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China-UK Relations
China gets green light for giant embassy in London

The UK has given China the green light to build a new embassy in London, several media outlets report. The embassy will be China's largest in Europe and the hope is that the construction will strengthen relations between the countries.

The building will be built on a plot of land near the Tower of London. Approval has been delayed for several years, partly due to protests from neighbors and Hong Kong activists.

Critics have said that the new embassy increases Chinese espionage capabilities, and that the location will make it easier for China to eavesdrop on sensitive British activities

Russian invasion  The fighting
Ukrainian parliament lacks electricity and water after attack

The Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv is without heat, electricity and water after Russian attacks, according to speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, according to AFP.

Ukraine is being hit hard by Russia's attacks, which are targeting energy infrastructure, among other things. Extreme winter weather is prevailing in the war-torn country, with temperatures reaching minus 20 in some places.

Residents of the capital have been urged to seek other places due to the lack of electricity and heating. The city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, says that over half a million people have left after the call.

- Putin is using it (the cold, editor's note) to break down resistance, drive everyone towards depression and create divisions in society, says Klitschko.

Russian man sentenced to 13 years for spying for Sweden

A higher court in St. Petersburg has sentenced a 60-year-old Russian man to 13 years in prison for spying for Sweden. This was reported by the Russian security service FSB to the Tass news agency, according to Expressen.

The man is said to have worked as a design engineer in the Russian defense industry and collected sensitive information on behalf of the Swedish military intelligence service Must on behalf of Ukraine. He is said to have handed over the material without any personal contact at agreed locations.

According to the information, he was arrested during such a handover in the spring of 2023. He has previously been convicted in a lower court, and his sentence was now upheld on appeal.