A slight case of overblogging

Posted by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan in Delhi

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/india-west-bengal-state-elections-millions-stripped-of-vote

Experts say Muslims and other minorities have been disproportionately deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the West Bengal elections this week

Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities.

In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been removed.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/india-west-bengal-state-elections-millions-stripped-of-vote

Posted by Melissa Bruntlett and Chris Bruntlett

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/22/cities-barcelona-paris-women-share-public-space

Female mayors have had notable successes in making transport in urban areas benefit everyone, not just a wealthy few

According to the UN 68% of the global population will be urban dwellers by mid-century. Urbanisation at this rate, unprecedented in modern times, means cities are facing an equally unprecedented convergence of crises, from a shortage of affordable housing to increased traffic congestion causing pollution, while reducing safety and liveability.

The consequences are exacerbated by the climate emergency bombarding many regions with severe heatwaves, rainfall, flooding and other extreme weather events. While everyone will feel the effects of these changes, the fallout from failing to cater for them is disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable groups.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/22/cities-barcelona-paris-women-share-public-space

Posted by Daniel Lavelle

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/apr/22/pentagon-released-ufo-videos-chase-aliens

What is behind the surge in ufology? The recent spike can be traced to the top of the US government, which inspired me to start investigating ...

I never gave much thought to aliens beyond Star Wars. I put extraterrestrials and their flying saucers in a box marked “nonsense” long ago, along with political manifestos, loyalty cards, Black Friday, fairies, pixies, elves, ghosts and ghouls.

Then, in 2017, the New York Times published an article with the headline “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program”. Apparently, the US government had been chasing UFOs for years. These weren’t the ramblings of the kind of straw-chewing rancher you would see in a sci-fi film; the story was told by a military intelligence officer called Luis Elizondo. He claimed he ran a secret Pentagon programme called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which had found evidence that UFOs were flying around military bases, behaving in ways that defied the laws of physics.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/apr/22/pentagon-released-ufo-videos-chase-aliens

Posted by Ajit Niranjan

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/22/pollen-season-in-uk-and-mainland-europe-extended-by-climate-breakdown

Research finds global heating has already lengthened the pollen season in addition to worsening heatwaves and droughts

Climate breakdown has extended the pollen season in the UK and mainland Europe by between one and two weeks since the 1990s, a study has found, adding itchy eyes and runny noses to the harm wrought by fossil fuel pollution.

The finding may be less dramatic than the floods and wildfires typically associated with a warming planet but represents a “huge” increase in the combined suffering of tens of millions of people, the researchers say.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/22/pollen-season-in-uk-and-mainland-europe-extended-by-climate-breakdown

Posted by Tanya Aldred

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/21/ioc-decision-female-category-olympics-trans-athletes

Trans athletes and those with DSD must be treated with respect, and the new testing regime must be run with sensitivity. But this is a step forward

The decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude transgender women and most athletes with differences of sex development (DSD) from women’s Olympic sport has won praise from most major sports bodies but criticism from some activist groups.

It also closes the door on a period where often well-intentioned inclusivity came at the expense of sportswomen, and those who pointed out that the rules were not fair.

Tanya Aldred writes about sport for the Guardian

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/21/ioc-decision-female-category-olympics-trans-athletes

Posted by Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/ukraine-war-briefing-quick-loan-in-pipeline-as-druzhba-reopens

Russian oil can flow again, says Ukrainian president, leaving ‘no grounds’ for blocking €90bn EU package; warning of all-out Kremlin cyberwar. What we know on day 1,519

The Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia is ready to resume operations, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, after Ukraine repaired the damage from a Russian attack. Kyiv now expects the EU to unlock a €90bn EU loan after Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, spent months blocking it. Orbán is about to leave office after losing badly in national elections.

“There can now be no grounds for blocking it,” said Ukraine’s president, referring to the loan. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday, said she expected a positive decision on the loan within 24 hours. Reuters, quoting an industry source, said pumping oil through the pipeline would resume on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on Europe to diversify energy supplies and not resume flows via Druzhba from Russia. “No one can currently guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline infrastructure,” he said on Tuesday.

Guns were fired as Ukrainian authorities arrested military draft officers in Odesa for allegedly snatching people from the street and extorting money using the threat of being sent straight to the frontline. The Security Service of Ukraine said four officers working for the local territorial recruitment centre – which carries out conscription and recruitment – were detained after agents including special forces shot at the tyres of a vehicle in which they tried to escape. The group was being investigated for extortion, said the SBU. “The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.”

Moscow is taking its Ukraine war tactics and techniques “beyond the battlefield” to target the UK and Europe in cyberspace, the head of Britain’s cybersecurity force at GCHQ will say on Wednesday. Richard Horne will point to “sustained Russian hybrid activity” and warn that companies must learn how it is done in order to defend themselves. Horne is head of the national cybersecurity centre at Britain’s signals intelligence agency. He is due to speak at the CyberUK conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

In recent months, Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Norway have all reported hackers linked to Russia have targeted their critical infrastructure including power plants and dams. Horne will say that in Britain the NCSC currently handles around four “nationally significant” cyber incidents a week with the most serious threat coming from cyber-attacks carried out directly or indirectly by other states. He mentioned Russia, China and Iran.

In a conflict, Horne will say, the UK would probably face cyber-attacks “at scale” but – unlike with ransomware deployed by organised criminal hackers – companies would not be able to pay their way out. For that reason, he will say, every organisation needs to understand the “full extent” of the risk they face and improve their cyber defences.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/ukraine-war-briefing-quick-loan-in-pipeline-as-druzhba-reopens

Posted by Sam Levin (now); Uwa Ede-Osifo, Shrai Popat Coral Murphy Marcos and Tom Ambrose (earlier)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/apr/21/us-politics-latest-news-kevin-warsh-federal-reserve-donald-trump

Only 32 percent of respondents in new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll approve of his leadership on Iran, which has remained at same levels since last month

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Donald Trump said that he does not want to extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran, in an interview with CNBC. “I dont’ want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” the president said. The pause is set to expire tomorrow, and vice-president JD Vance will lead last-ditch talks in Islamabad today, in the hopes of striking a deal with Tehran.

However, speaking to Joe Kernen, Trump said that he plans to resume strikes if negotiations collapse. “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” the president added. “But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/apr/21/us-politics-latest-news-kevin-warsh-federal-reserve-donald-trump

Posted by Reuters

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/22/condom-prices-iran-war-cost-price-rise-karex

Karex produces more than 5 billion condoms annually and is a supplier to leading brands like Durex and Trojan, as well as the NHS

The world’s top condom producer, Malaysia’s Karex Bhd, plans to raise prices by 20% to 30% and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag on due to the Iran war, its chief executive has said.

Karex is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/22/condom-prices-iran-war-cost-price-rise-karex

Posted by Sanya Mansoor

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/21/apple-tim-cook-privacy

Outgoing CEO took stood up for users in battle with FBI but concessions abroad undermine claims of protecting ‘fundamental right’

In his 15 years as Apple’s top executive, Tim Cook has projected an image of the company as a champion of privacy rights. As he prepares to leave that role in September, that legacy has come back into focus. Cook trumpeted the iPhone maker’s commitment to privacy at home in the US and the EU, calling privacy “a fundamental right” but his acquiescence to government demands abroad call his dedication to protecting users into question.

Cook cemented Apple’s pro-privacy reputation in 2015 when he resisted the FBI’s demands to unlock the iPhone of a mass shooter in San Bernardino, California. The company played up that public image in 2019 with playful ads that read, “Privacy. That’s iPhone”, positioning Apple as the obvious choice for people who cared about privacy. In 2021, Apple added a feature, App Tracking Transparency, that allowed iPhone owners to limit an app’s ability to track their mobile activity. Apps that tracked users without permission would be removed, Cook said.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/21/apple-tim-cook-privacy