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Dan Jarvis answers questions in the Commons over the decision to approve a new ‘super-embassy’

Jack Straw, a former Labour foreign secretary, has praised Keir Starmer for the way he is handling Donald Trump. While some opposition parties want Starmer to be more confrontational, Straw told Times Radio that would be a mistake. He said:
The best approach [to handling Trump] that I know of is the one that’s being adopted by our prime minister, Keir Starmer. It’s very hard. It’s very frustrating. I’m sure there have been occasions where Sir Keir has said things to himself in the shaving mirror about Mr Trump that he would not wish to be repeated. But he is an example of how to handle Donald Trump. It is infinitely better than challenging Trump’s ego, to which there is no limit, trying to work around him.
And up to now, the Starmer approach to Trump has succeeded, not least in the fact that, until this latest outburst on Greenland, we did have a much better deal on tariffs than, say, the European Union has had.
The treaty has been signed with the Mauritian government. So I can’t reverse the clock on that. The treaty has been signed. Parliament has a kind of enabling function on treaties. It’s not like a traditional piece of legislation. So it can’t unwind the treaty having been signed.

Critics expected to mount legal challenge to plans for vast complex at Royal Mint Court amid security concerns

The UK communities secretary, Steve Reed, has given permission for China to build a vast new embassy near the Tower of London after spy chiefs told him that the risks to national security could be controlled and dealt with.
The decision paves the way for Keir Starmer to visit Beijing in the coming weeks – though local residents plan to the decision, potentially delaying the development by months or years.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government approved plans for a massive new Chinese Embassy near Tower Bridge, angering critics who fear it will enable spying.

The Guardian’s picture editors select some of the most powerful photos from around the world

In China, marriage and birth rates have hit record lows and many people are living in isolation. Is the Are You Dead? app just a practical response to this – or something more troubling?
A few days before Christmas, after a short battle with illness, a woman in Shanghai called Jiang Ting died. For years, the 46-year-old had lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Hongkou, a residential neighbourhood that sits along the Huangpu River. Neighbours described her as quiet. “She rarely chats with people. We only see her when she goes to and from work, and occasionally when she comes out to pick up takeout,” said a local resident . Her parents long deceased, Jiang had no partner or children to inherit her estate. Her lonely death sparked a debate in Chinese media about how society should handle the .
For Xiong Sisi, also a professional in her 40s living alone in Shanghai, the news triggered uncomfortable feelings. “I truly worry that, after I die, no one will collect my body. I don’t care how I’m buried, but if I rot there, it’s bad for the house,” she says.

Intended as China’s version of Dubai’s palm-shaped artificial island, Ocean Flower Island is a $12 billion monument to debt-fueled economic excess.

Claims of ‘government interference’ in decision on plans for vast outpost near Tower of London
Residents of Royal Mint Court plan to mount a legal challenge within weeks if Steve Reed, the local government secretary, approves China’s plans to build a vast new embassy at the site by the Tower of London on Tuesday.
Mark Nygate, the treasurer of the local Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association, said people living near the proposed development had concerns about “government interference in what is supposed to be an independent process”.

Number of high-spending Chinese tourists visiting Japan halved last month after PM said an invasion of Taiwan could spark Japanese military involvement
Chinese tourism to Japan almost halved in December amid a bitter diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo over the security of .
The number of tourists from mainland dropped by about 45% from the same month a year earlier to about 330,000, Japan’s transport ministry said on Tuesday.

A decision on China’s controversial mega-embassy in London is imminent, with Chinese officials and British diplomats in Beijing anxiously awaiting the outcome of a planning application that could soon be approved. MPs from across the political spectrum have condemned the proposal, but UK security services say they can contain the , which sits close to sensitive data cables linking to the City of London

Fourth year of decline deepens concerns over ageing, shrinking workforce and long-term economic impact
China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025 as the birthrate plunged to another record low despite the introduction of polices aimed at encouraging people to have children.
Registered births dropped to 7.92 million in 2025 – or 5.63 for every 1,000 members of the population – down 17% from 9.54 million in 2024, and the lowest since records began in 1949.

The blast caused noticeable tremors in the area and sent large plumes of smoke into the sky.

Beijing has been trying hard to encourage more young people to marry and have children.