The government has insisted no decision has been made on a Chinese mega-embassy in London, after MPs on all sides warned of a potential threat to national security. The Conservatives claimed the controversial scheme would give China a "launch-pad for economic warfare". Labour, Tory, Liberal Democrat, DUP and SNP MPs all urged the government to reject the embassy plans to prevent espionage and guard against the "transnational repression" of Hong Kongers in the UK, in an urgent Commons debate.
Police have advised a high-profile Sikh activist in the UK to install security cameras at his home and reinforce door locks because of threats from Hindu nationalist elements. Paramjeet Singh Pamma, 52, said he had been visited by police and received verbal advice to increase his security due to intelligence suggesting threats to his safety. Singh Pamma said the threats were linked to the Indian government and he accused ministers in the UK of failing to take relentless transnational repression by India seriously.
The Taiwan president, Lai Ching-te, said there was no room for compromise on national security, and he was committed to boosting Taiwan's defences in conjunction with US support. This is not an ideological struggle, nor a unification vs independence' debate, but a struggle to defend democratic Taiwan' and refuse to submit to being China's Taiwan'. Lai and defence minister, Wellington Koo, announced the spending bump an increase of at least $8bn on what had previously been flagged on Wednesday after a briefing from the national security council.
A senior official in Mohammed bin Salman's entourage, who is understood to be accompanying the crown prince on his first trip back to the US in over a decade, has previously been accused by US prosecutors of playing a central role in a conspiracy to infiltrate Twitter and identify users who were posting critically about the Saudi regime. Bader al-Asaker, who has headed Prince Mohammed's private office since before he became crown prince,
Given the current circumstances, if I do not suspend this edition of the film festival, anyone involved in the festival whether directors, forum participants, associated staff, volunteers, or even audience members could potentially face threats or harassment, he said in a statement. This situation places me in a difficult ethical position. As both an organiser and an individual, I have no intention of putting anyone in danger, whether such danger is real or fabricated as a means of intimidation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed what would have been landmark legislation aimed at protecting Californians from transnational repression, when foreign governments target diaspora communities and expatriates living in other countries. Newsom's decision is a missed opportunity to help Californians feel safer, especially the state's sizable South Asian community, which for years has faced intimidation and violence orchestrated by India's Hindu nationalist government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.