1) Donald Trump again defended the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis. The president said that ICE agents’ killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good were caused by “Democrat ensued chaos”. Braving freezing temperatures, protesters took to the streets across America. Tim Walz, Minnesota’s governor, urged Mr Trump to withdraw federal agents from the state “before they kill another American in the street”. 2) The price of an ounce of gold broke the $5,000 barrier for the first time. Demand for the metal—which cost $2,770 an ounce a year ago—shows no sign of slowing as investors dump bonds and currencies in the face of Mr Trump’s erratic attitude towards international trade. A weakening dollar has also made gold more affordable for those outside America. 3) Taiwan said it was monitoring “abnormal” changes to China’s top military brass. On Saturday Zhang Youxia, China’s top general, was put under investigation, reportedly for leaking nuclear secrets to America. General Liu Zhenli, the army’s chief of staff, is also being investigated. President Xi Jinping has set a deadline of next year for the People’s Liberation Army to** be capable of** taking Taiwan. 4) Alex Honnold successfully scaled Taipei 101, one of Asia’s tallest skyscrapers, without ropes or a safety net. The American’s 508-metre ascent was broadcast on Netflix, sensibly with a ten-second delay, and took an hour and a half. Standing atop the building’s spire, Mr Honnold** proclaimed** his achievement to be “sick”. 5) Israel said it would partially reopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a vital entry point for aid, after the body of the final Israeli hostage in the enclave is located. Israel’s army has launched a “large-scale operation” to retrieve the remains of Ran Gvili. The crossing was supposed to have reopened during the first phase of a ceasefire that was agreed in October. 6) Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that American security guarantees for post-war Ukraine were “100% ready”, with documents waiting to be signed and sent to American and Ukrainian lawmakers for ratification. The Ukrainian president’s comments suggest that tri-lateral talks between America, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi over the weekend had not been entirely fruitless. Talks are expected to continue this weekend. 7) Britain’s ruling Labour Party barred Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, from standing as its candidate in a forthcoming by-election, saying it would be too costly to run a mayoral campaign to replace him. Figures on the party’s left strongly criticised the decision. Mr Burnham is widely seen as a contender to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, the unpopular prime minister, for the party’s leadership. 8) In Melbourne anti-immigration demonstrators clashed with marchers protesting against Australia Day, which marks the landing of the First Fleet of British convicts in Sydney Cove in 1788. Riot police were reportedly deployed. Every year Australians get tangled in an argument over the event, which is seen by many indigenous Australians as celebrating colonisation. 1) **唐納·川普（Donald Trump）再次為移民暨海關執法局（ICE）**在明尼阿波利斯的行動辯護。總統表示，ICE 探員殺害艾力克斯·普雷蒂（Alex Pretti）與芮妮·古德（Renee Good）事件是由「民主黨導致的混亂」所引起的。抗議者冒著嚴寒走上全美街頭。明尼蘇達州州長提姆·華茲（Tim Walz）敦促川普先生在聯邦探員「於街頭殺害另一名美國人之前」，將其撤出該州。 2) 黃金價格首次突破每盎司 5,000 美元的關卡。黃金在一年前的價格為每盎司 2,770 美元，由於投資者面對川普先生對國際貿易的反覆態度而拋售債券與貨幣，目前對黃金的需求毫無放緩跡象。美元走弱也使得美國境外的投資者更容易負擔黃金。 3) 台灣表示正在監控中國軍方高層的「異常」變動。週六，中國最高將領張又俠遭到調查，據報導是因為向美國洩露核機密。陸軍參謀長劉振立大將也正在接受調查。習近平主席已為中國人民解放軍設定了明年必須具備奪取台灣能力的期限。 4) 艾力克斯·霍諾德（Alex Honnold）在沒有繩索或安全網的情況下，成功攀登了亞洲最高摩天大樓之一的台北 101。這位美國人的 508 公尺攀爬過程在 Netflix 上直播（基於安全考量設有 10 秒延遲），耗時一個半小時。霍諾德先生站在建築物的尖塔頂端，宣稱他的成就「酷斃了」。 5) 以色列表示，在尋獲位於加薩境內最後一名以色列人質的遺體後，將部分重新開放加薩與埃及之間的重要援助入境點——拉法跨境口岸（Rafah crossing）。以色列軍隊已發起一項「大規模行動」以追回藍·格維里（Ran Gvili）的遺體。該口岸原定於去年 10 月達成的停火協議第一階段期間重新開放。 6) 弗拉迪米爾·澤倫斯基（Volodymyr Zelensky）聲稱，美國對戰後烏克蘭的安全保障已「100% 準備就緒」，文件正等待簽署並送交美烏兩國立法機關批准。這位烏克蘭總統的言論顯示，週末在阿布達比舉行的美、俄、烏三方會談並非完全沒有成果。預計會談將於本週末繼續進行。 7) 英國執政黨工黨禁止大曼徹斯特市長安迪·博納姆（Andy Burnham）參加即將舉行的補選，理由是為替換他而進行的市長選舉競選活動成本過高。黨內左翼人士對此決定表示強烈批評。博納姆先生被廣泛認為是挑戰民調低迷的首相**施凱爾爵士（Sir Keir Starmer）**黨魁地位的有力競爭者。 8) 在墨爾本，反移民示威者與抗議**澳洲日（Australia Day）**的遊行者發生衝突；澳洲日是為了紀念 1788 年英國第一艦隊囚犯抵達雪梨灣。據報導現場已部署防暴警察。每年澳洲人都會捲入對該紀念日的爭議，因為許多澳洲原住民將此日視為對殖民統治的慶祝。 --Hosting provided by SoundOn