NOAA nominee pledges full weather service staffing
© Francis Chung/POLITICO
© Francis Chung/POLITICO
At least 161 people are still missing in a single Texas county four days after deadly and devastating flash floods hit parts of the state last week, Governor Greg Abbott said, as hope fades for survivors to be found alive.
The missing in the hard-hit Kerr County include five campers and one counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of Guadalupe river.
At least 109 people have died in the disaster, including 94 in the Kerrville area alone, Abbott said in a news conference on Tuesday.
Texas is not alone. New Mexico saw a flash flood emergency as well, with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning of intense flooding on Tuesday night.
In Texas, frantic search and rescue efforts continue, with Abbott vowing emergency crews "will not stop until every missing person is accounted for".
Abbott added that it is very likely more missing will be added to the list in the coming days, and urged people to report anyone they think is unaccounted for.
General Thomas Suelzer from the Texas National Guard said search efforts include Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters with rescue hoists.
He said there are 13 Black Hawk helicopters helping in the search effort, including four that arrived from Arkansas. He added that authorities were also using reaper drones.
Responders from various agencies are working together on rescue efforts, including agents from border patrol, the FBI and the National Guard.
More than 250 responders from various agencies have been assigned to the Kerrville area alone to help with search and rescue.
One of those rescue volunteers, named Tim, told the BBC he has never seen any destruction at this scale before.
"I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare," he said.
Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".
"There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it," he told the BBC.
"It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort."
Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.
Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including the extreme weather, the location of the holiday homes and timing.
The governor, who had spent part of the day surveying the flood zone, said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".
No one knew it would lead to a "30-foot high tsunami wall of water", he said.
The governor responded to a question about who was to "blame" for the enormous death toll, saying: "That's the word choice of losers."
He made a sports analogy, saying American football teams make mistakes; champion teams are the ones who don't "point fingers".
Most of the victims died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.
Camp Mystic had earlier confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead.
Those who survived are now focused on trying to rebuild.
Justin Brown has lived along the Guadalupe River for more than 25 years.
A week ago, he lived in his mobile home at the Blue Oak RV Park with his two young daughters and dog. Now, there is a huge puddle where his home once stood – his RV swept away in the floods.
"We were one of the few parks that got almost everybody out," Mr Brown told the BBC as he described the efforts of his landlord and emergency workers, who evacuated almost all of the park's residents.
Looking out over the empty lot where his home once stood – now just debris – he said he hopes to move back in as soon as he can.
President Donald Trump will travel to the flood-ravaged areas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.
Separately, in New Mexico, the NWS declared a flash flood emergency on Tuesday and told residents of Ruidoso to be on high alert for flooding.
Officials there are already working to rescue people trapped in floodwaters and houses are reportedly being washed away.
A flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso has reached 15 feet (4.5m), the NWS in Albuquerque said in a post on X.
The waters receded about two hours later, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.
Officials had to perform some swift boat rescues and some people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.
Christian Horner was F1's youngest team principal when he was appointed by Red Bull in January 2005
Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal.
The 51-year-old has been in charge of the Formula 1 team since its inception in 2005.
Since then, Red Bull have won the drivers' championship eight times, with Max Verstappen winning the past four titles.
The move comes after months of declining form for the team and internal disputes at the highest level, and 17 months after Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee.
Horner was twice cleared of the claims by the team's parent company, Red Bull GmBH.
"Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO (chief executive) of Red Bull Racing," Red Bull GmbH said in a statement on Wednesday.
Under Horner, Red Bull won the constructors' championship six times, with Sebastian Vettel wining the drivers' championship from 2010-2013.
"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," added Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull's chief executive of corporate projects and investments.
"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.
"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history."
Horner's dismissal comes amid uncertainty about the future of star driver Verstappen.
The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but is being courted by Mercedes to potentially join them for next season.
Red Bull have won only two races this season as McLaren have taken over their position as the team to beat.
Their decline started in the middle of last season; while Verstappen won his fourth straight world title, he won only twice in the final 14 races.
© Rabih Daher/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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© Francis Chung/POLITICO
“天河区参与式预算做到了人大代表全员参与,更难得的是,已经坚持了十二年。”
人大代表:在会上提出的意见很受重视,能得到部门的逐条回应,容易感受到履职的成就感。
接受监督的部门:预算编制规矩了,后期麻烦就会更少。
南方周末记者 吴超
责任编辑:张玥
天河区是广州市的中心城区,GDP连续18年全市第一。视觉中国/图
2025年6月,审计署公布了《国务院关于2024年度中央预算执行和其他财政收支的审计工作报告》。提到“深入推进零基预算改革,打破‘基数’观念和支出固化格局。”
这是审计报告历史上,第一次提到零基预算。在2024年中央财政管理审计中,零基预算是重点之一。
零基预算的核心,是重新算账,仔细审视财政花钱的“惯例”是否合理。在这个过程中,监督的力量不可忽视。
政府收入的支柱,是老百姓的纳税。那么纳税人如何监督政府花钱是否合理呢?通过人大。
全国人民代表大会是最高国家权力机关,负有监督预算的责任。宪法明确赋予全国人民代表大会“审查和批准国家的预算和预算执行情况的报告”的职权。
但实际操作中,各级人大审查批准政府预算,基本上是通过每年的人民代表大会进行,受限于时间短、涉及面广、数据粗等因素,人大代表们看不清、看不懂,容易成为形式上的监督。
人大监督政府预算,如何能够更深入?
广东省广州市天河区,在这个问题上,探索了12年。答案是,参与式预算。具体做法是,人大代表提前介入讨论政府部门的预算草案,做完预先审查、初步审查,再到大会审查,执行阶段也会监督,完成闭环。
它是在监督政府“钱袋子”的环节上,践行了全过程人民民主。
天河人大微信公众号介绍,2025年1月,区人大常委会召开预算预先审查会,审查了区科工信局、区民政局、区农业农村局、区公安分局、五山街、林和街、区供销联社等7个单位的2025年部门预算草案。
天河区是广州市的中心城区。2024年,天河区GDP为6614.69亿元,连续18年全市第一,税收收入913.65亿元。
天河区人大常委会预算工委原负责人向南方周末记者说,“天河区参与式预算做到了人大代表全员参与,更难得的是,已经坚持了十二年。”
参与式预算,可以理解为公民参与公共资源决策分配的机制或过程。
浙江台州的温岭市,是中国较早开展参与式预算的地区。
温岭人大微信公众号刊文介绍,参与式预算起源于温岭市的“民主恳谈”,旨在通过广泛的公众参与,增强政府决策的透明度和民主性。2005年起,民主恳谈融入预算审查监督之中,这使得公民、代表和社会各界能直接参与政府预算方案的讨论,实现了对预算的实质性监督。
上海财经大学中国公共财政研究院教授马国贤曾撰文解释,2005年,温岭市财政局开始了乡镇参与式预算试点,取得了成功。不过当时认为,参与预算审查者应当是乡民代表,他们来自本土本乡,适合监督乡镇预算。
然而,县级以上的预算,由于参与审查者存在“隔行如隔山”的难题,因而很难推广到其他级次的预算审查。
通常,面对厚厚的财政预算账本,许多人大代表会陷入“看不懂、审不了”的困
校对:星歌
Linda Yaccarino, the boss of Elon Musk's social media site X, has announced she is stepping down.
Ms Yaccarino has been in the role since June, 2023.
In a post on the social media platform, she said was "immensely grateful" to Musk for "entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App".
Musk has not yet commented on Ms Yaccarino's departure.
The BBC has approached X for comment.
Ms Yaccarino was previously head of advertising at NBCUniversal, where she was credited with helping to steer it through the upheaval caused by technology firms.
She joined X, then Twitter, at a time of tumult with advertisers quitting the site and Musk having overseen the firing of a huge number of staff.
In her departure post, she said that she had decided to step down after "two incredible years".
She added: "When Elon Musk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company."
Musk has continued to attract controversy during her time at the helm of X.
The most recent of these has seen Musk's chatbot, Grok, start to speak favourably about Hitler.
In a statement, xAI said it was working to remove what it called "inappropriate" posts.
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Police have confirmed they are preparing for a potential visit by US President Donald Trump to Scotland later this month.
He is expected to visit a new course at his golf resort in Aberdeenshire, though it is understood there will be no private meeting with King Charles.
Trump will also make a full state visit to the UK later in the year, most likely in September.
Assistant chief constable Emma Bond of Police Scotland: "Planning is under way for a potential visit to Scotland later this month by the President of the United States."
She added: "While official confirmation has not yet been made, it is important that we prepare in advance for what would be a significant policing operation."
If the visit goes ahead, it would be the first time Donald Trump has travelled to Scotland since his victory in the US election.
The Trump organisation owns Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire and the Trump Turnberry resort in Ayrshire.
His last visit as president in 2018 required a major security operation with thousands protesting in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Eric Trump and his father broke ground on the 18-hole links MacLeod Course at the Trump International resort in Menie in 2023.
Trump International claimed the new course - named after Trump's Lewis-born mother, Mary - would feature the "largest sand dunes in Scotland" and form "the greatest 36 holes in golf" alongside the original course, completed in 2012.
The resort has prompted controversy in the past - five years ago the dunes at Menie lost their status as a nationally-important protected environment.
But Trump International claimed the new course was "one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable" ever built.
The Scottish Green Party previously said Trump and his new golf course were "not welcome in Aberdeenshire", accusing him of being a climate-change denier with a "long history of lies and dodgy business dealings".
During his 2018 visit, Trump was booed during an afternoon game of golf by demonstrators gathered at the perimeter of the Turnberry resort.
A paraglider was also able to fly over the resort hotel with a banner criticising Trump.
France's far-right National Rally party has accused authorities of a "new harassment campaign", after police raided its headquarters in an inquiry into its campaign finances.
Party president Jordan Bardella said the "spectacular and unprecedented operation" was a "serious attack on pluralism and democratic change".
Prosecutors said they were investigating potential acts of "fraud committed against a public figure" and alleged violations involving loans and donations during election campaigns in 2022 and 2024.
Wallerand de Saint-Just, the party's former treasurer, said National Rally (RN) had done nothing wrong.
"This process that looks completely unacceptable and outrageous. We're being persecuted on a daily basis," he told reporters outside the party's Paris headquarters.
"All our campaign accounts have been approved and reimbursed."
Despite a series of legal setbacks, RN are ahead in French opinion polls, and Bardella, its 29-year-old president, has topped one recent poll as the most popular political figure in the country.
Earlier this year, RN leader Marine Le Pen was convicted by a French court of helping to embezzle European Union funds. She was barred from running for office for five years, in a blow to her ambitions to run for the presidency for a fourth time.
She has appealed the conviction, which she has condemned as a "witch hunt", but last month accepted she may have to hand the baton to her young lieutenant ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.
Bardella was not present during the police raid as he was attending a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, but he said 20 finance brigade police had used the search as an excuse for seizing internal party documents and to raid his office.
There was no immediate comment from Le Pen.
Police also raided the head offices of several companies and their bosses.
The raids were linked by Paris prosecutors to an inquiry launched exactly a year ago into allegations of embezzlement, forgery and fraud centring on Le Pen's party.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the inquiry should establish whether the party's 2022 presidential and parliamentary election campaign and its 2024 European election campaign were funded by "illicit payments by individuals that benefited the National Rally party or candidates.
They said they would also investigate whether inflated or fictitious invoices had been submitted as campaign expenses to be paid back by the state.
RN said the allegations of illicit campaign financing are based on the fact that no French bank was prepared to help with funding. It previously secured loans from banks in Russia and Hungary.
In another setback for National Rally, the European Union public prosecutor's office formally launched an investigation this week into a former political grouping at the European Parliament that RN was part of.
Identity and Democracy was dissolved last year and is suspected of misusing Parliament funding. RN is now part of the Patriots for Europe group, which includes far-parties from Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Portugal.
Bardella said on Tuesday that the inquiry was a "new harassment operation by the European Parliament".
A man who killed a passer-by when he drove his car into a crowd of people at his sister's wedding reception has been found guilty of murder
Hassan Jhangur, 25, killed Chris Marriott, 46, when he deliberately crashed his Seat Ibiza into the group in Burngreave, Sheffield, in December 2023.
"Good Samaritan" Mr Marriott, who had stopped to help after Jhangur's sister had been injured in an earlier brawl, died at the scene while four other people were injured in the crash.
Jhangur, of Whiteways Road, Sheffield, was found guilty by a majority verdict of murder and three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and one of wounding with intent relating to those also hurt.
He was cleared of a charge of attempted murder but convicted of a second count of wounding with intent after jurors heard he launched a vicious knife attack on his new brother-in-law, Hasan Khan, following the crash, stabbing him repeatedly in the head and chest.
Addressing him, Mr Justice Morris said: "The sentence for murder will be life imprisonment. At the sentencing hearing it will be for me to set the minimum period of time for you to serve before you are considered for release."
Jhangur's father, Mohammed Jhangur, 57, who was also on trial, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice after the court heard he had hidden the knife his son used to attack Hasan Khan.
The judge warned him "all sentencing options remain open" before releasing him on bail.
During the trial at Sheffield Crown Court jurors heard how a complex series of events involving the Jhangur and Khan families had led to the death of devout Christian Mr Marriott.
On 27 December, a dispute between the two families came to a peak following the marriage of Amaani Jhangur and Hasan Khan that morning.
The couple had been celebrating at the Khan's family home in College Court when the bride's mother, Ambreen, and sister, Nafeesa, arrived and a fight broke out in the street, during which Nafeesa was knocked to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
At this point Mr Marriott, who was out for a walk with his family, and off-duty midwife Alison Norris came across the scene and stepped in to help.
Moments later, Hassan Jhangur arrived in a Seat Ibiza, with witnesses describing him flying round the corner into College Court before driving straight into Riasat Khan and then, without braking, smashing into the group of people gathered around Nafeesa Jhangur
The court heard Mr Marriott died at the scene, while Ms Norris, Ambreen Jhangur, Nafeesa Jhangur and Riasat Khan were all seriously injured.
Hassan Jhangur then got out of the car brandishing a knife and attacked Hasan Khan before passing the knife to his father, Mohammed Jhangur, who hid it in the boot of his taxi.
Opening the case, prosecutor Jason Pitter KC said: "Chris Marriott was only trying to help. Alison Norris was only trying to help too.
"It was that public spirit of both of them that brought them unwittingly into the midst of a family dispute."
He told jurors that although Hassan Jhangur's target may have been the Khan family, "the law says your intentions can be transferred from one person to another, even if he did not intend to hit that particular person".
Both Hassan Jhangur and Mohammed Jhangur will return to the court for sentencing at a later date.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Any analysis of Donald Trump's current thinking on Russia risks getting out of date very quickly.
Read too much into an individual tweet, post or off-the-cuff comment by the US president, and the danger is that your conclusions will be contradicted by tomorrow's tweet, post or off-the-cuff comment.
Believe me. I've been there.
As today's edition of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper put it: "The US president blows hot and cold…he changes his mind on key issues as easily as he changes shoes."
Recently, though, when it comes to Russia, the White House does appear to have been blowing more cold than hot, which explains the headline in today's edition of Moskovsky Komsomolets: "The Russian-American Chill."
Following Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's most recent telephone conversation on 3 July – their sixth this year – President Trump revealed that the two leaders "didn't make any progress" towards ending the war in Ukraine.
"I'm not happy about that," he added.
Four days later, President Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on any country aligned with the BRICS, the group of nations that includes Russia.
On Tuesday, his frustration boiled over with some of his strongest language so far: "We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," President Trump said at a cabinet meeting.
"He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Today I asked for the Kremlin's reaction.
"We are pretty calm about this," Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told me on a Kremlin conference call for journalists.
"Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh…we plan to continue our dialogue with Washington to mend our broken bilateral relations…we hope that Trump and his team will continue their efforts to get the peace process back to the realm of diplomacy."
The Kremlin was trying, at least, to sound diplomatic.
The Russian press? It wasn't even trying.
In Komsomolskaya Pravda, a political pundit accused Donald Trump of "an absence of geopolitical achievements".
The tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote about President Trump's "mercurial temperament, his propensity for sudden moods and chaotic changes of direction".
This week's edition of Arguments and Facts mocked Donald Trump over Elon Musk's new America Party.
"Now every time the US president says 'Make America Great Again' he'll be inadvertently promoting Musk's party," the paper wrote.
This is a sea-change from the previously positive coverage in Russia of the Trump administration. Back in March, a political scientist told Izvestia that "America now has more in common with Russia than Washington does with Brussels or Kyiv".
In May, the business daily Kommersant declared: "Donald Trump's stance couldn't be more advantageous to Moscow.
"He refused to strengthen sanctions against Russia and confirmed his determination to develop large-scale trade with Russia."
The optimism was understandable. Earlier this year, the White House was publicly criticising President Zelensky (not President Putin) and exerting pressure on Kyiv (not Moscow).
The US and Russia had launched bilateral talks to boost their relations.
What's more, President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff was a frequent visitor to Russia for talks with President Putin. At one of their meetings the Kremlin leader gave him a present to take back for Trump: a portrait of the US president.
It seemed as if Moscow and Washington were destined to forge a new relationship.
But it's been more than two months since Witkoff's last visit. And, in June, Russia announced that the US had cancelled the next round of talks between the two countries aimed at restoring the operations of diplomatic missions.
Meanwhile, President Trump has, it seems, been growing increasingly frustrated by Russia's refusal to agree to a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine.
"The Kremlin believes that Trump offers Russia too little and, therefore, the continuation of a 'good quarrel' is better than a 'bad peace' from the point of view of Russia's long-term national interests," wrote Moskovsky Komsomolets today.
In other words, on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin wants more than Trump has been prepared to offer.
More in terms of territory, more in terms of concessions from Kyiv on the future size of Ukraine's army, more in terms of cutting back Western arms supplies to Kyiv.
And, to borrow a Trumpian expression, Vladimir Putin clearly believes that "he holds the cards" right now and can hold out for a better deal.
Is he right? Or is Moscow miscalculating?
Much will depend on what President Trump does next: on the scale of future US military assistance to Ukraine, and on whether the White House decides to strengthen sanctions against Russia.
But keep in mind my caveat.
And that vivid image, in Komsomolskaya Pravda, of Donald Trump changing his shoes.
Only a week ago Russian commentators were celebrating the US government's decision to freeze some military assistance to Ukraine.
So, follow closely. Not only what Donald Trump says on Russia and Ukraine, but the action he takes.
© Erin Schaff/The New York Times
War-torn South Sudan has said it is holding a group of eight men controversially deported from the United States.
Only one of them is from South Sudan. The rest comprise two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico.
The Trump administration is trying to move unwanted migrants to third countries as some nations refuse to accept returnees. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the US. The decision has been fought in US courts.
“They are currently in Juba under the care of the relevant authorities, who are screening them and ensuring their safety and wellbeing,” the South Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
It did not give details, but said the “careful and well-studied decision” was part of “ongoing bilateral engagement”.
“South Sudan responded positively to a request from the US authorities as a gesture of goodwill, humanitarian cooperation and commitment to mutual interests,” it added.
The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in South Sudan.
“South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,” said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader.
United Nations experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, have criticised the move.
“International law is clear that no one shall be sent anywhere where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to … torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of life,” 11 independent UN rights experts said in a statement.
The deportees left the United States for South Sudan in May but their flight ended up in Djibouti when a US district court imposed a stay on third-country deportations. That ruling was overturned by the supreme court earlier this month.
The group arrived in South Sudan on 5 June with an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying they had been returned by US marines.
A South Sudan foreign ministry spokesperson, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, said Juba maintains a strong commitment to its people, including “its nationals returning under any circumstances” and “persons with recognised links to South Sudan”.
Simmering rivalry between South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, and his vice-president, Riek Machar, boiled over into open hostilities in March.
The tensions have raised fears of a return to full-scale war in the world’s youngest country, where a civil war killed 400,000 people in 2013-2018.
AFP and the AP contributed reporting
© Diana Vyshniakova/Alamy
France's far-right National Rally party has accused authorities of a "new harassment campaign", after police raided its headquarters in an inquiry into its campaign finances.
Party president Jordan Bardella said the "spectacular and unprecedented operation" was a "serious attack on pluralism and democratic change".
Prosecutors said they were investigating potential acts of "fraud committed against a public figure" and alleged violations involving loans and donations during election campaigns in 2022 and 2024.
Wallerand de Saint-Just, the party's former treasurer, said National Rally (RN) had done nothing wrong.
"This process that looks completely unacceptable and outrageous. We're being persecuted on a daily basis," he told reporters outside the party's Paris headquarters.
"All our campaign accounts have been approved and reimbursed."
Despite a series of legal setbacks, RN are ahead in French opinion polls, and Bardella, its 29-year-old president, has topped one recent poll as the most popular political figure in the country.
Earlier this year, RN leader Marine Le Pen was convicted by a French court of helping to embezzle European Union funds. She was barred from running for office for five years, in a blow to her ambitions to run for the presidency for a fourth time.
She has appealed the conviction, which she has condemned as a "witch hunt", but last month accepted she may have to hand the baton to her young lieutenant ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.
Bardella was not present during the police raid as he was attending a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, but he said 20 finance brigade police had used the search as an excuse for seizing internal party documents and to raid his office.
There was no immediate comment from Le Pen.
Police also raided the head offices of several companies and their bosses.
The raids were linked by Paris prosecutors to an inquiry launched exactly a year ago into allegations of embezzlement, forgery and fraud centring on Le Pen's party.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the inquiry should establish whether the party's 2022 presidential and parliamentary election campaign and its 2024 European election campaign were funded by "illicit payments by individuals that benefited the National Rally party or candidates.
They said they would also investigate whether inflated or fictitious invoices had been submitted as campaign expenses to be paid back by the state.
RN said the allegations of illicit campaign financing are based on the fact that no French bank was prepared to help with funding. It previously secured loans from banks in Russia and Hungary.
In another setback for National Rally, the European Union public prosecutor's office formally launched an investigation this week into a former political grouping at the European Parliament that RN was part of.
Identity and Democracy was dissolved last year and is suspected of misusing Parliament funding. RN is now part of the Patriots for Europe group, which includes far-parties from Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Portugal.
Bardella said on Tuesday that the inquiry was a "new harassment operation by the European Parliament".
CDT编辑注:由于部分墙内社交媒体将“同性恋”“LGBT”等词汇设为敏感词,用户代之以其他词汇,如本文中使用的“通讯录”一词。常见代词还有以“给子”指代男同(gay),以“Le”指代女同(lesbian)等。
看到有人转发这样的视频,据说是,一群社会青年,在郑州人民公园报复、围攻通讯录。
这是他们施暴过程中的双方对话:
打人者:“你是1不是?你是男同不是?给你一次机会,你要不说,打死你!马拉个币,说不说?”
被打者:“不是。”
打人者:“不是?不是?你妈不是?”
被打者:“别打了,中不中?”
最后一人还说不是本地人,只是路过,就被劈头盖脸,一顿痛打。
编剧汪海林此前曾在微博里说:
也曾写过一篇文章对其进行驳斥:[霸凌、殴打无辜的人,多年来不以为耻,反而洋洋自得?回应汪海林的暴论](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/raBtL66ASVb9lAnPFi8I2Q" 霸凌、殴打无辜的人,多年来不以为耻,反而洋洋自得?回应汪海林的暴论")。
此前很难想象,很难相信在今天仍然会有这样的暴行。
而它就这样发生了。这是有组织的带有黑社会性质的、有组织犯罪,不以为耻反而自己拍下视频留下证据。从他们的穿着,说话方式可以判断这是一群“社会人”。
为什么他们会殴打、围猎同性恋?
恐同暴力的根之一是“异性恋霸权”,当他们自认为自己主流、正确,就会对少数、不一样的一切都加以攻击,从而巩固自己的正确和正统。这些打人者,甚至还会每天以爱国为标榜,整天叫嚣着武力收复台湾。而在实际生活中,都是失意的边缘人。
同性恋者常常被贴上各种负面、不实的标签(如“不正常”、“有病”、“道德败坏”、“和艾滋病高度相关”等)。当下的媒体也从不报道性少数的积极阳光的一面,而是长期将同性恋与艾滋病等负面标签关联,形成“符号暴力”。这些污名化将同性恋者“非人化”,为歧视和暴力提供了所谓的“理由”。
施暴者往往有高度僵化的性别刻板印象——认为男性必须阳刚,我们的文化中,也存在着非常严格和狭隘的“男性气概”标准。同性恋男性(尤其是被认为“阴柔”的)常被视为对这种男性规范的背叛或挑战。很多人害怕同性恋,特别害怕成为同性恋,同性恋在他们眼中是绝症、是传染病,绝不能招惹,遇到了就要切割、甚至报复。
一些男性可能通过攻击同性恋者(特别是被认为“不够男人”的)来试图证明和维护自己所谓的“男子气概”,消除自身可能存在的“不够男人”的焦虑感,或是在群体中寻求认同。这是一种基于恐惧和脆弱的暴力。
而更可怕的是“循环暴力”——有些施暴者本身是性少数群体,通过攻击同类来转移自我厌恶。一些对同性恋者施以最激烈暴力的人,自身可能潜藏着未被承认的同性吸引倾向或性别认同困惑(内在恐同)。他们对自身感受的强烈恐惧和厌恶,可能外化为对公开的同性恋者的极端仇恨和攻击行为。
在类似郑州施暴者的这些群体(如帮派、部分青少年群体)中,对同性恋的敌意可能是群体规范的一部分。个体为了融入群体、获得认同或避免被排斥,即使内心未必有那么强烈的仇恨,也可能参与或默许针对同性恋者的欺凌或暴力行为。当群体中有人发起攻击时,其他人可能出于从众心理或害怕成为下一个目标而加入,形成“围猎”的局面。
尤其是,在社会经济不稳定、个人挫折感强烈或存在其他社会矛盾时,边缘群体(包括LGBTQ+群体)常常成为被指责和发泄愤怒的对象。有人预言中国将重蹈日本的覆辙,出现“失落的三十年”,当下经济下行、失业增多,将社会或个人问题归咎于“异类”,是一种简单化的心理防御机制。攻击同性恋者成为一些人宣泄不满、转移自身失败感或无力感的方式。郑州事件可以说是这种苗头初现端倪。
当下,中国大陆尚未有完善的反歧视法律,在执法过程中,可能未能有效执行同性恋者权益保护,,施暴者可能觉得可以逍遥法外,助长了他们的气焰。很多受害者会陷入自责。大部分受害者不敢报警,觉得丢人,怕暴露自己,也可能因为害怕报复、不被信任或遭受二次伤害而不敢报案。
当法律缺失或执法不公时,相当于默许暴力。
如果你或你认识的人正经历恐同暴力:
安全第一:尽量避免正面冲突,尽快离开危险环境;
寻求支持:联系信任的朋友、家人或支持LGBTQ+的社群组织(比如出色伙伴、彩虹暴力终结所)。你并不孤单。
保留证据:如果可能,记录下事件经过、施暴者特征等。
报警:在安全的情况下,向警方报案。保留报警记录。
寻求心理支持:经历暴力会带来创伤,专业的心理咨询师可以帮助你处理这些情绪。
性取向是人的自然属性,同性恋不是病,不是错,更不是罪。每个人都有权在安全、不受歧视和暴力的环境中生活,无论其性取向或性别认同如何。消除针对LGBTQ+群体的暴力,需要对暴力行为的零容忍态度。
对待性少数的态度是一个城市文明程度的标尺。郑州这座新兴的网红城市,占据中国之中、中原之中、中华文明之中的独特区位优势,在这一轮城市营销中风流尽显。希望有关部门能够依凭这些证据,按图索骥,尽快调查,并对打人凶手严惩。不要让一小撮暴徒给郑州的城市形象抹黑!
© The New York Times
© Kenny Holston/The New York Times
(德国之声中文网)德国外交部周二(7月8日)披露,中国军舰在红海用激光瞄准一架德国侦察机;就此事,外交部已召见中国驻德国大使邓洪波。
德国外交部长瓦德富(Johann Wadephul)也在同一天接受《德国编辑部网络》采访时表示“对此事异常恼火”。他说,对德国飞机的这般干扰行为“不可接受”,外交部在召见中国大使时也“清晰明确地”表明了这一点,“中方必须对此给个说法”。德国外长还强调,愿意和中方平等互动,“但是会坚决抵挡中方一切违规行为”。欧盟方面也谴责中国军舰的行为“危险且不可接受”,并且召见了中国驻欧盟大使。
具体发生了什么?
根据德新社、《明镜周刊》的报道,事件发生在7月2日前后,当时参与欧盟“阿斯皮德斯行动”(Operation ASPIDES)的一架德国飞机正在红海海域进行“寻常的”侦察飞行。飞机在接近一艘中国海军护卫舰时,发现后者正用激光瞄准飞机。激光照射至少在军事上被视为一种威胁姿态。与往常不同,中国军舰船员事先并未通过紧急呼叫频率与飞行员取得联系。
这架德国飞机并非直接属于德国联邦国防军,而是德国专门为“阿斯皮德斯行动”包租的,常驻在东非国家吉布提。该飞机由民航飞行员驾驶,可搭载4名德军人员。
德国国防部发言人表示,侦察机被激光瞄准后就中断了任务,安全返回了吉布提基地,机上人员无恙。
不过,德国政府并未交待事件发生的具体时间和地点,也没有披露事发时双方到底有多接近,只是反复强调“证据确凿”。
德国飞机在红海侦察什么?
德军包租的这架侦察机事发时正在红海海域执行欧盟“阿斯皮德斯行动”框架下的区域监视任务。德国国防部指出,德军从2024年10月起就派出侦察机执行此类任务,侦察机携带有“多传感器平台”(MSP)。德国联邦国防军总共有约700名官兵参与欧盟“阿斯皮德斯行动”,该行动始于2024年2月,旨在保护红海地区的航运安全,特别是针对也门胡塞武装对商船的袭击。“阿斯皮德斯”在古希腊语中是“盾牌”的意思。
2023年秋天哈马斯袭击以色列、随后加沙战争全面爆发。位于红海南端的也门胡塞武装很快就开始向红海北端的以色列发射导弹、火箭弹,并供给往来的商船、尤其是前往以色列的商船。红海是联接亚欧的重要国际贸易通道,也门胡塞武装的威胁已经迫使不少商船绕道南非好望角,导致航程增加约两个星期。
中国如何回应德方指控?
中国外交部发言人毛宁7月9日在例行新闻发布会上表示,“德方所称的信息与中方了解的事实完全不符。中国海军在亚丁湾索马里海域实施护航行动,履行大国责任,为维护国际航道安全作出贡献,也同德方和欧方保持着良好的沟通,双方应当本着实事求是的态度,及时加强沟通,避免误解误判。”
中国政府同样也没有披露事件的具体时间、地点。
中国海军在红海做什么?
中国海军从2008年底开始响应联合国安理会的决议派遣军舰前往红海南端的亚丁湾和索马里海域实施护航、制止海盗及武装抢劫行为。从此之后,中国海军常态化在红海海域保持2到3艘军舰的兵力。目前在红海执行任务的是第47批护航编队,由“包头号”驱逐舰、“红河号”护卫舰、“高邮湖号”补给舰组成。
2017年,中国在红海岸边的吉布提正式设立“保障基地”,被视为中国海军首个海外基地。美国、法国、日本、意大利、德国等20余个国家也都在这个小国设有军事基地。
中国和也门胡塞武装有什么关系?
2023年秋天也门胡塞武装开始攻击往来红海的商船,依赖外贸、船运的中国同样受到重大影响。北京方面多次呼吁“相关方面”停止袭扰民用船只,但同时又拒绝与西方国家展开军事合作压制胡塞武装。中国政府多次表示,红海局势紧张是加沙冲突外溢的突出表现,当务之急是尽快平息加沙战火。外交部发言人2024年1月还特别强调“联合国安理会从未授权任何国家对也门使用武力,要切实尊重包括也门在内的红海沿岸国家的主权和领土完整”。
作为回应,胡塞武装则许诺,只要“不停靠敌国以色列的港口”,中国的船只可以自由安全地通过红海。不过,此后依然零星发生中国籍或者中资企业拥有的船只遭到胡塞武装攻击的事件。
另外,英国《金融时报》今年4月曾引述一名美国国务院高阶官员称,与中国军方关系密切的吉林长光卫星技术有限公司正在为也门胡塞武装提供卫星影像。这家企业2023年已经因向俄罗斯雇佣军瓦格纳集团提供高分辨率卫星图像而受到美国制裁。这名美国官员称,美方已经私下多次向中方表达对长光卫星公司的担忧,但中方予以无视。
以前是否有过类似事件?
2018年,五角大楼通报称,美军飞行员在吉布提上空飞行时,也曾遭到过来自中国吉布提军事保障基地内的激光照射,造成两名军人眼部轻微受伤。美国就此正式向中方提出交涉。不过中国官媒则引述消息人士称,美军飞机“威胁了我们中国的基地”。中美两国各自在吉布提的军事基地相距只有几公里。
德国军事专家维戈尔德(Thomas Wiegold)在接受德广联采访时指出,此次德国侦察机遭到中国军舰激光瞄准,可能也是类似情况:“中国军舰用激光照射,很可能不是为了破坏德国飞机,而是为了避免被德国侦察机看到什么东西。同时,由于激光可能伤害飞行员的眼睛,因此也可能是以驱离外国侦察机为目的。”维戈尔德认为,中国军队“对西方军舰军机总是有着近乎偏执的担忧,担心被看到太多东西、被看得太清楚”。
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© Mikayla Whitmore for The New York Times