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BBCGermany has accused Russia of a cyber-attack on air traffic control and attempted electoral interference, and summoned the Russian ambassador.
A foreign ministry spokesman said Russian military intelligence was behind a "cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024".
The spokesman also accused Russia of seeking to influence and destabilise the country's federal election in February this year.
The spokesman said that Germany, in close co-ordination with its European partners, would respond with counter-measures to make Russia "pay a price for its hybrid actions".
There was no immediate response from Russia.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
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Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesUkraine is running out of cash to keep its military and its economy going, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.
For Europe, the solution to plugging Kyiv's budget hole of €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) for the next two years lies in frozen Russian assets sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear and EU leaders hope to sign that off at their Brussels summit next week.
Russian officials warn the EU plan would be an act of theft and Russia's central bank announced on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court even before a final decision is made.
In total, Russia has about €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.
The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a "reparations loan" and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn.
"It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours," says Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks".
Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.
Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could "destabilise the international financial system".
Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country.
Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesThe EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.
Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.
But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.
There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.
One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military.
That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.
The EU's executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.
The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.
Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU.
If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.
In a key development, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely.
Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.
The EU ambassadors are set to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "immediate threat to the economic interests of the union" continues.
Belgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.
A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues and having talks with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday.
"Belgium is a small economy. Belgian GDP is about €565bn – imagine if it would need to shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University.
While the EU might be able to secure sufficient guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being exposed to extra damages or penalties.
Prof Colaert also believes the requirement for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations.
"Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Now the EU is telling Euroclear to do just that.
"Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear. That's another reason why it's so important for Belgium to secure water-tight guarantees for Euroclear."
There is no time to lose, warn seven EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution".
"It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do afterwards. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time".
While Russia is adamant its money should not be touched, there are added concerns among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan.
Zelensky has said Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also aware the US has been talking to Russia about future co-operation.
An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US taking 50% of the profits and Europe adding another $100bn. The remaining assets would then be used in some kind of US-Russia joint investment project.
An EU source said the added advantage of Friday's expected vote to immobilise Russia's assets indefinitely made it harder for anyone to take the money away. Implicit is that the US would then have to win over a majority of EU member states to vote for a plan that would financially cost them an enormous sum.
ABUTRICA/INSTAGRAMA popular Ghanaian social media influencer known as Abu Trica, whose real name is Frederick Kumi, has been arrested over allegations he orchestrated a romance scam that defrauded elderly Americans of over $8m (£5.9m).
Prosecutors said he used AI tools to create fake online identities, targeting victims through social media and dating sites, earning their trust then extorting their money.
Kumi faces charges in the US of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a money laundering conspiracy and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The 31-year-old was arrested in Ghana following a joint operation between the two countries and the US will now seek to extradite him.
He has not yet commented on the allegations.
Kumi, who is also known as Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng, flaunted luxury items online to his more than 100,000 Instagram followers.
This raised suspicions about the sources of his income.
''The perpetrators built trust through frequent, intimate conversations by phone, email, and messaging platforms" with victims, said prosecutors.
"They then requested money or valuables under false pretences, such as urgent medical needs, travel expenses, or investment opportunities.''
The monies, or valuables, were then directed to co-conspirators posing as third parties. Kumi allegedly distributed the money to his associates in US and in Ghana.
The case is being prosecuted under the US Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution law.
US authorities have in recent months stepped up their crackdown on criminal networks operating in the US and West Africa who seek to defraud elderly Americans.
In July this year, an alleged Ghanaian fraudster, popularly known as Dada Joe Remix, was extradited to the US for using romance and inheritance schemes to defraud Americans.
Earlier this month, a court in the US also sentenced Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian ringleader of nationwide bank fraud and money laundering conspiracies, to 20 years in prison for laundering over $2m.
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty
Getty Images/BBCGo to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
BBCA Sudanese paramilitary commander, whose role in the el-Fasher massacre was revealed by BBC Verify, has been sanctioned by the UK government.
Brig Gen Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu, was filmed shooting dead at least 10 unarmed captives after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city in late October.
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the RSF after the army withdrew from el-Fasher. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan were "a scar on the conscience of the world" which "cannot, and will not, go unpunished."
The UK has also sanctioned three other RSF commanders, including deputy head Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo.
Dagalo, who was also placed under EU sanctions in November, was shown in verified footage touring an army base in the city in the hours after el-Fasher fell. He is the brother of RSF chief Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo.
Sudan's civil war - sparked after the RSF and the military's fragile ruling coalition collapsed - has now raged for more than two years, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions more.
El-Fasher was the army's last major stronghold in Darfur, the traditional stronghold of the RSF paramilitary.
An investigation by BBC Verify revealed the brutal tactics used by the RSF during the protracted siege, which included detaining and torturing people trying to smuggle supplies into the city and building a massive sand barrier around it to prevent civilians and army troops from escaping.
In its statement announcing the sanctions, the UK foreign office said it believed that Abu Lulu was "responsible for violence against individuals based on ethnicity and religion, and the deliberate targeting of civilians".
Footage confirmed by BBC Verify in October showed Abu Lulu executing several unarmed captives with an AK-style rifle in a sandy, dusty area north-west of the city. RSF troops who witnessed the incidents were later seen celebrating their commander's actions.
UK officials accused Abu Lulu, Dagalo, Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed of carrying out "heinous" acts of violence, including mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians. The men have been placed under travel bans and any assets they hold will be frozen.
"Today's sanctions against RSF commanders strike directly at those with blood on their hands, while our strengthened aid package will deliver lifesaving support to those suffering," Cooper said.
Citing satellite images - previously published by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab - the foreign office said piles of bodies and mass graves could be seen in el-Fasher after the massacre.
Cooper also pledged an additional £21m to provide food, shelter and health services for civilians impacted by fighting in remote areas.
In the days that followed the el-Fasher massacre, RSF leader Gen Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo admitted that his troops had committed "violations" and said the incidents would be investigated.
Among those arrested was Abu Lulu. In a carefully choreographed and edited video posted on the RSF's official Telegram account he is shown being led into a cell at a prison, which was geolocated by BBC Verify to the outskirts of el-Fasher.
The commander, who previously featured heavily in propaganda videos posted online, has not been seen since his arrest. A TikTok account that documented his activities was removed by the company in October after BBC Verify approached the tech giant for comment.
The UK's move comes just two days after the US announced its own set of sanctions against a network of companies and individuals it accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers and training individuals to fight in Sudan's civil war.
The US Treasury Department said that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries have travelled to Sudan since 2024, including to serve as infantry and drone pilots for the RSF.
Last month, US President Donald Trump pledged to "start working on Sudan" alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, posting on social media that "tremendous atrocities" were taking place.
Republicans’ failure to get on the same page on expiring Obamacare subsidies is creating significant rifts between GOP primary contenders and causing heartburn for some of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents heading into November’s midterms.
With just weeks left before Covid-era subsidies lapse, causing steep health insurance rate spikes for millions of people, Republicans are all over the spectrum about what to do — with many of the party’s top candidates ducking when asked about the thorny issue.
In Michigan, the subsidies have emerged as an early policy difference between President Donald Trump-backed Senate candidate Mike Rogers and his new challenger, former state GOP co-chair Bernadette Smith. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) proposal to replace the subsidies with federally funded health savings accounts is facing pushback from his primary opponents. In Georgia, a state with an especially high reliance on the Affordable Care Act, all three Republicans vying to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff have refused to commit to any specific health care proposal — a sign of just how reluctant Republicans are to take a firm position.
Out of the 24 candidates POLITICO surveyed across key GOP Senate primaries and general election battlegrounds, 10 did not respond to repeated requests for comment on their health care policy preferences, while others gave vague answers.
But as some Republicans dodge, other lawmakers in tough races are practically begging their leadership to fix the issue, which Democrats are already making a key focus of the 2026 midterm elections.
“I know my people back home care tremendously about this,” swing district Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who is leading an effort to go against his own party leaders and force a vote on the expiring credits, said in an interview. “I would assume that’s the case in every district in America.”
There are already warning signs of political pitfalls for Republicans.
Most Americans want Congress to extend the subsidies, polls from health policy think tank KFF and Morning Consult show. And they’re already feeling the strain: Fifty-two percent of respondents to The POLITICO Poll in November reported that their health insurance premiums have risen over the past two to three years — and they’re equally as worried about being able to afford an unexpected health care bill. Nearly half of respondents who said health care is difficult to afford blamed the Trump administration for those struggles.
Health care is a flashpoint in the crowded primary Cassidy is facing back in Louisiana that was fueled in large part by his 2021 vote to impeach Trump. The former physician also chairs the Senate Health Committee and co-authored one of the GOP proposals to try to address the surging rates.
“I want people to have coverage,” Cassidy said after the failed vote on his proposal. “I spent my medical career in a hospital for the underinsured and the poor and the uninsured. My life's work is: How do you get care to those who otherwise cannot afford it? I understand where people are. The Democratic plan does not.”
His bill failed to advance Thursday afternoon — while giving his primary opponents new fodder for attacks.
St. Tammany Parish Councilmember Kathy Seiden said before the vote that the senator’s proposed health savings accounts are “out of touch” and called for a “time-limited extension” of the subsidies, while Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta described Cassidy’s bill as a “step in the right direction” but said he wants the funding to be “supercharged.”
Republicans more worried about the general election than primaries sound much different on this issue, however.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who are both facing potentially tough races, were among the four Republicans who crossed party lines to support Democrats’ three-year subsidy extension Thursday in the Senate. It failed, alongside Cassidy’s plan.
“My state’s hurting on this,” Sullivan said after both bills tanked.
Republicans have struggled ever since Obamacare’s 2010 passage to craft a functional, politically palatable alternative, even as health insurance rates have surged under the program. Now, Covid-era subsidies are set to expire, and they’re struggling once again to respond.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates 4 million fewer people would have health insurance by 2034 if the subsidies lapse. And premium payments would increase from an average of $888 this year to $1,904 next year if the subsidies expire, according to KFF.
Republican candidates vary widely in their suggestions for a policy fix.
In Michigan, where Republicans are looking to flip retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ seat, Rogers said “we can’t just put another bandaid” on a “broken health care system” and called for a “new system that works.” Smith advocated for a two-year subsidy extension while also working toward a new health care model.
In New Hampshire, where Republicans are chasing another retiring Democrat’s seat, former Sen. John E. Sununu called to modernize “outdated” regulations and give states more power over their Medicaid programs while ensuring lower-income people are “protected against price spikes.” His rival, former Sen. Scott Brown, said in a statement that “any meaningful solution is going to have to address the underlying cost drivers … and not just temporarily subsidize an unaffordable product.”
In Georgia, where Republicans have their best shot to unseat a Democratic incumbent, two of the three leading GOP candidates — Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter — could soon run out of rope to avoid addressing the issue if a health plan hits the House floor. Derek Dooley, the former football coach backed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, said in a statement, “We should be focused on transparency, incentivizing doctors to deliver high-quality care, real market competition, and lowering healthcare costs for hardworking Americans—while making sure we put patients first.”
Democrats are yoking GOP candidates to the lapsing subsidies. Senate Democratic campaigns lambasted their GOP opponents for their votes Thursday, and Protect Our Care, a liberal health care advocacy group, signaled a deluge of attack ads to come.
“I’m worried about my colleagues,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican who holds a safe red seat in blue New Jersey, said Wednesday at the Capitol. “Do I think this issue is worth a couple of points in an election? Yeah, I do.”
Erin Doherty contributed to this report.
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欧盟各国周五达成一致，自2026年7月1日起，将对进口的小包裹征收3欧元的税款，这一措施是为了遏制廉价的中国商品涌入欧洲市场。
根据欧盟理事会发言人的说法，对小包裹征税的具体方式如下：
- 所有包裹最低征收3欧元税费
- 若包裹内有多件相同商品（例如多件T恤），则仅征收一次税费
- 若包裹内有多种不同商品（例如一条牛仔裤和一件T恤），则每件商品需缴纳3欧元税费。
代表 27 个成员国的欧盟理事会强调称：“这项临时措施是为了应对当前这些包裹免征关税进入欧盟的情况，目前的情况给欧洲卖家带来了不公平的竞争，给消费者的健康和安全带来了风险，导致欺诈行为猖獗，并引发了对环境的担忧，”。
2024年，约有46亿件价值低于150欧元的包裹进入欧洲市场，相当于每秒超过145件。其中九成多来自中国。
虽然征税措施适用于来自欧盟以外所有国家的包裹，但其主要目的还是打击涌入欧洲的大量低价中国产品，因为这些产品往往不符合欧洲标准。是在希音、Temu和全球速卖通（AliExpress）等亚洲电商平台上购买的。
大量免税进口包裹的涌入正日益受到欧洲生产商和零售商的谴责，他们认为这是一种不公平竞争。
此外，抵达欧洲机场和港口的包裹数量如此庞大，以至于海关官员常常无法核实其合规性。在这种情况下，很难在危险品或假冒产品到达消费者手中之前将其拦截。
一场由法国领导的战役
力主在欧盟推进这一改革的法国经济部长Roland Lescure在欧盟通过征税措施后表示： “对小包裹征收统一关税是欧盟的一项重大胜利”。在因销售儿童性玩偶和A 类武器而引发丑闻后，法国正与中国电商巨头希音展开寄来博弈，并在此事上处于领先地位。
事实上，这项措施已被纳入关税同盟（欧洲海关体系）改革的计划之中，但这一改革原定要到2028年才会生效。因此，欧盟各国经济部长在布鲁塞尔就一项过渡性措施达成一致，该措施将从7月1日起实施，直到永久性解决方案实施为止。永久性解决方案应与海关改革同时实施或先于海关改革实施。
法国曾向合作伙伴提出征收“固定税额”，即固定税费，而非欧盟委员会建议的比例税。最终，巴黎主张的、更具威慑力的方案获得了批准。
第一步
不过，这项措施要到明年7月才会生效，而巴黎方面原本主张在明年第一季度就实施生效。
一位欧洲外交官事先解释说，建立过渡性系统“并非易事，因为必须利用现有资源，来完成这项工作”，同时还要等待数据平台的建立。
对小包裹征税仅仅是欧盟应对中国商品涌入的第一步：从2026年11月起，欧盟还将对价值低于150欧元的包裹征收处理费。布鲁塞尔方面在5月份提议将这些费用设定为每个包裹2欧元。
税金将作为管控措施的经费，欧盟认为，这笔资金将与关税收入一起，有助于重新平衡欧洲产品与“中国制造”产品之间的竞争环境。此外，包括法国和意大利在内的多个欧盟成员国已经宣布将在自己国家层面实施此类处理费。
（德国之声中文网）2024年，约有价值46亿欧元的单个价值低于150欧元的包裹抵达欧盟市场。其中，91%来自中国。
早在去年11月，欧盟各国财长已经在原则上达成一致，取消小包裹免税的规定，并“尽快”予以落实。最初的计划是2028年才会实施。但特别是在法国的压力下，自明年起就将实施如今达成的临时方案。
对于小包裹无法按通常的关税规定征收，因为对海关部门来说负担过重。通常的规定下，税率因产品种类、细分类以及进口国各有不同。
如今的新规则对每件价值150欧元的包裹都征收3欧元关税。如果一个包裹内有多件同一产品，也仍征收3欧元关税。但如果有多种产品，则每种额外征收3欧元。
法国经济部长莱斯屈尔此前强调，对于在欧洲城市“交税”的商铺来说，这些小包裹构成“不公平竞争”。法国目前正与电商平台希音因销售“儿童色情玩偶”及武器的事件交涉。
欧盟贸易专员塞夫科维奇（Maros Sefcovic）也对尽快落实该规定表示支持。他向欧盟各国财长致函称，此前的时间表“与事态的紧急程度不相称”。这一“扭曲竞争”必须“立即得到解决”。
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© 2025年德国之声版权声明：本文所有内容受到著作权法保护，如无德国之声特别授权，不得擅自使用。任何不当行为都将导致追偿，并受到刑事追究。
（德国之声中文网）印度将加快向中国商务人士发放签证。两名印度官员周五（12月12日）对路透社记者表示，其审批时间将缩短至一个月以内。这是中印两国改善双边关系的重要一步。
两名官员说，印度总理莫迪正谨慎重启与北京的关系。背景是美国对印度实施惩罚性关税。官员表示，新德里已经取消一层行政审查流程，签证审批速度因此显著提升。
印中两国在 2020 年中期曾在喜马拉雅边境发生冲突。之后印度几乎阻断所有中国公民的访问。印度还将商务签证的审查范围扩大到内政、外交等部门。
其中一名知情官员表示，与签证相关的问题现在已经全部解决。这名官员说：“我们已经取消行政审查环节。我们会在四周内完成商务签证处理流程。”
两名官员均要求匿名。
印度外交部及其他相关部门均未回复路透社记者置评请求。
中印2000公里边境, 12万平方公里纠纷：中印边界总长近2000公里，另外还有12万平方公里的区域存在领土纠纷。有领土纠纷的边界涉及西段（600公里）、中段（450公里）和东段（650公里）3个部分。2020年5月，中印在锡金北部发生冲突（中段）；6月16日，中印在拉达克的巴勒万河谷（西段）发生士兵肢体冲突，造成数十人伤亡，至少印方称有20名士兵死亡。麦克马洪线：马克马洪线(McMahon Line，东段线)是一条英国探险家测量印度时画下的一条英属印度同西藏之间的边界。1914年，英国外交官麦克马洪召集中、印、藏三方会议，由于中华民国不同意分割西藏的麦克马洪线、藏方未能得到事先秘议的独立转而也放弃承认麦克马红线，结果中藏均没有签署《西姆拉条约》。印度和缅甸则认为麦克马洪线是历史疆界。时至今日，中华人民共和国虽然拒绝承认麦克马洪线，但把它看作是实际控制线。1962年中印之战中，中国军队虽然一度占领了该地重镇达旺，但后来撤回到实际控制线以北。藏南（印度：阿鲁纳恰尔邦）：
藏南在印度被称为“阿鲁纳恰尔邦”（Arunachal Pradesh，东段线），面积约为6万平方公里，位于喜马拉雅山脉的南侧。它的西面是不丹，东面是缅甸，向南是印度，北边是中国的西藏。中国称该地为藏南，属于西藏自治区行政区划。不过，按照“麦克马洪线”的划分，该地属于印度，印度也实际控制该地，只是藏方以及中华民国当年均拒绝在条约上签字。中华人民共和国成立后延续这一路线。1948年，刚刚独立的印度开始派兵进入这个地区，1960年，印度完全占领了麦线以南部分，中国控制麦线以北。1972年，印度在该地成立阿鲁纳恰尔中央直辖区，1987年，该区改为“阿鲁纳恰尔邦”。
锡金问题：英国于1887年强占锡金国，次年出兵西藏。1950年，独立之后的印度称为锡金的保护国，1975年正式将其纳为“锡金邦”。2003年，印度总理瓦杰帕伊访问中国后，北京承认新德里对锡金的主权，同时印度亦承认中国对西藏主权。2005年之后中国出版的地图上已不再将锡金标注成主权国家。1962年中印之战: 印度总理尼赫鲁大败：1960年4月，中印两国政府为寻求解决领土争端，由中国总理周恩来与印度总理尼赫鲁在新德里会谈，但未取得共识。1962年中印边境战争爆发。中国军队当年10月20日从边境的东西两处同时发起进攻时，兵力是印度军队的5至10倍。中国军队当时一直深入到印度今天的阿鲁纳恰尔邦省和喜马拉雅地区。整个战争延续了一个月，总共造成2000人丧生。1962年11月20日，中国单方宣布停火，并撤至麦克马洪线后20公里处。战争之后中印关系因边界冲突走入低谷。中印关系改善，甘地总理开启总理互访：1988年12月19日至23日，印度总理拉吉夫·甘地对中国进行正式访问并与邓小平会晤。这是34年来印度总理首次访问中国。这次访问被看作是中印关系经过多年的紧张期之后开始转暖的标志。1993年，印度总理拉奥（ Narasimha Rao）访华期间，双方签署了《关于在中印边境实际控制线地区保持和平与安宁的协定》。这次访问标志着中印关系开启了一个新的时代。自上世纪九十年代以来，中印双方共签署了5个有关和平解决边境冲突的协定。特别代表会晤机制，习莫频繁会晤：自2003年中印建立边界问题特别代表会晤机制以来，双方已举行22轮特代会晤。印方的特别代表是国家安全顾问，中方最高代表则多为外交部长。中国国家主席习近平同印度总理莫迪之间的互动相当频繁。2017年中印洞朗地区对峙：占地约100平方公里的洞朗（Doklam）是中国和不丹之间存有争议的地区，印度也从未对该地宣示过主权。2017年6月，印度以“接到不丹政府的求助”、“支持不丹主权”为由，派兵越过中印边界，阻止中国在那里修筑公路，形成同中国军队长达71天的对峙。不丹是中国14个邻国中唯一一个没有与中国建交的国家，其国家的外交权和防务权掌握在印度手中。2014年莫迪以总理身份第一个访问的国家便是不丹。2020年中印冲突又起：5月5日，在位于拉达克地区的海拔四千多米的班公错湖（Pangong Tso lake，西段），中国和印度军方人员相互投掷石块、木棒、铁棍等，双方都有人员受伤。5月9日，印度锡金邦那图拉山口（中段），中印军人相互投石并发生肢体冲突，有数十人受伤。 6月16日，在加勒万河谷（Galwan valley，西段）的中印士兵冲突中，有3名印度士兵在与解放军的冲突中死亡。当天稍晚时，印度军方宣布印度士兵的死亡人数提升至20人。边境冲突导致影响商业往来
中印双边关系紧张的核心问题之一是边界争议。2020年5月，两国军队在喜马拉雅加勒万河谷发生血腥冲突，导致4名中国军人和20名印度士兵死亡。这一事件造成双边关系持续紧张数年。
印度智库“观察家研究基金会”（Observer Research Foundation）估算，更严格的审查导致印度电子制造商四年内损失 150 亿美元产能。印度需要从中国进口核心设备来生产手机。
去年路透社报道，小米等大型中国电子企业难以获得签证。
业内人士说，这些限制影响了中国企业在印度扩张的计划。太阳能产业也因缺乏熟练工人受到影响。
印度商界建议政府改善投资环境
印度总理莫迪今年8月访问了中国。这是他七年来首次访华。他与中国国家主席习近平会面，并讨论改善关系的方式。
随后，两国恢复了直航。这是自 2020 年以来的首次恢复。
一项由前内阁秘书拉吉夫·高巴（Rajiv Gauba）领导的高级别委员会提出放宽政策。他现在是印度政府顶级智库成员。该委员会也建议放宽对中国投资的限制，以改善外资环境。
印度移动与电子行业协会主席潘卡吉·莫欣德鲁（Pankaj Mohindroo）说：“我们欢迎政府加快审批与印度接壤国家的技术签证。这个决定反映出合作态度，也显示政府采纳了我们的建议。”
他补充说，这些变化发生在关键时刻。印度正在扩大从成品到零部件及组装件的生产能力。
特朗普关税政策促进中印关系回暖
随着美国总统特朗普对印度商品征收 50% 关税——其中包括因印度购买俄罗斯石油而额外征收 25% 惩罚性关税，印中关系出现回暖。
在此背景下，印度调整外交策略。印度重新修复与中国的关系，同时加强与俄罗斯的联系，并继续与美国谈判贸易协议。
莫迪加强促进增长的措施，改善外资环境，包括对来自中国的商业合作。
印度还削减消费税并放宽劳动法规，以吸引外国投资者。
上述官员之一表示：“我们正在谨慎放松对中国的一些限制。我们希望这能改善整体商业环境。”
在周五的例行记者会上，中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆表示，中方注意到这一积极举措，“中方愿同印方保持沟通与协商，不断提升两国人员往来便利化水平”。
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欧盟27个成员国将在今天（12月12日，周五）批准一项冻结俄罗斯在欧洲资产的决定。对此法国外长称，将俄罗斯在欧洲的、约2000亿欧元资产冻结，“直至必要时间为止”，是欧盟做出的一项“重大决定”。
在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之初，这些俄罗斯资产就被冻结了六个月，冻结到期后，可再续期六个月，但前提是欧盟27个成员国国家都要同意。
法国外长巴罗在法国新闻电台上解释说：“这意味着，如果某个国家提出异议，俄罗斯可以随时收回其资金，我们想要的是欧洲和欧洲人民的安全”。他还补充说：“这就是我们今天做出这项决定的目标，这是一项重大决定，无疑将改变这场战争的进程，并加速和平进程”。
据外长称，这些资产将被冻结，“直至俄罗斯停止侵略战争并向欧洲支付赔款”。他还强调，这将防止“欧洲人以外的其他人”代表欧洲人决定“这些资金的命运”。他指的是，特朗普政府曾考虑将这些资产用于有利于美国公司的投资。
法国外长巴罗还评论说，这项无限期冻结为进一步援助乌克兰打开了大门，“包括制定一项目前正在布鲁塞尔激烈讨论的融资方案，该方案有望在下周结束前达成协议，如果战争继续下去，这将使乌克兰至少在两年内免受任何困难的影响。”
周四（12月11日），担任欧盟轮值主席国的丹麦宣布，欧盟27个成员国实际上已经在当天决定将构成冻结基础的对莫斯科制裁永久化。该决定将在今天经过书面程序后得到确认。 27个欧盟成员国的国家元首和政府首脑12月18日则将在布鲁塞尔举行会议，讨论乌克兰的融资计划，其中包括可能动用被冻结在欧洲的俄罗斯资产。迄今为止，欧洲方面的计划遭到了比利时的反对，因为俄罗斯央行的大部分资产都存放在比利时。
由于其他欧盟国家未能提供强有力的保证，比利时首相巴特·德·韦弗拒绝让比利时独自承担将出现的、任何问题的后果。
Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesUkraine is running out of cash to keep its military and its economy going, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.
For Europe, the solution to plugging Kyiv's budget hole of €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) for the next two years lies in frozen Russian assets sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear and EU leaders hope to sign that off at their Brussels summit next week.
Russian officials warn the EU plan would be an act of theft and Russia's central bank announced on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court even before a final decision is made.
In total, Russia has about €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.
The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a "reparations loan" and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn.
"It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours," says Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks".
Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.
Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could "destabilise the international financial system".
Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country.
Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesThe EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.
Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.
But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.
There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.
One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military.
That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.
The EU's executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.
The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.
Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU.
If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.
In a key development, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely.
Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.
The EU ambassadors are set to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "immediate threat to the economic interests of the union" continues.
Belgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.
A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues and having talks with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday.
"Belgium is a small economy. Belgian GDP is about €565bn – imagine if it would need to shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University.
While the EU might be able to secure sufficient guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being exposed to extra damages or penalties.
Prof Colaert also believes the requirement for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations.
"Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Now the EU is telling Euroclear to do just that.
"Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear. That's another reason why it's so important for Belgium to secure water-tight guarantees for Euroclear."
There is no time to lose, warn seven EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution".
"It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do afterwards. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time".
While Russia is adamant its money should not be touched, there are added concerns among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan.
Zelensky has said Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also aware the US has been talking to Russia about future co-operation.
An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US taking 50% of the profits and Europe adding another $100bn. The remaining assets would then be used in some kind of US-Russia joint investment project.
An EU source said the added advantage of Friday's expected vote to immobilise Russia's assets indefinitely made it harder for anyone to take the money away. Implicit is that the US would then have to win over a majority of EU member states to vote for a plan that would financially cost them an enormous sum.
Getty ImagesAuthor Joanna Trollope has died aged 82, her family has announced.
The writer was affectionately known as the "queen of the Aga saga" because her novels often focused on romance and intrigue in middle England.
In a statement, her daughters Louise and Antonia said their "beloved and inspirational mother" had died "peacefully at her Oxfordshire home" on Thursday.
Trollope's novels include The Rector's Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters in Law.
Trollope's literary agent James Gill said in a statement: It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
"Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and - of course - her readers."
This is a breaking news story, further updates to follow.
Getty ImagesThe cost of tickets to the World Cup final in 2026 will be seven times higher than in Qatar
The Football Association has been asked to lobby Fifa to lower the price of World Cup tickets by a leading supporters' group.
The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) says the pricing structure for next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico is "scandalous".
It has joined Football Supporters Europe (FSE) in demanding that the sales process is stopped so fans' groups can hold talks with world governing body Fifa over its pricing policy.
"We back Football Supporters Europe in calling for a halt in ticket sales and we are calling on the Football Association to work with fellow FAs to directly challenge these disgraceful prices," the FSA said in a statement.
"We call on all national associations to stand up for your supporters, without whom there would be no professional game."
BBC Sport has contacted Fifa, the FA and the Scottish FA but they are yet to comment.
The huge increase in the price of tickets was revealed on Thursday when Fifa released allocation details for the official supporters' groups of each country.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, group stage fixtures all had set prices of £68.50, £164.50 or £219.
But for England v Croatia and Scotland v Brazil next year, tickets cost around £198, £373 or £523.
The cost ramps up considerably in the latter stages.
Quarter-finals for all teams are £507, £757 and £1,073, with the semi-finals £686, £1,819 and £2,363.
The cheapest tickets for the final are £3,119, seven times more expensive than in Qatar.
There are no concessions across any of its tickets for children or other groups.
The cheapest tickets are in the 'supporter value' category, which the FSA called "a laughable insult to your average fan".
The FSA added that supporters felt they had been "stabbed in the back" and that the loyal fans will now likely be missing in the US, Mexico and Canada because the matches will be "unaffordable" to most.
"This is a tournament that is supposed to be celebrated by the world, where fans of all nations come together for the love of football," the FSA said. "Fifa has decided to make it all about the money and the elite who can afford it.
"For Fifa, loyalty is not the hard-working fan travelling thousands of miles in support of their team at qualifiers around the continent. A game that should be for all is now only for those who can afford it.
"Who needs to follow England away for disappointment when Fifa can deliver that six months before a ball is kicked? The life has been sucked out of this tournament before it starts."
It will cost about £5,225 for a supporter to follow their team through to the final if they were to attend all eight matches in the cheapest ticket category.
That rises to about £8,850 in the mid-price range, or £12,357 for the top tier.
In 2022, it would have cost £1,466, £2,645 or £3,914, though that was for seven games rather than eight.
Each household can request up to four tickets per match and a maximum of 40 across the tournament
FSE has called on Fifa to stop the ticket sale process, believing it needs to rethink the pricing policy.
"In the price tables gradually and confidentially released by Fifa, tickets allocated to national associations...are reaching astronomical levels," it said in a statement.
"Adding insult to injury, the lowest price category will not be available to the most dedicated supporters through their national associations [because] Fifa chose to reserve the scarce number of category four tickets to the general sales, subject to dynamic ticket pricing.
"For the first time in World Cup history, no consistent price will be offered across all group stage games. Instead, Fifa is introducing a variable pricing policy dependent on vague criteria such as the perceived attractiveness of the fixture.
"Fans of different national teams will therefore have to pay different prices for the same category at the same stage of the tournament, without any transparency on the pricing structure enforced by Fifa."
The Football Supporters' Association's England Fans' Embassy said: "These prices are a slap in the face to supporters who support their team outside of the flagship tournament that appears every four years.
"A game for supporters, loyalty has been thrown out of the window and supporters of the participating nations have been completely let down."
BBCA Sudanese paramilitary commander, whose role in the el-Fasher massacre was revealed by BBC Verify, has been sanctioned by the UK government.
Brig Gen Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu, was filmed shooting dead at least 10 unarmed captives after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city in late October.
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the RSF after the army withdrew from el-Fasher. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan were "a scar on the conscience of the world" which "cannot, and will not, go unpunished."
The UK has also sanctioned three other RSF commanders, including deputy head Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo.
Dagalo, who was also placed under EU sanctions in November, was shown in verified footage touring an army base in the city in the hours after el-Fasher fell. He is the brother of RSF chief Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo.
Sudan's civil war - sparked after the RSF and the military's fragile ruling coalition collapsed - has now raged for more than two years, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions more.
El-Fasher was the army's last major stronghold in Darfur, the traditional stronghold of the RSF paramilitary.
An investigation by BBC Verify revealed the brutal tactics used by the RSF during the protracted siege, which included detaining and torturing people trying to smuggle supplies into the city and building a massive sand barrier around it to prevent civilians and army troops from escaping.
In its statement announcing the sanctions, the UK foreign office said it believed that Abu Lulu was "responsible for violence against individuals based on ethnicity and religion, and the deliberate targeting of civilians".
Footage confirmed by BBC Verify in October showed Abu Lulu executing several unarmed captives with an AK-style rifle in a sandy, dusty area north-west of the city. RSF troops who witnessed the incidents were later seen celebrating their commander's actions.
UK officials accused Abu Lulu, Dagalo, Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed of carrying out "heinous" acts of violence, including mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians. The men have been placed under travel bans and any assets they hold will be frozen.
"Today's sanctions against RSF commanders strike directly at those with blood on their hands, while our strengthened aid package will deliver lifesaving support to those suffering," Cooper said.
Citing satellite images - previously published by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab - the foreign office said piles of bodies and mass graves could be seen in el-Fasher after the massacre.
Cooper also pledged an additional £21m to provide food, shelter and health services for civilians impacted by fighting in remote areas.
In the days that followed the el-Fasher massacre, RSF leader Gen Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo admitted that his troops had committed "violations" and said the incidents would be investigated.
Among those arrested was Abu Lulu. In a carefully choreographed and edited video posted on the RSF's official Telegram account he is shown being led into a cell at a prison, which was geolocated by BBC Verify to the outskirts of el-Fasher.
The commander, who previously featured heavily in propaganda videos posted online, has not been seen since his arrest. A TikTok account that documented his activities was removed by the company in October after BBC Verify approached the tech giant for comment.
The UK's move comes just two days after the US announced its own set of sanctions against a network of companies and individuals it accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers and training individuals to fight in Sudan's civil war.
The US Treasury Department said that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries have travelled to Sudan since 2024, including to serve as infantry and drone pilots for the RSF.
Last month, US President Donald Trump pledged to "start working on Sudan" alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, posting on social media that "tremendous atrocities" were taking place.
PA MediaThe NHS says it's facing its "worst-case scenario" after the number of people in hospital with flu jumped by 55% in a week.
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey has warned that between 5,000 and 8,000 hospital beds could be filled with flu patients by the weekend.
Health experts at the King's Fund think tank have said talk of an "unrelenting flu wave" has become worrying familiar over recent years.
How then is winter 2025 really any different and which patients have been affected most by what the NHS is now describing as "super flu"?
The major difference between 2025's flu season and the previous three years is that the virus started spreading around a month earlier.
The first sign of this was in October in data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
When someone goes to their GP or hospital with flu-like symptoms they can be tested for a number of viruses including influenza, Covid and RSV.
UKHSA records the percentage of those tests that come back positive for flu, which can then give a strong indication that rates in the community are either rising or falling.
Virologists have linked the earlier flu season this year to a subtle shift in the genetic makeup of the main flu virus that is circulating - called H3N2.
So-called 'super-flu' is not a medical term and it does not mean the virus is more severe or harder to treat.
But the general public has not encountered this exact version of flu before, which means there may be less immunity built up in society, allowing it to spread more easily.
Children tend to be more susceptible to flu than older adults, partly because their immune systems are still developing and because they tend to spread viruses more quickly through close contact.
The latest breakdown of UKHSA data shows that the proportion of positive tests is currently much higher in children and young people still at school or university.
Some schools have had to bring back Covid-like measures to prevent the spread of the virus, such as cutting back on singing in assemblies and introducing sanitisation stations, while one site in Caerphilly had to close temporarily.
Each year thousands of otherwise healthy children end up in A&E with complications after catching influenza.
But there is another concern: that younger people will go home and then spread the disease to elderly relatives who tend to be more vulnerable.
The NHS records the number of patients in hospital each week with influenza and other types of respiratory illness.
The number has been rising sharply in England with an average of 2,660 flu patients taking up a hospital bed last week, up from 1,717 in the previous week.
Those over 85-years-old are five times more likely to be hospitalised than the general population.
But the patients being admitted now would have been infected with the virus a week or so ago when infection rates were lower.
The greater concern for the health service is what happens over the coming weeks as new cases appear in A&E.
The NHS has roughly 105,000 available hospital beds in England and tends to "run hot" over the winter with 95% of those taken up at any one time.
If the number of flu patients needing overnight treatment jumps to 5,000 or higher, as Sir Jim Mackey predicts, then it could put the whole hospital system under more pressure.
The message coming from doctors and the NHS is for people in vulnerable groups to continue to come forward for a flu vaccine.
Even though the genetic make-up of the virus has shifted this winter, the main jab is still thought to offer effective protection, particularly against severe disease.
The flu vaccine is free on the NHS for those over 65-years-old, young children, pregnant women, those with certain health conditions, carers, and front line health and social care workers.
People in other groups can get the same vaccine for between £15 and £25 from high street pharmacists.
As of 30 November, just over 40% of people in an at-risk group had taken up the offer of a free flu jab this year.
Flu vaccination rates among NHS workers in England, which have fallen back since the Covid pandemic, appear to have stabilised this year at about the same level - around 42%.
The rescue operation to get Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado out of Venezuela involved disguises, two boats through choppy seas and a flight, the man who says he led it told the BBC.
Dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, the dangerous journey was cold, wet and long - but the "formidable" Machado didn't complain once, said Bryan Stern, a US special forces veteran and founder of the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation.
"The seas are very rough. It's pitch black. We're using flashlights to communicate. This is very scary, lots of things can go wrong."
Despite the risks, they didn't. Machado arrived safely in Oslo, Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize just before midnight on Wednesday.
Machado had been living in hiding in her own country since Venezuela's widely disputed elections last year, and hadn't been seen in public since January. Her grown-up children, who she hadn't seen in two years, were in Oslo to greet her.
Grey Bull specialises in rescue missions and evacuations, especially from conflict and disaster zones. A representative from Machado's team confirmed to CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, that the organisation was behind her rescue operation.
Mr Stern said that Grey Bull had been building up a presence in the Caribbean, including inside Venezuela and the neighbouring island of Aruba, for months to get ready for potential operations in Venezuela.
"We've been building infrastructure on the ground in Venezuela designed to get Americans, allies and Brits and other people out should the war in Venezuela start," he told the BBC.
Speculation has been mounting over possible US military action against Venezuela, after US President Donald Trump called on President Maduro to leave office, accusing him of sending narcotics and murderers to the US.
Mr Stern said the challenge in this case was getting somebody out who is as well-known as María Corina Machado - a household name in Venezuela for the opposition.
None of the infrastructure his firm had built up in the country, he said, was "designed for the second most popular person in the damn country with a target on her back."
Grey Bull Rescue/HandoutWhen he was first put in contact with Machado's team, they did not initially disclose her identity, but Mr Stern said he was able to guess.
When they got in touch with him in early December, though a contact who knew Machado's team, it was apparently the second attempt to get her out of Venezuela, after an initial plan "didn't go well," Mr Stern said.
The operation was dubbed "Golden Dynamite" because "Nobel invented dynamite" and Machado was trying to get to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize award.
Matters moved quickly. Mr Stern said he spoke with the team on a Friday, they deployed on the Sunday, and by Tuesday, their mission was complete.
His team had explored various possibilities to get Machado out of the country, and settled on a plan that involved a tumultuous sea journey.
To protect his future work in Venezuela, Mr Stern can only reveal so much about the trip.
By land, they moved Machado from a house where she was in hiding, to a pick-up spot for a small boat, which took her off the coast to a slightly bigger boat where she met up with him.
The voyage was in "very rough seas" with waves of up to 10ft (3m) in "pitch-black darkness," he said.
"The journey was not fun. It was cold, it was very wet, we were all soaked, the waves were very rough, and we used that to our advantage. We got her to land and to where her plane was, and she flew to Norway."
Amanda Pedersen Giske/NTB via ReutersThroughout the journey, he added that various steps were taken to mask and disguise Machado's face, as well as her digital profile because she is so well-known.
"The biometric threat is so real," he noted, adding steps were taken to make sure she could not be traced via her phone.
He said that Machado was "formidable" despite the conditions, accepting a jumper for warmth, but not asking for anything else.
"She was soaking wet and freezing cold and didn't complain once," he laughed, acknowledging the operation was very dangerous because water is "unforgiving".
"If I am driving a boat and blow an engine, I'm swimming to Venezuela."
When asked how he could guarantee the safety of Venezuelans who helped with the operation, Mr Stern said they kept their identities secret and "we [Grey Bull] do a lot of deception operations".
Many of those who helped didn't even realise they were working for him, Mr Stern said, while others think they "know the whole story", but they really don't.
"There are people who did things that were benign from their perspective - but mission-critical from our perspective."
Grey Bull Rescue/HandoutHe said the operation was financed by donors, and not by the US government: "We've never had a thank-you note from the US government, let alone a dollar."
Mr Stern said he did coordinate with some nation states, and with intelligence and diplomatic services of several countries. This included alerting the US in an "informal" manner.
Machado has said she intends to return to Venezuela, but Mr Stern said he advised her not to do that.
"I told her, 'don't go back. You're a Mum. We need you.' She's going to do what she's going to do... I understand why she wants to go back because she's a hero to her people.
"I wish she wouldn't go back; I have a feeling she will."
PA MediaIt was more than a year ago that MPs first gave their backing to proposed legislation which would introduce assisted dying in England and Wales, in an historic House of Commons vote.
In its current form, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow people over the age of 18, who are expected to die within six months, to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards.
But the legislation continues to generate huge controversy, with passionate arguments for and against.
The House of Lords is on its fourth of 14 days allocated for detailed scrutiny of the bill and it's still some way off becoming law.
So what is causing the hold-up? And is there a chance that it might never come into force?
The bill was introduced to Parliament by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater back in October 2024.
It is known as a private member's bill because it was put forward by a backbench MP rather than the government.
MPs spent many days debating the draft legislation in the House of Commons and first voted in favour of the principle of the bill in November last year, by a majority of 55.
A smaller committee of MPs from both sides of the debate then spent months considering more than 500 proposed changes.
Further debate and votes on amendments followed in the Commons before MPs voted by a majority of 23 in June for the bill to progress to the House of Lords.
Peers are now carrying out line-by-line scrutiny of the legislation and proposing their own changes.
ReutersThe bill can only become law if both Houses of Parliament agree on its final wording.
This must happen before next spring, when the current session of Parliament is expected to end.
Members of the House of Lords have proposed more than 1,000 changes to the bill - known as amendments - which experts believe is a record number for a bill proposed by a backbench MP.
Supporters of assisted dying have raised concerns that the number of amendments, as well as the slow progress debating them, is a delaying tactic by opponents aimed at blocking the bill from becoming law.
They argue it would be undemocratic for unelected peers to frustrate a bill which has already been approved by elected MPs.
Leadbeater, the MP behind the bill, told the BBC she welcomes scrutiny by the Lords but claimed many of these amendments are unnecessary and even "cruel".
She pointed to examples such as proposals that someone seeking an assisted death should not have left the country within the last 12 months and that any assisted death should be filmed.
Opponents insist they are not obstructing the bill but say significant changes are needed to make it safe and ensure vulnerable people are protected.
Independent crossbench peer and former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told the BBC the bill was "badly written" and had significant gaps, with many of the amendments aimed at preventing coercion.
She pointed out MPs had also put forward large numbers of amendments and peers were simply doing their job by scrutinising the legislation.
EPABefore he became prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer had publicly supported the idea of assisted dying and during last year's general election campaign he said he would provide parliamentary time for a vote if a backbench MP proposed changing the law.
However, the government has said it is neutral on the bill and it is being treated by parties as a matter of conscience, meaning they will not instruct their MPs or peers how to vote.
Ministers have ruled out using time set aside for debating government legislation.
But the government's chief whip in the Lords has given peers an extra 10 Friday sessions to debate it. Fridays are traditionally used for non-government business.
Despite the additional days allocated, there is still a real risk the bill could run out time to become law.
There is a possibility even more time could be granted - but if the bill is not passed by both Houses by the end of the current session of Parliament in spring, it will fall.
Unlike government bills, those put forward by backbench MPs cannot be carried over into the next session.
This means any bill to introduce assisted dying would have to start the parliamentary process again from scratch.
Some MPs in favour of assisted dying have raised using the Parliament Act - a rarely-used piece of legislation invoked when MPs and peers cannot agree - as a potential option to allow the bill to be carried over.
However, experts say this would be unprecedented for a private member's bill and challenging to implement.
The Parliament Act was last used in 2004 to push through a ban on fox hunting.
By convention, the House of Lords does not block bills which were included in a government's election manifesto from becoming law but this would not apply in this case.
Given MPs have already backed the bill, it would still be controversial for unelected peers to obstruct its passage - but not impossible.
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© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
© Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
俄罗斯总统普京、土耳其总统埃尔多安和伊朗总统·佩泽什基扬，今天齐聚中亚国家——土库曼斯坦。法新社指出这一景象实为罕见。
这些与西方关系紧张的国家领导人是受邀参加土库曼斯坦庆祝“永久中立”30周年的活动，才得以聚首。“永久中立”这一政策让土库曼斯坦成为世界上最封闭的国家之一，也是世界上最神秘的国家之一。
土库曼斯坦与伊朗、阿富汗和里海接壤，由于很难以进入，常被比作中亚的朝鲜。自1991年脱离苏联独立以来，土库曼斯坦已经更换了三位总统。1995年联合国授予土库曼斯坦“永久中立”的地位是该国意识形态的基石：在首都，矗立着一座百米高的“中立拱门”，拱门上镌刻着首任总统的镀金雕像。
The UK has placed sanctions on four senior commanders of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces suspected of involvement in “heinous” violence against civilians in the city of El Fasher, but decided not to take any action against their key military and diplomatic backer, the United Arab Emirates, or their chief commander.
British officials suggested they preferred to use their leverage with the UAE and the RSF commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, privately, but admitted there was little sign of a ceasefire in Sudan’s near three-year civil war.
They also expressed fears that the war may spread to South Sudan and Eritrea. There were also concerns among diplomats that rivalries between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, currently on display in the south of Yemen, could lead to a deepening of the conflict in Sudan.
The UK estimates there are as many as 26 possible arms supply routes into Sudan with 10 countries of origin. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have broadly supported the army, while the RSF has been backed by the UAE, a position the Gulf state denies despite evidence compiled by the UN, independent experts and reporters. In south Yemen, the UAE is backing a separatist movement, the Southern Transitional Council, which is opposed by Saudi Arabia.
The war between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has caused what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Communities in the Darfur region are facing famine and malnutrition after an 18-month RSF siege around El Fasher, before it fell to the group on 26 October.
Those targeted include Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s deputy leader and brother of Hemedti, as well as three other commanders, all of whom now face asset freezes and travel bans. Officials indicated the threshold of evidence needed to place sanctions had been met partly because some of the commanders posted videos glorifying the killings on social media.
The four individuals under UK sanctions faced the same punishment by the EU last week, and the measures underline the extent to which sanctions are as much a statement of diplomatic leverage and disapproval as a completely objective assessment of those most responsible for the conflict.
The other RSF leaders placed under sanctions are: Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, the RSF’s commander for North Darfur; Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, brigadier general of the RSF; and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, an RSF field commander.
The UK hinted strongly that it may take further action against the RSF in the near future, but this may depend on how the RSF seeks to use its current military advantage.
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said the individuals were “suspected of atrocities including mass killings, sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians in El Fasher, Sudan”.
Although there is no official figure for how many people were killed after the RSF’s seizure of El Fasher, British MPs have been briefed that at least 60,000 may have been murdered
The Foreign Office said an extra £20m in funding will empower aid organisations to reach 150,000 people with essentials such as food, medical care and emergency shelter, as well as to keep hospitals running and reconnect families. UK aid commitments to Sudan this year have risen to £146m.
The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “The atrocities taking place in Sudan are so horrific they scar the conscience of the world. The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes – mass executions, starvation and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war – cannot and will not go unpunished. The UK will not look away, and we will always stand with the people of Sudan.”
The UK is resisting efforts to join the group of four countries – the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – that are leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution, fearing to do so would lead to pressure to join diplomatically one side or the other in the conflict.
The sanctions were welcomed by the UK’s Darfur diaspora – thousands of whom have had family members killed by the RSF during the conflict – but there was also disappointment that the UAE had escaped censure.
Abdallah Abu Garda, the chair of the UK-based Darfur Diaspora Association, which has more than 30,000 members, said: “The UK’s sanctions on senior RSF commanders are a vital step toward justice. But ending atrocity crimes in Sudan and the genocide in Darfur requires more. All supply lines that fuel these atrocities, including those enabled by the UAE, must be cut.
“True justice demands that every party, whether a direct perpetrator or an external sponsor, faces real consequences.”
The UN Human Rights Council last week adopted a UK-led resolution condemning the atrocities and securing international consensus to mandate an urgent inquiry into atrocities in El Fasher.
（德国之声中文网）《南德意志报》评论指出，本周一，延迟了43天之后，德国外长瓦德富尔终于飞抵北京，他面对镜头频频微笑，并同多名中国政治领导人举行了会谈。各种迹象似乎显示，今年十月一度陷入僵局的中德关系似乎已经和好如初。然而，事实真的如此吗？这篇题为《柏林，哪一个柏林？》的评论写道：
“访华行程延误了43天，这对柏林来说，似乎是衡量中德关系恶化程度的一个可见标尺。至于柏林的肌肉秀是否真的给北京留下了深刻的印象，则是一个值得质疑的问题。对于这个快速崛起的世界强国来说，在新的世界秩序里，德国只是一个较低重量级的次要角色而已。因为北京非常清楚，德国是多么的依赖中国。就在几周前，中国叫停核心芯片的供应后，柏林和布鲁塞尔立即陷入了危机状态。
与此同时，在世界其他地区，德国对外政策在国际危机外交中所能发挥的影响力也在明显降低。近来有关中东局势和俄乌战争的谈判中，柏林只能扮演次要角色。本周末，德国总理梅尔茨访问了以色列，主要目的是修复一度紧张的双边关系。一时间，针对以色列总理内塔尼亚胡的国际通缉令以及对其在加沙的残酷战争行为的指控，似乎都已经不值一提。”
《南德意志报》的评论指出，在所谓“全球南方”国家中，德国的影响力也是每况愈下。在这些国家看来，北京是一个务实能干的投资伙伴，而德国则是一个国力和信誉都在不断衰减的国家。
”明年年初，德国总理梅尔茨将访问中国。瓦德富尔此次北京之行，一方面是为了总理的访华行程进行准备。另一方面也是想展示柏林同北京保持沟通渠道的意愿。只要德国政要来访的目的是为了维护经济利益，想必中国方面自然会表示欢迎。
占据优势的中国
本届德国政府已经公开告别了以价值观为导向的最高外交原则。今年五月，瓦德富尔出任外交部长的就职演说中就已明确宣布，将以安全、经济和本国利益作为新的外交政策导向。这一导向至少赋予了德国政府成员访华时更为诚实的角色定位：商贸代表。此次瓦德富尔到访北京和广州，就有一个经济代表团随行。而作为商贸代表，德国总理及其内阁成员想必会再度成为北京欢迎的贵宾。作为缓解德国国内舆情的姿态，中国领导人想必也不会过度介意德国外长此次迟到的来访。”
德国外长瓦德富尔在北京再度呼吁中国领导人对普京施加压力，尽快结束俄乌战争、呼吁中国遵守公平竞争的原则、捍卫人权以及停止对台湾的武力威胁。柏林出版的《日报》发表评论称，德国外长向中国领导层发出这样的呼吁自然难能可贵，但却只能产生与堂吉诃德大战风车一样的效果：
“有一点则是事先就可以确定的：这类呼吁几乎不会产生任何效果。毕竟北京的官员们根本没有兴趣同欧洲客人开展有理有据的讨论。因为北京使用的是另一种语言：现实主义的霸权政治语言。有鉴于此，无论是瓦德富尔或者此前的马克龙访华时带来了多少道德呼吁和民主价值，真正的王牌却始终都握在习近平手中。这位中国最高领导人在其刚刚推出的五年计划中，要求中国减少对外国的依赖，同时却要让外国加深对中国的依赖。
除此之外，令习近平深信不疑的是，在制度之争中，中国的社会主义拥有无以伦比的优越性：如果欧盟试图实施强硬的对华路线，北京一定会奉陪到底，届时只需呼吁饱经磨难的中国人民勒紧裤腰带即可。但相比之下，德国的情况就大为不同了：一旦中欧贸易战引发通胀，智能手机或冰箱的价格一旦上涨，大规模的抗议浪潮就将不可避免。”
摘编自其他媒体的内容，不代表德国之声的立场或观点。
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