Six years ago, heading into locked-down Hubei province with @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social as the coronavirus became very serious. We were then promptly kicked out... #throwback #china #covid19

#throwback China, January 2020. Panic and worry as a mystery respiratory virus began to spread from Wuhan…

5 years ago on China’s northernmost border with Russia - “Your body is in the northernmost part of China but your heart is towards the Central Party Committee.” (Behind the trees is Russia) #china #heilongjiang #beijicun #propaganda

Washington seeks improved access to strategic chip industry of island nation, over which China claims sovereignty.

At a press conference in #Beijing, #Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney just said that his country's relationship with #China is now more predictable than that with the #US and that you can see the results of this state of affairs.

The Romanesque Revival St Joseph’s Church (1904), Wangfujing, Beijing. The perspective has benefitted from some landscaping, & it’s now a sci-fi pilgramge spot after featuring in Cixin Liu's The 3 Body Problem, where the 3 vaults mirror the nature of the physics conundrum at the heart of the novel….

Spotted in London!!!!

Updating my LEGO White House

Always love logging into Student Finance to find my student loan debt has risen by thousands yet again despite regular payments.

Took 5 months for Italian rail operator Trentitalia to refund £70 for a train cancelled due their staff being on strike. It took several emails, and even a phone call to Italy. It's since taken 4 months to pay. Mad.

Slow clap for the halfwit who’s parked this here… #london

Extraordinary

In National Day address, Xi Jinping warns against Taiwan independence and ‘external interference’ – SCMP: ‘While he used similar language about Taiwan in his National Day speech last year, Xi did not single out external forces then.’

One man opened a series of cinemas in abandoned London buildings (from Catford to Ealing, from Sidcup to Sutton) as part of a plan to revive the capital’s high streets. Politicians love the idea and provided millions to help. So why do they keep going bust? www.londoncentric.media/p/preston-be...

We witnessed Israeli police aggressively break up a small and peaceful protest against the war in Gaza with one man being dragged out of his car, strangled and arrested for simply beeping his horn in support. From 1.37 @channel4news.bsky.social #Israel #Gaza www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B1p...

Peaceful demonstration in Arab town northern Israel broken up violently by police, who even drag a man out of a car for honking support and assault him. 'As soon as you start saying anything, the police come in very hard.' Secunder Kermani who is himself subject to aggression #c4news

As the UK and other nations recognise a Palestinian state, we’ve again travelled across the occupied West Bank to explore what recognition might mean to the Palestinians living there as settlements expand at an unprecedented rate. #Israel #Palestine From 8mins 30. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjt1...

Just finished a very intense three week stint in Israel and the occupied West Bank with the brilliant Channel 4 News team. Now back to London… #c4news

Our @channel4news.bsky.social piece tonight on the killing of Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and filmmaker who was shot dead by an extremist Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank. Please share. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5C7... #Israel #WestBank

I was hoping that the Greenland madness had abated. A key unanswered question in this piece is who is behind these operations. Are they seld-initiated? Did Trump recruit amateurs to do this a la FDR? Is this a CIA endeavor?

Annnd more of our work from last week on the day that Israel announced the approval of a controversial new settlement that would cut right through the middle of the West Bank. Activists and far-right ministers have both said it will mean the end of a Palestinian state… #israel #westbank

Also few seconds before @c4ciaran.bsky.social was due to begin presenting, an air-raid alarm and an alarm of an incoming strike from Houthis in Yemen, according to the IDF. Iron dome launch and thuds in the background handled brilliantly by Ciaran.

From us last week. Been a bit busy so a bit late to post…

Thousands protest across Israel demanding ceasefire and hostage deal www.channel4.com/news/thousan...

Presenting channel 4 news from Tel Aviv last night.

Our piece from yesterday after Israel approved a plan that both far-right ministers and activists say could end the two state solution. t.co/sBDksyL5At

Last night’s #C4News live shot from Tel Aviv. A tight balcony and a high wall to deal with. A dark backdrop too, so hair light was essential.

This is such a funny paragraph of a BlueSky-style "well actually" in real life. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Covering the Palestine Action protest in Westminster today. Everyone with the words ‘Palestine Action’ on their placard is being arrested. #palestineaction #protest #london

Solid analysis on #Taiwan www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/taiwa...

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s finding that the raids appeared to exclusively rely on a person’s race and other factors, like speaking Spanish. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...

The House of Lords just released a major report on media literacy. Its core message is that the UK is falling behind, and it’s putting democracy at risk. committees.parliament.uk/work/9030/me...

Latest piece I’ve been working on with @abcnewsbot.bsky.social We joined a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea aimed at countering sabotage of critical infrastructure by Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. t.co/R8RV4m2bvg

Most of this is, in my opinion, absolutely bang on. - China is winning the media war open.substack.com/pub/toosimpl...

On Tuesday 3rd June I'll be moderating a talk about 'Reporting on China'. Come along to hear from a diverse group of four great journalists about the realities of reporting on China. Get your tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-disc...

Will be speaking on this panel at the Frontline Club on June 3. Do join if you can #China www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-disc...

A bit late to post, but here’s our Channel 4 News feature from the end of March. We travelled across the Occupied West Bank, where Israel has been carrying out its largest military operation there in decades - with hundreds of Palestinians displaced. #israel #westbank youtu.be/REu_08p-iMs

Breaking news: The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China www.ft.com/content/20d0...

The EU is rather slow on the uptake. 12 years ago: "According to SPIEGEL information, the US placed bugs in the EU representation in Washington and infiltrated its computer network. Cyber attacks were also perpetrated against Brussels in New York and Washington." www.spiegel.de/internationa...

The best part of my Hanoi street cut was when he pulled out a mini leaf blower…

Credit to my former colleague and mate @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social who’s seemingly been on air 24/7 over the past few days with solid analysis from China.

There’s a QR code to enter my London gym to be scanned with their app. I’ve just spent a full few minutes trying to scan it with WeChat and Alipay. Opened Alipay for the London Underground the other day too. Old habits… #china

Three years ago today, Shanghai went into lockdown. Four days turned into two months… #shanghai #china

With global attention fixed on the war on Gaza, Israel is rapidly redrawing the map of the occupied West Bank through intensified assaults, paving the way for full annexation. On Palestine Land Day, we map out what is happening ⤵️

Incredibly fortunate to have these wonderful museums and art galleries with free entry here in London. #london

#MadMomentsInChineseComms. Official Gov spokesperson Mao Ning posts a clip of foreign Youtubers all repeating the same line on Chongqing. .. unaware the montage comes from Serpentza, and exposes how China directs "borrowed mouths". Sloppy.

New gender just dropped

The air quality in London is pretty crap tonight… #london

"After JD Vance's statement on Greenland, the president's disrespect for internationally acknowledged borders, I took those that Stars and Stripes down and the medal has been put away," Soren says, his voice breaking a little. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...