https://www.scmp.com/rss/523093/feed The latest news and top stories on Yvette Cooper, the Labour Party's Member of Parliament since 1997, representing Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley in the UK. Her government career included Chief Secretary to the Treasury, where she was the first woman to hold the post, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She held the Shadow Home portfolio twice and chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A UK-led meeting of some 40 countries on the Strait of Hormuz crisis wrapped up on Thursday with a demand for the “immediate and unconditional” reopening of the vital shipping route but no immediate breakthrough. “Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not prevail,” British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement. “To that effect, partners today called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait and respect for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348854/britain-says-40-countries-discuss-reopening-strait-hormuz-after-iran-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348854/britain-says-40-countries-discuss-reopening-strait-hormuz-after-iran-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:09:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, adding the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports “belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies”. “This morning, following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities … were turned back after a warning from the IRGC Navy,” the Guards said on their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:48:54 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma Hong Kong has condemned the United Kingdom for undermining the city’s rule of law and meddling in local affairs after British authorities pledged to use “every opportunity” to press for the release of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who was jailed for 20 years over national security offences. The government issued a strong rebuttal in the early hours of Friday, dismissing London’s comments as “misleading and irresponsible” after the UK expressed concerns over Hong Kong’s erosion of human... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3348075/hong-kong-slams-uk-undermining-citys-rule-law-calls-release-jimmy-lai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3348075/hong-kong-slams-uk-undermining-citys-rule-law-calls-release-jimmy-lai?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 03:29:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting ⁠on the economic fallout from the ⁠war in Iran on Monday, with Finance Minister Rachel ⁠Reeves and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, the government said. Investors are bracing for another stormy week in financial markets after Iran said it would strike the energy and water systems of Gulf neighbours if US President Donald Trump follows through with a threat to hit Iran’s electricity grid. Britain is watching with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347516/uks-starmer-calls-emergency-meeting-economy-iran-war-risks-mount?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347516/uks-starmer-calls-emergency-meeting-economy-iran-war-risks-mount?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:43:11 +0000 dpa dpa UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has accused Russia and Iran of attempting to “hijack the global economy” as Tehran continued to blockade a major oil shipping route. Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to continue attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for ongoing US-Israeli strikes on his country. The blockade has seen oil prices jump to around US$100 per barrel, threatening higher inflation across the globe. Speaking to the media during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the UK... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346523/uk-says-russia-iran-trying-hijack-global-economy-amid-hormuz-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346523/uk-says-russia-iran-trying-hijack-global-economy-amid-hormuz-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:57:13 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has decided not to appeal against his conviction and 20-year jail sentence imposed in a landmark national security trial, the South China Morning Post has learned. A member of Lai’s Hong Kong legal team, who asked not to be named, confirmed to the SCMP on Friday that Lai would not file an application to the Court of Appeal before the usual 28-day deadline for lodging an appeal in criminal proceedings expires on Monday. “We can confirm we have clear... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345656/jimmy-lai-opts-against-appeal-20-year-sentence-after-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345656/jimmy-lai-opts-against-appeal-20-year-sentence-after-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 03:41:29 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross After being sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for national security offences on February 9, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying will decide if he wishes to appeal. He may challenge his convictions and/or sentences and has about two weeks to make up his mind. Given the length of his trial (156 days), the mountain of evidence and the legal issues, it will take time for any appeal to be resolved. Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Lai’s early release. The lead... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344253/speedy-pardon-jimmy-lai-case-unlikely?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344253/speedy-pardon-jimmy-lai-case-unlikely?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A British couple detained in Iran since January last year have been sentenced to 10 years in jail for espionage, their family announced on Thursday, prompting condemnation from the UK government. Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their fifties, were arrested while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey, according to relatives, and have consistently denied Tehran’s spying claims. Their family say the sentences follow a court appearance last October which lasted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344009/iran-sentences-british-couple-world-motorcycle-tour-10-years-spying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344009/iran-sentences-british-couple-world-motorcycle-tour-10-years-spying?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:47:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Washington is “not disputing” a report by five European countries that imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was fatally poisoned with a rare frog “toxin”. Rubio said the report released on Saturday by Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden was “very troubling”. Britain, which has outright blamed Russia for Navalny’s death, said it was considering new sanctions on Moscow as a result. Navalny, a staunch critic of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343650/us-not-disputing-troubling-european-report-navalny-poisoning-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343650/us-not-disputing-troubling-european-report-navalny-poisoning-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:16:17 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of poison dart frogs, five European countries said on Saturday. The foreign ministries of the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said analysis of samples taken from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine”. It is a neurotoxin found in the skin of dart frogs in South America that is not found naturally in Russia, they said. A joint statement... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343599/russia-poisoned-alexei-navalny-dart-frog-toxin-european-nations-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343599/russia-poisoned-alexei-navalny-dart-frog-toxin-european-nations-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 16:36:14 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun The Chinese foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong has lodged “solemn representations” with local envoys for Britain, the US, Australia and the EU over remarks made by their officials and politicians about the sentencing of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong issued a statement on Saturday, saying it had summoned representatives from the countries and the bloc on Wednesday and Thursday. “The commissioner’s office lodged solemn... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3343589/beijing-slams-us-uk-australia-and-eu-over-jimmy-lai-sentencing-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3343589/beijing-slams-us-uk-australia-and-eu-over-jimmy-lai-sentencing-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 12:01:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused on Monday ‌to heed calls to quit, even by the leader of his party in Scotland, pledging to fight on after his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador plunged his government into ‍crisis. Under pressure over the appointment of a man whose close ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have come into full focus, Starmer has attempted to change the narrative. But a demand from Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, for him to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:26:28 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Hong Kong’s High Court jailed former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for 20 years on Monday for national security crimes, in what mainland Chinese authorities described as a “powerful declaration” that severe punishment awaited those who dared to challenge the law. In the toughest punishment to date under the city’s national security law, Lai is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty earlier on two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces and a third of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:36:34 +0000 Ng Kang-chung,Connor Mycroft Ng Kang-chung,Connor Mycroft Hongkongers who were minors at the time of the 1997 handover to China will be eligible to apply for the British National (Overseas) pathway to UK citizenship independently of their parents, with 26,000 arrivals expected under the expanded scheme in the next five years. The move was a response to the 20-year prison sentence handed to former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for convictions of national security-related charges in the city on Monday morning. In a statement on Monday, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3342966/uk-expands-bno-scheme-more-hongkongers-following-jimmy-lai-sentencing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3342966/uk-expands-bno-scheme-more-hongkongers-following-jimmy-lai-sentencing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:26:15 +0000 SCMP Reporters SCMP Reporters A Hong Kong court sentenced former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years in prison on Monday for violating the national security law, closing a chapter on what has become a geopolitical flashpoint between China and the West. In a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes at West Kowloon Court, three High Court judges handed down penalties to Lai, six senior executives of his Apple Daily tabloid-style newspaper, three companies associated with the now-defunct outlet and two activists. Lai,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342862/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-faces-sentencing-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342862/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-faces-sentencing-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 01:45:58 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his “Board of Peace” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations – despite many US allies opting not to participate. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future for the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:43:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two men were found guilty on Tuesday of plotting to kill hundreds in an Islamic State-inspired gun rampage against the Jewish community in England, a planned attack investigators say shows the resurgent risk posed by the militant group. Police and prosecutors said Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, who went on trial a week after an unrelated deadly attack on a synagogue in the nearby northwest city of Manchester in October, were Islamic extremists who wanted to use automatic firearms to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337544/2-men-found-guilty-uk-plot-kill-hundreds-jewish-community?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337544/2-men-found-guilty-uk-plot-kill-hundreds-jewish-community?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:05:12 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao The conviction of former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a high-profile Hong Kong trial has drawn sharp reactions in London, casting uncertainty over thawing Sino-British ties before Keir Starmer visits China. Although the outcome of Lai’s 156-day national security trial was widely expected, observers say it poses a significant test for the Labour government’s balancing act on China, which could narrow the space for engagement even if its immediate impact on bilateral relations is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336815/how-will-jimmy-lais-conviction-affect-china-uk-ties-and-keir-starmers-planned-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336815/how-will-jimmy-lais-conviction-affect-china-uk-ties-and-keir-starmers-planned-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:00:25 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Britain’s government on Monday summoned China’s ambassador to the UK to protest the conviction of British citizen Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on national security charges in Hong Kong, while US President Donald Trump said he urged leniency for Lai in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump told reporters, without specifying exactly when he spoke with Xi. “He is an older man, and he is not well. So I did put... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336555/trump-urges-xi-show-leniency-jimmy-lai-britain-summons-chinas-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336555/trump-urges-xi-show-leniency-jimmy-lai-britain-summons-chinas-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 23:43:55 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain announced sanctions against Russian media and ideas outlets on Tuesday as the UKs top diplomat warned Western nations must raise their game to combat information warfare from “malign foreign states”. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK was imposing sanctions on the microblogging Telegram channel Rybar and its co-owner Mikhail Sergeevich Zvinchuk, as well as the Centre for Geopolitical Expertise and the Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335820/uk-sanctions-russian-and-chinese-firms-warns-cyber-threats-and-hybrid-warfare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335820/uk-sanctions-russian-and-chinese-firms-warns-cyber-threats-and-hybrid-warfare?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 23:05:17 +0000 dpa dpa The UK will “turn the tide” on illicit finance at a landmark anti-corruption summit in London next year, the foreign secretary has said. Yvette Cooper confirmed on Sunday that Britain would host the summit at Lancaster House on June 23-24, 2026. The summit, first promised by her predecessor David Lammy, will bring together governments, businesses and campaigners to agree “tough international action” to combat corrupt practices. Cooper said the summit would target illicit gold used to fund the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335537/uk-summit-will-turn-tide-worldwide-corruption-foreign-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335537/uk-summit-will-turn-tide-worldwide-corruption-foreign-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 19:15:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters A de facto partition of Gaza between an area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas is increasingly likely, multiple sources said, with efforts to advance US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war beyond a ceasefire faltering. Six European officials with direct knowledge of the efforts to implement the next phase of the plan told Reuters it was effectively stalled and that reconstruction now appeared likely to be limited to the Israeli-controlled area. That could lead to years of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332373/gaza-faces-de-facto-partition-israel-trumps-peace-plan-falters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332373/gaza-faces-de-facto-partition-israel-trumps-peace-plan-falters?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:35:09 +0000 Harvey Kong,Lo Hoi-ying Harvey Kong,Lo Hoi-ying Hong Kong authorities have strongly condemned the “untruthful remarks, slanders and smears” in the UK’s monitoring report on the city, which claimed that national security legislation had diminished the city’s political autonomy. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, in her report, also said it was “hardly surprising” that hundreds of thousands of people had left the city to places where “freedoms are better protected” as she reiterated London’s commitment to the British National (Overseas),... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3330151/hong-kong-government-condemns-smears-uks-latest-6-month-monitoring-report-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3330151/hong-kong-government-condemns-smears-uks-latest-6-month-monitoring-report-city?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 03:42:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain and the United States on Tuesday sanctioned a Southeast Asia-based multinational network accused of operating large-scale online “scam centres” that used trafficked workers to defraud victims around the world. The British government said the centres, located in Cambodia, Myanmar and across the region, used fake job adverts to lure workers who were then forced to commit online fraud under threat of torture. This included luring victims into fake romantic relationships before persuading... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3329029/uk-and-us-sanction-southeast-asian-scam-networks-exploiting-trafficked-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3329029/uk-and-us-sanction-southeast-asian-scam-networks-exploiting-trafficked-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 16:57:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain’s spy agency is going dark – the dark web, specifically – for new recruits. The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, is aiming to recruit new spies for the UK, including in Russia, through the launch of a web portal on the dark web. It said the agency’s new secure messaging platform, called “Silent Courier”, will harness the anonymity of the dark web for the first time as it seeks to bolster the UK’s defences against global... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326053/uks-mi6-spy-agency-target-dark-web-new-recruits-including-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326053/uks-mi6-spy-agency-target-dark-web-new-recruits-including-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 22:59:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump kicked off his historic second state visit to Britain on Wednesday amid unprecedented pomp, intense security, technology investments and protests as King Charles and other royals welcomed their nation’s closest ally. Trump and his wife Melania are being hosted by the king at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, where he is being treated to the full array of British pageantry from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:18:04 +0000 dpa dpa The sole survivor of the Air India crash is still in India recovering from his injuries while British families of victims have told the Foreign Secretary they are still facing “silence and indifference” from authorities, according to reports. Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, survived the disaster on June 12 that killed 241 people on board, and his wife has said he is grieving his brother Ajay, who had been sitting across the aisle. Two families who received other victims’ remains in their... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3325446/air-india-crash-families-report-silence-indifference-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3325446/air-india-crash-families-report-silence-indifference-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 12:43:35 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer sacked his ambassador in Washington Peter Mandelson on Thursday following fresh revelations about the diplomat’s friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Dubbed the “Prince of Darkness” during his years as a media spin doctor, Mandelson was twice forced to resign from Tony Blair’s Labour government in the late 1990s and early 2000s over allegations of misconduct. In a statement, the foreign ministry said the prime minister had asked Foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325214/britain-fires-peter-mandelson-us-ambassador-over-links-jeffrey-epstein?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325214/britain-fires-peter-mandelson-us-ambassador-over-links-jeffrey-epstein?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 10:35:59 +0000 dpa dpa Protests continued in the United Kingdom on Sunday over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers as the government set out plans for a fast-track appeal process to speed up the removal of people with no right to be in the country. A group of protesters, some draped in the St George’s Cross flag, gathered outside a hotel in Birmingham, while in London police stood guard at another hotel in Canary Wharf. Ministers hope the overhaul of the asylum appeal process will make it easier to get people... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323004/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-uk-government-plans-new-fast-track-process?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323004/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-uk-government-plans-new-fast-track-process?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 22:35:37 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft The Hong Kong government has hit out at “irresponsible remarks” by Western countries for the second straight day following its decision to pursue overseas-based activists for alleged national security violations related to a group called “Hong Kong Parliament”. Authorities said on Sunday that they strongly opposed and disapproved of “smears with distorted facts” that had been communicated by officials and politicians from countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, as well as “anti-China... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319755/hong-kong-slams-western-countries-over-criticism-bounties-second-straight-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319755/hong-kong-slams-western-countries-over-criticism-bounties-second-straight-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 11:50:17 +0000 Jeffie Lam,Ng Kang-chung Jeffie Lam,Ng Kang-chung The Hong Kong government has hit out at the UK’s “untrue and biased” criticism of the city’s latest move to pursue some overseas-based activists for alleged national security violations. Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in the city on Saturday also dismissed the criticisms by “individual politicians and institutions” from the West as “unwarranted slander”, saying they were “smearing” Hong Kong’s national security laws. It said their comments only exposed their “hypocritical double standards” and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319675/uk-slams-fresh-hong-kong-bounties-activists-transnational-repression?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319675/uk-slams-fresh-hong-kong-bounties-activists-transnational-repression?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:20:41 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Britain on Tuesday for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia’s refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron’s three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317426/king-charles-hosts-frances-macron-first-european-state-visit-brexit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317426/king-charles-hosts-frances-macron-first-european-state-visit-brexit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 11:57:38 +0000 dpa,Agence France-Presse dpa,Agence France-Presse Police on Saturday arrested protesters in London for supporting activist group Palestine Action, which on Friday was banned in the United Kingdom under anti-terror laws. “Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square. The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. Arrests are being made,” Metropolitan Police wrote on social media. Campaign group Defend Our Juries said in a press release that a group of 27 people,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317104/palestine-action-designated-terror-group-uk-after-failed-legal-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317104/palestine-action-designated-terror-group-uk-after-failed-legal-action?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 12:40:48 +0000