Zelenskyy under pressure over corruption scandal

The Ukraine President is facing a crisis on three fronts as he battles against a corruption scandal at home, a proposed iniquitous 'peace deal' drawn up between Russia and the US and continuing bombardment from Russian strikes.

On Wednesday 19th November reports emerged that US and Russian officials had drawn up what was described as a 'peace proposal'. However it has been criticised for being one of capitulation for Kyiv who would be forced to cede territory and reduce its armed forces should it accept the 'deal' [Axios / Guardian]. 

The plan contained terms that closely mirrored Moscow's longstanding demands, a senior Ukrainian official briefed on the proposal told AFP on Wednesday [Moscow Times]. 

Zelenskyy, who has been visiting Turkey on a new peace drive in recent days, is expected to meet US Army officials on Thursday ahead of the G20 in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday [Reuters]. 

The Trump administration will be hoping that Kyiv will accept the iniquitous deal seen by critics as one of appeasement rather than a peace deal. They may also be hedging their bets given growing problems  within Zelenskyy's own administration.

In recent months the Ukrainian president has faced a backlash over reports of corruption. The country has had a long history of corruption. But the recent reports could tear apart the cohesiveness of his administration which has otherwise been a core of strength in a four year long war.

The headlines make salacious reading with talk of 'golden toilets' and 'bags of cash' being smuggled out of the country. It is a scandal that could see the Ukrainian government being brought down as major figures stand accused of corruption and embezzlement.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine [NABU] some £76m has been skimmed from Ukraine's energy sector by business leaders and officials. This has led to calls for Zelenskyy to fire his long-standing chief of staff Andrii Yermak [pictured above, left].

A former film producer, Yermak has served as the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine since the 11th February 2020. But while he has not been accused of profiting from embezzlement, he has been accused of stifling anti-corruption investigations.

NABU says it has uncovered a high-level criminal scheme at the heart of the government involving Ukraine's nuclear energy body, Energoatom, which runs three nuclear power plants supplying Ukraine with more than half of its electricity. The investigation alleges that insiders received kickbacks of 10-15% from Energoatom's commercial partners.

The issue is particularly sensitive as ordinary Ukrainians have to endure daily power cuts as a result of Russian attacks on the country's infrastructure.

The accused mastermind behind the scheme, Timur Mindich, a close personal associate and business partner of  Zelenskyy, has reportedly fled the country, just hours before NABU investigators arrived at his home where they found a bathroom fitted with a gold toilet.

Images of such excess will be difficult for Zelenskyy to explain. His enemies, both at home and abroad, will make political capital from the revelations. Political opponents at home will no doubt pressure Zelenskyy to sack key individuals from his administration, while seeking to secure stronger positions in the way Ukraine is run [Telegraph - paywalled]. 

Beyond its borders, Ukraine's enemies will seek to capitalise on the revelations. Russia will no doubt pressure the American administration to take advantage of a politically weakened Ukraine. The Trump administration may too see the advantage of exploiting the situation. A signed 'peace deal' - even one of attrition - would be welcomed by Trump as an achievement; another in a long line of conflicts and wars he has claimed to have ended.

The scandal will be an embarrassment to Ukraine's closest allies. While there has been no official or public comment from European leaders, many may well feel cheated by the revelations.

Conspiracy theories have long portrayed Zelenskyy as being corrupt and there have been accusations he has personally benefited from money given to the country to buy weapons.

One debunked theory is that the Ukrainian president bought luxury yachts with American aid money. The Russian disinformation plot was successful however. The false reports took off online and were echoed by members of the US Congress who were making crucial decisions about military spending [BBC].

But while those specific reports have been put to bed, the latest scandal - with headlines about gold toilets and bags of cash - do nothing to silence the critics and further bolster those who perpetuate conspiracy theories.

This latest scandal could be a turning point. It could all go south and see the country collapse and Russia ceding vast swathes of territory as the political turmoil ensues.

But it could see Zelenskyy grasping the nettle and turning the situation around.

The former president, Petro Poroshenko has called for the current cabinet to be sacked and for a government of national unity to be formed. This is unlikely to happen since Poroshenko was himself embroiled in a defence procurement scandal, which played a role in his 2019 defeat and which saw Zelenskyy winning on the back of a promise to clean up corruption.

Corruption is nothing new in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has made inroads to clean up politics. This latest episode could be one that makes or breaks the wartime president.

Some observers believe the very fact the scandal even came to light is an indication that Zelenskyy has helped turn things around and that the country is slowly moving in the right direction. Oleksandr Abakumov, the head of NABU's investigating team, acknowledged his colleagues had "faced a lot of obstacles" pursuing an earlier case of corruption known as the Mindich case. "This isn't a story about corruption in Ukraine. It's about how the country is struggling with corruption, fighting with corruption." [Guardian]

Zelenkyy's biggest decision is whether he can step up to the plate and sack his right-hand man. Zelenskyy's chief of staff has amassed a level of power rarely seen in modern Ukraine. He is unelected and lacks popular support. This latest episode in Ukrainian politics could now be the final straw.

"We have to deal with him, he's Zelenskyy's man," a senior European official told the Kyiv Independent. "We don't have a choice."


tvnewswatch, London, UK

Starmer’s future in question as political storm rages

It all looks like a script from a political soap opera as the country heads to a nightmare budget before Christmas. On Thursday 13th November figures were published indicating growth had fallen to 0.1%, down from 0.3% in the previous quarter.

That all comes on the back of a nightmare two weeks in which the new Deputy PM and Justice Secretary had to deflect awkward criticism after it was revealed a convicted asylum seeker was mistakenly released from prison, only for an Algerian sex offender who was due for deportation, to also be accidentally released, just one of more than 90 prisoners accidentally released over seven months [Sky News]. Of course much of the problem was an inherited one, it wasn't a good look.

And this all on the back of a series of resignations, sacking and political manoeuvrings in the corridors of power.

Only last month a tabloid furore was building against Rachel Reeves after accusations of hypocrisy concerning her having failed to apply for a licence from her local council before letting out her south London home. On the eve of Halloween the prime minister declared the matter closed having accepted an apology from the chancellor who had said she had not known a licence was required [Guardian].

Emails then emerged showing that the letting agent for the property had told her husband that a licence would be necessary [BBC]. 

One email also purported to indicate that the agent would apply for a licence on behalf of the client. Within a day the letting agent which rented out Chancellor Rachel Reeves' family home apologised for an "oversight" which led to a failure to obtain the correct licence.

Gareth Martin, owner of Harvey & Wheeler, said the company's previous property manager had offered to apply for a "selective" rental licence on behalf of their client - but this never happened as the manager resigned before the tenancy began.

The story would no doubt have led to louder calls for her resignation but for the breaking news that Prince Andrew was to be stripped of his Royal titles and be known henceforth as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor [Guardian]. He would also, rolling media coverage informed the public, be required to move out of Windsor and slum it on King Charles III's Sandringham Estate where he would reside with the monarch bearing the cost personally. The decision came after long running criticism of Andrew's close connections with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Given how long the episode had been burning, the timing of the decision to strip him of his title seemed somewhat suspicious.

Even if just coincidence, Rachel Reeves would surely have been relieved that the media spotlight had shifted from her dubious financial affairs to the former prince.

While the details of the Reeves' financial affairs concerning her flat may be explained away by an oversight or failure of communication, it is not the first time the chancellor's expenses and financial affairs have been under the spotlight.

In February 2025 the BBC News reported that Rachel Reeves had exaggerated her online CV and had been investigated over her use of expenses while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) [BBC]. The reactions from Reeves and her colleagues were that the BBC reports were exaggerated and inaccurate. Of her expenses Reeves said they had been "signed off in the proper way" and "no issues were ever raised" during her time at the bank. Meanwhile the then Science Secretary Peter Kyle told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the reporting was "inaccurate".

While Reeves has so far survived media scrutiny, others have been less fortunate.

In the summer the Deputy PM Angela Rayner was photographed holidaying in Brighton, vaping on an inflatable kayak on the southern coast near Hove. It then emerged she had bought a flat in the seaside town, her third property which resulted in her being dubbed "three pads Rayner" by the tabloid media [The Sun]. The tabloid media had their claws out and the vitriol and criticism was loud and vociferous. "The hypocrisy of buying a second home when you also have use of a third home — at a time when your own department is waving a stick at second-home owners — does somewhat leave the mouth hanging open," the Sun proclaimed.

Within weeks Angela Rayner was giving a resignation speech, having admitted she underpaid stamp duty. The resignation on the 22nd October came despite repeated messages of support from her colleagues and the prime minister. On the 1st of September Keir Starmer said he was "proud" of his deputy, just days after The Daily Telegraph reported that Rayner saved £40,000 in stamp duty by not paying the higher rate reserved for additional home purchases. By the 3rd of September Rayner contacted the HMRC and referred herself for investigation by Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister's ethics adviser. That same day, shortly before Starmer was due to appear at Prime Minister's Questions, Rayner released a statement admitting she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty when purchasing the Hove flat. Nonetheless the prime minister continued to stand by his deputy. The following day he repeatedly refused to say if he would sack Rayner if the standards adviser concluded she broke the ministerial code [BBC].

The prevarications were moot, and the following day Rayner resigned.

Rayner's stepping down resulted in Starmer being forced to shuffle chairs and pick a new deputy. David Lammy was drawn closer to the PM and placed in position of deputy prime minister and Justice Secretary. Meanwhile he sacked a number of ministers from his cabinet and elevated others to more senior roles. Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary, was thrown out of the Cabinet and replaced with Douglas Alexander. The decision was treated with indignation by Murray who said he was "hugely disappointed" to be cut from the Cabinet. However it was apparently more than 'dissappointment'. A close friend told the Daily Record that Murray was "very angry and is still in the dark as to why he was sacked."

Gone too was Lucy Powell, Leader of the House of Commons, who was also unimpressed about being dismissed from her post.

However in a humiliating move for Keir Starmer she managed to place herself close to the inner circle after placing herself in the deputy leadership contest against Bridget Phillipson and winning [BBC].

Despite having secured a senior position Powell was not brought back into the Cabinet.

Political pundits have suggested that the PM might 'feel some unease about the outcome for a few different reasons' in that, according to Sky's Beth Rigby 'she has power and profile, but will remain an independent voice, free from collective cabinet responsibility [Sky News].

And so a little under three weeks after assuming her position as a political fly in the ointment, Keir Starmer was facing a wrath of stories plastered across many frontpages claiming that he might be facing a challenge to his own leadership.

Once again the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to answer awkward questions in PMQs and address reports that rivals in his Labour Party were plotting to replace him as leader. It all came just two weeks before a government budget announcement that could worsen his already dire poll ratings, three weeks after Lucy Powell secured her position as deputy leader, and 10 weeks since his previous deputy leader and deputy PM Angela Rayner had resigned.

Late on Tuesday 11th November, several media outlets quoted Starmer allies as saying his job might be under immediate threat and singled out Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, as a challenger whose "ambition" was being viewed with "particular suspicion."

Ahead of an awkward PMQs, Streeting was on the media rounds busily defending Starmer and denying any suggestion he was behind any plot to oust the prime minister. According to one Downing Street source quoted in the Daily Express, "there is a pattern of Keir's team briefing against his own people – they did it to Angela [Rayner], Lisa [Nandy], Lucy [Powell], now it's Wes's [Streeting] turn. A circular firing squad won't help the Government out of the hole we're in."

During a tense grilling on the BBC, Streeting defended the PM and denied he was behind a coup, and said people should 'calm down'

BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay launched his interrogation with a graphic description of the likely scenes inside Number 10. "It sounds like people inside Downing Street think you are a potential problem yourself because we've had this extraordinary briefing overnight to the BBC from people close to the Prime Minister who seem to think they're worried about some kind of leadership challenge in the next few weeks, and they name you as a potential threat. Wes Streeting, are you a faithful or are you a traitor?"

Streeting responded, likening the whole episode as being like a soap opera. "Someone has definitely been watching too much Celebrity Traitors in Downing Street. I think they should be watching Countryfile instead and calm down a bit. I am a Faithful, what you're seeing from a silly number 10 source overnight is probably the worst attack on the faithful since Joe Marler was banished in the final." 

Another person in the spotlight is Morgan McSweeney, whose official title is Downing Street Chief of Staff. Starmer has come under intense pressure from a wide range of ministers and MPs to sack his chief of staff after No 10 was accused of an extraordinary briefing operation against the health secretary, Wes Streeting [Guardian].

But there is also a name that has failed to be mentioned in all this, that of Starmer's Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, appointed by the PM on the 16th December 2024, succeeding Simon Case.

Case had been in the role for the six months after Labour won the general election last year and was involved in the transition between governments but left with some questions over his stepping down, though health reasons were cited [BBC] .

Just as depicted by Humphrey in the 'fictional' political sitcom Yes, Prime Minister, the role of the Cabinet Secretary involves advising the Prime Minister, supporting the government's decision-making processes, and heading the Home Civil Service.

However, it seems clear that Starmer is either not receiving very good advice, or simply ignoring it.

From issues concerning the integrity of his cabinet members, choices concerning roles and public statements on his team, as well as policy, Starmer's leadership has been a litany of confusion, procrastination and prevarication.

This is in addition to increasing rumours concerning Starmer's personal life, details of which have been mostly hidden from the public to date.

Labour won an election on the back of a failed and failing Tory administration seen as corrupt and inept. It came in on a promise of 'Change', a single word that was emblazoned on its manifesto. In that manifesto it also gave unrealistic promises it would not raise taxes, something it is widely believed Reeves will break in her late November Budget. The manifesto also fenced itself in with promises that it would 'make Brexit work' and that Labour would not seek to rejoin the EU, the Customs Union or the Single Market, even if this were the only way out of economic oblivion.

The UK has continued to face low growth throughout 2025. The latest figures, ahead of a budget which is likely to dampen public spending yet further paints a gloomy picture for 2026 [BBC]. The EU economy in comparison was projected to experience moderate growth in 2025, with real GDP expected to increase by 1.1% in the EU and 0.9% in the euro area as a whole. Moreover EU growth is expected to rise to 1.5% in 2026. Hardly a celebration, especially given the likes of China which has seen its growth level at around 4.8% in 2025. Meanwhile, the US economy expanded an annualised 3.8% in Q2 2025, much higher than 3.3% in the second estimate, and marking the strongest performance since Q3 2023.

Whichever way one cuts it, the UK's economic picture is bleak. And yet the government has boxed itself into one corner, with promises not to forge closer ties with the EU which would undoubtedly boost the economy [Numerous economic analyses by institutions like the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Centre for European Reform (CER), and others suggest that rejoining the EU, or even just the single market, would boost the UK economy compared to its current post-Brexit trajectory. ] Yet, at the same time the treasury department is willing to break other promises not to raise taxes in order to keep the ailing ship of HMS Britannia afloat.

And amidst all this, one is witness to a political soap opera with denials, rumours and infighting abound. The comedy and farce of it all would be hysterically funny if it weren't so serious.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Windows 10 support ends but it need not be doomsday

Today is the 14th October 2025, a date which marks the 'end of support' for computers running Windows 10. For the average consumer there has been a lot of disinformation and contradictory information swirling around making it difficult to decide what to do.

Updates are free for many, but even news websites are failing to publicise this.

The date has been marked as a kind of 'doomsday' for anyone running the Windows 10 operating system. Figures indicate that 40% of PCs running Windows are still using Windows 10, despite the introduction of its successor, Windows 11, in 2021.

One reason that many have not upgraded to Windows 11 is due to hardware compatibility. Many older PCs that are quite capable of running Windows 10, simply do not have enough memory of RAM to run Windows 11. Even laptops that Microsoft claims are capable of running Windows 11, are rendered almost unworkable after installing the newer operating system.

There are thus millions of computers potentially left vulnerable after Microsoft halts security updates for Windows 10 machines.

There are some caveats however. Security updates are patches applied to prevent hackers exploiting holes in the operating system. But even with such patches users still need to employ good security practices.

Good security involves not clicking on suspicious links, not downloading files from unverifiable sources and keeping anti-virus software up-to-date.

With regards to anti-virus software many people rely on Windows Defender. Some fear that the end of Windows 10 support will reduce protection from the built-in firewall. However, Windows Defender will continue to work and still offer substantial protection.

As long as users continue to employ good safety practices, as outlined above, and stay within safe spaces on the internet and not visit 'dodgy websites', then Windows 10 - even without continued support - is likely to be safe for at least the short term.

But fear will consume many users, some of whom will have already thrown their old PC into an ever growing pile of eWaste and purchased a new machine.

There is however a cheaper option, which will at least put to rest any major concerns for another year. Microsoft is offering another year of support for those who sign-up to receive them. This will ensure protection until the 13th October 2026.

There is a cost to most users however. Microsoft is charging $30 plus tax, or the redemption of 1,000 so-called reward points. [Microsoft Rewards points are a loyalty program that rewards users for engaging in activities such as searching with Bing, shopping at the Microsoft Store, and playing games on Xbox. These points can be redeemed for various rewards such as gift cards, sweepstakes entries, and donations to nonprofits.]

Many PC  users will quite understandably not have heard of Microsoft Rewards and be forced to change laptops or pay up.

There is however a little publicised alternative for those in the EEA, or European Economic Area. Microsoft backed down concerning its policy to charge those in the zone after pressure from consumer groups citing EU legislation [PCMag] . Thus anyone in the EEA is able to get free updates for another year simply by going to the Windows Update page in settings and registering with a Microsoft account.

Many Windows 10 users might not have a Microsoft account, instead signing in using a 'local account', however there is a facility to create an account in order to register for the free updates.

While technically outside the EEA post-Brexit, users in the UK are still able to sign-up for free updates. This may or may not be an oversight on Microsoft's part, the reason is not entirely clear.

What is apparent is that the swirl of information surrounding the 'end of support' doomsday is muddy and confusing at best.

Indeed at the time of writing this dozens of news websites are still offering erroneous or incorrect information. The Guardian points to the free updates but incorrectly states one has to 'sync settings'. This is only true outside the EEA. GBNews also alludes to this with scaremongering headlines that users who don't take action will almost immediately suffer from cyberattacks. The BBC is less sensationalist and warns that "computers may be at risk" should users not enrol for security updates.

Moreover it correctly states that people living in the European Economic Area will get them for free by registering. For other users, to update for free, "they need to have updated to the latest version of Windows 10, have a Microsoft account and backed up their PC settings" to Microsoft's OneDrive online cloud storage service. However, even the BBC failed to notice that users in the UK, despite it not being in the EEA, can still get free updates with no strings attached.

There are an estimated 600 million PCs in the world using Windows 10. And a large proportion of these otherwise working machines will end up as landfill in the coming days.

In the EEA it is estimated that around 22% of consumers still use Windows 10 devices. In the UK the number of computers that could conceivably be consigned to the bin is in excess of 21 million.

Microsoft is acting irresponsibly by consigning otherwise working machines to landfill. But media organisations are also failing consumers. With nearly half of all PCs in the world at risk of being dumped simply because people have been scared into doing so by scaremongering by Microsoft and the media, this could be one of the single biggest environmental eWaste dumping events in recent history.


tvnewswatch, London, UK

Cyberattacks & online crime grows

Cyber attacks, hacking and online crime are becoming rife in recent months. Targets have been both small and large, with individuals falling to online scams at an ever increasing number while large corporates and major infrastructures also falling victim to online attacks.

Growing cyberattacks

In the past few months the retailers M&S and Co-op became victims of online attacks which cost them millions of pounds in losses. The Co-op revealed in late September that it had seen a £200m hit to its business as a result of the cyberattack that left shelves empty and severely disrupted its supply chain [BBC].

The retailer M&S was also severely hit just weeks before and while the company said the nature of the incident meant that some personal customer data had been taken, there was no evidence that it had been shared. The financial cost to the brand has yet to be revealed but there has certainly been reputational damage. The attack saw the retailer stop taking orders on its website and app for clothing and home deliveries and also paused its in-store collection service on the 25th April. Online orders eventually resumed on the 10th of June and the click and collect service resumed in early August [BBC].

No-one was safe from these online attacks. Even the prestigious upmarket store Harrods was targeted though the firm said it managed to thwart the attempted breach to its systems [BBC / Periculo].

As the holiday season ended many people at airports across Britain and parts of Europe found themselves facing delays after hackers targeted check-in and boarding systems belonging to provider Collins Aerospace. The systems were eventually brought back online but not before thousands had their travel plans disrupted. Airlines flying out of Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin were forced to check passengers in manually on Friday 19th September with systems not back to normal until Monday [Independent / BBC].

The same cannot be said for Jaguar Land Rover which is still facing ongoing problems after a month-long shutdown of its operations following a cyberattack [BBC].

While less disruptive, there were further reports of a ransomware attack on a nursery chain on Thursday 25th September [BBC].

Hackers said they had stolen pictures, names and addresses of around 8,000 children from the Kido nursery chain and were using the highly sensitive information to demand a ransom from the company, which has 18 sites in and around London, with more in the US and India.

Arrests

There have been arrests concerning some of these attacks. On the 10th of July the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the arrest of four individuals in connection with the cyberattacks that disrupted operations at Marks & Spencer (M&S), Co-op, and Harrods earlier this year. The suspects, a 20-year-old woman from Staffordshire, two 19-year-old men (one British, one Latvian) from London and the West Midlands, and a 17-year-old British male were detained at their residences. Authorities also seized electronic devices for forensic analysis.

The arrests were said to be linked to the hacker group known as Scattered Spider, notorious for employing sophisticated social engineering tactics, SIM swapping, and phishing techniques to infiltrate organisations. In the case of M&S, the attackers deployed ransomware, leading to a six-week shutdown of online clothing sales and an estimated £300 million loss in operating profit.

There has also been an arrest concerning the cyberattack on the airlines. On Wednesday 24th September the National Crime Agency said it had arrested a man in his 40s in West Sussex as part of an investigation into the incident affecting Collins Aerospace [Guardian].

And just days before it was reported that Thalha Jubair, 19, from east London, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall in the West Midlands, were arrested at their home addresses on Tuesday by the NCA and City of London Police and charged in connection with a cyberattack that resulted in months of disruption for Transport of London [TfL].

The National Crime Agency (NCA) says it believes the hack, which began on the 31st August 2024, was carried out by members of the cyber-criminal group, Scattered Spider, and caused more than £39m in damage and disruption [BBC].

Arrests have not been confined to Britain however. An African cybercrime operation in late September saw 260 arrests after Operation Contender 3.0, involving 14 countries across the continent, reigned in a large number of scammers involved in Sextortion and Romance Scams [BBC / Interpol]

That operation should prompt concerns that even individuals are as vulnerable as large corporations.

In the coming month there is a concern that Microsoft's end of support for Windows 10 will leave millions of people around the world at risk.

The end of support means that vulnerabilities and security issues identified in Windows 10 will not be patched. While users can pay Microsoft for a year of continued support, many may simply ditch otherwise perfectly good computers and upgrade to a Windows 11 machine.

The move by Microsoft has been criticised for creating a problem with so-called eWaste as well as leaving millions of Windows 10 users potentially vulnerable to malware and cyberattacks.

There is however a reprieve for those residing in EEA countries with users able to get free Windows 10 extended security updates if they log in to Windows and enroll using a Microsoft account [Windows Central / Bleeping Computer]. The European Economic Area [EEA] consists of the 27 EU member states plus three non-EU countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Britain is excluded due to its having left the EU. Another Brexit benefit!

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Was life better before the Internet

There have been a number of reports in the media in the past few months concerning generation Z, amongst others, looking back nostalgically at a pre-Internet world [ProfectusMag / GWI].

Of course Gen-Z can't really look back to a world without the Internet. Neither can most millennials. In fact only those that are Generation X or older will likely have grown up without the Internet or at least remember a world without it.

But was it any better to not have access to a world of information at the touch of a button or to share one's life or thoughts with others on a plethora of social media networks.

In many ways it was and in many ways, that of course we weren't aware of, it wasn't.

Part of the recent debate concerned the posting of a video of a performance of the group MGMT on a number of social media platforms.

In an article posted on the Guardian website, and no doubt printed in the physical paper, which even fewer people will read, Isabel Brooks notes that, "Almost half of young people would prefer a world without the internet" and that, "We are haunted by the feeling that it has robbed us of something vital." [Guardian]

Brooks references a video of the song Kids being performed to a group of students at a college campus in April 2003. Students at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, dance and enjoy the song which won't be heard by a wider audience until around 2007.

The video in itself is nothing special. It's probably a VHS recording of a college event not too dissimilar from countless others that took place in the early noughties and the decades before.

However, there is a carefree innocence captured in the video. Brooks herself suggests that in a pre-social media world "people behaved in more authentic and idiosyncratic ways."

Brooks informs us that she was only four at the time the video was shot and perhaps cannot relate to the way people might well have behaved in the days before social media burst onto the scene.

In those days people were less guarded, less hung up about looks or following specific trends. The scene in that video, shot in 2003 could just as easily have been from a video I shot at art college a little over a decade before in Britain.

Kids did have fewer inhibitions. Camcorders were in their infancy and college students weren't particularly shy of being filmed. And much of what was filmed, on old VHS, Video-8 or Umatic tape, has probably been lost, though not all, here being two videos shot in the 1990s at Maidstone College of Art here and here.

In 2003 the Internet was in its infancy. Whilst some universities and colleges had a computer and Internet access, only those needing computers for work would likely own a personal laptop.

A decade or so before not even universities had Internet access. Study was through lectures, books and possibly an audio/visual presentation.

There were no emails or printers. An application to university was carried out by filling in physical forms and sending them off through the post and hoping one might receive a reply and a date for an interview.

Travel involved arriving at a station and buying a ticket for cash or maybe the writing of a cheque. There was no touch and pay, and even chip & pin did not exist beyond the cashpoint which could eat your card at a whim and leave you stranded.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s mobile telephones were only for high flying businessmen or celebrities. The actor Steve McFadden, who played Phil Mitchell in Eastenders, occasionally popped into a Maidstone pub with his massive Motorola 4800X carphone and deposit it on the bar. But for the general public a mobile phone was a pipe dream.

For generation X communication was confined to a landline or a phone box. For many students however there was not even a landline at their rented accommodation meaning the phonebox was the only means of phoning friends in order to make plans.

Without phones plans were often ad hoc, unplanned, spontaneous or simply chance events. One would head to the pub after eating in the hope that someone might be there. Or one might simply take the chance that a fellow student was in and make a journey to their house.

The disappointment of finding no-one at home, or an empty pub was commonplace, but it sometimes led to new adventures, new discoveries and the meeting of new friends.

In some respects this was akin to the Situationist practice of psychogeography which encouraged individuals to engage in a mindful exploration of their city, to aimlessly wander around and observe their environment, a practice of "dérive" or "drift," and thus discover new things.

With the advent of mobile phones, the Internet and an ever connected life, spontaneity and chance discovery was consigned to the past.

Upon leaving education most graduates will today apply for positions online or send countless emails to prospective employers. In an era where email was still in the realms of science fiction, post-grad students had to compose letters on a typewriter and with a photocopy of a CV send it off with the hope of putting one's foot through the door of a company.

Everything was snail mail. Research was fraught especially if you were focused on specialist fields. And the time between sending an application and receiving a reply might extend to weeks.

But technology was slowly improving and becoming more accessible to the general population. In 1994 Mercury One2One launched its digital mobile phone service with Orange following soon after. Early adopters were still seen as outliers. Members of the public would mutter and comment if one took a call on a bus. I clearly remember overhearing two women saying how unnecessary such devices were, as I received a call in central London on a Number 8 bus. "What's so important that people can't wait 'til they get home?" one asked rhetorically. "No, they'll never catch on," replied her friend.

Even as the millennium arrived, mobile phones were mostly in the hands of businessmen, journalists, photographers and those who tended to work away from an office.

Laptops and computers were also out of the reach of most people, seen as an unnecessary luxury. A laptop in the year 2000 cost over £1,000 and was exceedingly slow compared to the machines of today.

Access to the Internet was possible but only through dial-up at 56 kbps. There was no Google. Amazon had only been around a couple of years and as for email there were few providers. Early adopters grabbed a Hotmail address and stuck with it until forced to change to an Outlook account some 13 years later, whilst others grabbed a Gmail account when it launched in 2004. Gmail offered 1 Gb of storage when it launched which doubled to 1 Gb the following year with claims that users would never have to delete an email again. While free storage increased to 15 Gb across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos by 2013, this was barely enough for many users as file sizes grew and more and more of us became reliant on cloud storage.

Facebook launched around 2004 and drew many people into their first foray of social media. In early 2000 Friends Reunited had launched to help connect old school buddies but was shuttered in 2016. Despite its best efforts it couldn't compete with giant services like Facebook.

In between time other social media platforms had made their way into the public arena, services such as Twitter. Online platforms such as YouTube were becoming popular as were blogging platforms such as Wordpress and Blogger.

As these platforms began they were mostly occupied by those who had grown up without Internet access. It would have been unlikely for someone younger than 20-years-old to join  Facebook when it launched in 2004. Indeed the first inhabitants of the web were mostly younger members of Generation X and a few Millennials that were old enough, or lucky enough, to have access to a PC.

Rolling forward a little over two decades and only Generation X and a large proportion of Millennials would remember a time without the Internet. For Generation Z and beyond a world without the Internet would be as unthinkable as a Gen X individual imagining life without electricity or TV.

For Gen Z and most Millennials life has become entwined with the Internet. But while a vast cornucopia of information and knowledge may be only a click away, most young people are more engaged with social network platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and others. The instant hit of a jokey or viral video, spawned a generation demanding instant gratification and one that has little if any attention span.

Research conducted by Microsoft in 2015 found that the average attention span of Gen Z individuals was only about eight seconds, four seconds less than that of millennials. The study attributes this decrease to the generation's constant exposure to digital content and multiple screens [Time].

The hippies were notoriously stoned and laid back and would think nothing of listening to a concept album lasting six sides or watch a feature length avant-garde movie with little or no dialogue. Seventies kids might have buried themselves in comics and books for hours on end, while eighties youth may have spent many hours skateboarding or trying to understand BBC basic [computer programming].

But today's kids, after the instant dopamine hit of a TikTok video can't sit still for one minute. Many will spend hours doom scrolling through content that provides short-term entertainment and causes the dopamine receptors to get fried. In the long term, fried dopamine receptors lead to the shrinking of their attention spans and perhaps explains why Gen Z, specifically the younger of the group, struggle to finish movies and books.

The advent of streaming has brought about a decline in movie going. But another factor is that the age group that used to fill out the cinemas is now one that can't sit still long enough to watch a feature length movie.

Less than two weeks into the release of Mission Impossible 8 - Final Reckoning, a showing at a London cinema barely attracted a handful of patrons.

Youngsters now can often be observed watching movies on their phones at 2x the speed or flipping forward in 10 minute intervals and watching a segment before flipping forward again.

It is perhaps no wonder that ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is seemingly becoming more prevalent in the young. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and developmentally inappropriate.

These symptoms can significantly impact daily life, including school, work, and social relationships.

But while there is no evidence suggesting short form videos directly cause the condition, the cause of ADHD has yet to be established and likely involves a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

The diagnosis of ADHD has increased significantly in the last two decades with data showing a steady increase in adult ADHD prescriptions since 2013/14, doubling since 2019/20. Meanwhile in the UK, it's estimated that about 3-4% of adults have ADHD while in children, the global prevalence is around 5%

Symptoms of ADHD include impulsiveness, disorganisation, poor time management skills, difficulty focusing and restlessness. Of course these 'symptoms' could just as easily describe any teenager.

The Internet and all its associations may not have a bearing on children developing ADHD, even if it is affecting their general attention span. But herein lies another consequence of the World Wide Web, that of diagnoses and other threats.

Before the Internet people enjoyed life without the constant threats of something being bad for you or that one in two of us might die from a fatal disease.

Yes, it was well known, even in the '70s and '80s, that cigarettes weren't a health food and that it probably wasn't a good idea to drink to excess every night or consume large quantities of Coca Cola. Bicycle helmets weren't a thing and the concerns over knife crime and violence was rarely mentioned.

People of course still died from smoking related diseases. Others became involved in accidents because of alcohol. And others grew fat because they drank too much fizzy pop or gorged on 'junk' food. Cyclists were surely injured too. It certainly wasn't a blissful utopia on Britain's streets in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. But somehow the Boomers and Generation X managed to survive and enjoy themselves without being bombarded with government messages, health warnings and nannying, besides perhaps the Green Cross Man - aka David Prowse who later played Darth Vader - and who taught kids of the '70s to cross the streets safely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR7_Bz9fIPA

With the advent of the Internet, and particularly with the smartphone landing in people's hands, negative messages are never far away.

The depressing news headlines could almost be ignored in the days before the Internet. While Sky News began in 1989, it did not have the saturation that it does now. If you missed the 6 O'Clock News on BBC or ITV you'd have to wait 'til 10. Few people bought newspapers, and younger people in particular would be very unlikely to purchase one except for adolescent schoolboys who might buy a copy of the Sun of the Star when the page 3 busty model was still a thing. The Sun newspaper's Page 3, featuring topless models, was discontinued in January 2015 after 44 years, again in part due to the advent of the Internet which provided anyone with as much sassy content as they wanted.

By 2025 the Internet had become a swirling cesspool of pornography, depressing news content, violence, disinformation, health messages encouraging people to avoid cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, salt, fat and meat and engage in more exercise while informing them that one in two people will get cancer.

This messaging along with the other negativity that is prevalent on the Internet is itself far from healthy.

The "one in two people get cancer" statistic can be emotionally distressing, and some may view it as psychologically harmful.

While the statistic may have a basis in fact, its constant broadcast on streamed broadcasts, YouTube pre-roll ads and the like, can create a sense of impending doom or inevitability, leading to anxiety and worry about the future. In short the ad could invoke stress, which itself is known to significantly impact overall health and potentially increase cancer risk.

There's no definitive link between the advent of the internet and a rise in cancer rates. However the global incidence of early-onset cancer increased by 79% between 1990 and 2019. An obvious focus for rising cancer rates is perhaps the vicious circle of obesity, highly processed foods, and sedentary lifestyles.


While Boomers and Gen X smoked and drank, they were less sedentary. They had a morning cigarette before walking to work. Kids were more active, cycling, running and skateboarding rather than sitting in front of a screen.

Both generations were also more positive about the future. Maybe that bubble was burst in the late 1980s when Protect & Survive public information films warned of possible nuclear war, a concern not helped by the BBC drama Threads which depicted the aftermath of such an attack.

But for the most part life was simpler without the internet.

You wouldn't have seen this post of course. This has been typed in Google Docs using a laptop and posted to the Blogger platform. In the past, independent writing was only possible using a typewriter and putting together a fanzine which might be photocopied and distributed by mail or at venues.

'Fanzines' are almost legendary, but many were small print runs and often published just a few issues. Kill Your Pet Puppy, for example, is infamous, but only published six issues  between 1979 and 1984 [Wikipedia]. 

Fanzines aren't new. In the 1970s the likes of Sniffing Glue sold as little as 50 and as many as 15,000 issues in its short 12 issue history [Wikipedia / Guardian].  

Fanzines, or Zines, were originally born out of the counterculture; Dada, Fluxus, Situationist International et al. But as much as they were often political, they offered youngsters a way of promoting other ideas of culture and music. Some focused on science fiction, while others promoted civil rights. But what they represented more than anything was a DIY culture. The Internet can, and does offer some opportunity for these things, but it can all be lost in the ephemeral nature of what the internet is and has become.

A zine, a homemade cassette, a record or CD, is and was something solid, something real. A website, blog, MP3 or online video is real in one sense, but is as much phantom as it is a phenomena.

Old fanzines, books, tapes, records and films still sit on shelves and can be browsed, listened to or watched. And while their existence is fragile, online postings are even more subject to being thrown down a memory hole and eradicated from history.

A book depository or library can of course go up in flames, but one would have to destroy them all to destroy all copies of certain publications. When Geocities was shut down, all traces of millions of posts, articles and information disappeared.

The internet may be a cornucopia of knowledge and information, but it could easily disappear.

Nostalgia is probably something many have experienced before. A trip down memory lane to times that seemed simpler or better. A feeling evoked in us, while listening to a certain song, seeing a particular photograph, or watching a film we saw when we were a child.

But for a generation to be nostalgic for a past they never experienced is bizarre indeed. Maybe it is simply because life has become so complex, overwhelming and saturated that we may all be looking for a time that was simpler and stress free.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Twenty Years after 7/7

Twenty years ago today London experienced its worst terror attack, an event that left 52 dead and many more injured.

On that day details that emerged were sketchy with news outlets unable to report what was occurring on the morning of the 7th of July 2005.

For those with connections with the emergency services, it was clear that something terrible had occurred as early as 9:30 am [BST], less than 40 minutes after the first blast. This blog reported that there had been a major incident having occurred in London's underground system with explosions reported in Liverpool Street, Aldgate East and Edgware Road stations soon after events began to unfold [tvnewswatch]. The three tube explosions had in fact occurred at 8:49 am within 50 seconds of each other.

At 10:00 am news outlets were reporting that the chaos reported on the London Underground was as a result of a number of 'power surge incidents'.

However, I had learned from police sources as early as 09:46 am [BST] that the incidents were due to explosions and there were multiple casualties, and that the fire brigade were outside Edgware Road underground station where a bomb was believed to have exploded. Meanwhile all underground services had been suspended. It was clear from my sources that there was an ongoing terror attack. That said, even the police on the ground were confused and details concerning the nature of the event and the number of key locations were yet to be clearly established. 

Even as the reports of a bus having exploded at 09:49 [BST] emerged, police were initially under the impression that it was another explosion at the Underground Station. But at 09:53 am [BST] it was confirmed that a bus had exploded leaving multiple casualties [tvnewswatch].

By 10:20 am [BST] many news outlets had woken up to the unfolding seriousness of the incident. Sky News, ITN and the BBC were however still reporting the explosions as being caused by 'electrical surges'. The BBC had no cameras on the ground nor did the ITN news channel. Sky News were using a helicopter but were confined to an area around Aldgate East.

Meanwhile, police were in the process of blocking all routes into and out of central London.

It was only at 11:24, and as images of a wrecked bus near Edgware Road began to emerge, that the police confirmed 'multiple explosions' around London.

By 13:00 BST, the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke made a statement in the House of Commons, saying that there had been four explosions; one on a tube train between Aldgate East and Liverpool St stations, another on a bus in Woburn Place and also Russell Square, though in fact there had been only one explosion on a bus in Russell Square. A further explosion was also confirmed at Edgware Rd. The Prime Minister said the attacks were 'barbaric' and will be returning to London from the G8 summit.

In the coming hours London was effectively shut down. Workers were forced to walk long distances in order to escape the capital since the entire Underground was shut. Some mainline trains were running and traffic in and around London became gridlocked as buses and private cars conveyed people home.

The attacks came at a time when there was little or no social media. There was no Twitter. Smartphones did not exist. And even 24 hour rolling news was still in its infancy with only CNN and Sky News dominating the scene. Signs on the motorways told motorists to avoid London and to turn on the radio. Without the radio and TV people were essentially in the dark.

For many the 7/7 attacks are a distant memory. For some, they are still living with the pain or loss of loved ones [Wikipedia].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Age checks could mark beginning of the end of online porn

A new UK law will soon force those who wish to access pornography websites to verify their age with credit card checks, open banking or facial age estimation. The rules will require major pornography sites including Pornhub and Redtube to introduce "highly effective age checks" from the 25th July in the UK for the first time [BBC].

The rules, laid out in the online safety act, are an attempt to prevent children accessing pornography online. Statistics suggest that 8% of eight to 14-year-olds in the UK visited a pornography site in one month with 19% of boys aged 13 and 14 visiting such sites. Around 11% of girls the same age are said to visit pornography sites in one month.

Without parental controls, it is easy for children to access such sites. A simple internet search can return swathes of pornography, from softcore images of to gratuitous hardcore images.

Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's group director of online safety, says, "Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren't suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling. But for too long children have been only a click away from harmful pornography online."

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK authority for finding and removing child sexual abuse imagery from the Internet, called the announcement a "vital step" and said it welcomes platforms doing "all they can" to comply with the new rules.

"Exposure to pornography at an inappropriately early age can normalise harmful sexual behaviours, with the availability of violent pornography by children and young adults increasingly being linked to the growing rates of sexual violence against girls and young women," said Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive of the IWF.

There are some who believe that the legislation could push some young people towards the so-called 'dark web'. "I have cases where clients as young as 14 access the dark web," said Marcus Johnstone from PCD Solicitors which specialises in criminal defence representation for people accused of sexual offences [Sky News].

While accessing the dark web is relatively easy, it does require jumping over through a few hurdles with a need to use specialised browsers. There will be some young people attempting to seek out content on the dark web, but they will be a relative minority.

For the vast majority of under 18s, accessing content will be through a conventional browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, if using a Mac.

It is unclear whether the rules will work given the enormous number of platforms offering salacious content. Pornography exists not only on major sites such as PornHub, but also blogging platforms. The likes of Blogger, Twitter, Flickr and similar sites also host dubious content.

Since the advent of the Internet, regulations concerning the making and distribution of pornography have been eroded or become meaningless.

Prior to online access a person wishing to access pornography would need to buy a magazine often from the 'top shelf' of a newsagent or go to a specialist sex or private shop. Moreover, the pictures published would be highly regulated. Those wanting hardcore porn would often be forced to seek out illegally imported magazines from parts of Europe.

Now, with just a few clicks one can access hardcore images, some of which are borderline illegal.

In this regard it is a no-brainer that efforts should be made to stop children accessing such material.

However the purveyors of this content have pushed back at the regulation. When France recently implemented similar age verification rules Aylo, the company which runs a number of pornographic websites, including Pornhub, stopped operating in the country [BBC]. Pornhub also stopped operating in a number of US states, again over the issue of checking the ages of its users [BBC]. At the last count the porn site had shut down in 17 states across the US to avoid compliance with age verification child protection laws [Twitter/X Laila Mickelwait].

The new rules in the UK legislation has also banned porn depicting strangulation in an attempt to protect women from violence. It is unclear how this will be policed or enforced.

In this regard it is perhaps time to work towards creating a black and white list of websites. Whilst some might argue that curtailing an adult's right to access pornography, there is little or no justification for some of the easily accessible hardcore imagery posted online.

Pornography is heavily censored beyond the US, the Americas and Europe with some countries imposing an almost blanket ban [Wikipedia]. 

There might be a case for an adult having access to the likes of Mayfair or Playboy, but the Internet has become the wild west.

Across much of Africa pornography is highly regulated or even banned altogether though in some cases does not go far enough especially with regards to child pornography. Across Asia too there are strict rules concerning pornography. The selling and distribution of pornographic material is illegal in India. In China pornography is also illegal, though it is available via the Internet where surveys reveal that more than 70% of men aged 18 to 29 are said to access pornography at some point over the course of a year. That said there is an ongoing cat and mouse game between online content providers and the authorities blocking sites and adding IP addresses to an ever increasing list of banned sites.

Even across parts of Europe there are some outliers when it comes to the restriction of access to pornography. Ukraine restricts online pornography while Belarus and Turkey ban or block the content entirely.

But with the rise of the use of VPNs which can circumvent territorial controls, blocking is becoming more problematic.

Currently most liberal democracies are concerned with younger children accessing inappropriate content. But there is also a rising concern that adults, particularly younger men, accessing extreme and violent pornography is brewing problems for the future.

Pornography has long been associated with misogyny and objectifying women. But there are clearly levels beyond which one might see content as being relatively harmless to material that could prove dangerous.

The UK age verification rules that come into force in July 2025 may be just the beginning. Over time one might well see a ban on all online pornography as countries come together to agree on blocks of sites around the globe.

This isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. China has already effectively banned most content from outside China unless placed on a 'white list' and continues to add sites deemed inappropriate — for whatever reason — to a 'black list'.

With both France and the UK, as well as some US states, now insisting upon age verification in order to access certain sites it is likely that internet blocking will soon be needed to enforce such rules should sites not comply.

In the long term such regulations might mean blocks on an entire country or region should that country not make sufficient efforts to police their online content providers.

In years to come, accessing pornography on the Internet could become a distant memory with those wanting to fulfill their carnal desires once again having to discreetly ask for a top shelf magazine before secreting it away in a brown paper bag. But at least in those days access to porn by under-18s was almost impossible, except for the few that might come across "some tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer," as Zappa alluded to in his '70s track 'Dirty Love'.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Israel's Operation Rising Lion hits Iran hard

World leaders have urged restraint after Israel pummeled Iran in an attempt to destroy its nuclear facilities [Wikipedia]. But with apparent US backing, Israel seems set on pushing forward and neutralising any Iranian threat.

"We know that the situation is very complicated but there is no other solution than a diplomatic one," the Italian foreign minister said following the strikes. The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meanwhile called for "restraint" on Friday morning after Israel struck Iran overnight killing top regime officials and key nuclear scientists. British Foreign Minister David Lammy also said that any further escalation was "a serious threat to peace & stability in the region and in no one's interest."

The strikes came just days after the US had pulled back diplomats and other personnel from the region, a signal that US officials were already aware of imminent military action.

The decision to pull out personnel from the region came amid increasing concerns that nuclear talks between the US and Iran had become deadlocked.

By early Thursday evening UK time there were suggestions that an Israeli strike on nuclear facilities in Iran was imminent, though most media outlets continued to focus on the deadly plane crash in India.

As early as the 11th June there were reports indicating a military strike was imminent. The US State Department said on Wednesday that it had decided to shrink the US "footprint" in Baghdad and the United Kingdom issued a warning about "increased tensions within the region." [NYT / NYT archived] The UK also raised concerns issuing a warning of new threats to Middle East commercial shipping [UKMTO].

All this came in the midst of inflammatory comments from Iran's defense minister, General Aziz Nasirzadeh, who warned on Wednesday that in the event of a conflict following failed nuclear talks, the United States would suffer heavy losses from Iranian attacks on US bases in the Middle East.

In what was clearly a long planned operation Netanyahu launched Operation Rising Lion in the early hours of Friday 12th of June.

While the US said they were not involved militarily, it was clear that a green light was given or at least tacit approval that Israel could go ahead with its mission.

While UK government ministers would neither confirm or deny that Britain were aware of Israeli plans, the US President Donald Trump was more forthcoming, telling Fox News on Friday morning that he was aware in advance of Israel's Operation Rising Lion.

"Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back," Trump added.

Israel's operation, which involved more than 200 fighter jets, struck multiple targets, including Iran's nuclear facilities and high-ranking military leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as the beginning of a multi-day offensive.

In retaliation, Iran launched a swarm of more than 100 drones toward Israel, according to an Israeli military spokesperson, though all were said to have been shot down.

The dramatic escalation raised fears that the Middle East could be on the brink of a devastating new regional conflict.

"The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently," Starmer said Friday, urging parties to show "restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy."

That prospect seemed unlikely with Netanyahu committed in his resolve to continue his military operation until Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon was destroyed.

The damage inflicted was significant. Several top military officials were killed in the attacks as well as a number of scientists involved in Iran's nuclear program.

Of those confirmed dead were Golami Ali Rashid, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, General Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's highest-ranking military officer, and Ali Shamkhani, an Iranian naval officer and politician who served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran from 2013 to 2023. While they will soon be replaced, the shock to the Iranian administration will be profound.

So too will the taking out of a significant number of assets connected to Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as a number of key scientists including Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a physicist who also served as president of Islamic Azad University.

John Bolton, a long time hawk in American politics was clear that military action was the only language that Iran understood.

Speaking to CNN on Friday, Bolton pointed to the fact that the "war started on October 7th 2023" and "what Israel has done is simply open a new front in that war."

This action was "far from over," he continued but it was a "good start" given Israel's actions had stifled Iran's terror surrogates and severely curtailed the country's ballistic missile manufacturing facilities.

The attacks could also result in a major destabilising of the Iranian regime, Bolton asserted. As for a continuation of talks to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear program, Bolton was adamant concerning his position. "These talks are a waste of oxygen."

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Iberian power outage should be a wake up call

Electrical supplies have returned to much of Spain and Portugal after a power outage effectively sent much of the two countries back to the stone age.

According to the two major power companies, Red Eléctrica de España and Ren in Portugal, 99% of the electrical grid was back up and running early Tuesday [29th April].

The cause for the blackout has yet to be established. Ren, the Portuguese supplier, pointed to a "rare atmospheric phenomenon" while the Spanish PM said the cause was yet to be established. "This has never happened before," said Pedro Sánchez.  "And what caused it is something that the experts have not yet established — but they will."

"No hypothesis has been rejected, and every possible cause is being investigated," Sánchez said during a national broadcast late Monday afternoon.

Many people would not hear that message since much of the country was without power for more than 10 hours with many not seeing power restored for up to 19 hours.

A powercut is not unusual for anyone. Local substations or electrical faults are not uncommon in many western countries. But such a widespread outage is almost unprecedented.

For those on the ground it took a while to sink in that the problem went beyond their local area.

"I was in Murcia, Spain, in the middle of a Zoom work call when plash [sic], the power went out. Well, that's not so rare," one Twitter use later posted as power was restored. It was only when he attempted to communicate with others that he realised the problem went beyond his small enclave in southeastern Spain.

Friends in Málaga some 400 km away were also affected. "But it can't have gone out everywhere in the country, right?" Javi exclaimed on his Twitter/X post.

It suddenly seemed as though he was in an episode of Black Mirror, a dystopian television series that features a futuristic world where technology backfires and targets its creators.

This wasn't the future though. This was the 21st century where everything is interconnected and wired together with electricity.

It soon dawned on Javi and millions of others across the continent that there was no electricity and that without it everyday life would soon be entirely disrupted. There were perhaps others who were suddenly reminded of the 1950s science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still [Twitter/X].

In the major cities passengers found themselves trapped on stationary subway trains whilst others came to a halt in elevators. The numbers of those finding themselves in such a predicament has yet to be established but it likely ran into thousands across the country. For some it could have been hours. Unable to make an emergency call as the mobile networks gradually failed, some may have been trapped for many hours.

High speed trains across the country also ground to a halt. Passengers were forced to disembark as the air conditioning in the trains failed and they sought relative comfort in the blazing spring sunshine with temperatures topping 25°C.

The Civil Guard were soon being dispatched to these stranded trains to distribute water and help rescue a number of individuals needing medical attention [Twitter/X].

Locals near to the small town of Brazatortas came to hand out water to passengers of a stranded Madrid–Seville high-speed train that had come to a halt half way along its 472 km journey [Twitter/X]. 

Back in the major cities motorists were feeling the impact as traffic lights failed causing chaos on the roads. "The most amazing part is that there were no major accidents," Javi said, though his vision of what was going across the country was somewhat blinkered.

There were some people posting images to social media in the first hour or so after the power outage began. But soon even the mobile networks failed leaving everyone in the dark.

Not only were people without electricity, but also water since supplies rely on electricity to pump it to people's homes.

"Mobile data started to work only sporadically, and calls began to collapse until they completely stopped working. In fact, as the hours passed, it went from 'mobile data works a bit' to 'nothing at all'," Javi wrote on a social media post.

With the mobile networks down, Internet inaccessible and TV unavailable, some reached for their radio. But in this modern world many access radio via the Internet using smart speakers.

Battery powered and wind-up radios were now hot items being bought up at supermarkets which were now being stripped of essential supplies. Within hours bottled water, canned food and toilet paper had all been emptied from stores by those fortunate to have cash after card payments went down along with ATMs. 

"A whole army of doomsday preppers rushed to the supermarkets to buy toilet paper, water jugs, and dog food. Pandemic 2.0," Javi observed.

Meanwhile the sounds of sirens broke the silence as ambulances and emergency personnel responded to those trapped in lifts and stationary underground trains. Hospitals reportedly coped with back up supplies though it is probable that non-emergency procedures were cancelled or postponed.

By late afternoon many people were resigned to the fact that there was little to do other than enjoy an extended siesta, their only concern being that beer still on sale at the remaining open bars was getting warmer as the refrigerators, along with everything else, had failed.

Streets and promenades in many towns and cities were now packed with people walking, chatting about the situation, complaining about not having Internet, walking their dogs, sunbathing, and drinking beers at the bars nonstop!

Restaurants and supermarkets were now facing other challenges as they were forced to dispose of perishable items from raw fish and meat to ice cream as their refrigeration failed after backup power supplies also failed.

Those having made it home now faced issues concerning cooking their evening meal. While some reached for the bread and cheese, others improvised, attempting to cook using a number of candles in a saucepan to provide heat to a frying pan [Twitter/X].

But across the country others were stranded. Motorists found themselves unable to fill up at petrol stations since the pumps were reliant on electricity. Meanwhile electric vehicles were also caught short since car charges were also without power.

Others were meanwhile stranded at airports as flights were cancelled with many passengers forced to sleep on airport floors as hotels were overwhelmed with an influx of people. The situation was compounded as they could only accept cash and were forced to turn people away.

By early evening power had been restored to around a fifth of the country. But for many people were still without electricity and were reliant on candles for lighting.

In the morning, power had been restored to most people across both Portugal and Spain, though for some charging their electric vehicle or boiling a kettle for their morning brew was still proving difficult with some resorting once again to candlepower to get their caffeine fix.

For a few who lived through the 28th April blackout it was a novelty, the biggest frustration being expressed by some was their inability to access the Internet.

Others however found themselves in far more difficult or even life threatening situations. It could of course have been much worse.

Those stranded after high-speed trains came to a halt were fortunate to be provided water by emergency services and local residents. But should this have been at the height of summer when temperatures in Spain and Portugal reach up to 40°C, there could well have been fatalities.

As to the cause many have speculated - especially on social media - that the outage was caused by a cyberattack. While the national cybersecurity institute was investigating the possibility of a cyberattack, António Costa, the European Council president and a former Portuguese prime minister, said there were "no indications of any cyberattack" whilst Spain's Teresa Ribera, a European Commission vice-president, said there was no evidence the incident was deliberate [Guardian].

Other suggestions, much touted by media outlets opposed to the so-called Net-Zero agenda, have alluded to the outage being caused by heavy reliance on solar and wind farms [Daily Telegraph].

The outage was initially attributed, by the Portuguese operator REN, to a rare atmospheric phenomenon called "induced atmospheric vibration". This phenomenon, caused by extreme temperature variations, led to anomalous oscillations in very high-voltage lines, potentially disrupting the synchronisation of the interconnected power grids.

The actual reason may not be known for some time. But the outage does raise alarm bells for all of us. Only a few weeks ago the European Commission was accused by the far-right of sowing fear, after its presentation of the resilience kit which aims to provide self-sufficiency in case of crisis [Euronews].   

The suggested items in the emergency kit included photocopies of identification documents, cash, a radio with batteries, a charger and a phone battery, a flashlight, matches and a lighter in case of power failure, a first aid kit, water, food, and board games to pass the time.

The emergency kit was, for many, seen as a response to a potential Russian threat. However the power outage seen in Spain, Portugal, as well as parts of France and Andorra, should be a wake up call for anyone who isn't already prepped.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Power outage hits much of Spain and Portugal

Major areas in Spain and Portugal are without electricity as the grid fails.

Every single part of digital life from shops, to traffic lights, hospitals, airports, phones, have all reported to be hit.

Some residents have managed to get messages out using the internet and the mobile phone system though even parts of that are said to have experienced problems.

Reports of long queues at cash points have been seen as card payments are not working in retail outlets.

The mayor of Madrid has asked people to keep their movements to a minimum, saying, "I ask all residents of Madrid to keep their movements to an absolute minimum and, if at all possible, to remain where they are. We want to keep all roads clear."

With the outage affecting subway trains many passengers are said to still be trapped, several hours after the power went out shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time in Portugal, midday in Spain.

Main railways have also been affected with  trains coming to a halt and bewildered passengers seen disembarking in remote locations.

Air traffic in Spain and Portugal is also being impacted by widespread electrical outages affecting both countries though it is unclear at present whether flights are being diverted. Lisbon's main airport is shut and several flights have been cancelled according to one stranded passenger Joseph Henshaw who spoke to Sky News using a sketchy cellphone service.

There are unconfirmed reports that parts of southern France and Andorra have also been affected.

Further unconfirmed reports on social media have said that the power outage across Spain has triggered chaos in supermarkets, with some stores closing to prevent looting, and long queues forming at those still open as panicked shoppers rush to stock up on supplies.

Meanwhile the Spanish power operator has said power is unlikely to be restored for up to 10 hours with some estimates being as long as a week.

As to the cause, speculation is rife on social media that it was a cyberattack. Power companies, including Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica, have said that a rare environmental phenomenon due to extreme temperature variations caused the outage. 

A heat burst, a rare environmental phenomenon characterised by sudden and extreme temperature changes, could be a potential cause for an outage. Heat bursts, which can occur during the late spring and summer, are often accompanied by strong winds and a sharp decrease in humidity, all of which could disrupt power lines or equipment. Additionally, extreme heat can lead to increased demand for electricity, potentially straining the power grid and contributing to outages.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Egg prices may hurt, but H5N1 pandemic could break the economy

Trump's trade policy with tariffs will likely hit American consumers hard over the coming months as imported goods - especially from the likes of China - are hit with punitive tariffs that for some items will see prices more than double.

And while some groceries may also increase there has been a particular focus, by much of the media, on the cost of eggs with comedians egging it up with jokes about the cost of a Denver omelette.

Eggs have risen considerably in the US and stand at $6 per dozen, an almost tripling of prices from the year before. That is about £4.50 in UK prices where a dozen eggs is about £3.00 on average.

But while many have pointed to Trump's economic policies concerning the rise in the price of eggs, the cost for consumers has risen steadily over the past year mostly due to the fallout of bird flu.

Similar issues have affected UK and EU egg production though most eggs are free range across the EU.

In 2022, a substantial portion of eggs produced in the UK were from free-range systems, accounting for 65% of the total. While barn systems made up 7%, and battery cages produced 28%. In the EU, a significant shift towards cage-free systems is underway, with a goal of phasing out all cage systems by 2025.

In the US only 40% of hens used for eggs in the US are now cage-free. The vast majority of avian flu outbreaks have been on factory farms where hundreds of thousands or sometimes millions of egg-laying hens are caged in close proximity, creating ideal conditions for the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

Bird flu has wiped out more than 30 million chickens so far this year in the US.  And since the virus began spreading through commercial flocks in early 2022 more than 166 million poultry have been culled.

High-pathogenicity avian influenza subtype H5N1 is now present throughout the US, and possibly beyond. More cattle infections have elevated the risk of the virus evolving the capacity to transmit between humans, potentially with high fatality rates [Independent / Science].

Research has shown that the spill over to cattle likely occurred as long ago as 2003 and has since been transmitted to various other species, including raccoons and cats as well as poultry [Gavi].

The jump to cats has brought further concerns. Most people have little contact with chickens or other birds. But in the United States, approximately 32.1% of households own at least one cat.

Anyone who has a cat will be aware that their instinct is to hunt, be it rodents or indeed birds. But while the risk of catching and transmitting bird flu to humans is small, some experts and veterinary specialists have advised keeping cats indoors.

Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, speaking on Fox 5 Atlanta last year was suggesting pet owners watch out for symptoms and proactively prevent their cat from contracting the disease by keeping them inside, avoid feeding them raw meat and unpasteurised milk products.

But what's all this got to do with the price of eggs?

Simply put, the culling of chickens and the cost of dealing with the disease has hit the cost of production as well as creating a shortage of eggs.

That in turn has caused the price to increase. Bird flu outbreaks have significantly impacted egg prices in the UK and the US, leading to a surge in costs for consumers. In the UK, some egg prices have risen by as much as 20%. In the US, the average price for a dozen eggs reached $5 in January 2025, a 53% increase from 2024, with the USDA anticipating further price increases [Guardian].

But the real threat is not a hit to people's finances and the threat to farming, but the risk to human health.

So far 70 human cases have been confirmed in the US. One person has died and another three have required hospital treatment. Almost 1,000 cattle herds have been infected, and the virus has been detected in poultry in almost every single US territory.

The alarm bells may not be ringing quite yet. But having just emerged from a deadly pandemic that killed more than 7 million people and devastated the global economy, the world should already be preparing for the possibility that H5N1 could become the next pandemic [CEPI].

"Pandemic preparedness initiatives should be urgently resourced and implemented," CEPI's Executive Director for Preparedness and Response Dr Nicole Lurie and six other experts said of the bird flu virus. "Enhancing readiness now can save lives and reduce societal and economic disruption if H5N1 or another outbreak becomes a pandemic."

If H5N1 does mutate into a deadly strain, the cost of a dozen eggs will be the last thing on people's minds [Morning Star].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Meloni achieves little in naive attempt to sway Trump

Meloni's meeting with Trump triggered varied responses. The Spectator suggested her mission to "make the West great again" would infuriate Macron. Sky News meanwhile pointed to her playing the 'role of political peacekeeper'. However, while many news outlets attempted to elevate her visit to one of diplomacy and soothing words in order to win over the US president, Le Monde noted that she ended up without anything to show for her visit. 

During the meeting Meloni offered Trump a visit to Rome, though there wasn't a sweetener with the meeting of a monarch which the UK PM Starmer attempted a few weeks previously. Italy is no longer a monarchy and it wasn't perhaps the best idea to suggest a meeting with the ailing pope.

The announcement of the visit to Italy was by way of an attempt to kick start negotiations with the EU and come to a deal in order to mitigate US tariffs. The invite did not spark Trump's enthusiasm, nor did he even begin to confirm the trip.

There was some sense of comradery with Giorgia Meloni being warmly welcomed by Trump who called her a "great prime minister" and said she had "taken Europe by storm".

Some cynical observers might suggest this was more about her being a woman and Trump was showing his misogynistic colours as he fawned over the 48 year old blonde as she arrived at the White House in a dazzling white trouser suit.

There was some awkward body language on display however. Meloni sat cross-legged throughout the meeting, her hand folded gripping a pen with a notepad on her lap. At times her foot folded behind her grounded leg pointing to even more awkwardness or defensiveness as Trump watched her intently all the while.

There were further awkward moments. After Trump suggested they take questions from reporters Meloni practically leapt from her chair in shock as journalists threw a barrage of demands at the pair, the cacophony overwhelming the Italian PM. Briefly thrown back into her chair, her eyes wide open like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car on a dark country road, Meloni composed herself. But further uncomfortable moments were to come.

 
When an Italian journalist insisted on asking Meloni a question in her native Italian she looked disgusted. Reluctantly she answered in Italian, her features relaxing slightly as she embarked on an extended discourse. Her body language betrayed her as she lifted both feet off the ground, one crossed leg folding behind the other once again. As she finished and an American journalist tried to ask another question, Trump interjected. "No, wait, I want to hear what you said," the president insisted.

Meloni's female interpreter, sitting nearby, revealed. "Prime Minister Meloni was asked … what she thinks about the fact that President Trump holds Zelenskyy responsible for the war in Ukraine."

Sensing the moment could have worsened, Meloni intervened in a moment of damage limitation and reinterpreted her own answer in Italian, steering her comments towards her vow to in raising Italy's contributions to NATO.

Trump, reading between the lines concerning her response, attempted to defend his position concerning Zelenskyy. "I don't hold Zelenskyy responsible," he insisted, a full retreat from his previous false accusations that Ukraine started the war [BBC]. "But I'm not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started. I'm not happy with anybody involved."

Meloni may have visited Washington DC with good intent to kick start negotiation with the EU and to temper the fallout of Trump's trade war. But there is clearly a sense of naivety if she, or any other leader, believes they can tame the savage beast that is Donald J. Trump and his pack of loyal doberman pinschers.

With his launch of his Trade War there is clearly a shift in geopolitics. Trump's flip-flopping concerning tariffs has created uncertainty in financial markets. His stance on Gaza and the possibility of building a Mediterranean resort has caused consternation in the Middle East. And then there's the president's attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. He has been accused of aligning himself too closely with Russia's Vladimir Putin and appeasing his demands in order to bring about a ceasefire. Meanwhile his bullying of Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy whilst trying to force him to sign over mineral rights has been likened to Hitler's forcing of the Czech leader Hacha to hand over his country to the Reich in 1939 [Dominic Grieve Twitter/X]. 

There is no certainty in this new world order. While the world beyond the American borders may want to calm the savage beast, it is probably best just to look beyond the US, as China appears to be doing. Europe has already been shocked into creating a so-called coalition of the willing to ward off the Russian threat and help defend Ukraine as the US shows signs of withdrawal.

And so too with trade. Europe, and the rest of the world need to focus on trade partners outside of the US and leave Trump’s America withdraw into its own borders if that’s what he has planned or wishes to do.

tvnewswatch, London, UK