Russian blogger’s fierce critique of Kremlin goes viral: ‘People are afraid of you’ 18. April 2026 (10:00) Victoria Bonya says authorities too scared to raise issues with Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings are decliningThe Kremlin is grappling with the fallout from the viral spread of a celebrity blogger’s criticism of Russian authorities, as Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings register their sixth consecutive weekly decline.Victoria Bonya, a household name in Russia who rose to fame in 2006 on Dom-2, the country’s answer to the reality TV show Big Brother, posted a video on Monday warning the Russian president that a string of mounting problems risked spiralling out of control. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Father of man who inspired Super Mario was also named Luigi, researcher finds 18. April 2026 (09:00) Elisabeth Zetland, a senior researcher at MyHeritage, found that the actual Luigi has immigrated to US from ItalyThe Washington state businessman who inspired Nintendo to give the name Mario to its mustachioed, superhero plumber did not have a brother named Luigi like the fictional video game star famously does.But it has only just been determined that Nintendo may have unknowingly named its mascot’s brother after another of the real-life Mario’s close relatives: his father, Luigi, whose biography evokes that of millions of 20th-century US immigrants from Italy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Young Bulgarians hold out for change in eighth election in five years 18. April 2026 (09:00) Voters broadly split along generational lines as pro-Russian former president leads in pollsAnna Bodakova’s days tend to be rather hectic at the moment. Hopping between meeting voters on the street, political debates and recording videos for social media, the 23-year-old is standing to become an MP in Bulgaria’s general election.Last year she was among the many young Bulgarians who participated in countrywide mass protests over the government’s economic policies and perceived failure to tackle corruption. Those protests ultimately resulted in the resignation of the prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov, and his cabinet in December. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: Iran warns it will close strait of Hormuz if US blockade continues 18. April 2026 (08:41) Iranian parliamentary speaker also says passage through waterway will depend on Iranian authorisation and accuses Donald Trump of multiple falsehoodsIran says strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ to commercial vessels as oil prices fallA convoy of tankers was seen departing the Gulf and transiting the strait of Hormuz on Saturday, vessel-tracking data showed.The group comprised four liquefied petroleum gas carriers and several oil product and chemical tankers, with more tankers following from the Gulf, according to MarineTraffic data cited by Reuters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Winners and judges out of pocket as £20,000 writing awards appear to have closed 18. April 2026 (08:00) The Plaza Prizes offered 10 awards in 2025 but some judges say they were not paid, while a number of winners hit back over AI accusationsA competition for new writers that promised a £20,000 prize fund appears to have shut down, leaving winners and judges, including a Booker prize-winning novelist, out of pocket.Established in 2022, the Plaza Prizes last year offered 10 awards that were judged by the “finest poets and writers in the world”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Green MP: Labour caricatures working-class people over greyhound racing 18. April 2026 (08:00) Hannah Spencer says minister ‘continuously offends people by saying working-class people don’t care about dogs’Labour is “offensively caricaturing” working-class people by saying they do not want a greyhound racing ban in England, the Green party MP Hannah Spencer has said.The sport has traditionally been associated with working-class culture and has historically been popular in so-called red wall areas, which Labour insiders suggest is part of the reason why there are no plans for England to follow bans announced last month in Scotland and Wales. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It’s a powder keg’: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse 18. April 2026 (07:00) Bottlenecks in the system and parents’ suspicions mean doctors expect another serious outbreak soonBy 10am on a spring day, the corridor of the clinic in the Transylvanian town of Săcele was already crowded with parents and children. They were all waiting to see Dr Mirela Csabai, one of just seven general practitioners serving a population of more than 30,000.Most of the cases that morning were routine: colds, checkups, chronic conditions. The calm, however, is recent. In 2024, a measles epidemic tore through this community and left one unvaccinated toddler dead. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two weeks that pushed Trump to the edge. Is his presidency unravelling? 18. April 2026 (07:00) The president has opened fissures in his base by starting a war he couldn’t finish with Iran, stoking inflation and offending Christians. Barred from running again, he may feel he has nothing to loseLance Johnson voted for Donald Trump three times. Now he is feeling buyer’s remorse. “I haven’t been too happy with the third time around,” said the 47-year-old contractor, sitting at a bar in Crescent Springs, Kentucky. “We’re supposed to not start any new wars. Prices were supposed to come down. We were promised a lot of things and we’re not getting them.”Johnson is not the only Trump voter having doubts about a US president who, after defying political gravity for a decade, finally seems to be crashing back to earth. The past two weeks have arguably been the most bruising of Trump’s two terms in office, suggesting that his tried and trusted playbook could finally be falling apart. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A defeat for Putin’: Ukrainians hope Magyar’s victory will mark new era with Hungary 18. April 2026 (06:00) As Orbán is rejected, there is cautious optimism new leader can restore ties – but issues such as EU accession loom largeLike many Ukrainians, Oleh Kupchak was delighted when Péter Magyar won Hungary’s election last weekend, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power. “We were euphoric. Everyone was following the results closely. There were toasts,” said Kupchak, who has visited Budapest several times. “We didn’t love Orbán,” he added.Ukraine celebrated Orbán’s landslide defeat in a series of jokes and memes. Several likened him to the Star Wars character Jabba the Hut, and shared an image of Orbán fleeing from a drone. Others portrayed him sitting on a bench in Russia, alongside Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin former president Viktor Yanukovych, and his exiled Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
