Australias Top Court Blocks Russia From Building New Canberra Embassy

General view of the Coat of Arms at federal Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 9, 2023. (Martin Ollman/Getty ImagesSYDNEY–Australia’s highest court on Wednesday blocked Russia from building a new embassy in the nation’s capital, unanimously upholding a law that cancelled its lease on national security grounds.Russia owned a lease to a plot of land that is about 300 metres (984 feet) from Parliament House in Canberra and intended to build a new embassy building there to replace an older building elsewhere in the capital.