21 h. ago Who are Chen Zhi and the Prince Group, accused by the US and UK of large

US treasury department has sanctioned Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi – alleged mastermind of a cyber-crime empire in south-east AsiaThe UK and the United States have sanctioned a multinational network based in south-east Asia accused of running large-scale online scam operations that are suspected of using trafficked workers to defraud people around the world.The industry has flourished in recent years, especially in parts of Cambodia and Myanmar where hundreds of thousands of people have been duped by false job adverts and then forced to commit online fraud, including through romance scams, sometimes under the threat of torture. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago The Guardian view on UK national security: a case of state failure | Editorial

This week’s partisan blame game is the wrong response to the collapse of the alleged Chinese spying case. The failure of governance runs deeperThe China spying row has revealed disturbing weaknesses in the processes of the UK state. It cannot be in the national interest for a case involving national security to get so close to the courts and then for it to be abandoned in what remain mysterious circumstances. Public confidence, as well as security itself, are inevitably placed at risk. But this genuinely important issue now risks being blanketed by the fog of the party-political battle at Westminster.For the third time this week, MPs spent Thursday trading accusations about whether the Conservatives or Labour are more to blame for the fiasco of last month’s collapsed prosecution. To be fair, the latest exchanges did not descend to the abject “did-didn’t” level that was reached at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday. Politicians from Sir Keir Starmer...

Events

35 h. ago USC doctoral student accused of being serial rapist and spent years spiking women’s drinks then assaulting them

Sizhe Weng faces a potential life sentence as well as being added to the sex offender register if convicted.

Society

39 h. ago 'Who the hell's side are you on?': Labour ministers accused of 'weakening' case against 'Chinese spies' to maintain 'positive relationship' with Beijing

The Prime Minister is mired in a deepening crisis over the role played by No10 in the collapse of the trial of two Britons accused of espionage on behalf of the Communist regime.

Politics

41 h. ago Alleged Chinese spies were accused of sharing sensitive information about MPs

Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were alleged to have passed information to an intelligence agent.

Politics

4 d. ago Furious Speaker hits out at ministers over China spying scandal and warns parliament is not getting protection

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle accused the Government of failing to protect MPs after Parliament was 'spied on' by China.

Events

7 d. ago China mega embassy decision ‘set to be delayed again’ amid spy case row

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has faced backlash following the collapse of a trial for alleged Chinese spies

Politics

2 w. ago Michelle Mone told us ‘business isn’t easy’ during Covid. How are things now, your ladyship? | Marina Hyde

After a company she was linked to was ordered to repay £122m it made from pandemic deals, the baroness has embarked on a masterclass in victimhoodBy their own accounts, there have been two Westminster-adjacent victims of inflammatory language this week. One is the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, hurt to the point of requiring smelling salts by some politically commonplace words spoken by the prime minister. And the other is legally besieged bra baroness Michelle Mone, who has always been performatively sensitive, with chaos as her rising sign.Alas, far from their shared victimhood drawing our two snowflakes closer together, in Michelle, we may have finally found the Tory from whom Nigel would not accept a defection to Reform. Which really means something, considering Britain’s would-be next prime minister currently has precisely zero peers in the House of Lords. Like the PPE she provided during the pandemic, Michelle would be deemed incredibly expensive and absolutely unusable.Marin...

Politics