Waymo Suspended Service in San Francisco After Its Cars Stalled During Power Outage

© Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu, via Getty


© Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu, via Getty

© Jeff Vespa/WireImage, via Getty

ReutersThe US Coast Guard is in "active pursuit" of another vessel in international waters near Venezuela, an official has told the BBC's US partner CBS News, as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
US authorities have already seized two oil tankers this month - one of them on Saturday.
Sunday's pursuit related to a "sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion", a US official said. "It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."
Washington has accused Venezuela of using oil money to fund drug-related crime, while Venezuela has described the tanker seizures as "theft and kidnapping".
US President Donald Trump last week ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country.
Venezuela - home to the world largest proven oil reserves - has accused the Trump administration of trying to steal its resources.
US authorities have not yet officially confirmed Sunday's pursuit, and the exact location and name of the tanker involved is not yet known.
As of last week, more than 30 of the 80 ships in Venezuelan waters or approaching the country were under US sanctions, according to data compiled by TankerTrackers.com.
Saturday's seizure saw a Panamanian-flagged tanker boarded by a specialised tactical team in international waters.
That ship is not on the US Treasury's list of sanctioned vessels, but the US has said it was carrying "sanctioned PDVSA oil". In the past five years the ship also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia, according to records seen by BBC Verify.
"These acts will not go unpunished," the Venezuelan government said in response to Saturday's incident. It added that it intended to file a complaint with the UN Security Council and "other multilateral agencies and the governments of the world".
Venezuela is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.
In recent weeks, the US has built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.
It has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.

BBCLate one night last month Iang Za Kim heard explosions in a neighbouring village, then fighter jets flying overhead. She ran out of her home to see smoke rising from a distance.
"We were terrified. We thought the junta's planes would bomb us too. So we grabbed what we could – some food and clothes and ran into the jungles surrounding our village."
Iang's face quivers as she recounts the story of what happened on 26 November in K-Haimual, her village in Myanmar's western Chin State, and then she breaks down.
She's among thousands of civilians who've fled their homes in recent weeks after the Burmese military launched a fierce campaign of air strikes, and a ground offensive in rebel-held areas across the country, to recapture territory ahead of elections starting on 28 December.
Four other women sitting around her on straw mats also start crying. The trauma of what they've gone through to make it to safety is clearly visible.
While the air strikes were the immediate cause for Iang to flee, she also doesn't want to be forced to participate in the election.
"If we are caught and refuse to vote, they will put us in jail and torture us. We've run away so that we don't have to vote," she says.


Some from Chin state have described the junta's latest offensive as the fiercest it has launched in more than three years.
Many of the displaced have sought refuge in other parts of the state. Iang is among a group that crossed the border into India's Mizoram state. Currently sheltered in a rundown badminton court in Vaphai village, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are packed in plastic sacks.
Indian villagers have given them food and basic supplies.
Ral Uk Thang has had to flee his home at the age of 80, living in makeshift shelters in jungles for days, before finally making it to safety.
"We're afraid of our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has come into our and other villages in the past, they've arrested people, tortured them, and burned down homes," he says.
It isn't easy to speak to Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's military government does not allow free access in the country for foreign journalists. It took over the country in a coup in February 2021, shortly after the last election, and has since been widely condemned for running a repressive regime that has indiscriminately targeted civilians as it looks to crush the armed uprising against it across Myanmar.
During its latest offensive, the junta last week targeted a hospital in Rakhine State, just south of Chin State. Rebel groups in Rakhine say at least 30 people were killed and more than 70 injured.
The Chin Human Rights Organisation says that since mid-September at least three schools and six churches in Chin State have been targeted by junta airstrikes, killing 12 people including six children.


The BBC has independently verified the bombing of a school in Vanha village on 13 October. Two students –Johan Phun Lian Cung, who was seven, and Zing Cer Mawi, 12 - were killed as they were attending lessons. The bombs ripped through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.
Myanmar's military government did not respond to the BBC's questions about the allegations.
This is the second time Bawi Nei Lian and his young family – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. Back in 2021, soon after the coup, their home in Falam town was burnt down in an air strike. They rebuilt their lives in K-Haimual village. Now they're homeless again.
"I can't find the words to explain how painful and hard it is and what a difficult decision it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to stay alive," he says.
"I want the world to know that what the military is claiming – that this election is free and fair – this is absolutely false. When the main political party is not being allowed to contest the election, how can there be genuine democracy?"


The National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be contesting as most of its senior leaders including Suu Kyi are in jail.
"We don't want the election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the benefit of their high-ranking leaders. When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is cry and shed tears," says Ral Uk Thang.
Iang Za Kim believes the election will be rigged. "If we voted for a party not allied with the military, I believe they will steal our votes and claim we voted for them."
The election will take place in phases, with a result expected around the end of January. Rebel groups have called it a sham.
At the base of the Chin National Front in Myanmar, the most prominent rebel group operating in the state, the group's Vice Chairman Sui Khar says: "This election is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice. And in Chin State, they hardly control much area, so how can they hold an election?"
He points out the areas where the most intense fighting is ongoing on a map and tells us nearly 50 rebel fighters have been injured in just the past month. There have been deaths too, but so far the groups have not released a number.
"There are columns of hundreds of soldiers trying to advance into the northern part of Chin state from four directions," Sui Khar says. "The soldiers are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by drone units."


Access to the base is extremely rare. Set amid thickly forested mountains, it is the heart of the resistance against the junta in Chin state.
Sui Khar takes us to the hospital at the base. We see a group of injured fighters who were brought in overnight and had to undergo hours of surgery. Some of them have had to undergo amputations.
Many of them were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Just about adults now, they've let go of their dreams to fight on the frontline against the junta.
Abel, 18, is in too much pain to speak. He was with a group of fighters trying to take back territory the junta captured a week ago. They won the battle, but Abel lost his right leg and has serious injuries to his hands as well.
In a bed next to him is Si Si Maung, 19, who's also had a leg amputated.
"As the enemy was retreating we ran forward and I stepped on a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were attacked from the air. The airstrikes make things very difficult for us," he says. "I've lost a leg, but even if I've to give up my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that future generations have a better life."
The impact of the ferocity of the latest offensive is visible in room after room at the hospital.
Yet, it's the support and grit of tens of thousands of youngsters like Si Si Maung, who picked up arms to fight against the junta, that have helped the rebels make rapid advances against a much more powerful rival in the past four-and-a-half years.
Some like 80-year-old Ral Uk Thang hope that after the election, the junta will retreat, and he will be able to go back home.
"But I don't think I will live to see democracy restored in Myanmar," he says. "I hope my children and grandchildren can witness it some day."
Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada, Sanjay Ganguly and Aakriti Thapar

Getty ImagesAs helicopters circled overhead, sirens descended on her suburb, and people ran screaming down her street on 14 December, Mary felt a grim sense of deja vu.
"That was when I knew there was something seriously wrong – again," she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
Mary - who did not want to give her real name - was at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre last April when six people were stabbed to death by a man in psychosis, a tragedy still fresh in the minds of many.
Findings from a coronial inquest into the incident were due to be delivered this week, but were delayed after two gunmen unleashed a hail of bullets on an event marking the start of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah eight days ago.
Declared a terror attack by police, 15 people were shot and killed, including a 10-year-old girl who still had face paint curling around her eyes.
The first paramedic to confront the bloody scenes at the Chanukah by the Sea event was also the first paramedic on the scene at the Westfield stabbings.
"You just wouldn't even fathom that something like this would happen," 31-year-old Mary, who is originally from the UK, tells the BBC. "I say constantly to my family at home how safe it is here."
This was the overarching sentiment in the days following the shooting. This kind of thing, mass murder, just doesn't happen in Australia.
But it can and it has – twice, in the same community, within 18 months.
A sea of flowers left by shocked and grieving people at Bondi is being packed up. A national day of reflection is over. On Sunday night, Jewish Australians lit candles for the last time this Hannukah.
But the two tragedies have left scores physically scarred and traumatised, and the nation's sense of safety shattered.

EPABondi is Australia's most famous beach - a globally recognised symbol of its way of life.
It's also a quintessential slice of Australian community. There's a bit of "everyone knows everyone" - and that means everyone knows someone affected by the 14 December tragedy, mayor Will Nemesh told the BBC.
"One of the first people I texted was [Rabbi] Eli Schlanger. And I said, 'I hope you're OK. Call me if you need anything'," he said.
But the British-born father of five, also known as the "Bondi Rabbi", was among the dead.
The first responders, police and paramedics would have been working on members of their own community. Others had the task of having to treat the shooters who had taken aim at their colleagues.
"[Westfield Bondi Junction] was horrendous, something we're certainly not used to. And then this again was massive, catastrophic injuries," Ryan Park, health minister for New South Wales, told the BBC.
"They've seen things that are like you would see in a war zone… You don't get those images out of your head," Park added.
Mayor Nemesh fears this will forever be a stain on Bondi, and Australia.
"If this can happen here at Bondi Beach, it really could happen anywhere… the impact has reverberated around Australia."

EPANo one is feeling this more than the Jewish community, for whom Bondi has become a sanctuary.
"I swam here every day for years on end, rain or shine. And this week… I couldn't get in the water. It didn't feel right. It felt sacrilegious in some way," Zac Seidler, a local clinical psychologist, told the BBC.
Many of the victims of the attack moved here over many decades for safety from persecution, including 89-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. Instead, his life was bookended by violent acts of antisemitic hate.
Mr Seidler has spent the past two years trying to convince his grandparents, who are also Holocaust survivors, to hold on to their faltering belief in the good of humanity.
"[My grandmother] kept saying, 'These are the signs. I've seen this before'. And I just kept saying, 'Not in Australia, not here. You're safe', just trying to soothe her.
"But now I kind of feel like the fool."
No community is a monolith, but one thing many Jewish Australians believe is that warnings about a rise of antisemitism in the months preceding this attack were ignored.
The year started with a spate of vandalism and arson incidents on Jewish marks in the suburbs surrounding Bondi. It has ended with mass murder targeting their community.
There has been resistance in the face of fear - some leaders urging Jewish Australians to double down, be more publicly Jewish and display their religious symbols with pride.
One woman perusing the flowers outside the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday admits she is too scared to do that. It took her all week to even work up the courage to visit this site, which is just metres from where many of the victims died.
"I've never felt my Jewishness before. I've never experienced antisemitism in my whole life until now," MaryAnne says. "And now, I don't want to wear my Star of David."
The shooting triggered a massive outpouring of support from around the nation.
When the news broke, many in the community rallied to help.
Lifeguards - volunteer and paid - put their lives on the line. Restaurants opened their doors and hid people in their store rooms and freezers, and locals ushered lost children into their apartments.
Even the New South Wales opposition leader Kellie Sloane - also the local state member - was at the scene, helping pack bullet wounds.
In the days after the shooting, thousands of ordinary Australians lined up - many for hours on end - to donate blood desperately needed to treat those injured.
Each day, a carpet of petals, handwritten notes, commemorative stones and candles grew out from the gates of the Bondi Pavilion.
Bee motifs - stickers, balloons, even pavement art - are all over the suburb, in remembrance of Matilda, the terror attack's youngest victim.
Surfers and swimmers on Friday paddled out beyond Bondi's iconic breaks to honour those who died.
A day later, surf livesavers and lifeguards stood shoulder to shoulder on the beach in solidarity with the Jewish community.
But amid the platitudes, sadness and shock is calcifying into anger and tension.
Last year's Bondi Junction stabbings were devastating for the community - but a shared resolution united it.
Experts say the attacker, who had schizophrenia, was in psychosis at the time of the stabbings, and his family have previously said he was frustrated at being unable to find a girlfriend. The question of whether he targeted women will likely forever go unanswered. But clear failures in the mental health system have been identified.
Last month, families of the victims asked the coroner to refer the doctor who weaned him off medication with limited supervision to regulators for investigation, and they have also argued for a massive boost to mental health service funding.
But last Sunday's events raise more uncomfortable feelings and questions.
There is palpable fury at the government, over a perceived – and admitted – failure to do more to stop antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been booed during public appearances this week, and talking to people visiting the site of the attack in Bondi, it isn't uncommon to hear them demand his resignation.
Many people the BBC spoke to pointed to his government's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, alongside countries including the UK and Canada, and regular protests in Australia by members of the pro-Palestinian movement, which though largely peaceful but have been peppered with antisemitic chants and placards.
The state of New South Wales - which has in recent years tightened protest rules - has already announced it will introduce more legislation cracking down on "hateful" chants and give police more powers to investigate demonstrators. The federal government has promised similar.
The blame apportioned to these protests does not sit right with many, even some sections of the Jewish community.
"We need to hold multiple truths," Mr Seidler says. "We can be afraid, we can feel that there is deep antisemitic rhetoric going on in certain circles within Australia… while also understanding that there is a right of people in this country – especially Muslim Australians – to be concerned about what is taking place in Gaza.
"We need to get better at finding that line and calling out when that line has been crossed."

GettyFor others, there is anger at what they feel is the politicisation of a tragedy.
"It's a bloody photo op," one woman tells me on Sunday, as a prominent Australian businesswoman arrives and begins posing with the floral tributes outside the Bondi Pavilion.
Some - including the local federal MP Allegra Spender - worry the attack is being used to fuel anti-immigration sentiment.
"We would not have had the man who saved so many Australians if we had cut off, for instance, Muslim immigration," she said.
Mr Seidler says these arguments fail to recognise that antisemitic views - and other forms of bigotry - are formed here too.
"I heard someone say the other day that Australia thinks it's on a holiday from history, that we're somehow immune to this stuff, that it's not bred here, it's imported," Mr Seidler says.
With the anger, there is also fear: for the Jewish community of other attacks, for the Muslim community of retaliation for an act of terror they have loudly condemned.
There are questions over how Australia's security agency fumbled an alleged terrorist who at one point was on their watch list, prompting a review into federal police and intelligence agencies that was announced on Sunday.
There is frustration at NSW Police, who have for years been warned by the Muslim community of hate preachers poaching their young men.
There is animosity towards the media, driven by hurt among both Jewish and Arab Australians over a belief they and their communities have been misrepresented, and frustration at what some feel is incitement against them.
But there is also a queasiness at the treatment of traumatised victims throughout this week, some of whom were interviewed live on television while the blood of their friends still stained their hands.
Through it all, is an undercurrent of suspicion of institutions and each other.
There are varying opinions on how those rifts can heal – or even if they can. But there is a shared determination to try.

Getty ImagesOne UK expat who was at the beach at the time of the shooting says everyone he speaks to is adamant this will not change Bondi, or Australia.
"It's seriously unique what you have as a nation… there's a magic about it," Henry Jamieson tells the BBC.
"I'm traumatised… and I'm going to have to deal with that for the rest of my life, I know I am… even people who weren't there were traumatised.
"But I'm not gonna let it shake me and we will not let it shake this community.
"You can't let them win," he says of the alleged terrorists.
At an emotional memorial on Sunday night, seven days since the attack, the same sense of defiance was on show. It ended with the lighting of the menorah, something the crowds gathered for Hannukah last week never got to do.
The shamash, the centre candle, was lit by the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, in honour of his bravery in wrestling a gun off one of the attackers. The children of the two rabbis who were killed lit another. Others were lit by a representative of surf lifesavers and a Jewish community medic who rushed to the scene and began treating the injured before the shots had even stopped. The final candle was lit by Michael, the father of Matilda, who has been described a fountain of joy to all who knew her.
After the parade of diverse Australians had sparked flames on each arm of the menorah, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Bondi Chabad made a plea for more love and more unity.
"Returning to normal is not enough," he said.
"Sydney can and must become a beacon of goodness. A city where people look out for one another, where kindness is louder than hate, where decency is stronger than fear, and we can make it happen," he said, stopping for a moment as the crowd applauded.
"But only if we take the feelings we have right now and turn them into action, into continuous action."
日本媒体最新民调显示,近六成日本受访者认为,首相高市早苗涉台言论影响日本经济。
共同社星期六和星期天(12月20日和21日)展开的全国电话舆论调查显示,关于高市围绕“台湾有事”的国会答辩引发的日中关系恶化对日本经济的影响,包括“倾向于”在内59.9%的受访者表示“会带来负面影响”。
关于高市涉台国会答辩,57.0%的受访者“不认为是出言不慎”,占比高于“认为是出言不慎”的37.6%。
对于为应对物价高涨而发放的大米券,认为“效果不大”的受访者占82.4%。
高市内阁支持率为67.5%,较上次11月的调查下降2.4个百分点。不支持率为20.4%。
中日关系因高市早苗的台湾有事论陷入冰点后,两国经贸和民间交流受到冲击。
日本经贸代表团计划下月访华,希望在中日关系恶化下保持经济交流,但中国至今尚未给予明确答复。

© Richard Shotwell/Invision, via Associated Press

© Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

© Cristina Spanò
据德国广播电台和T-Online.de网站报道:德国联邦财政部长克林贝尔 (Lars Klingbeil)批评德国铁路订购了中国制造的电动公交车。他呼吁“健康的本土产业爱国主义”。
这位社民党主席兼副总理在接受《新奥斯纳布吕克报》采访时表示,德国铁路集团在向德国制造商曼(MAN)下达大额订单的同时,还向中国制造商比亚迪(BYD)订购了200辆电动公交车,他说:“这让我感到恼火。”他表示,希望看到一种“健康的本土产业爱国主义”。
克林贝尔解释说,所谓健康的本土产业爱国主义,意味着在条件允许的情况下,应将订单交给德国或欧洲制造商。他指出,在德国各大城市中,早已有“性能出色的电动公交车”在运行,例如奔驰或曼生产的车型。
大约一周前,德国铁路公布了其公司历史上规模最大的公交车采购计划。这家国有集团计划购买3300辆混合动力或纯电动公交车,预计在2027年至2032年间交付。订单总金额超过10亿欧元。其中,200辆电动城际公交车将来自比亚迪。根据该公司介绍,这些车辆将在比亚迪位于匈牙利的工厂生产。
克林贝尔还将对德国铁路的批评,与他对电动出行的总体立场联系在一起。针对欧盟可能放宽燃油车禁令的讨论,他警告德国汽车制造商不要错误解读来自布鲁塞尔的信号。“如果他们现在认为还可以长期依赖柴油车和汽油车,那么几年后他们面临的困难只会更大。”向电动化转型的进程必须“以高速继续推进”。“未来的出行方式是电动化的。”
他提到了自己在中国的亲身见闻。在北京、上海等城市,他亲眼看到“中国在这方面已经走得远多了”,这也得益于国家对转型的大力推动。由此,他对德国工业得出的结论是:“我们的汽车制造商还有追赶的空间。”与此同时,他强调,只要找到务实的解决方案,气候保护与就业并非对立关系。
这场争论的背景是欧盟委员会对汽车二氧化碳排放限值政策作出的调整。最初,欧盟成员国与欧洲议会已达成一致:自2035年起,新注册汽车不得再排放有害气候的二氧化碳。但在德国等国的推动下,欧盟计划放宽燃油车相关规定。在特定条件下,搭载内燃机的车辆在此之后仍有可能获准上路。

ReutersThe US Coast Guard is in "active pursuit" of another vessel in international waters near Venezuela, an official has told the BBC's US partner CBS News, as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
US authorities have already seized two oil tankers this month - one of them on Saturday.
Sunday's pursuit related to a "sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion", a US official said. "It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."
Washington has accused Venezuela of using oil money to fund drug-related crime, while Venezuela has described the tanker seizures as "theft and kidnapping".
US President Donald Trump last week ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country.
Venezuela - home to the world largest proven oil reserves - has accused the Trump administration of trying to steal its resources.
US authorities have not yet officially confirmed Sunday's pursuit, and the exact location and name of the tanker involved is not yet known.
As of last week, more than 30 of the 80 ships in Venezuelan waters or approaching the country were under US sanctions, according to data compiled by TankerTrackers.com.
Saturday's seizure saw a Panamanian-flagged tanker boarded by a specialised tactical team in international waters.
That ship is not on the US Treasury's list of sanctioned vessels, but the US has said it was carrying "sanctioned PDVSA oil". In the past five years the ship also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia, according to records seen by BBC Verify.
"These acts will not go unpunished," the Venezuelan government said in response to Saturday's incident. It added that it intended to file a complaint with the UN Security Council and "other multilateral agencies and the governments of the world".
Venezuela is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.
In recent weeks, the US has built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.
It has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.
A batch of files, which includes a photo of US President Donald Trump, were removed by the justice department because of concerns raised by victims, the deputy attorney general said on Sunday.
Todd Blanche said the photo that included Trump also showed unredacted images of women, and rejected criticisms that the removal was related to the president.
At least 13 files from the thousands made public on the justice department's website on Friday had disappeared without explanation by Saturday.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee questioned the images' removal. In a social media post, they asked Attorney General Pam Bondi: "What else is being covered up?"
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a post on X on Sunday that the image of Trump was flagged by the Southern District of New York "for potential further action to protect victims".
They added that they had temporarily removed the image for further review "out of an abundance of caution".
"After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction," the DOJ said.
Blanche said that the suggestion that the photo was removed due to Trump was "laughable". "It has nothing to do with President Trump," he told NBC News.
"There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr Epstein."
He added: "So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable."
Blanche cited a judge in New York who "has ordered us to listen to any victim or victims' rights group if they have concerns" as a reason behind removing some of the previously posted files.
"There were a number of photographs that were pulled down after being released on Friday," he said.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein's victims. There is no suggestion that these pictures imply any wrongdoing.

US Department of JusticeThe DOJ also has been criticised for not releasing all of the files by the Friday deadline, as mandated by law.
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who led the charge to release the files, said he was frustrated with the Trump administration's response and his focus is to get justice for the victims.
He said he is drafting inherent contempt charges for Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"They are flouting the spirit and the letter of the law," he told CBS News on Sunday. "It's very troubling the posture that they have taken. I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied."
The image that was included in the removed files showed a credenza desk in Epstein's home with an open drawer filled with other photos, one of which showed the president with Trump, Epstein, first lady Melania Trump and Epstein's convicted associate Ghislane Maxwell. Framed photos also can be seen on top of the credenza desk.
That image has since been restored by early Sunday, available through a link to the website. The other files had not been restored to the site as of Sunday afternoon.
Ten of the missing files include images which appear to show the same room - a small massage parlour with clouds painted on the ceiling, and brown patterned wallpaper studded with multiple nude pictures. Some appear to be photos, others are artwork.
Most of the women pictured on the wall have had their faces redacted. However, one face is redacted in one file but plainly visible in three of the others. Another face remains unredacted in all of the files while a painted image of the same person is visible.
On Saturday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee questioned the files' removal.
They posted the missing photo of Trump on social media and asked Attorney General Pam Bondi if it was true that the image had been removed.
"What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public," the committee wrote.
The files' removal comes at time of increased suspicion surrounding the US government and the so-called Epstein files.
The documents released on Friday came to light as the result of an act of Congress that forced the DOJ to release them.
The DOJ said it would comply with the congressional request to release documents, with some stipulations.
It redacted personally identifiable information about Epstein's victims, materials depicting child sexual abuse, materials depicting physical abuse, any records that "would jeopardise an active federal investigation" or any classified documents that must stay secret to protect "national defence or foreign policy".
But many of the documents that were released were heavily redacted.
There was limited new information about Epstein's crimes and things like internal DOJ memos on charging decisions were not included in the files that were released.
Additional reporting by Alison Benjamin and Benedict Garman.

Getty ImagesAs helicopters circled overhead, sirens descended on her suburb, and people ran screaming down her street on 14 December, Mary felt a grim sense of deja vu.
"That was when I knew there was something seriously wrong – again," she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
Mary - who did not want to give her real name - was at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre last April when six people were stabbed to death by a man in psychosis, a tragedy still fresh in the minds of many.
Findings from a coronial inquest into the incident were due to be delivered this week, but were delayed after two gunmen unleashed a hail of bullets on an event marking the start of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah eight days ago.
Declared a terror attack by police, 15 people were shot and killed, including a 10-year-old girl who still had face paint curling around her eyes.
The first paramedic to confront the bloody scenes at the Chanukah by the Sea event was also the first paramedic on the scene at the Westfield stabbings.
"You just wouldn't even fathom that something like this would happen," 31-year-old Mary, who is originally from the UK, tells the BBC. "I say constantly to my family at home how safe it is here."
This was the overarching sentiment in the days following the shooting. This kind of thing, mass murder, just doesn't happen in Australia.
But it can and it has – twice, in the same community, within 18 months.
A sea of flowers left by shocked and grieving people at Bondi is being packed up. A national day of reflection is over. On Sunday night, Jewish Australians lit candles for the last time this Hannukah.
But the two tragedies have left scores physically scarred and traumatised, and the nation's sense of safety shattered.

EPABondi is Australia's most famous beach - a globally recognised symbol of its way of life.
It's also a quintessential slice of Australian community. There's a bit of "everyone knows everyone" - and that means everyone knows someone affected by the 14 December tragedy, mayor Will Nemesh told the BBC.
"One of the first people I texted was [Rabbi] Eli Schlanger. And I said, 'I hope you're OK. Call me if you need anything'," he said.
But the British-born father of five, also known as the "Bondi Rabbi", was among the dead.
The first responders, police and paramedics would have been working on members of their own community. Others had the task of having to treat the shooters who had taken aim at their colleagues.
"[Westfield Bondi Junction] was horrendous, something we're certainly not used to. And then this again was massive, catastrophic injuries," Ryan Park, health minister for New South Wales, told the BBC.
"They've seen things that are like you would see in a war zone… You don't get those images out of your head," Park added.
Mayor Nemesh fears this will forever be a stain on Bondi, and Australia.
"If this can happen here at Bondi Beach, it really could happen anywhere… the impact has reverberated around Australia."

EPANo one is feeling this more than the Jewish community, for whom Bondi has become a sanctuary.
"I swam here every day for years on end, rain or shine. And this week… I couldn't get in the water. It didn't feel right. It felt sacrilegious in some way," Zac Seidler, a local clinical psychologist, told the BBC.
Many of the victims of the attack moved here over many decades for safety from persecution, including 89-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. Instead, his life was bookended by violent acts of antisemitic hate.
Mr Seidler has spent the past two years trying to convince his grandparents, who are also Holocaust survivors, to hold on to their faltering belief in the good of humanity.
"[My grandmother] kept saying, 'These are the signs. I've seen this before'. And I just kept saying, 'Not in Australia, not here. You're safe', just trying to soothe her.
"But now I kind of feel like the fool."
No community is a monolith, but one thing many Jewish Australians believe is that warnings about a rise of antisemitism in the months preceding this attack were ignored.
The year started with a spate of vandalism and arson incidents on Jewish marks in the suburbs surrounding Bondi. It has ended with mass murder targeting their community.
There has been resistance in the face of fear - some leaders urging Jewish Australians to double down, be more publicly Jewish and display their religious symbols with pride.
One woman perusing the flowers outside the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday admits she is too scared to do that. It took her all week to even work up the courage to visit this site, which is just metres from where many of the victims died.
"I've never felt my Jewishness before. I've never experienced antisemitism in my whole life until now," MaryAnne says. "And now, I don't want to wear my Star of David."
The shooting triggered a massive outpouring of support from around the nation.
When the news broke, many in the community rallied to help.
Lifeguards - volunteer and paid - put their lives on the line. Restaurants opened their doors and hid people in their store rooms and freezers, and locals ushered lost children into their apartments.
Even the New South Wales opposition leader Kellie Sloane - also the local state member - was at the scene, helping pack bullet wounds.
In the days after the shooting, thousands of ordinary Australians lined up - many for hours on end - to donate blood desperately needed to treat those injured.
Each day, a carpet of petals, handwritten notes, commemorative stones and candles grew out from the gates of the Bondi Pavilion.
Bee motifs - stickers, balloons, even pavement art - are all over the suburb, in remembrance of Matilda, the terror attack's youngest victim.
Surfers and swimmers on Friday paddled out beyond Bondi's iconic breaks to honour those who died.
A day later, surf livesavers and lifeguards stood shoulder to shoulder on the beach in solidarity with the Jewish community.
But amid the platitudes, sadness and shock is calcifying into anger and tension.
Last year's Bondi Junction stabbings were devastating for the community - but a shared resolution united it.
Experts say the attacker, who had schizophrenia, was in psychosis at the time of the stabbings, and his family have previously said he was frustrated at being unable to find a girlfriend. The question of whether he targeted women will likely forever go unanswered. But clear failures in the mental health system have been identified.
Last month, families of the victims asked the coroner to refer the doctor who weaned him off medication with limited supervision to regulators for investigation, and they have also argued for a massive boost to mental health service funding.
But last Sunday's events raise more uncomfortable feelings and questions.
There is palpable fury at the government, over a perceived – and admitted – failure to do more to stop antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been booed during public appearances this week, and talking to people visiting the site of the attack in Bondi, it isn't uncommon to hear them demand his resignation.
Many people the BBC spoke to pointed to his government's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, alongside countries including the UK and Canada, and regular protests in Australia by members of the pro-Palestinian movement, which though largely peaceful but have been peppered with antisemitic chants and placards.
The state of New South Wales - which has in recent years tightened protest rules - has already announced it will introduce more legislation cracking down on "hateful" chants and give police more powers to investigate demonstrators. The federal government has promised similar.
The blame apportioned to these protests does not sit right with many, even some sections of the Jewish community.
"We need to hold multiple truths," Mr Seidler says. "We can be afraid, we can feel that there is deep antisemitic rhetoric going on in certain circles within Australia… while also understanding that there is a right of people in this country – especially Muslim Australians – to be concerned about what is taking place in Gaza.
"We need to get better at finding that line and calling out when that line has been crossed."

GettyFor others, there is anger at what they feel is the politicisation of a tragedy.
"It's a bloody photo op," one woman tells me on Sunday, as a prominent Australian businesswoman arrives and begins posing with the floral tributes outside the Bondi Pavilion.
Some - including the local federal MP Allegra Spender - worry the attack is being used to fuel anti-immigration sentiment.
"We would not have had the man who saved so many Australians if we had cut off, for instance, Muslim immigration," she said.
Mr Seidler says these arguments fail to recognise that antisemitic views - and other forms of bigotry - are formed here too.
"I heard someone say the other day that Australia thinks it's on a holiday from history, that we're somehow immune to this stuff, that it's not bred here, it's imported," Mr Seidler says.
With the anger, there is also fear: for the Jewish community of other attacks, for the Muslim community of retaliation for an act of terror they have loudly condemned.
There are questions over how Australia's security agency fumbled an alleged terrorist who at one point was on their watch list, prompting a review into federal police and intelligence agencies that was announced on Sunday.
There is frustration at NSW Police, who have for years been warned by the Muslim community of hate preachers poaching their young men.
There is animosity towards the media, driven by hurt among both Jewish and Arab Australians over a belief they and their communities have been misrepresented, and frustration at what some feel is incitement against them.
But there is also a queasiness at the treatment of traumatised victims throughout this week, some of whom were interviewed live on television while the blood of their friends still stained their hands.
Through it all, is an undercurrent of suspicion of institutions and each other.
There are varying opinions on how those rifts can heal – or even if they can. But there is a shared determination to try.

Getty ImagesOne UK expat who was at the beach at the time of the shooting says everyone he speaks to is adamant this will not change Bondi, or Australia.
"It's seriously unique what you have as a nation… there's a magic about it," Henry Jamieson tells the BBC.
"I'm traumatised… and I'm going to have to deal with that for the rest of my life, I know I am… even people who weren't there were traumatised.
"But I'm not gonna let it shake me and we will not let it shake this community.
"You can't let them win," he says of the alleged terrorists.
At an emotional memorial on Sunday night, seven days since the attack, the same sense of defiance was on show. It ended with the lighting of the menorah, something the crowds gathered for Hannukah last week never got to do.
The shamash, the centre candle, was lit by the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, in honour of his bravery in wrestling a gun off one of the attackers. The children of the two rabbis who were killed lit another. Others were lit by a representative of surf lifesavers and a Jewish community medic who rushed to the scene and began treating the injured before the shots had even stopped. The final candle was lit by Michael, the father of Matilda, who has been described a fountain of joy to all who knew her.
After the parade of diverse Australians had sparked flames on each arm of the menorah, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Bondi Chabad made a plea for more love and more unity.
"Returning to normal is not enough," he said.
"Sydney can and must become a beacon of goodness. A city where people look out for one another, where kindness is louder than hate, where decency is stronger than fear, and we can make it happen," he said, stopping for a moment as the crowd applauded.
"But only if we take the feelings we have right now and turn them into action, into continuous action."

Getty ImagesAn end to puppy farming and a possible ban on the use of electric shock dog collars are promised as part of a new animal welfare strategy being launched by the government on Monday.
The strategy - which packages together new laws with legislative reforms and proposals - will also progress Labour's manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting in the countryside.
The RSPCA has welcomed the plans to outlaw puppy farming but the Countryside Alliance has condemned the ban on trail hunting as "another attack on the countryside".
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds told the BBC there would be consultation on the trail-hunting ban, which was "sometimes used as a smokescreen" for illegal fox hunting.

Getty ImagesPuppy farming is the term used when breeders prioritise profit over animal health and welfare, often keeping large numbers of dogs in small pens and using them to produce multiple litters a year.
Current dog breeding practices will be reformed to tackle puppy farming as part of what the government calls "the biggest animal welfare reforms in a generation".
However, the whole strategy will not be delivered until the end of 2030.
David Bowles, head of public affairs at the RSPCA, said the animal welfare charity was "delighted" at the strategy and added that the plans to ban puppy farming "could be a real game-changer".
"Puppy farming is one of the most insidious problems that the RSPCA faces.
"The government will need to write the legislation on that in this coming year and the RSPCA will work with them to make sure that there are no loopholes," he said.
The government is also looking to ban the use of snare traps in the countryside and on Sunday confirmed it is to carry out a consultation on the proposed ban on trail hunting in the New Year.
Trail hunting involves using a rag with a natural scent on to lay a trail ahead of a hunt, which is then followed by the hounds but live animal scents could be picked up by the pack instead.
The secretary of state told the BBC that while Labour had previously banned fox hunting in 2004 "we have seen that people are trying to get around that ban by using trail hunting in some cases".
"Obviously that's also a problem of enforcement, it's not just the legislation, but we are determined to go further, which is why banning trail hunting is in the animal welfare strategy," she said.
"We know sometimes it is used as a smokescreen for fox hunting."
But Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said it was "unbelievable" that the government would be spending more parliamentary time on hunting.
He said: "Revisiting this pointless and divisive issue is completely unnecessary.
"People across the countryside will be shocked that after Labour's attack on family farms and its neglect of rural communities it thinks banning trail hunting and snares used for fox control are a political priority."
Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake called the ban an "attack on rural Britain and British culture", accusing the government of "punishing the law-abiding majority who support legal trail hunting".
The government is also looking at ending the use of "confinement systems" in farming including caged hens and pig farrowing crates, which are used to contain sows during birth and nursing.
The use of slow-growing chickens will be promoted over the use of controversial so-called "Frankenchickens", a term used by animal welfare campaigners to describe fast-growing breeds.
Anthony Field, head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said the government was "raising the bar for farmed animal welfare".
The National Pig Association said it would be "following the next steps closely" on farrowing crates and was itself looking towards more flexible systems.
The British Poultry Council have been approached by the BBC for comment.

AFP via Getty ImagesA shortage of epidural kits in the UK is expected to last until at least March, the government's medicines regulator has warned.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told healthcare providers in a patient safety alert earlier this month that the shortage followed manufacturing issues concerning epidural bags.
Hospitals are being sent substitutes bags for the pain relief drug given to women in labour, while the Royal College of Anaesthetists is working with the NHS to advise hospitals on how to manage the situation.
Medical staff have expressed concern about these plans, the BBC understands, though the NHS said women "should come forward for care as usual".
The shortage arose after a major supplier stopped making epidural infusion bags, it is understood.
The MHRA alert on 2 December said there was a "range of alternative" bags available during the "affected period", which will require a "trust-wide approach to ensure safe implementation".
Hospitals are being sent substitutes - but these have higher drug doses and so need very careful managing.
All trusts have been asked to create teams that ensure mother-and-baby safety.
But hospital staff, pharmacists and anaesthetists - who administer epidurals to women during labour - have expressed concerns over the plans.
The head of the Birth Trauma Association, Dr Kim Thomas, argued that "there hasn't been enough communication" on how to put together these teams.
"Leaving trusts to manage a situation like this is very unfair, because you're going to get different responses in different trusts," she explained.
"It's going to mean added stress and added work for staff who are already overworked particularly at this time of year."
An NHS spokesperson said: "The safety of women in the care of NHS maternity services remains a top priority."
They added: "There are a range of alternatives available and trusts are also sharing supplies with other nearby trusts where appropriate."
Additional reporting by Hafsa Khalil

Gerwyn Price lost in straight sets to Wesley Plaisier
Luke Littler progressed to the third round but former champion Gerwyn Price suffered a shock exit at the PDC World Championship.
The 2021 victor Price had boldly predicted he would win a second title but was beaten 3-0 by Dutchman Wesley Plaisier.
Defending champion Littler, who was seeded to face Price in the quarter-finals, made the last 32 with a straight-set victory over David Davies.
Price's fellow Welshman Davies missed six darts at double to take the opening set.
Davies had taken time off from his full-time job as an NHS area manager to appear at Alexandra Palace and went to walk off stage at 2-2, mistakenly believing the first set was over.
Littler, 18, pushed on from there and will next meet Mensur Suljovic, who earlier denied claims from his beaten opponent Joe Cullen of cheating by deliberately playing slowly.
Price, ranked ninth, is the 12th of the 32 seeds to be knocked out.
He had the better average of 95.83 but world number 92 Plaisier hit 56% of his doubles.
"I can't believe it, I'm so over the moon. It's my biggest victory ever. I don't know how I did it," said Plaisier after setting up a meeting with Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski.
Taylor 'sincerely sorry' after failed drugs test
World Darts Championship 2026 schedule and results
World Darts Championship - Draw, seeds, prize money

Littler will resume his campaign after Christmas
Littler only made his world championship debut two years ago, and his arrival as a teenage phenomenon has helped fuel a boom in darts' popularity.
He became the youngest world darts champion in January aged 17 when he beat Michael van Gerwen, has gone on to win five more major titles in 2025 and overtook Luke Humphries as the world number one.
On wanting to win the World Championship again, Littler said: "Since the Grand Slam and Grand Prix, the talk is the build-up to the Worlds. Back-to-back is the only thing I want."
Victory extended his winning streak to 15 senior matches, going back to 25 October.
He said Suljovic had predicted they would meet, adding: "I watched it this afternoon and he played well. When the tournament draw came out, Mensur messaged me and said 'see you in round three'. Mensur, let's have a good game."
Martin Schindler won three successive deciding legs to beat Keane Barry 3-0 and set up a third-round match against Ryan Searle.

Mensur Suljovic won 3-1 against Joe Cullen
Joe Cullen says opponent Mensur Suljovic's slow style of play is akin to cheating after the 32nd seed was knocked out.
Austrian Suljovic denied using any specific tactics in his second-round success.
"I never ever do this as a provocation," said the 53-year-old. "I do it only for my game. Sorry Joe, I never do this - love you man."
England's Cullen won the first set, but became the 11th seed to crash out as he lost the following three, including throwing away a 2-1 lead in the fourth set.
Referring to the way that Suljovic slowed down play, Cullen said in a post on X: "If that's darts, I don't want no part of it.
"Always liked Mensur away from the board but that was plain for all to see! I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way. The old guard will say it's part of the game but word it how you will - it's cheating. That's not darts."
After the match, the 36-year-old shook his head as he picked up his darts case and turned to glare at the Austrian, who celebrated his win in front of the crowd.
The PDC does not have a specific, timed rule for pace of play, but deliberate slow play intended to disrupt an opponent is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and a potential rules breach.
Suljovic is next in line to take on defending champion Luke Littler, who faces David Davies on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, 2018 champion and 17th seed Rob Cross managed to avoid a deciding set against Ian White as he won a nervy encounter 3-1.
Krzysztof Ratajski beat Ryan Joyce 3-1 to reach the third round, while Luke Woodhouse cruised past Max Hopp with a victory in straight sets.
Afternoon session:
Ryan Joyce 1-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Joe Cullen 1-3 Mensur Suljovic
Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Max Hopp
Rob Cross 3-2 Ian White
Evening session
Martin Schindler 3-0 Keane Barry
Gerwyn Price 0-3 Wesley Plaisier
Luke Littler 3-0 David Davies
Damon Heta v Stefan Bellmont
Afternoon session (12:30 GMT)
Darren Beveridge v Madars Razma
Wessel Nijman v Gabriel Clemens
David Munyua v Kevin Doets
James Wade v Ricky Evans
Evening session (19:00)
Gian van Veen v Alan Soutar
Nathan Aspinall v Leonard Gates
Luke Humphries v Paul Lim
Charlie Manby v Adam Sevada


BBCWhen Anne and Ross Campbell were watching the news on the night of 21 December 1988, they already had "go-bags" ready.
The Ayrshire-based couple were part of the Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network (Raynet), a UK-wide radio communications service.
Staffed by volunteers, it was formed in the aftermath of the North Sea flood in 1953 with a simple aim: during major events and emergencies, licensed Raynet operators would step in to provide essential radio communications.
When news broke that an aircraft had crashed in a small Dumfries and Galloway town, Anne and Ross got the call from their local controller: "You're on standby for Lockerbie."


At the time of the disaster, Anne and Ross, along with friends Tom Stewart and William Jamieson were all keen radio enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s.
And they were all members of Ayrshire's Raynet chapter.
"You worked away, doing exercises for the council and road races, but you always had in the back of your mind, there could come a general emergency," said Ross.
He had been involved in the group for a couple of years at the time but added: "You never imagined something like Lockerbie."
Pan Am 103 was flying from Heathrow to New York when a bomb exploded in the skies above the town, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board – as well as 11 people on the ground.
It remains the biggest terror attack to have taken place on British soil.

RaynetAs part of the search and rescue efforts, hundreds of volunteers arrived at the scene to help – including many from Raynet.
Their expertise – and equipment – was desperately needed.
Ross said: "Strathclyde Police radios had their own frequency.
"Dumfries and Galloway Police had a separate one.
"Every police service had their own, as did ambulance services, so they couldn't communicate with one another."
Each search party at Lockerbie was teamed with a Raynet operator who would send messages back to Lockerbie Academy, the disaster control room.
They accompanied search and rescue dogs, air accident investigation units, the FBI, and the police.
Volunteer Tom, who had been in the fire service for 10 years, made the call to Anne, Ross and William to tell them to report to the scene the following morning.

RaynetAnne and Ross were both stationed at Tundergarth, in the field where the plane's nose cone lay.
"I still remember the press, with huge lenses, leaning over the fence, trying to get pictures of them bringing the bodies out," said Anne.
"That horrified me, I just thought these people deserve a wee bit of respect."
While Tom was used to scenes of emergency from his time in the fire service, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
"The devastation, it was horrendous," he said.
"For other members of the group that didn't have that background, it was harder."
Tom's main role was with search and rescue dog teams, which had been tasked with searching for bodies and collecting debris and evidence from the crash.
"I can still remember the Chinook helicopters flying above.
"They were bringing out body bags and rescue equipment.
"We sent messages back, and the helicopter came with bags, and they came and took them away."
For William, one of the most striking moments was passing on the message that his team had found evidence of an explosion.
"We came across a baggage container, and from the damage to the container, they knew instantly there was a bomb.
"I was asked if I could radio in saying we had found evidence of a bomb, but because the press were there, they were going to be listening, and I advised them I couldn't send that message because it would be on the telly before we even got back.
"We changed it to asking for an urgent recovery of that item."
Earlier this year, William returned to Lockerbie for the first time in almost 38 years to pay his respects.
"I'd always meant to go back, but I've never been, because it does bring up memories," he said.
William, who was 22 at the time, said one of his most harrowing memories was finding a passenger still in their seat.
"To find something like that and knowing there was nothing you could do to help them, it was certainly upsetting."
Tom, who returned with his three friends, still struggles with what he experienced.
"I'd still never seen anything on that scale.
"I can still remember seeing people's letters and personal belongings and thinking that was someone's son, someone's daughter."
Anne said: "I'm proud that I managed to have a wee bit of input.
"But there were a lot of people who did a lot more than we did."

Getty ImagesAll four feel the role of volunteers needs to be acknowledged.
Search and rescue teams and their dogs, the Salvation Army, the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, and locals from the town were all involved.
"They gave their free time willingly at Lockerbie and went back home and yet nobody knows of them," Ross said.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston from Police Scotland's organised crime, counter terrorism and intelligence unit has thanked Raynet for the role they played.
He told BBC Scotland: "The assistance Raynet provided the police and other emergency services in the aftermath of the darkest day Lockerbie has ever endured will never be forgotten.
"We are grateful for their support and expertise that afforded vital communications between emergency services at such a critical time.
"Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in 1988 and who continue to show incredible dignity and strength."
Additional reporting by Charles Ross.
If there are issues you would like to see covered, you can get in touch via BBC Your Voice.


法国总统马克龙选择出访沙特的机会宣布打造新一代核动力航母,2038年取代现役戴高乐号。
打造新一代航母的决定几日前作出,为何选在沙特宣布?因为法国与沙特在国防工业领域一直密切合作。而且沙特是法国达梭航空公司最大的客户,装备了大批阵风战机,另外,法国正在考虑把沙特纳入欧洲未来战机开发计划,这一未来战机开发成本评估1000亿欧元,本应法德西联合开发,但因达梭集团要求更高的自主权而争执不下,万一德国退出,法国很可能与沙特联合开发,这样,新一代航母装备未来战机和F5标准的阵风战机,构成未来的“海天砥柱”。
法国的出发点是,形势严峻,不得不防,马克龙在沙特阿拉伯如此表述:“这是掠食者的时刻,我们必须强大才能让人畏惧,尤其在海上要特别强大。”
掠食者,指的是谁,首当其冲,应是在欧洲大门前作乱的俄罗斯,不止是俄罗斯,马克龙没有点明。
联合国五常之一的法国,如同整个欧盟,愈来愈有夹在美中两大国之间的压迫感,美国,这个昔日最密切的盟友,在其最新的安全计划里,将欧洲视为正在衰退的文明,对传统盟友、对北约的指责极其严厉,对中俄则放过一码。
中国的物品正在排山倒海般向欧洲倾泻,一个世纪以来欧洲引以为傲的支柱性产业---汽车工业,正在面临这个突然崛起的汽车大国的冲击。欧洲为什么对中国的贸易冲击害怕?因为中国并不太遵守游戏规则。而特朗普的美国正在破坏自己战后建立的国际秩序。
法国一直意识到欧洲国防独立的必要性,希拉克时期就提出建立一个强大的欧洲国防,并未得到响应,几年来马克龙一直为此呼吁,即使在俄罗斯侵乌的严峻背景下,建立独立的欧洲国防仍困难重重。
欧洲国防前途未卜,法国未雨绸缪,这就是马克龙所谓的“掠食者正猖獗”言论的要旨所在,同时也为法国加码投资国防做舆论准备。
战后八十年在和平富裕繁荣中浸泡的人们,永远难以满足的消费欲望,要拿钱去准备打仗?很容易被反对派炒作。然而,普京要吞并乌克兰的野心,终于把欧洲的和平气氛彻底败坏,相信战争会发生的人一天天增多。法国三军参谋长法比安·曼东将军甚至提出与俄罗斯“三四年后发生冲突”的风险,法国明年起推出为期10个月的志愿兵役制,应时而生。而造一艘更大的航母似乎显得理所应当。
尽管法国政府此刻陷入预算僵局,但这一项目正式启动了。爱丽舍宫表示,此次启动将使所有项目实施所需合同得以签订。马克龙强调,他将向800家项目供应商“保证履行承诺”,并明确表示将于2026年2月前往施工现场视察。
马克龙说:“这艘新航母将彰显法国的实力——工业实力、技术实力,以及为海洋自由和时代洪流服务的力量”。
这将是一艘什么样的航母?根据已知信息,新航母仍将配备核动力推进系统,目前全球只有美国和法国拥有核动力系统,该系统不仅能保障航母在海上长久航行,无需补给燃料,还能为舰上所有设备提供能源,包括用于阵风战斗机起飞的弹射器。
新航母的吨位远超“戴高乐”号,排水量将达8万吨,戴高乐号仅为42000吨,长261.5米、宽64.3米,而新航母全长310米、宽85米,可搭载2000名水兵,配备由40架战斗机组成的“舰载航空联队”,包括F5标准的阵风战斗机、正在联合研发的新一代战机(NGF),E-2C鹰眼预警机和NH90直升机,以及维护设施、生活区、防护系统(防空导弹系统、机枪、火炮)等。
新一代航母的重大变革在于,它将采用电磁弹射器取代现有的蒸汽弹射器。电磁弹射系统的主要优势在于占地面积更小,且能更精确地调节战斗机的弹射功率——战机可在75米距离内(相当于“戴高乐”号航母的起飞甲板长度)从静止加速至250公里/小时。
新一代航母还将搭载无人机,其作战用途在法国海军行动中正日益普及。NGF的“伴飞无人机”,甚至阵风战斗机的衍生机型---一种新型无人机,都已纳入未来舰载航空兵的装备清单。
尼日利亚总统府发言人周日(12月21日)宣布,11月21日在该国中北部一所天主教寄宿学校遭武装分子绑架的130名学生已全部获释。
法新社报道,总统府发言人桑迪·达雷在社交平台X上表示,“在尼日尔州被绑架的约130名学生已经获释,目前已无人在押”,并配发了一张孩子们面带笑容的照片。联合国一名消息人士向法新社证实,这些学生将于周一被转送至尼日尔州首府米纳。
本月初,该校在同一夜间袭击中被绑走的约100名学生已先行获释。
11月21日,数百名学生和教职员工在尼日尔州偏远村庄帕皮里的一所寄宿学校——圣玛丽学校——遭到绑架。当时,尼日利亚正遭遇新一轮大规模绑架事件,此前2014年极端组织博科圣地曾在奇博克绑架近300名女学生。
近年来,除自2009年以来持续活跃在东北部的圣战叛乱外,尼日利亚西北部和中部还频繁发生由犯罪团伙发动的袭击、掠夺和绑架事件。这些团伙通常被称为“土匪”,其动机更多出于经济利益,而非意识形态。
自该校遇袭以来,被绑架人数以及仍被扣押人员的具体数字一度说法不一。
安全形势紧张
尼日利亚基督教协会表示,共有315名学生和教职员工被绑走,其中约50人成功逃脱。该校所属教区曾在12月7日百余名学生获释后表示,仍有约165人下落不明。
截至目前,绑匪身份尚未公布,学生获释的具体方式也未对外披露。
大规模绑架在尼日利亚屡见不鲜,多由以索取赎金为目的的犯罪团伙实施。11月短短15天内,尼日利亚多地发生绑架事件,逾400人被掳走,案件频发引发广泛关注。
这一轮绑架潮促使总统蒂努布于11月底宣布全国进入安全紧急状态,并下令增招警察和军人,以加强对武装团伙的打击。
作为非洲人口最多的国家,尼日利亚约有2.3亿人口,北部以穆斯林为主,南部以基督徒居多,当前整体安全形势持续恶化。
美国官员周日(12月21日)向路透社表示,美国海岸警卫队正在委内瑞拉附近的国际水域追踪一艘油轮。若行动成功,这将是不到两周内的第三次相关行动。美方称,被追踪的油轮涉嫌协助委内瑞拉规避制裁,属于受制裁的“影子船队”。
路透社援引一名美国官员的话称,该油轮悬挂虚假国旗,并已被纳入司法扣押令的适用范围。
另一名官员补充说,这艘油轮已处于制裁之下,但目前尚未被登船检查;拦截行动可采取多种形式,包括近距离航行或飞行监控。
英国海事风险管理机构Vanguard与一名美国海事安全消息人士确认,被追踪船只为“Bella 1”号原油运输船,已被列入美国财政部制裁名单。
据TankerTrackers.com称,“Bella 1”号在周日接近委内瑞拉时处于空载状态。根据委内瑞拉国家石油公司(PDVSA)的内部文件,该船曾于2021年将委内瑞拉原油运往中国;船舶监测服务还显示,该船此前也曾运输伊朗原油。
特朗普加大对委内瑞拉施压
美国总统特朗普上周宣布,对所有进出委内瑞拉、且处于制裁之下的油轮实施“封锁”。
特朗普政府对委内瑞拉总统马杜罗的施压措施包括加强该地区的军事存在,并在委内瑞拉附近的太平洋和加勒比海对船只发动二十多次军事打击,已造成至少100人死亡。
白宫国家经济委员会主任哈塞特周日在电视采访中表示,最先被扣押的两艘油轮从事黑市交易,并向受制裁国家供应石油。
哈塞特在美国哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)《面对国家》节目中说:“美国民众不必担心这些扣押行动会推高油价。这只是少数几艘船,而且它们本就是黑市船只。”
不过,一名石油交易员向路透社表示,当亚洲市场周一开盘时,这些行动仍可能对油价形成轻微上行压力。
英国首相斯塔默周日(12月21日)与美国总统特朗普通电话,讨论推动结束乌克兰战争、实现“公正且持久和平”的外交努力。
英国首相府周日发表声明称,两位领导人在通话中首先就俄乌战争形势交换了看法。斯塔默向特朗普介绍了“志愿者联盟”的工作进展。该联盟由多个向乌克兰提供支持的国家组成,目标是为达成和平协议创造条件,并确保战争能够以公正、可持续的方式结束。
斯塔默强调,“志愿者联盟”正致力于为未来的和平安排提供支持,以推动停火并防止冲突再度升级。
声明称,斯塔默与特朗普在通话中讨论了中东局势,并谈及英国新任驻美国大使彼得·特纳的任命。斯塔默表示,这一任命将有助于进一步深化英美两国的双边关系。
美国谈判代表周六在迈阿密与俄罗斯代表团举行会晤,寻求就乌克兰问题达成和平协议。此前一天,欧洲多国领导人也与乌克兰方面进行接触,希望推动结束这场自2022年2月爆发的战争。
英国首相府表示,斯塔默与特朗普同意在不久的将来再次通话,继续就相关议题保持密切沟通。
中国计划在伦敦兴建新的驻英使馆,其总建筑面积预计将超过美国驻英使馆,成为欧洲规模最大的外国使馆之一。除新使馆扩建案外,中国在英国不断扩大的外交存在,也正引发英方舆论和政界关注。英国政府预计最迟于明年1月20日前,就是否批准中国新使馆建案作出决定。
中央社报道,根据英国外交部公布并持续更新的各国驻英使馆资料,中国目前仅在伦敦、具正式外交身份的派驻人员就多达142人,人数仅次于美国。这一数字尚未包括中国在曼彻斯特、爱丁堡和贝尔法斯特的领事馆人员。而中国驻英使馆在伦敦共有7处正式登记的办公地点。国防、科技、经贸、文化、教育和领务等部门分散设于不同地点。
英国媒体"泰晤士报"近日刊发调查报道指出,中国正持续扩大在英国的外交布局。通过梳理英国外交部历年记录发现,过去5年间,中国平均约每两个月就有一名新的驻英人员到任。
报道称,中国政府在伦敦购置了多处房产,其中不少并未登记为外交馆舍,但经常可见悬挂外交车牌的车辆出入。按该报统计,中国政府通过使馆体系在英国直接持有的房产约有50处。
针对部分议员对中国新使馆规模过大的质疑,英国内政大臣库珀表示,中方拟将目前分散在伦敦各地的使馆办公地点集中设置,并统一规划驻伦敦人员及其家属的居住设施,这是新使馆规模庞大的主要原因之一。
此外,中国新使馆项目多次被质疑可能成为情报活动和跨境打压的“超级基地”。相关设计图中,一些内部区域被涂黑遮蔽,中方拒绝向英方说明这些区域的具体用途,进一步加剧外界疑虑。
在多次推迟后,英国政府目前预计最迟于明年1月20日前,就是否批准中国新使馆建案作出决定。针对今年12月再次延后裁决的原因,英国首相府曾回应称,延期与“安全考量”有关。
迈阿密俄乌停火磋商取得阶段性进展。美国和乌克兰代表团21日表示,在佛罗里达州迈阿密举行的新一轮磋商“富有成效且具建设性”。乌克兰总统泽连斯基同日称,乌美双方就安全保障及战后重建文件进行了深入讨论,并逐条审议相关条款。此次会谈有欧洲盟友参与,旨在推动结束俄乌战争。
法新社报道,根据美乌双方周日发表的联合声明,过去三天,乌克兰代表团与美国及欧洲伙伴在佛罗里达州迈阿密举行了一系列“富有成效且具建设性的会议”。声明由美国总统特朗普的特使威特科夫及乌克兰首席谈判代表、国防部长乌梅罗夫在社交平台X上共同发布。
乌克兰总统泽连斯基周日也表示,乌克兰与美国之间的新一轮磋商取得了建设性进展。他在社交媒体上称,双方围绕安全保障以及战后重建的相关文件展开讨论,并逐条研究了条款细节。
泽连斯基表示,期待听取乌梅罗夫等谈判代表就磋商成果作出的汇报,强调此次对话对推动乌克兰的和平进程以及实现长期稳定“具有重要意义”。
乌梅罗夫率领的乌克兰谈判代表团周日继续在美国与美方代表进行磋商,重点讨论结束俄乌战争的路径及相关安排。
乌克兰方面周日(12月21日)表示,乌克兰谈判代表将在美国佛罗里达州的迈阿密再次与美方代表举行会谈;与此同时,美方也在同一城市分别会见俄罗斯特使,就乌克兰冲突可能的政治解决途径展开磋商。 俄罗斯周日明确表示,俄方目前“尚未准备”举行俄罗斯、美国和乌克兰的三方会谈。
法新社报道,乌克兰首席谈判代表、国防部长乌梅罗夫在迈阿密表示:“谈判进入第三天。周日,将与乌克兰武装部队总参谋长安德里·赫纳托夫一道,再次与美方举行会晤。”乌梅罗夫于周五抵达迈阿密,当天即启动相关谈判。
与此同时,由美国总统特朗普的特使威特科夫以及其女婿库什纳率领的美方代表团,也在迈阿密与俄罗斯代表基里尔·德米特里耶夫举行会谈。这是双方本周末的第二次接触。德米特里耶夫表示,会谈“以建设性的方式进行”。
乌克兰总统泽连斯基周六呼吁华盛顿加大对莫斯科的施压。他表示:“美国必须明确表态:如果不存在外交途径,就应施加全面压力。”泽连斯基强调,只有美国有能力说服俄罗斯停止这场已持续近四年的战争。
普京称“准备与马克龙对话”
与此前在日内瓦、迈阿密和柏林举行的美乌会谈相比,此轮磋商的显著变化是欧洲方面直接参与相关讨论。
俄罗斯总统普京表示,愿与法国总统马克龙展开对话。法国总统府周日对此作出积极回应,称克里姆林宫公开释放接触意愿“值得欢迎”,并表示法方将在未来几天内评估以何种方式推进相关接触。
法新社称,近几周来,围绕结束俄乌冲突的外交接触明显加快。泽连斯基表示,乌美双方在修改美国一个多月前提出的和平方案方面已取得“进展”。该方案最初被乌方视为明显偏向俄罗斯。方案的具体内容尚未公开,但泽连斯基透露,新版本可能涉及乌克兰在领土问题上作出让步,以换取西方提供的安全保障。
美国国务卿鲁比奥承诺,任何协议都不会被强加给乌克兰或俄罗斯。
乌东北部战事再起
在战场方面,乌克兰军方周日通报称,正在苏梅州边境地区阻击俄军试图实施的突破行动。乌方指控,俄军此前曾在该地区非法将平民转移至俄罗斯境内。乌克兰军方表示,格拉博夫斯克村目前仍在发生交火,并否认俄军已进入邻近的里亚斯涅村。
乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基周日表示,从俄罗斯的军事行动来看,局势并未出现任何积极变化,俄军持续沿前线发动进攻、在边境地区实施战争罪行,并持续打击乌克兰基础设施。
泽连斯基指出,仅在过去一周内,俄罗斯就对乌克兰发动约1300次无人机袭击,投放近1200枚制导炸弹,并发射9枚不同类型的导弹,受打击最为严重的地区集中在南部,尤其是黑海沿岸港口城市敖德萨。
Nigerian authorities say they have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, after 100 were freed earlier this month.
“Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said on X, in a post accompanied by a photo of smiling children.
In late November, gunmen kidnapped hundreds of students and staff from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in the country’s north-central Niger state.
Nigeria has recently seen a new wave of mass abductions, reminiscent of the kidnapping of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok by the militant group Boko Haram in 2014.
A UN source said the remaining schoolchildren would be taken to Minna, the capital of Niger state, on Tuesday.
The exact number of people taken and how many have remained in captivity has been unclear since the kidnapping in the rural hamlet of Papiri.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that a total of 315 students and staff were kidnapped. Some 50 escaped immediately afterwards, and on 7 December the government secured the release of about 100 more.
A statement from President Bola Tinubu then put the number of people still being held at 115 – about 50 fewer than the initial CAN figure would suggest.
It has not been made public who seized the children, or how the government secured their release.
Though kidnappings for ransom are a common way for criminals and armed groups to make money, a spate of mass abductions in Nigeria has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the country’s already grim security situation.
In November, assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers and a bride and her bridesmaids, with male farm workers, women and children also taken hostage.
The kidnappings come as Nigeria faces a diplomatic offensive from the United States, where President Donald Trump has alleged that mass killings of Christians in the west African country amount to a “genocide”.
The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject that framing, which has long been used by the Christian right in the US and Europe.
The religiously diverse country of 230 million people has myriad security concerns, from jihadists in the north-east to armed “bandit” gangs in the north-west, and its multiple conflicts have seen Christians and Muslims killed.
柬埔寨内政部周日宣布,该国与泰国持续两周的边境冲突,导致至少50万人流离失所。
稍早些时候,泰国方面表示,由于边境冲突再起,边境地带40万人无家可归。
柬埔寨内政部周日称,包括妇女和儿童,超过50万柬埔寨人为了避开泰方炮火攻击及F16战机轰炸,被迫逃离家园。柬埔寨方面公布的具体人数为518611人。
泰国国防部发言人周日则对媒体说,疏散并被安置在临时居所的人正在减少,尽管滞留在疏散中心的人仍超过20万。泰方呼吁试图返回家园的村民遵守指令:“当心地雷。”
7月间爆发的泰柬边境冲突在五日之内造成43人死亡,经过一段时间停火后,12月12日战火再起,根据双方正式公告,泰柬冲突至少造成41人死亡,其中泰国方面22人,柬埔寨方面19人。长久以来,两个东南亚王国一直为殖民时代划定的边界争执不断。
包括泰国和柬埔寨在内的东盟周一将在吉隆坡专门开会商讨解决办法,泰国和柬埔寨周日均表示这一会议对缓解边界紧张十分重要。
不过,泰国重申谈判的先决条件:金边应首先停火,并与泰方合作清除地雷。泰国政府并未保证一定能达致停火协议,政府发言人称,停火取决于泰国军队对前线形势的评估。
柬埔寨外交部则表示,东盟特别会议旨在缓解紧张,恢复“和平、稳定、睦邻”的双边关系。
10月底,美国总统特朗普曾宣布在他的主持下泰柬双方签署了停火协议,不过,曼谷方面不久便中止这一协议。
美国国务卿卢比奥周五表示希望泰柬两国周一至周二之间恢复停火。中国方面也派出亚洲事务特使邓锡军奔赴金边和曼谷斡旋。
据柬埔寨外交部称,邓锡军特使在金边会见了洪马内首相,并呼吁双方停火。