Zelensky accuses West of ‘zero real reaction’ to massive Russian attack that killed five

Volodymyr Zelensky has said there has been no real reaction from the world after Moscow’s “deliberate and open” attack on Ukraine in Lviv.

“Russia is openly trying to destroy our civilian infrastructure right now, ahead of winter – our gas infrastructure, our power generation and transmission,” he said in his nightly address.

“Zero real reaction from the world. We will fight so that the world does not remain silent and so that Russia feels the response,” Zelensky said.

At least five civilians have died after Russia launched drones, missiles and guided aerial bombs at Ukraine overnight in a major attack that officials there said targeted civilian infrastructure.

Moscow sent more than 50 ballistic missiles and around 500 drones into nine regions across Ukraine, Zelensky said on Sunday morning.

Poland said it scrambled aircraft early on Sunday to ensure its air safety after Russia launched the airstrikes on Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials reporting missiles and drones raining down on the Lviv region near the Polish border.

This one thing could ruin your sleep, and you thought it would help it

A significant number of the population now wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker. Modern ones don’t just track your fitness either; your health metrics and sleep come under scrutiny too.

This last point is proving problematic for some because it can cause orthosomnia – a term defined in the Nature and Science of Sleep journal as “the obsessive pursuit of optimal sleep metrics based on fitness tracker or mobile phone data”.

Somewhat ironically, sleep is the thing keeping people up at night.

“Any tracker or wearable can give you a pretty good idea of sleep duration,” Dr Andy Galpin, a leading human performance scientist and co-founder of sleep optimisation company Absolute Rest, tells me on the eve of his keynote speech at Healf’s HX25 wellbeing event.

“But another factor that is equally, or more, important is sleep quality. Depending on what wearable you’re using, you’re probably getting a massive disagreement on the time you spend in different sleep stages – rapid eye movement (REM), deep, etc.

“That’s not really what scientists consider to be sleep quality, but that’s what the consumer thinks quality is – ‘What was my score on my wearable?’ These are non-medical devices that are not accurate and they’re not actually depicting sleep quality.”

Through this jumbled messaging, people who are sleeping fairly well can receive poor feedback on their time between the sheets, leading to a sharp rise in cases of orthosomnia, Dr Galpin says. But there are alternative ways to measure the success of your sleep, as well as some easy research-backed hacks for waking up feeling your best. So, what are they?

Effective sleep is a composite of your sleep duration, quality, regularity, timing and subjective factors such as how you feel and perform in day-to-day life, according to Dr Galpin.

His tech-free method for measuring your sleep quality is simple, and it centres around how you feel the following day.

“If I wake up feeling fully refreshed, I’m sharp, my energy is awesome, I train, I recover, I feel great, and then I’m sleepy at night – I don’t really care what a fitness tracker says,” Dr Galpin explains.

“If your daytime function is really good then you probably don’t need to be messing around too much with your sleep, because your physiology and neurology will actually take care of what your body wants in response to the physical and cognitive demands in your life.”

Dr Galpin also adds that sleepiness is normal, and even desirable, at certain points in the day.

“You should be a little bit drowsy in the early afternoon,” he says. We need to build sleep pressure and you should feel tired at night.

“…You might want to be at 100 out of 100 energy levels, all day, every day, but that’s not realistic to every situation.”

The problem, Dr Galpin says, is that people who wake up and feel raring to go are pretty hard to come by nowadays.

“If somebody is like that, it’s often because they’re on a load of stimulants and sleep medication,” he continues. “They tell you they feel great during the day, but they’ve had 12 espressos, then they take a bunch of sedatives at night.”

Read more: Four science-backed ways to make your daily walk even better for your health

Sleep issues are inarguably widespread, leading many people to grow tired of feeling tired all the time. Dr Galpin was part of a team that produced a 2025 paper in the Lifestyle Medicine journal detailing “all scientifically known” environmental factors impacting your sleep quality, and the “exact protocols” you can use to trump them. You can find a version of this table below.

“These are the things most people don’t pay attention to,” says Dr Galpin. “And if they do, they’re just told to keep their bedroom cold, dark and quiet. But if I live in a city, I have buses that are constantly going by my apartment and I can’t control the light outside – all of this is in the paper.”

While not in the table below, consistent sleep timing and regularity are further “incredibly important” factors to consider, Dr Galpin adds.

The assessment and subsequent tips above will work on someone whose poor sleep quality comes as a result of their environment.

However, Dr Galpin’s primary prescribed step in solving your sleep problems is to gain an insight into whether or not you have a sleep disorder, as the vast majority go undetected and they affect tens of millions of people across the globe.

“There’s insomnia, there’s restless leg syndrome and then there’s a whole bunch of sub-disease ones,” Dr Galpin says. “But if you go to a sleep hospital, they’re only looking for apnoea. If you have anything else that falls under this list, you just get told, ‘Here are drugs or a CPAP [a continuous positive airway pressure device which keeps your airways open while you sleep]’.”

Dr Galpin likens it to being rushed to hospital after a car crash. Your knee is facing the wrong direction, but an X-ray reveals there are no broken bones, so despite your horrific injuries, you are told you are fine.

“That’s what sleep medicine is like,” he says. “If you have a medical issue going on, there’s no amount of meditation, L-theanine or blue light blockers that are going to make a difference. These are correctable things, but the solution you’re providing is nowhere close to the problem you actually have.”

You may not have a sleep disorder or any underlying issues, but if you consistently struggle with your sleep, Dr Galpin recommends starting with “high-fidelity testing” or a consultation with an expert who looks beyond apnoea.

This is the aim of his company Absolute Rest – a three-month individualised sleep study conducted on a consumer, which uses multiple sensors to ensure the brain, heart, lungs and muscles are functioning properly. This information is then used by experts to create a personalised sleep optimisation plan.

“We’ve had precision nutrition for about a decade, precision medicine has been here for around 20 years and it’s getting better, but precision sleep is primordial – it’s just getting started,” Dr Galpin says.

“We’re spending billions each year on sleep, but it’s getting worse, and that’s because we’re spending our money on really bad testing, drugs and CPAPs. These things are great in the right situation, but they’re not going to do anything for something like a circadian disorder.”

Dr Galpin’s list below contains some of the signs that you might be suffering from a sleep disorder:

“All of these things are correctable if you use the right tool in the right situation,” he says.

Read more: The science-backed exercise method that can help fight the effects of ageing

A fitness tracker can be a double-edged sword for your sleep, according to Dr Galpin.

“Even if they’re not accurate, sleep trackers can be good for accountability,” he says. In other words, people will be more likely to make positive changes to their sleep routine if they know someone, or something, is keeping tabs on it.

“Awareness is another positive,” he adds. “Some people are convinced they have huge sleep disorders and they tell people they’re sleeping three or four hours per night – it’s like a badge of honour, because it’s what their mum or dad always talked about. Then the tracker finds they sleep for six or seven hours, so it can be a bit of a reality check.”

This, Dr Galpin says, can be helpful for the masses. Where fitness trackers fall short is their accuracy in assessing sleep quality, and the part they play in orthosomnia.

“It’s the circumstances where people go, ‘Oh my God, I feel great, but my tracker said my deep sleep is only an hour, and my friend is at an hour-and-a-half all the time, so now I’m going to take this drug because I heard about it on a podcast.’”

Dr Galpin also says the concept of “deep sleep” as one of the four sleep stages – presented on most fitness trackers as deep, REM, light and awake – is problematic.

“When you hear the phrase deep sleep, you want deep sleep,” he explains. “But it has nothing to do with the quality of your sleep, or the freshness you feel after – it just happens to be the name of a stage. If deep sleep was rebranded as ‘Tom sleep’, no one would care about it.”

This fixation with certain sleep stages can contribute considerably to the development of orthosomnia.

Dr Galpin summarises: “Fitness trackers can be good, you just have to be careful. Use them judiciously and appropriately, and try to use the best parts of them without being sucked into the downsides.”

Read more: If you struggle to stay fit, try adding these nine simple science-backed behaviours into your week

Read more: A cardiac nurse says these five daily behaviours can reduce your risk of heart disease

100-tonne ‘fatberg’ blockage removed from London sewer

A colossal 100-tonne “fatberg” has been successfully cleared from a west London sewer, Thames Water has revealed.

The utility firm confirmed a specialist team spent over a month removing the massive obstruction, located more than 10m below street level in Feltham.

This solid mass was primarily composed of wet wipes, solidified by fat, oil, and grease. Its immense weight was equivalent to eight double-decker buses, the company stated.

To tackle the blockage, the team accessed the subterranean network through a large manhole, equipped with gas monitors for safety.

They then blasted, chiselled, and sucked the stubborn material out from a 125m stretch of pipes.

The extracted waste was subsequently craned into skips and transported to landfill.

Alexander Dudfield, engagement lead for network protection at Thames Water, said: “The clearance of this fatberg was hugely complex for our team of engineers and shows some of the challenges we face.

“But while some blockages in our biggest sewers can weigh as much as 25 elephants, we must not forget most blockages occur in local pipes – often narrower than a mobile phone and usually caused by a few households.

“When these pipes get blocked, we can’t simply switch off the sewage. It backs up and must come out somewhere, whether that’s roads, rivers or even people’s homes. The consequences can be devastating.”

It comes weeks after the Port of London Authority, local environment group Thames21 and Thames Water collaborated to remove a bank of wet wipes that had settled and congealed into sludge on a curve of the River Thames by Hammersmith Bridge in west London.

The utility company continues to call on members of the public to avoid flushing wet wipes and waste other than toilet paper.

Wet wipes are often the cause of blockages across Thames Water’s sewer network, with the company saying it clears 75,000 blockages a year, often caused by wipes, and removes some 3.8 million annually in operations that cost £18m.

So far this year, Thames Water said it has cleared 28,899 rag blockages, which were primarily made up of wet wipes, 14,810 fat, oil and grease blockages and 686 third-party blockages, made up of concrete and other sewer-blocking materials.

Gary Neville hits out at ‘angry, middle-aged white men’ dividing UK

Gary Neville, who played for England for more than 10 years, has revealed that he removed a union flag from one of his development sites in Manchester as it was being “used in a negative fashion”.

The former footballer, who has developed properties since the age of 21, released a video on Friday following the Yom Kippur terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue, outlining his thoughts on recent events and questioning the patriotism behind putting up union flags.

The football pundit explained how he feels the nation is “being turned on each other” by “angry, middle-aged white men who know what they’re doing”.

Neville described heading down Bury New Road and witnessing the Jewish community coming together in the aftermath of the attack and being “out in the streets defiant”.

The ex-footballer turned property developer then compared it to a journey down Littleton Road in Salford, where he saw “probably 50-60” union jack flags, causing him to question why they are now being put up in such numbers.

“Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a union jack flag put up and I took it down instantly,” said Neville.

“Some people might be watching this and thinking: ‘Gary you’re not really patriotic.’ I’ve played for my country 85 times, I love my country, I love Manchester and I love England.

“I’ve been building in this city for 15-20 years, and there’s no one put a union jack flag up in 15-20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?”

Neville added: “The union jack flag used in a negative fashion is not right and I’m a proud supporter of England, of Great Britain, of our country and will champion it anywhere in the world as one of the greatest places to live,

“But I think we need to check ourselves, check ourselves and start to think about bringing ourselves back to a neutral point because we’re being pulled right and left and we don’t need to be pulled right and left at all.”

Neville has voiced his opinions on political and social issues before, including speaking about workers’ rights ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, the working conditions of NHS staff in the UK, critiquing Boris Johnson when he was prime minister and, more recently, hitting out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves over her decision to increase national insurance tax.

Faith and communities minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, agreed with Neville’s assessment that there are people “trying to stoke tension” within the country and claimed that “life is really tough” for people across all communities at present.

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We’ve seen this playbook before. Life is really tough for people across our communities. I spent a lot of time going around our communities, talking to people. People are ground down.

“We’ve had a decade-and-a-half in which living standards haven’t budged and people have seen their communities held down. And you will get people trying to stoke division, trying to blame others, trying to stoke tension.”

However, Reform UK MP Lee Anderson disagreed with Neville’s judgement of the current political climate and called on the former footballer to “just shut up” on X (Twitter).

Anderson posted: “So @GNev2 is asking why people are now flying the union flag in their towns. I’ll tell you why – people feel threatened and feel they have not been listened to for decades.

“You had no problem in playing in front of the England flag. And the middle aged English men you talk about are the same type men that paid your wages. I believe in free speech but on this occasion just shut up.

“You are completely out of touch. And a bit of a hypocrite.”

SNL brutally mocks JK Rowling with hilarious Dobby skit

Saturday Night Live (SNL) viewers were left in hysterics after a skit that mocked Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

On the latest episode of the US sketch show, comedian Bowen Yang dressed up as house elf character Dobby, who claimed he’d been sent by Rowling, whom he called his “master”.

Days after Rowling hit out at “ignorant” actor Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the franchise, SNL poked fun at the ongoing friction between the pair over Rowling’s comments on gender ideology and trans rights.

Rowling accused Watson of using her Harry Potter link to criticise her gender critical views – and rejected the former child star’s claim that she treasures her despite their differences.

When SNL star Michael Che asked Dobby if he was scared to be in the studio, Yang as Dobby replied: “Why would Dobby be scared, sir? Dobby’s just about to publicly weigh in on trans people, that’s all.”

“Master sent Dobby to go on the telly and define once and for all what a woman is, sir.”

The elf then “revealed” that his master was Rowling and sarcastically praised the author for doing “so much for inclusion in general”.

“Remember when Dumbledore was gay after the books came out? And when Hermione was Black only on Broadway? And was Cho Chang Asian? Dobby can’t remember if the character named Cho Chang was Asian.”

Rowling casually announced that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay in 2007 during a Q&A about the books after the final instalment had been published.

Meanwhile, in 2016, Black actor Noma Dumezweni originated the role of a grown-up Hermione in the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Yang as Dobby continued, referencing the Rowling controversy: “The point is, Dobby came here to say that women have vaginas and women’s bathrooms are for women only and girls and ghosts of girls.”

This was a reference to Harry Potter character Moaning Myrtle, the ghost of a former Hogwarts student who haunts the girls’ bathroom.

SNL viewers praised the skit as one of the show’s “funniest” in a while – particularly praising a wardrobe malfunction that saw Yang declare: “Dobby’s come undone!”

Watson and her former co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint are vocal advocates for trans rights and, in the last five years, have condemned Rowling’s controversial comments that have been criticised as transphobic.

Rowling said that “Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology”, but added: “Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right – nay, obligation – to critique me and my views in public.

“Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.”

Eats, Beats and Storied Streets: A journey through Louisiana

Few places in America are as spellbinding as Louisiana. Streets are alive with music, every table groans with food that tells a story, and every river bend reveals landscapes as mysterious as they are beautiful. Whether you’re dancing to zydeco in Lafayette, devouring beignets in the French Quarter, or gliding through the Atchafalaya swamps in search of alligators, this is a destination which offers travellers an unforgettable blend of rhythm, flavour and culture.

Music that Moves You

A seemingly never-ending party, a stroll through the bouncing streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of America’s most thrilling sensory experiences. Guitars crunch, symbols crash and horns howl on every street corner, from Bourbon Street to Frenchmen Street. This Cajun corner of the US has a deep heritage too, and the Preservation Hall – dating back to 1961 – is an essential stop. With its intimate time-worn walls and wooden chairs facing the small stage, it’s a shrine to New Orleans jazz and every note should be savoured.

But Louisiana’s music tradition goes far beyond the Big Easy. Beginning in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the country’s oldest blues festivals and the state capital is a haven of Cajun music. It’s also the home of the swamp blues, so to hear the best of these laid-back rhythms, spend a foot-tapping night at Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill or Henry Turner Jr’s Listening Room. And for a little backyard boogie from local Louisiana musicians, try and hit the wonderfully chilled out Bee Nice Concert Series.

One of the more niche regional sounds is zydeco, and these infectious beats driven by accordions and washboards are perfect for dancing the night away. Over in Lafayette, the lush outdoor Hideaway on Lee and the charming Blue Moon Saloon host high-energy zydeco and Cajun jams. For a deeper dive into this unique music of the swamp, drop by the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles for three glorious days of Cajun, Creole, and zydeco sounds.

Flavours to Savour

Louisiana has one of America’s most distinct food cultures, with Creole dishes like gumbo and jambalaya not found anywhere else. Needless to say, the fiery flavours found in these creations are sublime and it’s no surprise that 2025 is Louisiana’s Year of Food.

With its rich broth, often featuring a roux base and embellished by juicy shrimp and thick sausage, gumbo is arguably the quintessential Creole dish. If you’re in New Orleans, look no further than no–frills downtown spots like Coop’s Place or head out to neighbourhood joints like the upscale Gabrielle Restaurant who serve a smoky take on Cajun-style gumbo or the dense dishes plated up at Liuzza’s by the Track. And if you’re so enraptured by this unique stew, then learn how to make it at home at the New Orleans School of Cooking.

A Cajun rice dish that originated in southern Louisiana in the 18th Century, Jambalaya is also iconic down here and can include meats, vegetables, seafood and spices in its mouthwatering mix. The Jambalaya Shoppe is dotted all around southern Louisiana and is a good place to start, though make time to visit Gonzales – the ‘Jambalaya Capital of the World. It even has its own Jambalaya Festival every spring.

Remember to make time for sweet treats though, as Louisiana’s beignets are something special. Warm, deep-fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar, these gentle delights are the perfect cafe snack. Open since 1862, the Cafe du Monde is an iconic French Quarter spot to watch the world go by with a beignet and café au lait.

And if you’re here for Mardi Gras, make sure to sample the sweet colourful King Cake as the jaunty floats pass by.

Culture and the Great Outdoors

Louisiana’s diverse cultural heritage is as unique as its landscape. French, Spanish, African, Caribbean and native influences all converge into Cajun and Creole identities and that’s most famously reflected in the state’s sublime cuisine. But don’t miss the great outdoors, as Louisiana’s biodiversity is enchanting too.

Acadiana’s humid moss-cloaked swamps and bayous are one of America’s last wildernesses, and boat tours of these serene and ethereal landscapes are unforgettable, especially if you spot wildlife like American Alligators, beavers, herons, eagles and white tail deer. The Atchafalaya Basin, just east of Lafayette, is a particular haven and several airboat tours depart from here, including McGee’s Swamp Tours and Last Wilderness Swamp Tours.

Road trails through these bayous can be just as inspiring, and the Bayou Teche National Byway tells stories. Running for 183 miles from Arnaudville down to Morgan City, this serpentine route passes by ornate antebellum homes like Shadows-on-the-Teche, tranquil fields of sugar cane, breezy swamps and historic towns packed with friendly cafes, zydeco dancehalls and local museums.

Look out for the region’s lively 400+ festivals too, which often celebrate Louisiana’s local culture. The Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette celebrates the links between Acadiana and the Francophone world, through music, art and food, while the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Opelousas aims to preserve Louisiana’s most gleeful music genre. And there’s no better way of learning about the state’s people and heritage than at the various tours, concerts, talks and cultural events held in Vermillionville in Lafayette.

Resident doctors vote for strike action in row over jobs

First-year doctors in England have voted in favour of strike action over job security fears.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the ballot of first-year resident doctors saw 97 per cent (or 3,950) voting for strike action on a turnout of 65 per cent, providing a “mandate for industrial action alongside the linked dispute over eroded pay”.

According to the union, 34 per cent of resident doctors surveyed said they had no substantive employment or regular work from August 2025.

This rose to more than half (52 per cent) among FY2 (foundation year two) doctors.

The BMA said no strikes are currently planned, but current talks with the government on pay “will now have to produce a solution on jobs as well as the 21 per cent pay erosion resident doctors have endured since 2008 to avoid future action”.

Responding to the announcement, Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) chair Jack Fletcher (pictured above) said: “The result of today’s ballot makes it clear that the government will now need to step up to the plate.

“Doctors have [today] spoken clearly: they won’t accept that they face a career of insecurity at a time when the demand for doctors is huge. Yet successive governments have been unable to embrace the changes both doctors and patients are crying out for.

“We do not want to have to strike, but we will if we are left with no choice. The government has the power to end both of these disputes now: it must use this opportunity to make the changes that are desperately needed.”

The Independent has approached the government for comment.

The BMA said more than 30,000 doctors were competing for just 10,000 places in the first round of speciality training this year, leaving thousands of doctors facing the prospect of unemployment at a time when the NHS is critically understaffed.

It blamed “inadequate workforce planning by successive governments”.

It said the current government has acknowledged the shortage of training places, but has only committed to creating an additional 1,000 places over three years under its 10-year plan for the NHS in England.

The union added that they continue to call for their pay to be restored, with resident doctors in England hit by a 21 per cent cut in wages since 2008.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…

Thousands face Christmas travel chaos due to train engineering works

Thousands of rail passengers will face disruption during the forthcoming Christmas period due to engineering works.

Many of the UK’s busiest railway lines will be affected, with routes including services from London Waterloo and the Cambridge area, between Leeds and York, and the West Coast Main Line (WCML), it has been announced.

Network Rail says it invests over £130m in works around Christmas and New Year.

The government-owned company insists this is the “best time” for major projects, citing a natural drop in commuter and business travel.

Passengers are being urged by Network Rail to check online journey planners and reminded that “booking ahead is essential as some lines will be very busy”.

Several sections of the WCML will be disrupted.

Between Christmas Day and 5 January, no trains will operate between Milton Keynes and Rugby to enable a track junction to be replaced at Hanslope, Buckinghamshire.

The replacement of a bridge above the M6, dating back to the 1960s, means there will be no services between Preston and Carlisle between New Year’s Eve and 15 January.

There will also be no trains between Carlisle and Lockerbie between New Year’s Day and 7 January because of signalling work.

Elsewhere on the network, there will be no trains between Leeds and York between Christmas Day and 26 January.

No trains will run between Cambridge North, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Stansted Airport between Christmas Day and 5 January.

London Waterloo, one of the UK’s busiest stations, will be closed to trains between Christmas Day and 28 December, and will have a reduced timetable between 29 December and 4 January.

In Scotland, there will be no trains between Dalmuir and Balloch/Helensburgh Central, or between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich, between Christmas Eve and 2 January.

Some 95 per cent of Britain’s railways will be unaffected by engineering work, Network Rail said.

But, as usual, the entire network will shut down on Christmas Day.

Most operators will also run no trains on Boxing Day, but a handful will have a very limited timetable.

Network Rail’s chief network operator Helen Hamlin said: “The period between Christmas and New Year is the quietest on the railway and it’s the best time for us to do the major projects that will take longer than a night or a weekend to complete.

“We work with train operators to organise diversions and rail replacement buses for passengers who are travelling, but it’s still so important to plan ahead.

“That’s especially the case this year as we have some very big plans for improving the railway that will mean people may have to travel home on different routes after Christmas than the way they travelled out.”

Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “You can use National Rail Enquiries and journey planners to check for updates, and our visual disruption maps – short videos designed to help people understand service changes and make informed travel decisions – will also be available in stations and online.

“The industry is working hard to run as many services as possible, and we kindly remind our customers to remember to treat our railway colleagues with respect during this busy time, as they work to ensure a safe and reliable service for everyone.”