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美国新移民“金卡”亮相 印有特朗普头像

德才
2025-04-04T10:12:23.020Z
就是这张卡,售价500万美元

(德国之声中文网)美国总统特朗普周四在空军一号上接受采访,展示了印有自己头像的移民“金卡”,称之为“特朗普卡”(Trump Card),并表示预计未来几周将发放这种新签证。

今年2月,特朗普宣布了一项新的移民政策,计划推出售价500万美元的“金卡”,以取代现行的EB-5投资移民签证。此举旨在吸引全球富裕人士,通过投资500万美元获取美国永久居留权。

特朗普称,这种“金卡”不会直接给予购买者美国公民身份,因此不需要通过美国国会,但将赋予同“绿卡”一样的权利,是“获取美国公民身份的给力路径”。特朗普称,联邦政府可以出售1000万张“金卡”来减少赤字。

相关图集:美国:恐惧在移民社区蔓延

清晨搜查住宅:2025年1月20日就职后,美国总统特朗普颁布行政命令,要求对无居留权的移民采取更严厉的措施,并为此拨付资金,加强各部门合作。警察和边防警卫也加强了对居民楼的检查。美国移民社区弥漫着恐惧和不安。
担心被驱逐:从门缝中望去,警察和移民与海关执法局官员正走在街上。尽管官员在上门访视时必须征得居民同意才能入内,但当局的行为还是让无有效证件的民众感到恐惧。一些人因此避免不必要的出行或不再送孩子上学。
抓捕、拘留:当局表示,此次严打行动主要针对那些被指控或被判有罪且没有合法居留身份的人。但是,美国移民与海关执法局(ICE)措施强硬,一些没有犯罪记录的移民或持有效证件移民也会被拘留。
独自带着小婴儿:“我非常害怕接下来会发生什么”,来自委内瑞拉,现年22岁的伊塔利(Itaily)这样说道。伊塔利和男友莱尔(Riyer)以及5个月大的儿子一起住在佐治亚州亚特兰大附近。他们刚刚申请了庇护。但莱尔在一次交通检查中被捕,迄今仍被当局拘留。
严厉打击:这名47岁的墨西哥男子在亚特兰大南部雷克斯镇(Rex)的一个加油站被捕,大批警察及移民与海关执法局官员参加了逮捕行动。此人曾三次因酒驾和吸毒驾车而被定罪。移民及海关执法局亚特兰大办事处的克里斯汀·沙利文(Kristen Sullivan)说:“要求部署更多警员的压力确实很大。”
法律怎么说?:批准或拒绝庇护申请由移民法官决定。即使申请人败诉,但只要没有前科、祖国不安全或者已经提出上诉,就可以继续在美国自由生活。这是目前的法律状况。
虽有临时保护身份,但仍被逮捕:但事实往往并非如此。31岁的喀麦隆人Choe Blaiss Che持“临时保护身份”这一有效证件,并且没有前科。当移民与海关执法局官员检查他的证件时,他一开始没觉得会有什么问题。然而,警察还是逮捕了他。十天后他终于获释。
美国空军遣返移民:特朗普政府的严厉手段究竟多有效仍不清楚。 1月底,移民与海关执法局报告称,在短时间内每天逮捕约800至1000 人,但2月份逮捕人数有所下降。拜登政府执政期间,2024年平均每天逮捕311人,驱逐出境人数超过27万人,为十年来最高。

美国商务部长卢特尼克曾预计,全球有约有3700万人具备购买金卡的财力。但这一说法受到质疑,因为即便如此,其中大部分人不具备或不需要移民美国的可能性。

在空军一号上被记者问到谁是第一名买家时,特朗普表示∶“我,我是第一个买家,它可能在不到两周内推出。”

(路透社)

DW中文有Instagram!欢迎搜寻dw.chinese,看更多深入浅出的图文与影音报道。

© 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。

TikTok逼近最后期限,特朗普称“非常接近”达成交易

德才
2025-04-04T10:13:56.524Z
特朗普曾暗示,如果中国政府批准出售TikTok,他可能会考虑减免对中国的关税。“只要他们给我们一些好处,例如TikTok。”

(德国之声中文网)短视频平台TikTok距离找到非中国买家、避免在美被封禁的最后期限仅剩数小时。这款广受欢迎的视频分享应用在美国拥有超过1.7亿用户,正面临一项法律的威胁。

该法律于去年以压倒性票数通过,要求TikTok与其中国母公司字节跳动(ByteDance)彻底剥离,否则将在美国被禁止运营。美国总统特朗普已将这一期限延长至2025年4月5日午夜(格林威治时间4月5日04:00)。

本周四(4月3日)特朗普在“空军一号”上对记者表示,其政府已“非常接近”达成TikTok的出售协议,并称有“多个投资方”参与,但未透露更多细节。

TikTok交易换减税

特朗普曾暗示,如果中国政府批准出售TikTok,他可能会考虑减免对中国的关税。“只要他们给我们一些好处,例如TikTok。”他补充道:“我们与TikTok的局势可能会变成这样:中国可能说‘我们会批准这笔交易’,但你们是否会对关税做出让步?而这些关税让我们在谈判中拥有强大筹码。”

目前,美国针对来自中国的进口商品,在新一轮关税框架下,加上特朗普此前已经对来自中国的所有进口商品征收20%的关税,累积税率达到了54%。TikTok方面尚未就此作出回应。

此前,美国副总统JD·万斯表示,强制将TikTok出售给美国买家的决定将于本周末前做出。“这一决定将在截止日期前公布,”万斯周四在接受福克斯新闻采访时表示,并称事态进展顺利,特朗普将宣布最终决定。

出于国家安全的疑虑,以及华盛顿普遍认为TikTok最终受中国政府控制的共识,TikTok禁令于1月19日生效——即特朗普就职前一天。禁令生效的最后几小时里,TikTok曾短暂从美国应用商店下架,并暂停服务。特朗普随后宣布延长75天的宽限期,TikTok也随即恢复了对现有用户的服务,并于2月重新上架苹果和谷歌应用商店

潜在买家众多

目前,最可能的解决方案是:字节跳动的美国现有投资者将其股份转入一个新的、独立的全球TikTok公司。同时,将引入更多美国投资者,包括甲骨文(Oracle)和黑石集团(Blackstone),以降低中国持股比例。TikTok在美的大部分数据已托管于甲骨文服务器,而甲骨文董事长拉里·埃里森(Larry Ellison)是特朗普的长期盟友。

除甲骨文与黑石外,还有其他竞标者出现。亚马逊据报道也在最后阶段提出收购意向。房地产和体育大亨弗兰克·麦考特(Frank McCourt)的“自由计划”发起了一项名为“人民竞标TikTok”的倡议,人工智能初创公司Perplexity以及YouTube网红MrBeast参与的合资企业也表示有意收购。

算法归属与安全争议

但仍存在诸多不确定性,尤其是TikTok核心算法的归属问题。《纽约时报》称,新公司可能从字节跳动处获得该算法的授权,然而,这种安排将违背该法律的核心精神——即TikTok的算法可能被中国政府“武器化”,从而威胁美国利益。

尽管特朗普在其第一个任期内曾支持封禁TikTok,但他最近已成为其辩护者,认为TikTok促使更多年轻选民在2024年支持了他。他的主要政治金主之一、亿万富翁杰夫·亚斯(Jeff Yass),正是字节跳动的主要股东。

 arp/st/cms(路透社 法新社)

DW中文有Instagram!欢迎搜寻dw.chinese,看更多深入浅出的图文与影音报道。

© 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。

South Korea's president has been removed from power: What happens now?

Watch: South Korean court removes President Yoon from office

South Korea's president has been removed from office after the Constitutional Court voted unanimously to uphold his impeachment.

Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from duty in December after being impeached by parliament, following his failed attempt to impose martial law.

The ruling on Friday was met with tears of joy and sadness among Yoon's critics and supporters, who had gathered in various parts of Seoul to watch the verdict live.

A snap election to vote for Yoon's replacement must be held by 3 June.

What next for South Korea?

After months of anxiously waiting, South Koreans have some badly needed closure. The country can now start to repair and move forward, the first step being to elect a new leader.

But the crisis Yoon has unleashed is far from over. Although his military takeover only lasted six hours, the political fallout has only intensified with each month that has passed.

The night of 3 December, when Yoon ordered troops to storm parliament, changed something in South Korea's psyche. It reawakened the ghosts of the country's violent, dictatorial past, showing people that martial law was not, as most had assumed, consigned to history.

Many are still upset by what happened that night, and afraid that the threat of martial law could be brandished again by future zealous politicians.

Getty Images A supporter of impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol joins a protest against his removal from officeGetty Images

Today's verdict therefore came as a relief to most, who cheered on the streets of Seoul as the verdict was read out. It is a victory for South Korea's democracy, that for a while looked as if it was on dangerous ground.

The constitutional court was damning in its criticism of Yoon's authoritarian power grab, as all eight judges voted to remove him from office.

In upholding his impeachment, Moon Hyung-bae, acting president of the eight-men bench, said Yoon's short-lived military takeover was not justified, and that he had "[gone] against the people he was supposed to protect".

He added that the implementation of martial law "damaged people's basic political rights" and "violated the principles of the rule of law and democracy".

Already, there are serious calls to change South Korea's constitution – to strengthen its institutions and limit the powers of the president - to guard against this happening again. However, it will take a particularly patriotic future president to sign off on reducing their own authority.

South Korea more polarised than ever

As Yoon leaves office, he leaves behind not just a shaken country, but a divided one. In the aftermath of that shocking December night, South Koreans were mostly united in their disgust for the president and what he had attempted to do.

But Yoon showed no remorse. He dug in, fought his trial at every step, and continued to dangle the same unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that he used to justify his military takeover.

He claimed that the country and his political opposition had been infiltrated by North Korean and Chinese spies, and that these "anti-state forces" had rigged past elections.

Gradually more and more people believed him. Through his belligerence, Yoon has turned himself into a political martyr for many – the victim of an establishment that has been overrun by "communists".

His conspiracy theories have firmly taken root, and far-right extremism is flourishing. Thousands protest every week in the centre of Seoul. They were on the streets on Friday, and will be there again Saturday, claiming the country's politicians and judges are corrupt and elections are rigged.

And these are not fringe views.

More than a third of people now say they do not trust the Constitutional Court while delivered Yoon's verdict; more than a quarter do not trust the voting system.

Within this climate of distrust, South Korea must head to the polls. Yoon's successor needs to be chosen in the next 60 days. These days are sure to be fraught and even more divisive. Many may not to accept the result that comes.

Yet South Korea urgently needs a new leader who can advocate for the country as whole, having been without one for months.

It quickly needs to figure out how to deal with President Trump, having started on the backfoot. His 25% tariffs on cars and steel have dealt Seoul, and its ailing economy, an early a blow, but many believe worse is coming; that it is only time until Mr Trump turns his gaze to the Korean peninsula, and when he does he will try to force South Korea to pay more for its defence and cut a deal with Seoul's arch enemy, Kim Jong Un.

Reuters People dressed in sweaters and hats sitting on mats along the street. They have spent the night outdoors waiitng for the Constitutional Court's ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachmentReuters
Many people had camped outside the court since the night before in anticipation of the ruling

Yoon's legal team has accused the court of politicising the ruling.

"The whole process of this trial itself was not lawful and unfair," said one of his lawyers, Yoon Gap-geun.

"I feel regrettable that this completely is a political decision," he said.

But politicians are calling for unity, asking everyone to accept this verdict, so South Korea can at least start to move on.

Yoon's political party, the PPP, has conceded, but Yoon himself has not. In a statement he apologised to his supporters for his "shortcomings" without mentioning the ruling.

"I am truly sorry and regretful that I could not live up to your expectations," he said.

"It has been a great honor to serve the Republic of Korea. I am deeply grateful to all of you who supported and encouraged me, despite my many shortcomings," he said.

He cannot appeal, as the decision was made by South Korea's top court. But, having repeatedly vowed to fight to the end, he could still refuse to go quietly.

How did we get here?

In an unprecedented televised announcement on 3 December, Yoon said he was invoking martial law to protect the country from "anti-state" forces that sympathised with North Korea.

At the time, the embattled leader was in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers were under investigation.

Less than two hours after Yoon's declaration, 190 lawmakers who gathered, including some from Yoon's party, voted to overturn it.

Yoon was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.

He is also facing separate charges for insurrection - making him South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested and charged with a crime - which he will be trialed for at a later date. He is now on bail.

Yoon is not the only South Korean politician to have faced impeachment in recent months.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was reinstated as the country's interim leader last month - a role he took up when Yoon was suspended - after he himself was impeached over his move to block the appointment of new judges to the constitutional court.

In 2017, former president Park Geun-hye was forced from office over her role in a corruption scandal involving a close friend.

'I could live 30 years - but plan to die': Has assisted dying in Canada gone too far?

BBC A woman sits in a wheelchair on a stage with a curtain in the background and a spotlight above her.BBC

April Hubbard sits on the theatre stage where she plans to die later this year.

She is not terminally ill, but the 39-year-old performance and burlesque artist has been approved for assisted dying under Canada's increasingly liberal laws.

Warning: This article contains details and descriptions some readers may find disturbing

She is speaking to BBC News from the Bus Stop Theatre, an intimate auditorium with a little under 100 seats, in the eastern city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Illuminated by a single spotlight on a stage she has performed on many times before, she tells me she plans to die here "within months" of her imminent 40th birthday. She'll be joined by a small group of her family and friends.

April plans to be in a "big comfy bed" for what she calls a "celebratory" moment when a medical professional will inject a lethal dose into her bloodstream.

"I want to be surrounded by the people I love and just have everybody hold me in a giant cuddle puddle and get to take my last breath, surrounded by love and support," she says.

April was born with spina bifida and was later diagnosed with tumours at the base of her spine which she says have left her in constant, debilitating pain.

A woman in glasses, wearing a pink top smiles at the camera in a living room.
April Hubbard says she doesn't want to continue living in pain

She's been taking strong opioid painkillers for more than 20 years and applied for Medical Assistance in Dying (Maid) in March 2023. While she could yet live for decades with her condition, she qualified to end her life early seven months after applying. For those who are terminally ill it is possible to get approval within 24 hours.

"My suffering and pain are increasing and I don't have the quality of life anymore that makes me happy and fulfilled," April says. Every time she moves or breathes, she says it feels like the tissues from the base of her spine "are being pulled like a rubber band that stretches too far", and that her lower limbs leave her in agony.

We meet April as, almost 3,000 miles away, MPs are scrutinising proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. They voted in principle in support of those plans in November 2024, but months of detailed scrutiny have followed - and further votes in the Commons and Lords are required before the bill could possibly become law.

This week, the BBC witnessed a man's death in California, where assisted dying laws are far more similar to those being considered in Westminster.

Critics say Canada is an example of the "slippery slope", meaning that once you pass an assisted dying law it will inevitably widen its scope and have fewer safeguards.

Canada now has one of the most liberal systems of assisted dying in the world, similar to that operating in the Netherlands and Belgium. It introduced Maid in 2016, initially for terminally ill adults with a serious and incurable physical illness, which causes intolerable suffering. In 2021, the need to be terminally ill was removed, and in two years' time, the Canadian government plans to open Maid to adults solely with a mental illness and no physical ailment.

Opponents of Maid tell us that death is coming to be seen as a standard treatment option for those with disabilities and complex medical problems.

"It is easier in Canada to get medical assistance in dying than it is to get government support to live," says Andrew Gurza, a disability awareness consultant and friend of April's.

Andrew, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, says he respects April's decision, but tells us: "If my disability declines and my care needs got higher, I'd still want to be here. To know there's a law that's saying you could easily end your life - it's just really scary."

A man wearing a green polo neck T-shirt sits in his wheelchair.
Andrew Gurza is worried that getting support to live is too hard in Canada

Before she was approved for Maid, April was assessed by two independent physicians who were required to inform her of ways to alleviate her suffering and offer alternative treatments.

"The safeguards are there," she says, when we press her about disabled people who feel threatened by assisted dying, or whether Maid is being used as a shortcut to better quality care. "If it's not right for you and you're not leading the charge and choosing Maid, you're not going to be able to access it unless it's for the right reasons," she adds.

There were 15,343 Maid deaths in 2023, representing around one in 20 of all deaths in Canada - a proportion that has increased dramatically since 2016 and is one of the highest in the world. The average age of recipients was 77.

In all but a handful of cases, the lethal dose was delivered by a doctor or nurse, which is also known as voluntary euthanasia. One doctor we spoke to, Eric Thomas, said he had helped 577 patients to die.

Dr Konia Trouton, president of the Canadian Association of Maid Assessors and Providers, has also helped hundreds of patients to die since the law was introduced.

The procedure is the same each time - she arrives at the home of the person who has been given approval for Maid and asks if they wish to go ahead with it that day. She says the patients always direct the process and then give her the "heads up and ready to go".

"That gives me an honour and a duty and a privilege to be able to help them in those last moments with their family around them, with those who love them around them and to know that they've made that decision thoughtfully, carefully and thoroughly," she adds. If the answer is yes, she opens her medical bag.

Demonstrating to the BBC what happens next, Dr Trouton briefly puts a tourniquet on my arm. She shows me where the needle would be inserted into a vein in the back of my hand to allow an intravenous infusion of lethal drugs.

In her medical bag she also has a stethoscope. "Strangely, these days I use it more to determine if someone has no heartbeat rather than if they do," she tells me.

A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line

Some 96% of Maid provisions are under "track one" where death is "reasonably foreseeable". Dr Trouton says that means patients are on a "trajectory toward death", which might range from someone who has rapidly spreading cancer and only weeks to live or another with Alzheimer's "who might have five to seven years".

The other 4% of Maid deaths come under "track two". These are adults, like April, who are not dying but have suffering which is intolerable to them from a "grievous and irremediable medical condition".

That is in stark contrast to Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, which says patients must be expected to die within six months. The Westminster bill would not allow doctors to give a lethal dose – rather patients would have to self-administer the drugs, usually by swallowing them.

Death via intravenous infusion normally takes just a few minutes, as the lethal drugs go straight into the bloodstream, whereas swallowing the drugs means patients usually take around an hour or two to die, but can take considerably longer, although they are usually unconscious after a few minutes.

Dr Trouton told me she regarded the Canadian system as quicker and more effective, as do other Maid providers. "I'm concerned that if some people can't swallow because of their disease process, and if they're not able to take the entire quantity of medication because of breathing difficulties or swallowing difficulties, what will happen?"

'Canada has fallen off a cliff'

But opponents argue it's being used as a cheaper alternative to providing adequate social or medical support.

One of them is Dr Ramona Coelho, a GP in London, Ontario, whose practice serves many marginalised groups and those struggling to get medical and social support. She's part of a Maid Death Review Committee, alongside Dr Trouton, which examines cases in the province.

Dr Coelho told me that Maid was "out of control". "I wouldn't even call it a slippery slope," she says "Canada has fallen off a cliff."

A woman with brown hair and a nose piercing, holding a stethoscope, smiles at the camera with an eye testing board in the background.
Dr Ramona Coelho says she wants to help patients to live

"When people have suicidal ideations, we used to meet them with counselling and care, and for people with terminal illness and other diseases we could mitigate that suffering and help them have a better life," she says. "Yet now we are seeing that as an appropriate request to die and ending their lives very quickly."

While at Dr Coelho's surgery I was introduced to Vicki Whelan, a retired nurse whose mum Sharon Scribner died in April 2023 of lung cancer, aged 81. Vicki told me that in her mum's final days in hospital she was repeatedly offered the option of Maid by medical staff, describing it as like a "sales pitch".

The family, who are Catholic, discharged their mother so she could die at home, where Vicki says her mum had a "beautiful, peaceful death". "It makes us think that we can't endure, and we can't suffer a little bit, and that somehow now they've decided that dying needs to be assisted, where we've been dying for years.

"All of a sudden now we're telling people that this is a better option. This is an easy way out and I think it's just robbing people of hope."

'Not a way I want to live'

So is Canada an example of the so-called slippery slope? It's certainly true that the eligibility criteria has broadened dramatically since the law was introduced nine years ago, so for critics the answer would be an emphatic yes and serve as a warning to Britain.

Canada's assisted dying laws were driven by court rulings. Its Supreme Court instructed Parliament that a prohibition on assisted dying breached the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The extension of eligibility for those who were not terminally ill was in part a response to another court decision.

In Britain, judges in the most senior courts have repeatedly said any potential change to the law around assisted dying is a matter for Parliament, after the likes of Tony Nicklinson, Diane Pretty and Noel Conway brought cases arguing the blanket ban on assisted suicide breached their human rights.

April knows some people may look at her, a young woman, and wonder why she would die.

"We're the masters of masking and not letting people see that we're suffering," she says. "But in reality, there's days that I just can't hide it, and there's many days where I can't lift my head off the pillow and I can't eat anymore.

"It's not a way I want to live for another 10 or 20 or 30 years."

Additional reporting by Joshua Falcon.

White House fires National Security Agency chief

Getty Images The White HouseGetty Images

The Trump administration has fired Gen Timothy Haugh - the head of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command - the BBC's US partner CBS has reported.

It is not clear why he was removed, but it comes after a meeting between President Donald Trump and far-right activist Laura Loomer on Wednesday. Ms Loomer reportedly urged Trump to fire specific employees whom she suspected lacked support for his agenda.

She posted on X that Gen Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble, who US media reported was also let go, "have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired."

Before their firings were reported, Trump told reporters he would get rid of any staff deemed to be disloyal.

"We're always going to let go of people – people we don't like or people that take advantage of, or people that may have loyalties to someone else," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump made the comments as reports emerged of the firings of at least three other officials at the White House National Security Council (NSC), following the reported meeting with Ms Loomer. The president did not confirm names.

The National Security Agency (NSA) referred the BBC to the Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs for a comment on the firings.

The White House previously told the BBC that the NSC "won't comment on personnel" matters.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees - Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - disclosed Gen Haugh's firing to CBS.

Himes said in a statement that he was "deeply disturbed" by the decision, CBS reported.

"I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first — I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration," Himes said.

Those fired from the NSC on Thursday included Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs; and David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security, CBS reported.

It was not clear if Gen Haugh and Ms Noble's removals were connected to those at the NSC.

The firings follow a major controversy involving the NSC last month when senior officials inadvertently added a journalist to a Signal messaging thread about military strikes in Yemen.

Gen Haugh, who was not on the Signal chat, testified on Capitol Hill last week about the leak.

The extent to which that controversy played a role in the firings is unclear.

Trump has so far stood by top officials involved in the incident, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who took responsibility for the Atlantic magazine reporter being added to the Signal chat, and said it was an accident.

Getty Images Laura LoomerGetty Images
Laura Loomer is a staunch Trump supporter

According to CBS, a source familiar with the situation said the Signal incident "opened the door" to looking into staff members believed not to be sufficiently aligned with Trump, while Ms Loomer's visit sealed the fate for those who were terminated.

The administration has been looking at outside meetings held by national security staff, reprimanding some for meeting people not believed to be aligned with the president, according to the source.

Aboard Air Force One en route to Miami, Florida, on Thursday, Trump praised Ms Loomer and confirmed he had met with her, calling her a "great patriot" and a "very strong person".

"She makes recommendations… sometimes I listen to those recommendations," he said. "I listen to everybody and then I make a decision."

In a phone call with the BBC, Ms Loomer said it would be "inappropriate" to divulge details of her meeting with Trump on Wednesday.

"It was a confidential meeting," she said. "It's a shame that there are still leakers at the White House who leaked this information."

She texted a statement that said: "It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings.

"I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America and our national security."

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who posted information in the chat, is now the subject of an internal review into his use of Signal and whether he complied with his department's policies, the Pentagon's office of the acting inspector general said on Thursday.

Inspector general offices routinely conduct independent investigations and audits of federal agencies, and look into possible security breaches.

Upon returning to the White House in January, Trump removed many of the government's inspectors general and has installed acting heads of the watchdogs at the defence, commerce, labour and health departments.

Lush and Kwik Fit warn National Insurance rise will push up prices

Getty Images Colourful display of Lush bathbombsGetty Images

Cosmetics company Lush and car repair chain Kwik Fit are among firms which have warned they will raise prices due an increase in employers' National Insurance (NI).

Other firms have told the BBC they will reduce how much profit they make, freeze hiring or in some cases cut jobs to cover the higher costs.

From Sunday, employers will have to pay NI at 15% on salaries above £5,000, instead of 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 currently.

The Treasury said the billions raised will be spent on public services, including the NHS.

Kasey Swithenbank with short cropped brown hair and a black and white horizontal striped jumper standing in a Lush store with the till and colourful bath bombs behind her

Lush told the BBC that with 3,600 employees in the UK and Ireland, it would have to find an extra £2.7m per year.

Kasey Swithenbank, Lush's retail head for the UK and Ireland, said: "We are going to be taking small incremental price changes. We are taking an approach where we look at certain categories at key points of the year so hopefully our customers don't feel the full burden straight away."

Mark Slade wears a suit
Kwik Fit boss Mark Slade says the National Insurance changes will affect prices and hiring.

Kwik Fit, which employs around 7,000 people, estimates the NICs rises will cost it £6.4m.

This will have a knock-on effect on prices, and recruitment, said Mark Slade, its managing director.

"We are really careful to make sure KwikFit is always competitive and benchmarked against the people around us - but the reality is that includes increasing prices."

He added: "There will be some people who aren't replaced over the coming year and that will be in the senior levels."

What are the changes?

  • The rate that employers pay in contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% on a worker's earnings above £175 per week. The government expects about 940,000 firms to pay more, 250,000 companies to pay less, and 820,000 to see no change.
  • The threshold when employers start paying the tax on each employee's salary will be reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000.
  • But Employers Allowance - the amount employers can claim back from their National Insurance bill - has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500.

BBC Breakfast contacted around 200 UK businesses and charities in March, across different industries, from sole traders to large companies to get a sense of the impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions.

Some 121 completed the questionnaire and around 100 of these businesses told us they had at least an approximate idea of how much increases in employer NICSs would cost them.

The costs ranged from £1,000 to £39m depending the size of the business and the number of employees.

Around 60 of the businesses which were planning to increase the staff count before announcement said the Budget had affected these plans.

How will firms manage the rises?

BBC Breakfast's questionnaire asked employers to choose from a list of actions they would take to manage increases in NICs.

  • 77 said they would pass on costs to customers in price rises
  • 68 said they would freeze or reduce hiring
  • 81 said they would reduce their profit margins
  • 39 said they would manage increases through job losses

Businesses most frequently told us they would choose a combination of these things.

Allison Kirkby sits in front of a BT logo
BT boss Allison Kirkby said tax changes meant BT was speeding up cost cutting it was going to do anyway

Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT, said the tax changes, which will cost the firm £100m, will mean it speeds up job cuts it was already planning.

She added that BT is "delighted" with tax relief on infrastructure investment in the Spring Statement and UK planning reforms.

"At the moment, like the country, we are focused on getting BT back to growth," she said.

"Predictability on taxation, on regulation and on planning is super helpful for the investment that goes into infrastructure like ours, which is the digital backbone of the country."

Angela Burns stands in front of a hotel.
Angela Burns says the tax changes are "really challenging".

Angela Burns is the chief executive of the Webb Hotel Group, a group of four hotels based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

It employs just under 300 people, and she says the NICs rises alone will cost £200,000 a year, with additional minimum wage and pension costs taking that to £600,000.

"It's really tough because our labour force is the main expense in our business," she said.

"As soon as it was announced in the budget in October, we started to look at restructuring, and as people have left, we haven't re employed. So we've actually cut our workforce down from about 320 to about 280 now to prepare ourselves."

She said prices would have to be moved "slightly upwards".

"But it's a balancing act as to what customers are prepared to pay," she added.

Greg Strickland, general manager of trampoline activity firm Jump Xtreme in Bolton, said the changes added £30,000 of costs "overnight".

He said it had cut 16 hours per week off some 40-hour contracts to cover the cost.

Meanwhile Andrew Lane, managing director of Union Industries in Leeds said the firm, which makes industrial doors, shares about half its post-tax profit with employees.

"This is going to hit them," he said. "There will be less money to distribute to our employee-owners."

The government has predicted the changes will raise between £14.6bn and £18.3bn a year over five years when compensation for public sector employers is taken into account.

A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC the government was "pro-business" and that it knew the "vital importance of small businesses to our economy".

They said October's budget "took difficult decisions on tax to stabilise the public finances, including the NHS which has now seen waiting lists fall five months in a row".

They added: "We are now focused on creating opportunities for businesses to compete and access the finance they need to scale, export and break into new markets."

Additional reporting by Oliver Smith & Jennifer Meierhans

The Grand National jockey who's allergic to horses

The Grand National jockey who's allergic to horses

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Media caption,

“If I spend all morning around horses I’d be sneezing for rest of day’

  • Published

As a football-obsessed child with an allergy to horses, Sean Bowen did not seem like obvious jockey material.

But at the age of 27, Bowen rode his 1,000th winner in February, and is now searching for Grand National success.

Bowen rides 20-1 shot Three Card Brag for Irish trainer Gordon Elliot at Aintree on Saturday.

"I've always grown up loving the Grand National and dad loves the Grand National. It's something that he always said that hopefully one day he could win.

"I'd love to win a Grand National for my family. If I did that, I think I'd have to retire because there's not much else that can top that."

A family affair

Bowen's love of horses has certainly grown since childhood, even if the allergies remain.

"I still am [allergic to horses] now a little bit, it's a bit of a weird one," Sean tells BBC Sport Wales.

"If dad would come in from clipping and there'd be horse hair everywhere, I'd be itching for days. Even now, sometimes if I spend all morning round horses, I'd be sneezing for the rest of the day."

Bowen's parents, Peter and Karen, have been training racehorses for 30 years, but that did not mean he instantly took to the sport.

"I can't say I grew up loving it. I enjoyed football until I was around 11. I started riding when I was about 10," he says.

"I suppose both my brothers got into riding ponies, and then I had no-one to play football with, so I had to get on the ponies instead."

Bowen's younger brother will also be riding at Aintree this weekend. James, who has ridden more than 400 winners, will be on board Chantry House in this year's Grand National.

"It's amazing - very few people get to have their brother in a changing room with them every day," Sean says.

"When he started riding, he pushed me to do better. It's something quite unique that we're both doing something that we're both successful at."

The brothers speak at least a couple of times each day, with James Bowen saying he would not be a jockey but for Sean's influence.

"I have so much admiration for him," James says. "I think we help each other out, but more so him helping me out."

The Pembrokeshire brothers had to share the spoils at Cheltenham in December after a dead heat was recorded between their horses.

"I was finishing well and we pulled up and he [James] was depressed because he thought he got beat," says Sean.

"When they called the dead heat, it was amazing because it's one of those things you know doesn't happen very often, let alone happen with a brother.

"The fact it was at Cheltenham, obviously the biggest racecourse in the country, it was incredible. I hope it happens again."

James Bowen riding Quantock Hills and Sean Bowen on Teriferma, en route to a dead head at Cheltenham in DecemberImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The dead heat between Quantock Hills, ridden by James Bowen, and Teriferma, ridden by older brother Sean, was the first at Cheltenham in eight years

'Amazing' to reach landmark

Sean Bowen has been tipped for the top since winning the apprentice jockey title 10 years ago.

"It sounds silly, but 1,000 winners isn't much when you look at AP McCoy's record - [he finished his career with 4,358 wins], but then if you look at other people's records, it's brilliant and it's amazing to do it," he adds.

"It's taken dedication and hours on end on motorways to have achieved the 1,000-winner mark. It literally is seven days a week - we get 19 days off in August. I'm actually getting married in the summer, so the honeymoon will be my break.

"My last couple of years have been particularly busy trying to chase the championship. I've had to employ a driver! I'd say I do 75,000 miles a year on my car - the cars get a good hammering."

Sean says there is no time to listen to music or a podcast when travelling - because he is having to plan and prepare.

"I'd be looking at my races," he explains.

"I'd be on my iPad watching every horse that I ride that day, watching all their previous races, how they like to be ridden and how I can get the best out of them, and seeing what every other horse in the race is doing."

Jockey Championship the next target

Bowen has already moved on to his next goal, which is to win the Jockeys' Championship for the first time.

The championship runs from the start of May to the end of April with the victor being the jockey who rides the most winners in that period.

Bowen lost out on a potential first championship last year after a fall meant he missed over a month of rides, leaving him even more determined to come out on top this year.

"It's what I've wanted for a long time now," he says. "Last year, I think I was leading it by 30 wins on the day of my injury and then I missed out by seven winners.

"Hopefully with an injury-free passage now to the end of April, I can have a good run of things."

Reigning champion Harry Cobden is full of admiration for Sean after he rode a 1,000th winner.

"For such a young man it's a phenomenal achievement - his hard work and dedication is unbelievable. He'll have to have a party," Cobden tells BBC Sport Wales.

"He's not just a brilliant jockey, he's an even better person."

Much as Sean might like to have a party, as Cobden suggests, the life of a jockey does not leave much room for indulgence.

Jockeys follow strict diets and horse racing implements a handicap system. The top weight carries 12 stone, the bottom weight carries 10 stone, depending on the quality of horse.

"Ten stone would be easier for me than some people," Sean explains.

"I'm quite lucky that I'm quite short and don't seem to have a problem with my weight, whereas James is a bit taller than me, a bit chunkier, and he has to work very, very hard at it. There'd be days where he's getting up at two or three in the morning, getting in the bath to sweat.

"He'll go and ride out in the morning, then go racing. He'd be running the track beforehand, trying to lose more weight. At times it's cruel, but I'm quite lucky that my weight is quite stable at 10 stone.

"Other jockeys would tell you I eat well, but I suppose I'm very slim compared to most people. Every day I have a little bowl of berries and yogurt and then eat a wrap on the way home and maybe a little bit of chocolate to fuel me in the end."

'A very low day'

Although Bowen has experienced some of racing's highs, it is a sport that comes with dangers for both human and horse.

Abuffalosoldier collapsed after winning the Holland Cooper Handicap Chase while Sean was being interviewed on the horse.

"The worst thing about that is that's literally never happened to me and then the fact that happened on a big day at Cheltenham on TV was obviously dreadful for the sport," he says.

"The chances of that happening are similar to the chances of somebody playing football and having a heart attack. That was a very unfortunate and a low day."

Bowen hopes there are more good days to come, and has his sights set on winning the very biggest events.

"The Gold Cup and the Grand National are our two biggest races," he says.

Rare Tudor paintings show 'fantastical beasts'

Historic England Wall painting dating from the 16th Century, of the head of a beast - possibly a dog - emerging from decorative foliage.  It is grey paint on a plaster background.Historic England
The paintings were created using a secco technique where pigments are applied to dry plaster

Rare 16th Century wall paintings have been revealed at a former Tudor hunting lodge.

The Grotesque-style images were found behind failing plasterwork at The Ashes, in Inglewood Forest, near Ivegill, Cumbria

They feature fantastical beasts and foliage arranged in decorative panels, thought to be an imitation textile design.

In addition, scientific dating has confirmed that some of the earliest timbers in the building date from the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I.

Jen and Richard Arkell, the owners of The Ashes, said: "A small fragment of wall painting - similar to that seen at nearby Dacre Hall - has been visible in the house since before we acquired the property over 20 years ago.

"However, recent work to the primary upstairs bedroom revealed much more of the composition.

"Removing old failing plaster to find these remarkable motifs and faces looking back at us is a moment we will never forget."

Historic England The Ashes, a former Tudor Hunting Lodge. A large white two-storey building  with chimneys at either end of the pitched slate roof. There are two sets of two narrow arched windows on either side of the front door, which is painted blue and set slightly to the right of centre. Five windows, again in sets of two are on the upper storey.Historic England
The Ashes is listed as Grade II*, reflecting its exceptional historic importance
Historic England A view of roof timbers - dating from the 16th Century - pitched around a central pillar.Historic England
Some of the roof timbers date from the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I

Recent scientific dating using dendrochronology - a technique that analyses tree growth rings to determine age - established that the earliest part of the roof used timber, which was felled in or around the winter of 1561 to 1562.

The building has been given further recognition and protection by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.

As well as the Grade II* listing for the main building, it has been awarded Grade II listing to adjoining agricultural buildings and boundary walls.

Historic England Wall painting dating from the 16th Century of a rabbit - grey paint on a plaster background.Historic England
The paintings were described as a "remarkable" find

Myra Tolan-Smith, from Historic England, said: "The combination of motifs discovered here is unusual even by national standards.

"Together with the newly listed farm buildings, this discovery provides remarkable insight into the evolution of a significant Tudor hunting lodge into a working farm."

Markus Campbell-Savours, MP for Penrith and Solway, said: "It's quite clear these paintings were a remarkable find and it's wonderful news that they have now been protected as part of the building's listing.

"We can only hope that local people can enjoy them and the history of Cumbria for many years to come."

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Americans react to the president's trade policy

"He's flipped the system": Americans react to Trump's tariffs

US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Wednesday including a 10% tariff on most countries.

Some of America's biggest trading partners will see even higher tariffs beginning 9 April.

The aggressive shift in trade policy makes clear where Trump stands on tariffs, but has left much of the world wondering what Americans - who are expected to see the side effects - think of the move.

We asked five people what they think.

Mary Anne Dagata, 71, Michigan

This Michigan resident thinks the pain Americans will feel will be temporary and worth it.

I know we're all going to get pinched in the pocket for a while. I think in the long run, it's going to get us out of the massive deficit that we're in.

I am concerned about the price of goods going up. I am going to end up being more particular about what I buy, basically I'll tighten the belt for a while.

But then I think it's going to go full circle and it's going to be a good thing for the economy and for people in general.

We've been the world's financial doormat for a while and we've gotta stop it.

Catherine Foster, 58, Florida

This soon-to-be-retiree worries about economic instability prompted by Trump's actions.

I'm very unhappy. I'm probably a couple of years away from retiring and I don't know if I'm going to be able to retire.

My 401k's not doing great, Social Security is on the line and I don't think the tariffs are going to help America's standing on the world platform.

Trump is not a king and I feel like our Congress and Senate is letting us down, both parties, by not pushing back [on tariffs].

They know better, and they're not doing anything. Why?

Ben Maurer, 38, Pennsylvania

This trucker welcomes the incoming tariffs and hopes they can help restore smaller US towns.

I feel like the way to kick-start investment back into US manufacturing is exactly this.

It's a necessary evil.

Up until the 70s, there were two steel mills [in my area] and then they closed. And up until the last 10 years, the sites have been abandoned

We might not get back everything, but even if we recover 30-40% of it, it's quite a bit of money and jobs.

Watch: How the US stock market is reacting to Trump’s tariffs…in 45 seconds

Gloria Smith, 77, Washington DC

This retiree says she is on a fixed income and feels Trump administration officials don't appreciate how tariffs will affect her life.

I'm on a fixed income. I'm retired, so things are going to go up and I'm worried. It means less money that I'll have coming in.

What I'm trying to do is stock up on food because I think things are going to get really, really bad as far as shipping. Food is the one thing that you can't really cut from your budget.

If I can be honest, Trump's got all the money. He doesn't have to [worry about] food. Musk has all the things, so this isn't going to affect them. So they don't know about the pain.

They say 'a little pain', but how little is this pain?

Robin Sloan, 73, Maryland

Robin says she's trying to hold out hope, but she worries the economic turmoil will affect her and her family.

I'm worried. I'm worried about my retirement funds. I'm worried that he's going to make other countries hate us for what he's doing. I just think he's an idiot.

I have a son and he's 30. He has his own family and he's looking for work and he's struggling. This isn't going to help things. He has two children - 18 months and six.

I tend to be a glass half-full type of person, but the president and his ideas are just so crazy sometimes. My financial adviser, who I really trust, did say that some of Trump's plans are good and good for the finance market.

It gives me a little bit of hope, I guess. But then when you see the stock market plunging, it was like "oh, maybe not".

Watch: Three things to know about Trump's tariffs announcement

Tariffs 'hard to come back from', says US pharma boss

BBC Dave Ricks, the boss of Eli Lilly, gesturing with his hands at a conference in March, wearing a dark suit and blue tieBBC
David Ricks, the Chief Executive of Eli Lilly – which is based in Indianapolis – told the BBC that whilst he understood the intentions, he was doubtful if it could succeed in both clawing back US manufacturing jobs, and raising hundreds of billions of revenue for the American government.

The boss of US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly says there is no looking back from Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from the rest of the world.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, David Ricks described it as a watershed moment in US economic history, "I think it's a pivot in US policy and it feels like it'll be hard to come back from here."

While Mr Ricks said he thought it may encourage some companies to relocate some manufacturing, he was doubtful it would also create hundreds of billions in additional revenue for the US promised by President Trump.

He also added that the UK's status as a pharmaceutical and life sciences power was in decline.

Eli Lilly is a pharmaceutical giant worth $750 billion with 50,000 employees across the US, Europe and Asia.

Because of their complex supply chains and the often life saving products they make, pharmaceutical companies along with microchip makers were temporarily exempted from the tariffs imposed on all products imported into the US.

But Mr Ricks seemed in little doubt that tariffs would eventually hit and that would have damaging consequences for investment in new medicines.

He explained that drug prices were essentially capped in Europe and the US which meant the impact of tariffs would be felt elsewhere.

"We cant breach those agreements so we have to eat the cost of the tariffs and make trade offs within our own companies. Typically that will be in reduction of staff or research and development and I predict R&D will come first. That's a disappointing outcome."

Mr Ricks said he did not support the imposition of tariffs but understood its intention and respected Mr Trump's political mandate.

"We don't support tariffs, to be clear. In pharma, about 70% of global R&D takes place in the United States. So we're creating the next generation of breakthroughs and cures. But the production is heavily weighted outside the US. And that's not unique to our industry. It happened with electronics and software and other things".

"So I think what this administration is saying is we want both. We want the means of production and we want the research and development intellectual property generation."

Eli Lilly are in the process of building a new additional £800 million facility in Limerick in Ireland where they employ over 3,000 people. Mr Ricks said that development would proceed.

"There's plenty of demand outside the US so we'd have to look at the flow of goods because we wouldn't want to have to pay tariffs if we didn't need to but I think for the moment that's fine."

But Mr Ricks said that its investment in the UK had been in decline and warned that slow regulation and poor uptake of new medicines threatened the UK's reputation as an important life sciences hub and that patients were missing out on new advances in medicine.

Mr Ricks said he delivered some "candid" comments to senior ministers including the Prime Minister, Health Secretary and Business Secretary.

"The UK's advantage is slipping. If you look at the numbers there is disinvestment in research and development. It's been on a steady decline."

So is the UK complacent when it thinks of itself as a life sciences super power?

"That's one way to put it."

Mr Ricks said countries like Germany spend nearly double of their health budget on medicines.

"The UK is not a large market. But what it could be is an exceptional market. You need three things to make our industry work. A strong intellectual property system, and the UK is quite good. You need a regulator that's timely efficient and predictable - pretty good there as well but most importantly you need a commercial market that rewards innovation - and here there's been significant backsliding".

Katya Adler: EU talks tough on Trump tariffs in hope of U-turn

Getty Images Donald TrumpGetty Images
Donald Trump has upended global trade with his tariffs announcement

Fundamentally wrong, was how Germany's outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, described the new Trump tariffs.

A unilateral attack - that was the view of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

French President Emmanuel Macron called them brutal, unfounded and certain to have a "massive impact" on the European economy.

He convened an emergency meeting with representatives of French businesses most affected by the newly announced 20% tariffs on EU goods sold to the US and issued a call to arms to European business "not to invest in America for some time until we have clarified things".

"What message would we send by having major European players investing billions of euros in the American economy at a time when [the US] is hitting us?" he said.

For France it's wine, champagne and the aeronautical industry, for Germany it's cars, and for Italy it's luxury goods. It's well known these sectors sell well abroad and now risk being clobbered by US import taxes.

Overall, the chemicals, machinery and equipment industries in the EU are seen as the most vulnerable to the tariffs.

But dig a little deeper and there are other EU sectors, reliant on the US market, that could come as a bit of a surprise.

French cognac, generally dismissed as an old person's tipple in Europe, is the booze of choice for many American rappers, playing a prominent role in the music and lifestyle of stars like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. More than 40% of French brandy is exported to the US.

Spain exports a lot of gas turbines to the US, alongside tonnes of olive oil.

Which EU countries are most exposed?

When we look at which EU countries are most exposed to the US in terms of GDP, the picture is also not quite what you might imagine.

Ireland is highly dependent on the US in terms of goods and services. Those exports - a lot linked to the pharmaceutical industry (which is currently exempt from the 20% tariffs, until the US boosts its own production) and also tech - make up a fifth of Ireland's GDP.

Getty Images Bottles of French cognac displayed at an independent winegrowers fair in Paris, France, on Friday, March 21, 2025Getty Images
French cognac is also facing US tariffs

Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta are more exposed than the EU average in terms of services exports.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia are in a similar position when it comes to goods.

Germany has a greater exposure to the US than the other major EU economies, at over 5% of GDP, followed by Italy (about 4%), France (3%) and Spain (just over 2%). These figures were collated in 2024 by CaixaBank research based on Eurostat figures for the previous year.

Will the EU retaliate?

The response to the new US tariffs is being coordinated at EU HQ in Brussels. The European Commission deals with all overarching trade matters for the bloc's members.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claims they hold "a lot of cards", including the strength to negotiate and the power to push back.

The US economy is mighty. It makes up 25% of global GDP.

But the EU single market of 450 million people (the biggest single market in the world) stands very close in size at 22% of global GDP.

So, yes, the EU can bite - hard - as well as bark when it comes to retaliating against Donald Trump's tariffs. Especially if, as EU figures have suggested, the bloc targets US services like Big Tech, possibly including Apple, Meta, Amazon and even Elon Musk's platform X.

But that risks a new backlash by the Trump administration. And the EU wants to avoid upping the ante.

If you take politics into account, not just economics, the EU has less room for manoeuvre than you might think.

Take energy supplies, the EU has been buying US liquified natural gas (LNG) after it weaned itself off Russian gas following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tricky to reduce or heavily tax those imports. That would badly impact EU consumers, not only US industry, and it would worsen already dismal relations with the US.

Think of all the recent rows over defence spending and Ukraine. Aside from the economic hell the EU sees and hopes to avoid in the new Trump tariffs, the bloc also really wants to sidestep a trade war with the country that used to be Europe's best friend.

Getty Images Cemetery in KyivGetty Images
Europe and the US have had deep rows over defence spending and the war in Ukraine

So, the Brussels plan is: threaten heavy retaliation, hope Donald Trump is persuaded to negotiate, then pray he'll stage a U-turn on tariffs.

The EU's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, says he's speaking to his US counterparts on Friday. It's an opening gambit. The EU is in no rush to retaliate.

What could the EU offer the US in a negotiation?

The Trump administration has ruled out any country negotiating its way out of the new tariffs before they become live this weekend. But after that, what could the EU offer the US president to persuade him to back down?

Trump is incandescent about the EU's massive trade surplus. It sells far more goods than it buys from the US. The surplus for 2024 was around $200bn (€180bn; $153bn).

It's the other way round when it comes to services - the US sells far more to the EU than the other way round. That is why the EU thinks its main retaliatory leverage against the US would lie in services, like banks and big tech.

Getty Images Apple logo and euro coinsGetty Images
Big tech could be in focus for EU retaliatory tariffs

To redress the goods imbalance, the EU could offer to buy more LNG from the US, or more military equipment, following its pledge to Washington to do more for its own security.

But that would break a different EU promise - to boost withering European arms industries by trying to buy EU when re-arming EU countries. It is something the US has already objected to, so that's tricky.

Brussels could also cut direct and indirect tariffs on US goods. It could lose quotas on US agricultural produce.

It would be hugely reluctant to comply with another US ask: to water down its much-trumpeted digital regulations, aimed at limiting monopolies and placing restrictions on speech and content in the EU.

How bad can this all get?

How do you price in the possible collapse of the international trading system, EU officials ask.

European firms fret about their markets being flooded by cheap goods from non-EU countries that are also hit by Trump tariffs and seeking to sell elsewhere.

The risk is very real when it comes to China. Trump is slapping more that 50% tariffs on Beijing when you add it all up.

Would the EU have to ratchet up its import duties on Chinese goods to protect itself and could that lead to an unintended trade war with China?

These are anxious and hugely uncertain economic times.

Which is why the European Commission says it also wants to focus on matters it can control - if EU capitals agree - and that is reducing internal barriers within the EU single market.

Those barriers, such as tax regimes, vary from country to country and impact the EU's overall economic growth and competitiveness.

The IMF calculates they're equivalent to a 45% tariff on EU manufacturing; 110% when it comes to services.

That is far higher than the tariffs now imposed on the EU by Donald Trump.

EU countries say they're united in combating those. So far they've been divided over completing their own internal market.

South Korea's president has been removed from power: What happens now?

Watch: South Korean court removes President Yoon from office

South Korea's president has been removed from office after the Constitutional Court voted unanimously to uphold his impeachment.

Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from duty in December after being impeached by parliament, following his failed attempt to impose martial law.

The ruling on Friday was met with tears of joy and sadness among Yoon's critics and supporters, who had gathered in various parts of Seoul to watch the verdict live.

A snap election to vote for Yoon's replacement must be held by 3 June.

What next for South Korea?

After months of anxiously waiting, South Koreans have some badly needed closure. The country can now start to repair and move forward, the first step being to elect a new leader.

But the crisis Yoon has unleashed is far from over. Although his military takeover only lasted six hours, the political fallout has only intensified with each month that has passed.

The night of 3 December, when Yoon ordered troops to storm parliament, changed something in South Korea's psyche. It reawakened the ghosts of the country's violent, dictatorial past, showing people that martial law was not, as most had assumed, consigned to history.

Many are still upset by what happened that night, and afraid that the threat of martial law could be brandished again by future zealous politicians.

Getty Images A supporter of impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol joins a protest against his removal from officeGetty Images

Today's verdict therefore came as a relief to most, who cheered on the streets of Seoul as the verdict was read out. It is a victory for South Korea's democracy, that for a while looked as if it was on dangerous ground.

The constitutional court was damning in its criticism of Yoon's authoritarian power grab, as all eight judges voted to remove him from office.

In upholding his impeachment, Moon Hyung-bae, acting president of the eight-men bench, said Yoon's short-lived military takeover was not justified, and that he had "[gone] against the people he was supposed to protect".

He added that the implementation of martial law "damaged people's basic political rights" and "violated the principles of the rule of law and democracy".

Already, there are serious calls to change South Korea's constitution – to strengthen its institutions and limit the powers of the president - to guard against this happening again. However, it will take a particularly patriotic future president to sign off on reducing their own authority.

South Korea more polarised than ever

As Yoon leaves office, he leaves behind not just a shaken country, but a divided one. In the aftermath of that shocking December night, South Koreans were mostly united in their disgust for the president and what he had attempted to do.

But Yoon showed no remorse. He dug in, fought his trial at every step, and continued to dangle the same unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that he used to justify his military takeover.

He claimed that the country and his political opposition had been infiltrated by North Korean and Chinese spies, and that these "anti-state forces" had rigged past elections.

Gradually more and more people believed him. Through his belligerence, Yoon has turned himself into a political martyr for many – the victim of an establishment that has been overrun by "communists".

His conspiracy theories have firmly taken root, and far-right extremism is flourishing. Thousands protest every week in the centre of Seoul. They were on the streets on Friday, and will be there again Saturday, claiming the country's politicians and judges are corrupt and elections are rigged.

And these are not fringe views.

More than a third of people now say they do not trust the Constitutional Court while delivered Yoon's verdict; more than a quarter do not trust the voting system.

Within this climate of distrust, South Korea must head to the polls. Yoon's successor needs to be chosen in the next 60 days. These days are sure to be fraught and even more divisive. Many may not to accept the result that comes.

Yet South Korea urgently needs a new leader who can advocate for the country as whole, having been without one for months.

It quickly needs to figure out how to deal with President Trump, having started on the backfoot. His 25% tariffs on cars and steel have dealt Seoul, and its ailing economy, an early a blow, but many believe worse is coming; that it is only time until Mr Trump turns his gaze to the Korean peninsula, and when he does he will try to force South Korea to pay more for its defence and cut a deal with Seoul's arch enemy, Kim Jong Un.

Reuters People dressed in sweaters and hats sitting on mats along the street. They have spent the night outdoors waiitng for the Constitutional Court's ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachmentReuters
Many people had camped outside the court since the night before in anticipation of the ruling

Yoon's legal team has accused the court of politicising the ruling.

"The whole process of this trial itself was not lawful and unfair," said one of his lawyers, Yoon Gap-geun.

"I feel regrettable that this completely is a political decision," he said.

But politicians are calling for unity, asking everyone to accept this verdict, so South Korea can at least start to move on.

Yoon's political party, the PPP, has conceded, but Yoon himself has not. In a statement he apologised to his supporters for his "shortcomings" without mentioning the ruling.

"I am truly sorry and regretful that I could not live up to your expectations," he said.

"It has been a great honor to serve the Republic of Korea. I am deeply grateful to all of you who supported and encouraged me, despite my many shortcomings," he said.

He cannot appeal, as the decision was made by South Korea's top court. But, having repeatedly vowed to fight to the end, he could still refuse to go quietly.

How did we get here?

In an unprecedented televised announcement on 3 December, Yoon said he was invoking martial law to protect the country from "anti-state" forces that sympathised with North Korea.

At the time, the embattled leader was in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers were under investigation.

Less than two hours after Yoon's declaration, 190 lawmakers who gathered, including some from Yoon's party, voted to overturn it.

Yoon was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.

He is also facing separate charges for insurrection - making him South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested and charged with a crime - which he will be trialed for at a later date. He is now on bail.

Yoon is not the only South Korean politician to have faced impeachment in recent months.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was reinstated as the country's interim leader last month - a role he took up when Yoon was suspended - after he himself was impeached over his move to block the appointment of new judges to the constitutional court.

In 2017, former president Park Geun-hye was forced from office over her role in a corruption scandal involving a close friend.

2025 年还有人在玩 iPhone 越狱吗?推荐一些越狱插件吧。

yxjxx:

我有一台 iOS16.2 的 iPhone14 ,使用 dopamine 进行了越狱,装了下面这些插件。

  1. Sileo
  2. Trollstore Lite
    1. AppsDumps3
    2. AppStore++
    3. Shadowrocket
    4. TrollFools
  3. DumpDecrypt
  4. Filza
  5. TrollSpeed
  6. ChargeLimiter
  7. Tweak Settings
  8. AppData
  9. Choicy
  10. Crane
  11. EZSwipe
  12. Kayoko 剪切板
  13. KillApps / QuitAll / CloseAll
  14. LowPowerDND + Locked DND
  15. PullOver Pro
  16. Reverie
  17. ShowMyTouches / Touch-Viz
  18. Shuffle
  19. TrollPad
  20. VisibleIsland
  21. 左滑返回
  22. AutoFolderClose
  23. StoreSwitcher
  24. AutoScroll
  25. LookinLoader

想要看插件的简要介绍和实际效果可以移步 YouTube 观看我录的一个介绍视频: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jQJDTb1S-0

网站搜索链接被爬虫投广告了

LYRYRYlo:

网站用的是 WordPress ,自带搜索功能 链接是 example.com/?s=“搜索内容”

有天 Google Search Engine 发邮件说有大量重复链接,看了下是爬虫大量请求 example.com/?s=“广告内容”,导致这些链接被 Google 识别,但 Google 没有编入搜索引擎

Bing 上的站长工具没有报告问题,将这些广告链接都编入搜索引擎了

在 Bing 上搜索过这些广告内容,发现好多 WordPress 站点都被这么搞了

现在的方案是在搜索时增加了验证码,想问问各位 V 友有什么更好的解决方案,毕竟搜索自己的站点关键词搜出来那些全国可飞广告真的不太好...

相亲的一些思考

774157009:

因某些原因与研究生阶段女朋友分手了,后在相亲市场里尝试。

喜欢成熟稳重的,人好些的,愿意一起克服生活困难过日子型的,长相一般即可,外向的。

相亲了,觉得相亲压根不靠谱。

  1. 父母势利型:我的家庭和工作在当地不算特别好,但是绝对不算差的。很多时候过不了对方父母的关。
  2. 孩子冷淡型:勉强过了父母的标准,双方发了照片,然后就没下文了。我长相不算特好看,不说很帅,但绝对是过关的。

比学校自谈难太多了(我的学校是某所非常可以的师范类 985 ,奈何笨人比较内向 i 人,也不会主动追女孩子)咋办呀兄弟们,有没有过来人哥哥姐姐叔叔阿姨说说看?感觉没希望了啊啊啊

githubfast 是否靠谱

xiaopanzi:

在新服务器上部署网站难免有网络问题,特别是需要下载 github 里面的资源。

最近发现有个githubfast,只需要使用githubfast.com替换github.com就可以,这对相关 release 比较方便。

这个网站是否靠谱?(如果网页访问会提示:To prevent abuse, only git and CLI access are allowed)我看网上在 2023 年 就有对它的讨论,想不到现在还活着。

另外,在不手动安装代理软件的情况下,大家是否有其他更推荐的方式?

论点:医生和程序员好像

lnbiuc: 论据:
- 医生对症下药,好比程序员 if else
- 普通的程序员只会 crud ,普通的医生只会对症下药
- 遇到困难的问题,厉害的程序员研发中间件、优化架构解决,普通医生肯定没这个能力,等着用别人研发好的新药解决
- 程序员避免单点故障,提高系统可用性,医生预防疾病
- 程序员持续学习各种技术,医生了解新药、新治疗方法
- 程序员团队:开发、测试、运维,医疗团队大夫、护士、药剂师

去医院买药时候想到的

+1 美国手机号,尾号 4A 炸弹号 可转实体卡或双永久 GV

ZAYE: 4-4 日 新增尾 4A 炸弹号

+1 (618) 796-2222 可转实卡邮寄,可转双永久 GV

欢迎老板咨询购买,目前还有其他尾号 4A 号码 都可以制作永久号

+1 (908) 320-3333 可转实卡邮寄,可转双永久 GV
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主站(国内):m.googlevoice.in
备用(海外):i.unadm.in
联系客服 : https://t.me/Gololn
通知频道 : https://t.me/Number866
交流群组 : https://t.me/Number686

问问各位大哥,你们会接受一个人自行到公司人事部来找工作么?

Matsunatru: 最近一直找不到工作。
所以我一个亲戚(非计算机领域)给我支了一招,让我直接去投简历的公司找他们人事直接问要不要人。然后看看能不能直接进行面试。
他认为对于 HR 来说一个活生生的站在他面前的求职者比电子简历要好得多,所以建议我这么做。
不知道各位大哥觉得这样做可以么?

有没有刺激的旅游?

wsseo:

很多景点都是不去后悔一天,去了后悔一辈子。

园林、古镇都是又破又旧。

绿树、红花也没啥看头,抖音上的都加了滤镜。实际没那么饱和。

总之就是又累,又没啥。

有没有刺激的,能激起内心波澜的旅游,不要太危险。

❌