China's plans for a massive new embassy in the British capital were delayed until January. Construction plans have proven controversial, with some raising espionage concerns. Ramy Inocencio has more from London.

London

The construction of a new Chinese embassy in central London has been delayed until January, following controversy and multiple protests. Concerns have been raised by Chinese dissidents, exiles, and intelligence experts about potential espionage risks, particularly due to the proximity of important fiber optic cables and the scale of the proposed diplomatic compound.

The embassy plans include over 200 residences for staff, a practice compared to those of other authoritarian states. Protesters and some local residents fear increased surveillance and targeting by Beijing, while British security experts warn that the development could pose a national security threat. The UK government has yet to make a final decision on the project.

Controversial Chinese embassy construction in London delayed

Tonight, China finds its plans for a massive new embassy in the British capital delayed until January. Construction plans have proven controversial, with some raising espionage concerns. CBS's Rami Nascencio in London has the story. It's been six major protests this year alone in the fight to derail China's controversial ambition to establish its largest embassy in Europe here in the heart of London. You can't blame them for feeling scared. We're going to be targets on a much larger scale. Many of these protesters are Chinese dissidents or exiles who fled Beijing's reach. Intelligence experts say there is a national security risk. There are important fiber optic cables that either run under the site or very close to the site, which carry probably massive amounts of important and valuable data. Sir Richard Dearlove is former chief of Britain's MI6, the secret intelligence service. He warns a bigger embassy would mean more diplomatic staff who are actually highly trained intelligence personnel. Also in the plans is a proposal for more than 200 residences to keep staff inside and on hand. authoritarian states with diplomatic residences overseas like Russia, North Korea and Cuba. China is a systemic rifle for democracy. Beijing is watching Carmen Lau, a former Hong Kong pro-democracy politician now living in exile in London after the failed mass protests of 2019 that we covered all that year. I've been followed on the streets of London. Lau's neighbors also received this wanted letter calling on them to turn her into the Chinese embassy. I was so afraid to talk to them after these incidents happened because, you know, who knows who really will be tempted by the rewards. Is Britain's security safer? It's a little bit less safe in my opinion. So protests push on until a decision is declared for China's new super embassy. Ramey Innocencio, CBS News, London.

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

Deming

Washington under state emergency as rains ease

A United Airlines jetliner lost one of its engines during liftoff from Washington's Dulles Airport bound for Tokyo.

Tokyo

United Airlines flight loses engine during liftoff, sparks brush fire

At least two people have been killed, and eight others were critically wounded in a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday. The gunman remains at large. Logan Hall reports.

Providence

Gunman at large after deadly Brown University shooting

At least two people have been shot and killed at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, according to the city's mayor, Brett Smiley. He also said eight people are in critical, but stable condition. The shooter remains at large.

Rhode Island

Brown University shooting in U.S leaves two dead, eight injured

Thailand says there is no ceasefire with Cambodia, and its military will continue fighting until it faces no further threat. That's despite the US president's earlier announcement that both sides had agreed to stop their attacks. Villages along the border are largely empty, except for a handful of volunteer security guards.

Phnom Penh

Fighting continues along Thai-Cambodia border

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened potential land strikes on Venezuela to target an illegal narcotics trade. Trump says the drugs are arriving on U.S shores and that President Nicolas Maduro is behind it. Maduro has denied the claim.

Caracas

Washington considers Venezuela land assault

King Charles III, who shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in February 2024, announced Friday that he would be scaling back his treatment after his doctors have seen success. The monarch also pushed for people to get early screenings, saying, "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

Belarus has freed more than 100 political prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in exchange for sanction relief on Belarusian potash, a U.S. statement said on Saturday.

Minsk

Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.

Kup'yans'k

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy visits troops as Ukraine claims gained ground near key city

In an audacious move, the EU has decided to indefinitely immobilize the Russian sovereign assets, pushing back against external pressure to release the funds before Moscow agrees to pay war reparations to Ukraine.

Brussels

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U.S. House Democrats released new images from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that feature U.S. President Donald Trump and other high-profile people previously linked to Epstein.

Washington

House Democrats release more Epstein estate photos

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

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Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

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The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Moscow

EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she planned to take her award back to Venezuela, but declined to say when she would return to her home country after leaving in great secrecy to receive the honor.

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Japanese authorities are assessing damage after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, followed by multiple aftershocks. In response, officials have issued a warning about the possibility of a megaquake, defined as a magnitude 8.0 or higher event.

Japan alerts citizens about possible megaquake

A Maryland judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from ICE custody. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and was later detained for potential deportation to another country.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody

About 500,000 people are fleeing renewed clashes on the Thailand-Cambodia border. Over a dozen were killed as fighting shatters a US-Malaysia-brokered peace deal amid a decades-old temple land dispute.

Samraong

Half a million flee as Thailand-Cambodia border clashes escalate

The U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

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The U.S. House has approved a bill to end all Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, sparking cautious optimism in Damascus as the measure moves closer to becoming law.

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Myanmar's military bombs a hospital in western Rakhine state, at least 31 people are killed and dozens injured.

Rakhine

Air strike in Myanmar killed at least 31 people, dozens injured

The U.S. military seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been used to violate sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast

The daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf in Oslo, Norway. Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, is set to make an address on Thursday.

Oslo

Venezuela's Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize in absentia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is commenting on potential elections in Ukraine under certain conditions. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst joins CBS News with more on the war against Russia.

Kyiv

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A renewed outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has derailed a US-brokered peace agreement, with cross-border shelling and air raids forcing more than half a million civilians to flee their homes.

Bangkok

Border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia flares up again

U.S. immigration agents used pepper spray against protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday as residents blocked the officers’ vehicles and forced them to leave the area.

Breakdown