Trump says no security promises for Ukraine, and Kyiv can ‘forget about’ Nato

美国总统特朗普排除了向乌克兰提供安全保障或北约成员国的可能性。与此同时,乌克兰总统泽连斯基准备访问美国,以敲定一项关于移交自然资源的协议。特朗普表示,欧洲盟友将承担乌克兰安全的责任。

特朗普表示,泽连斯基将于周五访问,并在美国施加巨大压力后签署协议,该协议涉及移交用于航空航天和其他技术的稀土。特朗普补充说,美国在该地区的驻扎将构成一种“自动安全”,但他排除了美国提供基辅所寻求的更正式的安全保障的可能性。

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Republicans urge Britain to oppose China’s plans for new embassy in London

Republican lawmakers in the US are urging the British ambassador to raise concerns with Prime Minister Keir Starmer regarding China's plan to build a large embassy in London. The lawmakers believe granting China the largest embassy in Europe would be a "counterproductive and unearned reward," especially given concerns about human rights and potential intimidation of UK citizens.

The proposed embassy, a 700,000-square-foot complex at the former Royal Mint Court, has faced opposition from local residents and politicians who cite security concerns and potential espionage. While the Tower Hamlets council rejected the proposal twice, the final decision rests with the central government. The US lawmakers, Representatives John Moolenaar and Chris Smith, argue that allowing the embassy would embolden China's efforts to suppress dissent.

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Unvaccinated Texas child dies in measles outbreak, first US fatality in years

美国得克萨斯州一名未接种疫苗的儿童因感染麻疹死亡,这是近十年来美国首例麻疹死亡病例。 此事件引发了人们对麻疹卷土重来的担忧,尤其是在全美免疫接种率下降的背景下。

该儿童来自拉伯克市,此前因感染麻疹住院治疗。今年以来,得克萨斯州西部和邻近的新墨西哥州已报告超过130例麻疹病例,其中绝大多数为未接种疫苗的儿童。已有18人在得克萨斯州住院治疗,卫生官员警告称,疫情可能会进一步蔓延。此外,长期散布麻疹、腮腺炎和风疹(MMR)疫苗虚假信息的罗伯特·F·肯尼迪之子也开始担任美国卫生部长,这更增加了人们对疫苗接种的担忧。

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Trump AI video showing Gaza as seaside resort draws backlash

美国前总统特朗普的社交媒体账号发布了一段疑似由人工智能生成的视频,展示了饱受战争摧残的加沙地带重建为海滨度假胜地的景象,其中还包括一座巨大的金色特朗普雕像。这段视频在Instagram上获得了超过1500万的观看次数,并在特朗普的Truth Social网络上被分享了数千次。

这段33秒的视频名为“加沙2025:下一步是什么?”,以人们从隧道中走出来,出现在一个拥有棕榈树和游艇的海滩上的场景开始。此前,特朗普曾提出由美国接管加沙的想法,并将巴勒斯坦居民迁移出去,这一提议遭到了全球谴责。尽管他后来似乎软化了这一计划,表示这只是他的建议,并承认约旦和埃及的领导人拒绝了任何违背巴勒斯坦人民意愿的迁移行动。

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EU trade chief plans China visit amid soaring tensions with Donald Trump

European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic is planning a trip to China at the end of March to meet with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. This will be Sefcovic's first visit to Beijing as commissioner for trade and economic security, and it follows his recent trip to Washington where he engaged with top trade officials.

Sefcovic's visit comes at a time when trade relations between the EU and China have become strained. The EU has expressed concerns about China's industrial overcapacity, which it believes leads to unfairly cheap exports that harm European industries. The meeting provides an opportunity for both sides to discuss these grievances and seek potential solutions.

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Hong Kong’s Paul Chan cuts spending in budget, plots AI path to future growth

香港财政司司长公布了一项财政紧缩的预算案,旨在开源节流,缓解872亿港元的赤字。措施包括冻结所有公务员的薪资,缩减1万个公务员职位,以及削减教育开支。同时,政府计划投入10亿港元成立香港人工智能研发研究院,将香港发展成为国际人工智能交流合作中心。

财政司司长陈茂波强调了“一国两制”原则的优势,以及中国在技术创新领域的崛起。他还宣布暂停商业用地出售一年,并表示政府可能会将部分地块重新规划为住宅用地。分析人士认为,这是陈茂波“最具挑战性”的一次预算案,他将大部分时间用于阐述削减开支的方法,并列出增加费用和收费的项目,以增加收入。

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Why does Hong Kong need 18 months to revise its HK$2 public transport scheme?

香港的公共交通补贴计划将从明年9月起,对老年人和残疾乘客收取更高票价的20%,原因是八达通卡公司未能及时完成技术升级。 这项修订是削减开支的一部分,旨在减少交通补贴,预计五年内可节省60亿港元的公共资金。

根据修订后的政策,如果票价超过10港元,老年通勤者和残疾人士将需要支付票价的20%,低于此门槛的行程仅需支付2港元。政府消息人士表示,由于八达通缺乏所需的技术能力,变更无法立即生效。预计需要18个月的时间来完成系统更新,并用“乐悠咭”取代现有的八达通卡。

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Hamas armed wing says it will hand over bodies of four hostages ‘tonight’

哈马斯下属的卡桑旅宣布,作为加沙停火协议的一部分,他们将于“今晚”移交四名以色列人质的遗体。卡桑旅公布了人质的姓名,但以色列当局尚未确认这些信息。这一举动是停火协议框架下的一部分,旨在推动更广泛的和平进程。

此前,以色列因抗议哈马斯释放人质时对其进行的“残酷对待”,推迟释放约600名巴勒斯坦囚犯。哈马斯则认为这是对停火协议的“严重违反”,并表示在巴勒斯坦囚犯获释前,不可能进行第二阶段的谈判。作为交换,以色列将释放巴勒斯坦囚犯,以及自2023年10月7日哈马斯袭击以色列以来被拘留的妇女和未成年人。一名以色列官员证实了将移交四名人质遗体的消息,但未提供进一步细节。

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French paedophile surgeon’s wife knew and ‘did nothing’

法国一名前外科医生因涉嫌攻击或强奸 299 名患者而受审,该医生的兄弟在法庭上表示,其前妻知道他的行为但“什么也没做”。 这位名为 Joel Le Scouarnec 的 74 岁退休外科医生自周一开始受审,此案是该国最大的儿童性虐待案件之一,受害者中 256 人事发时未满 15 岁,最小的 1 岁,最大的 70 岁。

Le Scouarnec 的兄弟指责 Marie-France(已于 2023 年与 Le Scouarnec 离婚)本可以确保他的兄弟被捕,但他承认自己强烈不喜欢他兄弟的前妻,并承认他没有“证据”来支持他的说法。他还指责 Marie-France“因为钱而爱她的丈夫”,并且在婚姻期间与其他男人发生性关系。

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Sudan military plane crash death toll rises to 46

苏丹一架军用飞机在恩图曼市坠毁,死亡人数已上升至至少46人,其中包括妇女和儿童。这是该国近二十年来最严重的飞机坠毁事故之一。这架安东诺夫飞机在恩图曼的一个人口稠密地区坠毁,还造成至少10人受伤。

这架飞机在从瓦迪赛义德纳空军基地起飞时坠毁,坠机还损坏了恩图曼卡拉里区的一些房屋。军方表示,坠机事故造成武装部队人员和平民死亡,但未提供具体数字,也未说明坠机原因。部分遇难者遗体已被送往恩图曼的瑙医院。

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Hong Kong could rake in billions from basketball betting but experts have doubts

Hong Kong's government is considering legalizing basketball betting, a move that could generate an estimated HK$1.5 billion to HK$2 billion annually in duties. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced the proposal, inviting the Hong Kong Jockey Club to submit plans for expanding sports gambling options to include basketball, aiming to combat the prevalence of illegal betting activities.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club estimates that illegal basketball betting turnover reached between HK$70 billion and HK$90 billion last year. The club has expressed its intention to submit a detailed proposal soon and collaborate closely with the government for swift implementation. However, the timeline for legislation remains uncertain, pending public consultation and legislative processes, with potential concerns about promoting gambling and its impact on youth.

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Stay or go? Taiwan’s chipmakers explore US factories to avoid tariffs

台积电在美国举行首次董事会,象征着其对在美国生产芯片的承诺,并回应了美国总统特朗普要求芯片制造业回归美国的呼吁。 此举正值美中贸易紧张加剧,美国政府对台湾在全球芯片制造领域的主导地位表示担忧之际。

特朗普政府一直试图通过关税等手段,迫使包括台积电在内的芯片制造商将生产转移到美国。台湾在全球晶圆生产、封装和测试中占据主导地位,美国对台湾芯片的依赖被视为战略弱点,同时对美贸易逆差也在不断扩大,尤其是在人工智能驱动芯片需求激增的背景下。

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Budget 2025: how is Paul Chan planning to balance Hong Kong’s books?

香港财政司司长陈茂波面临压力,需谨慎管理香港财政,此前香港录得872亿港元的赤字。 为了平衡收支,陈茂波计划削减政府开支并增加收入来源,具体措施包括提高离境税、调整人才和资本投资者入境计划的收费,以及审查各项费用。

政府计划将离境税从120港元提高到200港元,预计每年增加16亿港元的收入。此外,人才和资本投资者入境计划的申请费已调整为600港元,签证费用根据逗留期限调整为600或1300港元,预计每年增加6.2亿港元收入。政府还将审查电动汽车年费、停车咪表收费和交通违规罚款等,可能带来额外20亿港元的收入。此外,政府正考虑对经陆路口岸离境的私家车征收200港元的边境设施费,预计每年增加10亿港元收入。最后,香港将对跨国公司引入全球最低税,预计每年增加150亿港元的收入。

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Alibaba makes Sora-style video models open source, as tech giant shows AI capabilities

Alibaba Group will open source four Sora-style video-generation models from its Tongyi Wanxiang series to promote its AI technologies among developers. The move by Alibaba Cloud, the company's cloud computing and AI arm, makes the Wan2.1 series models freely available to academics, researchers, and commercial institutions globally.

These models, trained on 1.3 billion or 14 billion parameters, can be downloaded from Alibaba's Model Scope and Hugging Face. This open-source approach, gaining traction due to companies like DeepSeek, allows developers to modify, share, and improve the models, potentially fostering a wave of new AI applications. The Wan2.1 series, already a leading video-generation model supporting text effects in both Chinese and English, aims to rival the performance of models from companies like OpenAI.

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China’s croplands, Taiwan’s home-grown submarine: SCMP daily highlights

A recent study projects that 35% of China's cropland could vanish by 2100, even if global warming targets are met, raising significant food security concerns. This highlights the urgent need for revised cropland protection strategies to mitigate potential agricultural losses.

In response to China's technological advancements, the US is considering involving the private sector to boost the development of advanced defense technologies, aiming for greater efficiency in the defense budget. Meanwhile, small factory owners in Guangzhou are bracing for impact as the US moves to end the "de minimis exemption," a tax break on small parcels, even though many are unfamiliar with the specifics of the policy.

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Hong Kong developer Sino Land reports 30% earnings drop, points to full pipeline

Sino Land, a major Hong Kong developer, reported a 30% drop in earnings for the first half of its financial year, earning HK$1.82 billion (US$234 million). This decline is attributed to a slow recovery in the city's property sector, with revenue from property sales falling 63% to HK$2.44 billion. The results also reflect a HK$407 million revaluation loss on investment properties.

The company's property revenue primarily came from sales of remaining units in previously completed projects. However, Sino Land remains optimistic, citing a pipeline of new residential projects and the removal of demand-side management measures in February 2024. Chairman Robert Ng Chee Siong also noted that Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and talent-admission programs have positively influenced buyer sentiment and residential sales in Hong Kong.

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Apple to fix iPhone glitch that suggests replacing ‘racist’ with ‘Trump’

苹果公司正在修复部分iPhone语音听写功能中出现的一个漏洞,该漏洞在用户说出以R辅音开头的单词(包括“racist”)时,会短暂地建议使用“Trump”一词。 这一问题引发了争议,一些iPhone用户本周在社交媒体上发布视频,详细展示了这个故障是如何发生的。

根据网上流传的视频,当用户激活语音听写功能并说出“racist”一词时,“Trump”一词会先出现在文本窗口中,然后迅速被正确的单词替换。苹果公司在一份声明中表示,他们已经意识到语音识别模型存在问题,并正在推出修复程序。该公司解释说,驱动语音转文本功能的语音识别模型可能会显示一些在语音上有重叠的词语。

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Move to slash education expenditure leaves Hong Kong parents dismayed

香港政府将削减教育开支,取消自2019-20学年以来为近80万学生提供的每年2500港元的补助金。此外,未来三年还将削减公立大学28亿港元的拨款,并从八所公立大学的储备金中收回40亿港元。预计2025-26财年教育方面的经常性支出将下降2.3%,至1029亿港元。

政府发布的预算文件显示,取消学生补助金的举措预计每年可节省20亿港元。此举无疑会让家长们对政府收紧开支的方式感到不满,也反映出香港在财政压力下对教育投入的调整。

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Hong Kong to seek proposals from private developers for cross-border I&T hub: source

香港政府计划今年邀请私人开发商,就与深圳合作开发新的创新中心提交方案。此举旨在推动河套深港科技创新合作区的发展,该合作区由香港和深圳两部分组成,目标是吸引人才、创造财富并促进战略产业转型。

与此同时,由于财政司司长陈茂波公布了应对2024-25财年预计872亿港元赤字的预算计划,香港发展部门将重新调整公共项目的优先次序,但具体细节尚未公布。此前,中央港澳工作办公室主任夏宝龙也曾视察该合作区,分析人士认为此举表明他希望加快合作区的发展。

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Philippine police rescue Chinese student whose finger was cut off by kidnappers

菲律宾警方成功解救了一名被华人团伙绑架的中国学生。该团伙为逼迫学生家长支付巨额赎金,杀害了学生的司机并切断了他的手指。由于案件的性质恶劣,引起了广泛关注。

内政部长表示,学生父母拒绝支付赎金。绑匪包括前菲律宾警察和士兵,他们于周二晚在马尼拉一条繁忙的街道上遗弃了这名14岁的学生,当时警方正在逼近他们的车辆。据悉,该学生家庭和绑匪的中国头目都曾是利润丰厚的网络赌博团伙的经营者,这些团伙在前总统杜特尔特执政期间蓬勃发展,但在去年被现任总统下令关闭。这些网络赌博团伙主要服务于中国客户,而赌博在中国是被禁止的。

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