
US tech giant cuts prices in China as it faces growing competition from local rivals like Huawei

Shoppers in China are getting rare discounts on iPhones as Apple faces growing competition from local brands.

The four-day promotion, which starts this Saturday (4 January), includes discounts of as much as 500 yuan ($68.50, £55.30) on some of the US technology giant's newest handsets.

Chinese phone maker Huawei has also cut prices of its high-end mobile devices by as much as 20%.

The discounts come as consumers in China remain hesitant about spending because of the country's economic challenges.

The offer covers Apple's top models as well as older handsets and some other devices.

The biggest discount of 500 yuan will apply to Apple's flagship iPhone 16 Pro, which has starting a price of 7,999 yuan, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max which currently costs 9,999 yuan.

The firm held a similar promotion in China last year ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the festival starts at the end of January.

Changing behaviour

"Apple's strategy has changed to adapt to the change in Chinese consumers' shopping behaviour," said Will Wong, a senior research manager for market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

"The value-seeking trend has made price discounts more attractive to consumers. Apple may fall behind other competitors if it doesn't adopt such a pricing strategy."

The discounts being offered by Apple and Huawei reflect a wider trend in China.

From online retail giants to the country's car makers, deals are being offered in a bid to attract customers who have been reluctant to spend as the world's second largest economy slows.

Local competition

Against this backdrop, Apple's share of the Chinese market has come under increasing pressure from local rivals, such as Vivo and Xiaomi.

The US firm re-entered China's top five smartphone makers in the third quarter of 2024 after briefly dropping off the list.

According to IDC's latest research, Vivo was China's best-selling smartphone maker in the period as its sales jumped by more than 20%.

During the same period, Apple saw sales dip by 0.3%. Huawei's jumped by more than 40%.

"We've seen market competition increase with almost everyone launching a flagship last quarter," said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Huawei has seen demand for its products surge after its return to the premium smartphone market in August last year.

The Shenzhen-based firm has since launched several new devices powered by advanced technology despite the company facing US restrictions.

基本常识|一夜难安睡的银川人,该逃还是该躲?

By: unknown
3 January 2025 at 12:42
CDT 档案卡
标题:一夜难安睡的银川人,该逃还是该躲?
作者:项栋梁
发表日期:2025.1.2
来源:基本常识
主题归类:地震
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

4级地震,通常来说并不可怕。

但是,一天之内发生多次4级以上地震,并且地震局研判未来几日还有可能发生“震感较强”地震,你会作何感想?这是宁夏银川市民从昨天到今天正在经历的真实考验与艰难抉择。

1月2日10:01 银川4.8级地震

1月2日银川永宁县4.8级地震

1月2日16:43 银川金凤区4.6级地震

1月2日4.6级地震

1月3日03:45 银川2.6级地震

……

于是,一部分银川市民选择连夜离开。

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还有一些市民则是在焦虑之中彻夜难眠。

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如果换了是你来面对这种情况,你会选择“逃”还是“躲”呢?

选择“逃”还是“躲”,应该说都没有错。自己是生命的第一负责人,只要有秩序地行动,不引发恐慌骚乱,选择暂时离开银川或者在银川就近找空旷安全处躲避,都是可以理解的选择。

然而实际上,对当下的银川市民来说,就近躲避的选项其实是不存在的。或者严格来说,是尚未被启动的。

躲避“可能发生的较大地震”,应该选择空旷的、离建筑物有一定距离的安全场地露营,住帐篷、轻质板房,甚至打地铺都可以考虑。

可能大多数人平时没有留意,但这样的地方在每一座城市都有的,被称为“应急避难场所”。

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地震应急避难场所通常设在公园、体育场、市民广场等大片空旷地区,平时发挥着各自的常规功能,待应急响应时原地转化为避难场所。

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就这么看起来,还是很踏实很有安全感的对不对?

银川还是经济发展相对比较落后的省会,它都能做到这个程度,其他城市应该做得更好吧?在我们没留意到的地方,国家已经默默地为紧急特殊情况做好了相应准备,只待有需要的时候就启用……

理论上的确是这样,但现实中呢,也不是说完全做不到,但就……不会那么丝滑。

第一,应急避难场所的容纳总量还存在一定差距

截至2023年底,银川市常住人口为290万人,其中主城区常住人口约240万。上面我贴出来的表格是银川市于2024年5月公示的最新版应急避难场所22处(仅包含主城3区),加起来可以容纳85万人避险。

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一个简单的数学计算,银川市主城区已建成的应急避难场所只能容纳约三分之一的常住人口。

当我们把目光转向银川下辖的永宁县,问题就更直观一些了。永宁县本身并未公示辖区内应急避难场所的信息,根据高德地区查询数据显示,永宁县辖区仅有1处应急避难场所。

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第二,应急避难场所的配套设施有待完善

有人可能会想,应急避难场所,不就是一些空地么,到处都有啊,花几百块钱立个牌子不就成了应急避难场所?

还真不是这样……

人群聚集起来,哪怕是躲避洪水、地震等自然灾害的紧急情况,人也是需要吃喝拉撒睡的,而这些供人吃喝拉撒睡的配套设施才是建设应急避难场所最难最贵的地方。

想要安置几万人在一片广场上避难,移动厕所你得有吧?帐篷地垫得有吧?银川现在夜间最低温可是零下9度,总不能让大家依偎取暖吧。

以银川市公示已经“建成”的,测算“可以容纳”85万人的应急避难场所,真要按上面的最低标准实际运行起来,别说80万人了,能安置8万人住3天就谢天谢地了。

真要按照足够安置整座城市全部人口避难的标准来储备各项应急物资,那当然是最理想的情况,只是这个成本我们当下社会还很难承受得起,或者说还不想去承受。

所以我们看到,尽管已经出现多次4级以上地震,尽管市民多有担忧,但银川市并没有主动启用这些应急避难场所让市民前往躲避。这里当然有避免社会恐慌的考量,但更多还是成本和可行性层面的考量。

非不为也,实不能也。

第三,对地震的研判预报现在还不够可靠

启用应急避难场所还要面临的一个难题是缺乏决策依据。假如是已经发生了特大地震,房屋垮塌没法住了,那没办法只能在避难,假如是即将登陆的台风,有较为可靠的路径预测,那也简单,提前安排群众转移避难就好,范围放宽一些都可以接受。

银川现在的难点在于,没有人能确定会不会继续发生较大的地震,更不知道什么时候有可能发生。所谓专家综合研判“近期发生大地震的可能性不高”,或者“近期还有可能发生4到5级地震”,都只是非常粗略的判断,完全不足以作为重大公共政策的决策依据。

不是中国地震专家无能,是全世界的地震专家都好不到哪去。人类对底层深处10公里的了解还比不上对近太空100公里的了解多,确切说是远远比不上。真的,太难了……

所以,回到银川市的现实来说,有能力且有意愿的人们选择了暂时“逃”到外地避一避,有意愿但没能力的人们,就只能待在家里等一个未知的明天。大家都到应急避难场所“躲一躲”是不现实的。

怜我世人,忧患实多……

AI将我们带往何处?

AI的狂飙突进,是近几十年来人类科技积累的集中体现。与之前数次工业革命不同的是,AI的发展不会局限于某个方面或某些方面,而是会带来全方位的影响,其广度与深度将远超我们现在的想象。

(本文首发于2025年1月2日《南方周末》)

南方周末特约撰稿 左力

责任编辑:朱力远

(农健使用AI工具生成/图)

自2022年12月ChatGPT横空出世以来,AI就一直是全球最具热度的科技话题。随着国内外各大厂商纷纷加入这个全新的赛场,各种基于大语言模型(LLM)的泛用型AI如雨后春笋般不断出现,而AlphaFold、AlphaProof等专精某一领域的特化型AI,也在不断刷新着智能的极限。AI这一原本只出现在科幻电影和小说中的事物,正在逐渐走进我们的日常生活,并开始潜移默化地改变我们的生活习惯。

虽然这一波AI热潮来得迅猛且突然,但是如果追根溯源,我们就会发现,现阶段AI所需的理论和数学基础,即包括基于人工神经网络的深度学习框架等在内的相关理论,早在20世纪七八十年代就已经被相关研究者提出并加以研究了。近年来,计算机芯片算力的不断提升,以及互联网的不断发展,提供了足够的算力和物料基础。这些发展,使得AI从纯粹的理论研究,变成了我们每个人都可以接触到的现实。

可以说,现在AI的爆发式发展,正是近几十年来人类科技积累的集中体现。这正是我们现在所处的时代中,科技突破的一个重要特征。现今重大的科技进展,已经不再是单靠某个领域的发展与创新所能做到的,而是依赖于多学科、多领域的协作。各个领域相互交融,协同发展,这正是当下方兴未艾的第四次工业革命的一个典型特征。而数字化与AI的高速发展与突破,也正是第四次工业革命最为重要的发展方向。

不可阻挡的洪流

第四次工业革命这个说法,会让人想到历史上之前的三次工业革命所带来的各种深远影响。但是,它也会给人以一种感觉,四次工业革命是彼此相互独立的事件。而这反而会使得我们在一定程度上无法看清当下AI发展的本质。

实际上,自十八世纪中叶工业革命在英国爆发以来,人类科技就逐渐成为一个越来越紧密的整体。这个整体逐渐发展成一股势不可当、不断加速向前的洪流。人为划分出的四次工业革命,就是这股洪流在不同时期,以不同形态所展示出的阶段特征。而AI,则是这股科技洪流,在我们当下这个时代所涌现出的最新的浪潮。

看清一条河流之前流淌的方向,可以让我们知道它接下来会流向何方。在现在这个AI时代即将到来的时刻,回顾这股已经奔涌了两三百年的科技洪流,有着属于

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欢迎分享、点赞与留言。本作品的版权为南方周末或相关著作权人所有,任何第三方未经授权,不得转载,否则即为侵权。

Biden Plans to Block Takeover Bid of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon

3 January 2025 at 13:26
The president’s announcement of the fate of the iconic Pennsylvania-based company, which became a contentious political issue in an election year, is expected as soon as Friday.

© Kyodo, via Associated Press

U.S. Steel, the iconic American company whose metal has been used to build some of the nation’s most famous bridges and buildings, is based in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

中国春节机票价格大跌 最高降幅近七成引热议

3 January 2025 at 12:53

今年春运将于本月中旬启动,多家在线旅游预订平台数据显示,春节期间国内机票价格大幅下降,热门航线的降幅最高接近70%。然而,火车票被抢购一空,这一消息引发了网民热议和质疑。

根据航旅纵横和航班管家的数据,截至2024年12月下旬,2025年春节假期(1月28日至2月4日)的国内航线经济舱平均票价同比下降2.2%。热门旅游城市间的票价降幅尤为明显。例如:杭州至昆明、三亚票价下降64%;杭州至海口、广州分别下降63%和61%;广州至上海、哈尔滨的机票降幅分别达75%和74%。上述机票价格大约在人民币三百元左右。

此外,北京、上海、广州等一线城市的出发票价仍较高,而青岛、武汉、西安等城市出发的返乡航线则降至原价的4至6折。

上海居民郑先生本周五(3日)接受自由亚洲电台记者采访时说,机票价格下跌,火车票(慢车)出现一票难求局面与国内经济环境有关。他说:“票子(火车慢车)因为票子紧张,路程远,我想买慢车卧铺,但买不到,很多单位因为没有业务,员工已经提前放假,火车票慢车紧张,我只能开车去。现在(居民)消费能力不行,什么都降价,超市内连人都看不到,和以前不能比。”

返程机票价格依然高企

与去程票价大幅下降相比,返程机票价格仍然高居不下。例如,从三亚返回北京或杭州的票价在除夕当天仅为原价的2.2折,而热门航线的商务舱票价则可能高达数千甚至上万元。去年春节期间曾出现类似情况,三亚回程票价因需求激增而暴涨,部分游客不得不绕道国际航线返乡。

江苏居民王先生认为许多人放弃搭乘飞机,与收入减少有关。他对本台说:“经济形势不太好,火车票必将难买。我们上一次到南京去,回来江苏泰州,基本上就没票。如果按照特价机票计算,坐火车时间长,还不如坐飞机。特价机票都是时间点不好的,或者是早上起飞或者晚上。”

机票大幅降价引发热议

尽管降价消息登上热搜榜,但不少网民表达质疑。有人抱怨购买特价机票“去程便宜,回程补回来。”还有的说“去年海南的机票就是这样,去的时候百元,回来要万元。”“我查的票价还是原价,没看到所谓的暴跌。”

南京从事旅游行业的付女士对本台说,春节机票下跌除了航空公司的经营策略,也有其它原因:“第一,现在经济不景气,坐航班的人不多了,那些人都发不出工资,提前回老家了。另外,火车也是很大的竞争对手,也有人开车返乡,费用更便宜,再一个最近韩国发生空难,引起大家对坐飞机的不安。”

《都市快报》引述航旅纵横数据显示,2025年中国传统新年假期国内航线机票预订量超244万张;出入境航线机票预订量超112万张,同比增长约37%。

中国多家平台建议消费者通过“反向买”、“错峰买”和“提前买”等方式省钱。例如,春节前一周从成都、郑州飞往广州、深圳的票价平均仅为3折左右,约600元。根据往年经验,春运机票预订高峰期集中在节前,提早规划是避免高价的关键。

责编:陈美华

© AP

多家在线旅游预订平台数据显示,春节期间中国国内机票价格大幅下降。
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