THE BIG STORIES
Carney wins historic victory in Canadian elections | Lights back on in Spain and Portugal | Turnberry push

📣 Canada’s Liberal Party has secured one of the great political comebacks, rebounding from predicted electoral oblivion to - in the wee hours - look likely to form either a minority government, or win a majority. At send time, they had a 20-seat lead over the Conservatives, but were six seats short of a majority.

It will be a victory fuelled by Donald Trump, who - even on election day - was threatening Canada with annexation, and had already delivered a trade war with its neighbour.

In his victory speech, Mark Carney - the former governor of the Bank of England who enjoyed the first electoral success of his life last night - told a crowd: “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons.

"President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never ever happen". (AP) (Guardian) (BBC - live coverage)

📣 The lights are back on across much of Spain and Portugal after yesterday’s massive power outage. At one point, nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula - home to 60 million people - was without electricity, in one of Europe’s most severe power outages.

The cause of the outage still unclear. It is thought the problem originated in Spain, and the Portugese grid operator blamed extreme temperature variations. But the Spanish Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, urged the public not to speculate while investigations continue. (AP) (Guardian)

• Mystery blackout forces Madrid to cope with life off the grid (Bloomberg 🎁gift link)

• People cheered as power came back on in Madrid (🎥BBC video)

📣 Officials have been pushing for golf’s Open Championship to be held at Donald Trump’s Turnberry course in Ayrshire, at the request of the US President. The Guardian says one source described the talks as “direct lobbying from the government” although others said officials were asking about the challenges involved in picking the Ayrshire course.

The R&A had previously said it would not use Turnberry in the wake of the January 6 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol in Washington. Suggestions Turnberry was back in the frame were first reported a week ago. (Guardian)

IDEAS
M&S: a retail giant laid low by cyber criminals

🗣️ Many of us immediately wondered if the blackout on the Iberian Peninsula was caused by some sort of cyberattack yesterday. It almost certainly was not. At this stage, all indications are that the huge power cut was caused by something else.

But you wouldn’t have far to look far for a huge, very real digital crime scene: retailer Marks and Spencer continues to struggle with some core functions more than a week after it first started having problems with contactless payments. Their problems are, the company confirmed yesterday, down to a cyber attack.

The company first admitted to IT problems on Easter Monday, April 21, although shoppers reported problems before then. Today, its website - worth around £3.5 million a day in sales, according to the FT (£) - remains unable to take orders.

The stores remain open and busy. But staff there have been forced to return to pens, paper and clipboards to check stock. Working from home has been cancelled, agency workers at warehouses have been told to stay away and almost £700 million has been wiped from the company’s value. It’s not clear how long the company will take to recover.

IT website BleepingComputer reports that the outages have been caused by a ransomware attack, mounted over months by a hacking collective called Scattered Spider, that has encrypted the company’s servers. In such an attack, the perpetrators usually demand a large sum of cash before giving access back to the victim. Victim companies have two choices: pay up or work through the problem. M&S haven’t said what route they are taking, but they have engaged a range of specialist companies as they attempt to recover.

Were the Scattered Spider group involved, it would be one of the group’s biggest heists to date, but far from their first.

Law enforcement agencies have been taking a keen interest in the group since they were accused of breaking into the computers of casino operators MGM and Caesars Entertainment. That attack played out through all of September 2023, with Caesars eventually negotiating a $15 million ransom (down from an initial $30 million). MGM, it was reported, chose not to pay up.

A Scottish man, Tyler Buchanan, was arrested last year in Spain and accused of being a member of Scattered Spider, and a string of offences. He was extradited to the United States last week and appeared in court in California on Thursday.

But the Scattered Spider group is - as its name suggests - thought to be a loose collective of cyber criminals: it may be far harder to disrupt than the services of its alleged victims.

More than 20 years ago your author wrote a book - for children - on the evils of Cybercrime. He hopes it didn’t inspire anyone.

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 Carbon taxes and soaring energy costs are “squeezing the life” from industry, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned. He says his company, Ineos, will be “forced to pause” investments needed to make Grangemouth more efficient because of the tax bills it needs to pay. (The Scotsman)

• Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will call on UK Ministers to take “urgent and decisive action” to repurpose the Grangemouth site. (Daily Business)

📣 A cyclist who was hit by a car while taking part in a mass cycling event at the weekend has died. The man, 49, was hit by a BMW during the Loch Ness Etape event on Sunday. (STV)

📣 The Conservative leader of South Ayrshire Council has temporarily stepped down after the Sunday Mail reported a 2023 recording in which he appears to promise big contracts for “pals”, calls council officers “useless” and boasts “all the top ones I can sack”. Martin Dowey said he had “acted properly at all times”. (BBC) (Sunday Mail)

📣 Irish rap act Kneecap should not be allowed to play at the TRNSMT festival, says John Swinney, after video emerged of the band calling on fans to “kill your local MP”. They’ve since apologised for the comments. (Holyrood) (BBC)

📣 All this warm weather brings with it an “extreme” wildfire warning for much of Scotland, Fire and Rescue Service chiefs have warned. (STV)

AROUND THE UK & WORLD

📣 The UK’s equalities watchdog is under pressure to withdraw its controversial interim guidance on single-sex spaces, after campaigners called it a “bigoted attempt” to segregate trans people in public spaces.

Interim guidance said trans women should not be allowed to use women’s facilities in workplaces or public facilities in shops and hospitals, but also that “in some circumstances” trans women could also not use men’s facilities, and trans men would not be allowed in women’s facilities. This would leave them in a limbo. (The Independent)

📣 A “grandpa gang” accused of robbing Kim Kardashian have gone on trial, with one “80% disabled”, and others suffering from cancer, heart conditions and Alzheimers. The star was robbed at gunpoint in an apartment in Paris in 2016. (Daily Mail)

📣 The sugar tax applied to fizzy drinks could be extended to milkshakes. (BBC)

SPORT

⚽️ League reconstruction is back on the agenda today: the SPFL chief executive, Neil Doncaster, tells Nutmeg magazine’s Substack that fans are fickle folk who will say one thing about league reconstruction, but not pay to go and see it. “What we know drives bigger attendances is tense, competitive, meaningful, exciting, dramatic matches where there’s something to play for,” he said. “You get those with smaller leagues, not bigger leagues. So, the bigger the league you have, the more meaningless matches it creates.” (Nutmeg has the exclusive)

⚽️ Expect another atmospheric night at the Emirates tonight: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has called on the club’s support to “bring your boots” as they take on PSG in the Champions League semi-final. It’s Arsenal’s first appearance at this stage of the tournament in 16 years. (Guardian) (8pm, Amazon Prime)

⚽️ Bad news for stricken Dumbarton FC, in administration and relegated to Scottish League two: their preferred bidder has pulled out because of ill health. Talks are underway with an alternative buyer. (Herald)