Friday briefing: ​After a week of disruption, is living with threats our new normal?

Friday briefing: ​After a week of disruption, is living with threats our new normal?

In today’s newsletter: From diverted airliners to hacked ​fridges, a string of disruptive incidents has exposed the ​vulnerabilities of modern ​life. ​There is now an increasingly blurred space between peace and conflict, the grey zone. Good morning. A multiplicity of hoax bomb threats divert passenger flights across Europe. A malign cyber-attack targets supermarket fridges in Belgium, Sweden, the UK and – in a sickening escalation – the cold storage facilities of France’s national blood service. The actors behind this week of chaos and disruption, be they hostile states or criminal gangs – or even enterprising teenagers – are yet to be identified. But what is certain is that they operate in a context of deepening global conflicts, building national threat and an accompanying, pervasive sense of vulnerability. UK news | Russell Brand has been found guilty of raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others over the course of five years of his show business career. US politics | Donald Trump signed a proclamation that he says will prevent future administrations from changing his design of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, spaces he declared as national monuments that should be preserved. UK politics | Andy Burnham has said he wants to “recast” the UK’s deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands after resistance from Washington. Health | Cancer diagnoses in England have hit record highs, with more than 1,000 people a day diagnosed, NHS figures show. World news | The UN-recognised government of Yemen has shaken up its political and military leadership in an attempt to regain territory lost to the Houthis in September. Continue reading...