California Is So Muggy This Week That It Feels Like Florida
© NOAA
© NOAA
美国周四(9月18日)再次在联合国安理会行使否决权,阻止一项呼吁加沙立即停火并允许人道援助进入的决议草案。该提案获得安理会15个成员中的14票赞成,仅美国投反对票。尽管此前已多次遭遇美方否决,多数成员国仍坚持推动相关文本。
法新社报道,这份决议由安理会10个非常任理事国于8月底提出,以回应联合国正式宣布加沙发生饥荒的局势。早期版本主要要求立即解除对救援物资进入的所有阻碍,但法国、英国和俄罗斯等国对仅限于人道层面的决议持保留态度,认为安理会作为全球维护和平与安全的机构,应提出更全面的政治要求。
最终提交表决的文本除要求放开人道援助,还呼吁在加沙实现“立即、无条件和永久的停火”,并要求无条件释放所有人质。这一信息此前已多次遭到美国反对。华盛顿上一次动用否决权否决类似提案是在今年6月。
美国外交官奥塔格斯(Morgan Ortagus)解释称,该决议“未能反映地面现实”,强调“人道物资的流入量已有显著增加”,并批评文本未谴责哈马斯。
愤怒与挫败
丹麦常驻联合国大使克里斯蒂娜·马库斯·拉森在投票前表示,推动这份决议的目的,是要传递“安理会不会对濒临饿死的平民、人质以及停火呼声视而不见”的信息。她强调:“这一代人可能会毁于战争、饥饿和绝望……正是这场人道灾难迫使我们今天采取行动。”
上一次美方行使否决权时,安理会其他14个成员表现出罕见的集体愤怒。随着加沙人道危机持续恶化,多数成员国愈发明确表达对安理会无法向以色列施压的失望。
以色列常驻联合国大使丹尼·达农在投票前表示:“针对以色列的决议不会解救人质,也无法带来地区安全。以色列将继续打击哈马斯、保护本国公民,即便安理会选择对恐怖主义视而不见。”
国际压力升级
自2023年10月7日哈马斯对以色列发动前所未有的袭击后,这场战争已持续近两年,并在加沙造成巨大破坏。国际社会要求停火的压力不断增加,这一议题预计将在下周纽约举行的联合国大会年会上成为核心讨论。
德国科隆经济研究所(IW)的一项最新研究显示,美国对欧盟进口的依赖程度远超外界普遍认知,欧盟在进口总额和商品数量上均已超过中国,成为美国的首要进口来源。研究结果显示,随着“去风险化”策略实施,美国对中国进口的依赖正在逐步减弱。
路透社援引这项研究称,在过去15年间,美国对欧盟的依赖显著增强。2023年,美国至少有50%依赖欧盟供应的产品类别超过3100种,而2010年时这一数字为2600余种。相关进口商品涵盖化工产品、电气设备、机械及工业器材等,总额达到2870亿美元,几乎是2010年的2.5倍。
相比之下,中国去年在这一类商品中的覆盖数为2925种,总额2470亿美元,低于欧盟。研究称,这一变化反映出美国在与中国贸易关系中正实施“去风险化”进程,对中依赖程度显著下降。
研究并指出,欧盟部分产品在美国进口中长期保持高份额,短期内难以替代。这意味着,一旦美欧贸易紧张加剧,欧盟在谈判中握有筹码,甚至可以将关键商品列入出口限制清单。
报告作者之一萨米娜·苏丹(Samina Sultan)表示,单纯的贸易数据虽不足以全面反映这些商品对美国买家的重要性,但研究结果足以向美方表明,如果继续提高关税,将等于“搬起石头砸自己的脚”。
研究指出,在此前与华盛顿的关税谈判中,欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩本可以利用美国对欧进口依赖度上升这一优势,争取美方更多让步。但最终双方仅同意将大多数欧盟商品的关税设定在15%的基准水平。
英国《金融时报》周四(9月18日)援引消息人士报道,中国已结束对谷歌的反垄断调查,并在与华盛顿的贸易谈判中将注意力转向美国科技芯片巨头英伟达。此举显示北京在中美博弈中采取战术调整,一方面向美方传递灵活信号,另一方面则以对英伟达的调查作为谈判筹码。
报道称,中国国家市场监管总局已决定终止针对谷歌的调查。该调查于今年2月启动,指控谷歌涉嫌违反中国《反垄断法》,但当时没有披露更多细节。谷歌方面尚未收到正式撤销通知。
与此同时,中国本周早些时候指控总部位于美国加州的芯片巨头英伟达(Nvidia)存在违反《反垄断法》的行为,并展开初步调查。作为人工智能与高性能计算领域的关键企业,英伟达已成为中美科技博弈的核心焦点。
报道指出,过去六个月,中美双方在经贸与科技领域摩擦不断。特朗普政府对中国商品征收大规模关税,随后部分下调至30%,并威胁封禁广受欢迎的社交媒体应用TikTok。北京则以10%的关税反击,并对包括谷歌母公司Alphabet在内的美国企业发起反垄断调查,显示出对美企加强监管的姿态。
北京此次叫停谷歌调查,被外界解读为谈判中的“战术退让”,但同时以英伟达为新的施压对象,凸显中美在人工智能和高科技产业链上的博弈正日趋激烈。
美国总统特朗普周四(9月18日)结束对英国国事访问前,与英国首相斯塔默在其乡间官邸契克斯宫举行会谈。特朗普称,美国将在与中国有关TikTok的协议中获得“巨额费用”,并透露希望周五(9月19日)与中国国家主席习近平正式敲定交易。在俄乌战争问题上,特朗普罕见公开表示,普京另他失望;特朗普与斯塔默共同宣布,美英将在人工智能等前沿领域推进有史以来最庞大的合作计划。
综合法新社、路透社消息,特朗普在周四的记者会上强调,美方将在TikTok交易中获益:特朗普说,"美国将因此获得一笔巨额的费用,我称之为‘额外受益’,因为是我们促成了这笔交易。”特朗普表示,希望能在周五与习近平通话中达成最终协议。
普京“让我失望”
在谈及乌克兰战争时,特朗普表示:“我曾以为:出于我和普京的关系,乌克兰战争是容易解决的,但他(普京)让我失望,真的让我失望。”斯塔默则强调必须“加大对普京的压力”,并称“只有在特朗普施压时,普京才表现出一定的妥协”。
美英科技合作与投资承诺
特朗普与斯塔默宣布,美英将启动一项“历史性”的高科技合作计划,涵盖人工智能、量子计算和核能等领域。微软、英伟达、谷歌、OpenAI等美国科技巨头承诺在英国投资超过400亿美元,黑石集团也将注资1000亿英镑。斯塔默称这是“英国历史上最大规模的投资计划”。特朗普则笑称斯塔默是“一位强硬的谈判者”,并承诺美英将在人工智能未来保持主导地位。
在贸易层面,斯塔默未能争取到美方取消对英国钢铁征收25%关税的承诺,但英方强调,新签署的协议和投资将为英国创造就业与增长机会。
外交分歧未消
在巴勒斯坦建国问题上,双方公开承认存在分歧。特朗普直言这是“为数不多的分歧之一”,斯塔默则强调加沙局势“无法忍受”。在移民问题上,特朗普语气强硬,甚至建议英国必要时可出动军队遏制非法移民。
记者会后,特朗普于周四下午离开英国,结束了为期两天的国事访问。
© Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
这次通话被外界普遍视为美中关系的关键转折点,也可能为两国领导人未来的首次面对面峰会铺路。
美国总统特朗普(Donald Trump)与中国国家主席习近平将于本周五美东时间上午9时举行通话,这是两位领导人自6月以来的首次直接对话,备受瞩目的TikTok交易与关税暂停期延长问题,将是本次会谈的核心议题。
特朗普表示,TikTok交易“几乎已经完成”,但最终细节仍需由他与习近平亲自敲定。本周,美国财政部长贝森特(Scott Bessent)率领的代表团,与中国国务院副总理何立峰在西班牙磋商,美中双方达成初步协议。
据知情人士透露,新协议将确保TikTok美国分公司完全由“纯美资公司”控制,并遵守美国国安审查规定。外界推测,将由甲骨文公司(Oracle)、创投公司Andreessen Horowitz以及私募基金Silver Lake Management LLC组成的美国财团,来收购TikTok在美业务。
除TikTok外,双方预计在周五通话中还将讨论关税问题。自今年初以来,美中双方互征报复性关税,引发市场恐慌与经济放缓忧虑。为平息局势,两国曾多次延长关税暂停期。
特朗普周四表示,可能会延长现有的暂停协议。 “我们也许会延长,但条件不会改变,目前的条款对我们来说还不错,”他说。目前,美对中进口货品征收30%关税,而中国对美国产品则征收10%。钢铁与部分医疗用品则受到额外行业特定关税影响,导致双边实际平均关税水准更高。
彭博社分析,芯片出口、稀土矿物出口管制可能也是双方领导人的话题之一。日前芯片制造商英伟达(Nvidia)遭中国监管机构指控违反反垄断法,美方对此表示强烈不满。
根据《南华早报》报导,中国已于9月初正式邀请特朗普进行国是访问,双方目前正就访问细节进入“最后阶段”的磋商。特朗普亦未排除近期亲赴中国的可能,并称“希望能在更大层面上取得进展”。
上周三,美国国务卿卢比奥(Marco Rubio)亦在近日中国外交部长王毅进行通话,强调在一系列双边问题上保持开放和建设性沟通的重要性。
美国总统特朗普周四(9月18日)再次证实,他将于周五(9月19日)与中国国家主席习近平通话,讨论有关短视频平台TikTok的前景。美国方面要求,这款应用在美国的业务必须转由美方资本控制。特朗普说:“周五将与习主席通话,看看是否能就TikTok问题达成最终协议”。
法新社报道,特朗普在与英国首相斯塔默举行的联合记者会上表示,“我周五将与习近平主席通话,看看是否能就TikTok问题达成最终协议”。TikTok的母公司为中国企业字节跳动。
法新社称,特朗普与习近平就TikTok前景进行通话之际,中美双方也在寻求就更广泛的关税问题达成协议。就在本月初,习近平在北京主持大阅兵并邀请俄罗斯总统普京、印度总理莫迪及朝鲜领导人金正恩等出席。特朗普对此强烈不满,指责习近平与来访领导人“合谋”反对美国。
本周二,特朗普宣布美中在TikTok问题上达成一项协议,但并未透露细节。他仅表示,美国投资者将接手TikTok在美业务,“其美国版本将完全由美国投资人控制,这些人和企业都非常富有,也十分正规合法。”
在启程前往英国之前,特朗普还签署了一项行政令,将TikTok在美国的禁令再次推迟实施。这已是该禁令第四次延期。该禁令最初由国会在今年1月通过,理由是国家安全。当时的总统拜登已推动相关立法。
Donald Trump has suggested Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer could use the military to stop illegal migration, at a news conference during the US president's second state visit to the UK.
The US president said he discussed migration issues with Sir Keir during a meeting at his country residence Chequers.
Trump talked about his policies to secure borders in the US and said the UK faced a similar challenge with migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
"You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use," Trump said.
"It destroys countries from within and we're actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country."
Standing alongside Trump, the prime minister said illegal migration was an issue his government had been taking "incredibly seriously".
Sir Keir said his government had struck several migrant returns deals with other countries, including France, and had been taking action to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
The prime minister pointed to the first migrant return under the one-in, one-out deal with France.
"That's an important step forward," Sir Keri said. "But there's no silver bullet here."
More than 30,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year this figure has been passed since data on crossings was first reported in 2018.
The rise in crossings is one of the most prominent issues in British politics and has piled pressure on the prime minister to come up with a solution.
There were no divisions between Trump and Starmer on action to tackle illegal migration, as the leaders projected a sense of unity and affection for each other.
The pair touted the "special relationship" between the UK and the US, and announced a new tech deal Trump said would help the allies "dominate" in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).
But in one flashpoint, Trump said he had "a disagreement with the prime minister" on the subject of Palestinian statehood.
The news conference brought to an end Trump's unprecedented second state visit to the UK.
In two days of pomp and pageantry, Trump was hosted at Windsor Castle by King Charles and the Royal Family, and attended a state banquet on Wednesday before his political meeting with the prime minister.
Israel has carried out a large wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon, saying it was targeting positions of the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.
The attacks came after evacuation warnings were issued for several locations. There has been no immediate report of casualties.
Israel has carried out air strikes on people and places it says are linked to Hezbollah almost every day despite a deal that ended the war with the group in November.
The Lebanese prime minister called on the international community to urge Israel to stop what he described as intimidation and attacks, and to fulfil its ceasefire obligations.
Footage posted online showed huge plumes of smoke in Mais al-Jabal, one of the locations hit.
An Israeli military spokesman said the targets were infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and in response to the group's attempts to re-establish activities in the area. He provided no evidence.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said its forces had attacked and raided Hezbollah weapons warehouses, and their presence "constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon".
He earlier had warned residents to evacuate buildings in the villages of Mais al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit and Debbin, and later in two more villages.
Lebanon's prime minister Nawaf Salam said on X his country was committed to ceasing hostile actions, but asked: "Where is Israel's commitment to these mechanisms?"
He called on the international community, especially the countries sponsoring the ceasefire, "to exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately stop its aggressions", to immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory and release prisoners.
The US and France-brokered ceasefire was agreed between the governments of Israel and Lebanon, not Hezbollah.
It states that Lebanon will "prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any operations against Israel". Meanwhile, Israel will "not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, or other state targets, in the territory of Lebanon".
The Lebanese government has tasked the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, a decision which Hezbollah has said it will disregard.
Eleven people detained in Ghana after being deported from the US have sued the West African nation's government, their lawyer has told the BBC.
Oliver-Barker Vormawor said the deportees had not violated any Ghanaian law, and their detention in a military camp was therefore illegal.
He wanted the government to produce the group in court, and justify why they were being held against their will, the lawyer added.
The government has not yet commented on the law suit, but has previously said that it plans to accept another 40 deportees. Opposition MPs are demanding the immediate suspension of the deportation deal until parliament ratifies it, saying this was required under Ghanaian law.
Last week, Ghana's President John Mahama said that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in the country following an agreement reached with the US.
He later said that all of them had been returned to their countries of origin, though Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa contradicted him by saying that only most of them had been returned.
Mr Vormawor's court application contradicts both of them, saying that 11 deportees are still in detention in Ghana.
The 11 were held in a US detention facility before being shackled and deported in a military cargo aircraft, according to papers filed in court.
The deportations are part of the US government's hard-line approach towards immigration since President Donald Trump took office in January.
He has vowed to conduct record-level deportations of migrants in the country illegally.
Ghana's foreign minister was quoted on Monday by Reuters news agency as saying the decision to accept the deportees was based on "humanitarian principle and pan-African empathy".
"This should not be misconstrued as an endorsement of the immigration policies of the Trump administration," he said.
Five of the detainees, three Nigerians and two Gambians, have also sued the US government, arguing that they were protected by a court order and should not have been deported.
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At least ten people have died and 25 others injured after a fire broke out in a high-rise building in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.
Videos on social media on Tuesday showed occupants of the seven-storey Afriland Towers jumping out of the third and fourth floors when the fire started.
The victims were commercial workers who were trapped inside the building, which is host to most commercial companies and organisations in the city.
Most of the survivors suffered burns and fracture injuries while trying to escape, while others had respiratory distress from smoke inhalation.
Authorities say the occupants became disoriented due to rapid smoke spread and lack of clear evacuation guidance, and desperate occupants broke windows to jump, leading to severe trauma.
Chukwuemeka Eze, a trader who witnessed the incident, told the BBC: "It was scary, some jumped from up there, many people inside were so scared to jump down, we got a wooden ladder to assist them."
In a statement, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (Lasema) said the fire, which lasted for hours, started in the basement of the building where electrical equipment was installed.
The agency said it suspects the cause was poor maintenance and inadequate ventilation in the inverter battery area, which caused overheating and combustion.
The statement added "there was absence of mechanical smoke extraction systems, this allowed smoke to migrate unchecked. The public address systems were not functioning and there was inadequate signage, this worsened the confusion".
"The building was designed with sealed windows. The facility and building managers also inhaled smoke and passed out during the incident leaving no incident manager or safety warden in charge," the statement added.
Lasema said it extinguished the fire after a couple of hours, but thick, black smoke travelled throughout the building.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu described the incident as unfortunate and commiserated with families of the deceased victims.
The Nigeria Federal Fire Service said it has launched an investigation to establish the causes of the incident, including the state of safety systems, maintenance practices and compliance with fire safety regulations. The findings will be made public, and all recommendations will be implemented, the service added.
© Kenny Holston/The New York Times
© Damon Winter/The New York Times
© Doug Mills/The New York Times
© Dave Sanders for The New York Times
© Olga Fedorova for The New York Times
Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have delivered a joint press conference at the end of the US president's second state visit to the UK.
The press conference at the PM's country residence Chequers, lasting just under an hour, saw the leaders field questions on topics ranging from world affairs to domestic politics.
Here are the main points.
The UK's imminent recognition of Palestinian statehood was a potential flashpoint, with Trump having previously said that the move could reward Hamas.
But asked directly about the UK's plans, Trump merely noted that he had a "disagreement" with Starmer on the issue, adding for good measure that it was one of only a "few disagreements" between the pair.
Starmer emphasised that the timing of the UK's decision, which is set to take place in the coming days, had "nothing to do" with Trump's visit, and should be seen in the context of an overall plan for a "plan for peace" in the Middle East.
And he added that Hamas, a designated terror group in the UK, could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.
Those comments were warmly welcomed by Trump, with the US president reaching across his podium to give Starmer a pat on the back.
Trump was also given a chance to comment on another tricky political issue for Starmer - his efforts to stop illegal arrivals into Britain amid record numbers of small boat crossings in the English Channel this year.
This time however the US president did not mince his words, suggesting Starmer should potentially involve the military, and warning that illegal migration "destroys countries from within".
Trump referred to his approach to securing the US border and said the pair had discussed the issue during their private meeting earlier.
He added: "I think your situation is very similar. You have people coming in, and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use."
Starmer said the first flight under the migrant returns deal with France taking off earlier, calling it an "important step forward" on the small boats issue.
An area where the pair were seemingly united was in condemning Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after Trump said earlier this week said he could impose tougher sanctions on the country if Nato allies meet certain conditions.
Starmer condemned recent Russian missile attacks that saw damage to the British Council building in Kyiv, and said the recent actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin were not those of someone who wants peace.
The US president said Putin had "really let me down", admitting he thought solving the Russia-Ukraine war would be one of the easier conflicts to deal with.
He added, however, that he did not regret holding the peace summit in Alaska with Putin a few months ago, and he felt an "obligation" to help find an end to the war due to the enormous loss of life in the conflict.
Another potential point of tension was the subject of free speech, after Trump's vice-president JD Vance's scalding attack on European democracies, including the UK, over the issue earlier this year.
But asked whether he agreed with Vance and whether the issue remained an important area of disagreement with Starmer, Trump chose not to comment, instead moving to the next question.
Starmer promised the UK would protect free speech "jealously and fiercely," calling it one of the country's "founding values".
But he said free speech had to be balanced against the need for protections, such as protecting children from paedophiles and "those that peddle suicide" online.
The state visit has taken place one week after Sir Keir sacked former Labour minister Lord Mandelson as his ambassador to the US over his past friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
That had the potential to be awkward for both the prime minister and the US president, who also had a friendship with the now-deceased Epstein before falling out with him in the early 2000s, prior to the late financier's conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Referring to Mandelson as the "elephant in the room", Sky News reporter Beth Rigby asked Trump if he had sympathy with the sacked Labour peer.
Despite having shaken hands with Lord Mandelson in the Oval Office earlier this year, Trump relied: "I don't know him, actually," before suggesting Sir Keir would be better placed to speak on the subject.
The prime minister repeated his previous assertion that he had sacked Lord Mandelson after new information came to light about his association with Epstein.
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England and Wales's chief prosecutor has said no "outside pressure" played a part in his organisation's decision to drop charges against two British men accused of spying for China.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions who leads the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said his team had considered "alternative offences" but concluded "none were suitable".
The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher, was dropped on Monday prompting fury from the UK government, opposition parties and Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.
Cash and Berry had denied the allegations. Beijing called the claims "malicious slander".
The two men were accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state between 28 December 2021 and 3 February 2023.
But on Monday at the Old Bailey, the court heard that the CPS had determined the evidence it had gathered did not meet the threshold to go to trial. The pair were due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court from 6 October.
Mr Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), said the independence of his team was "completely respected within Whitehall and government" and he could give his "own assurance" that there had been no outside pressure.
Parkinson's comments came in a letter to shadow home secretary Chris Philp who had asked whether the CPS had been "politically pressured directly or indirectly by any representative of the government".
Parkinson indicated that one factor in securing a conviction would have entailed proving that China was an "enemy" as stated in the Official Secrets Act 1911.
"To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that a person, for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state, communicated information to another person which is calculated to be, might be, or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an "enemy"," he said.
The law has since been changed with the National Security Act 2023 which Mr Parkinson said contained "more extensive provisions to deal with espionage and those who are acting on behalf of foreign powers".
The CPS decision was criticised by the Home Office and the prime minister's official spokesman who said it was "extremely disappointing" the individuals would not face trial.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle told the Commons: "I am a very unhappy speaker with what has happened. The fact that it has taken two years, until today, for somebody to withdraw this case is not good enough."
Security minister Dan Jarvis said he was "extremely disappointed" that there would be no trial and the government remained "gravely concerned about the threat of Chinese espionage".
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