Can we avoid a summer of strikes?
Whether you're waiting for a hip operation, a new passport, wondering what you're going to do with your children when their teachers are on the picket line, or are a university lecturer worried about losing pay when you protest, walkouts aren't anywhere close to coming to an end. The nurses’ union leader told her members a 5% pay rise and a one-off payment of at least £1,655 was worth accepting. But they disagreed. So strikes continue, with staff being withdrawn from emergency departments for the first time. Junior doctors are set for further industrial action and could end up on strike at the same time as nurses in England. Civil servants are likely to walk out too, having missed out on a one-off payment for 2022/3, which other workers had been granted. Dave Penman, leader of the FDA civil service union, warns the consequence will be a ‘prolonged and damaging dispute’.
Ukraine: cyber frontline
When Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a second, less visible battle in cyberspace got under way. The conflict has blurred the lines between those working for the military and the unofficial activist hackers. Oleksandr, one of the most prominent hackers in the vigilante group, the 200,000-strong IT Army of Ukraine, has helped to temporarily disable hundreds of Russian websites, disrupted services at dozens of banks and defaced websites. For over a year, he has devoted himself to causing as much chaos in Russia as possible. He recently joined a team of hackers called One Fist, to hijack Russian radio stations and broadcast the sound of fake air raid sirens and an alert message telling citizens to take shelter. ‘We feel ourselves like the military’, says Oleksandr. ‘When my country calls me to pick up a rifle I am ready, but hacking Russia now, I feel that I am helpful.’
European Union: growing cyber threats
The European Commission has announced plans to shield itself against cyber-attacks, as threats in this sector continue to grow. The defence system will be based on the prevention and detection of cyber-attacks, thanks to a pan-European ‘cyber-shield’ made up of public and private centres. This will mean entrusting part of the bloc's defence to private companies and forcing member states to cooperate, which Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the EC, says is necessary. ‘No one can solve this alone. You cannot have sufficient resources ready because you don't know when you will have an all-out cyberattack,’ Vestager said. ‘We have seen cyberattacks on the Irish health system. We have seen attacks giving access to foreign ministries go undiscovered for months. The proposals, costing €1.1 billion, will have to be reviewed by member states and the European parliament before being implemented.
GAFCON chairman: ‘Welby must repent’
The chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON, used his presidential address at its meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, to repeat calls for Justin Welby to repent. Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America said, ‘Sadly, with broken hearts, we must say that unless the Archbishop of Canterbury repents, we can no longer recognise him as the “first among equals” and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.’ His address referred to the General Synod vote earlier this year to agree to bless same sex unions. Archbishop Beach described the Kigali meeting of over 1,300 people from 53 nations as potentially one of the most important church gatherings in our time. He emphasised the importance of believers addressing sin - personal, provincial or church sin - and called on the Anglican Church to prioritise 'repentance, revival, renewal and moving forward'. The Church cannot be reconciled to God without repentance.
