Trump psychedelics order largely symbolic, analysts say 24. April 2026 (14:00) Executive order to speed access to psychedelic treatments likely to have limited legal impact despite high-profile pushThe Trump administration issued an executive order earlier this month to accelerate access to psychedelic medication for people with “serious mental illnesses”, but experts say the order is more likely to make a difference symbolically than legally.“Policymakers and the medical field have long struggled to address the burden of suicide and serious mental illness rates in America,” the order reads, noting that some people do not respond to available treatments. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Microsoft and Meta cut thousands of staff as they bet big on AI | First Thing 24. April 2026 (13:52) Meta to lay off 10% of its staff and Microsoft to offer retirement to 7% of US workforce. Plus, Iron Maiden at 50Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Meta and Microsoft are cutting thousands of employees as they bet big on AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting productivity needs.What have they said about AI? Mark Zuckerberg said in January that AI was making some hiring unnecessary. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI chief, said in February that he believed AI would be able to replace most white-collar work within the next 12 to 18 months.How many tech layoffs have there been in 2026? In four months, more than 92,000 employees in the industry have lost their jobs, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. But some experts believe companies may be “AI washing” – using it as cover for a slowing labor market and demand or rising costs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Britain should seek to rejoin EU, says civil servant who led Brexit department 24. April 2026 (13:47) Philip Rycroft says promises on issues from economics to immigration have not lived up to expectationsBritain should start talking about rejoining the EU, according to a former senior civil servant who ran the Brexit department.Philip Rycroft, who was permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the EU, said the “argument was there to be won” about going back into Europe, adding that a “clear-headed appraisal of what is in the country’s best interests” was needed. However, he said rejoining the bloc could be a “long and windy” road. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How frustration at Cop stalemates inspires first global talks on phasing out fossil fuels 24. April 2026 (13:42) ‘Coalition of the willing’ gathers in Colombia to try to bypass petrostate blockages of Cop summits and chart fresh pathThe world’s first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, takes place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24 to 29 April. A “coalition of the willing” – including 54 countries and various subnational governments, civil society groups and academics – will try to chart a new path to powering the world with low-carbon energy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ukrainian soldiers left emaciated on frontline from lack of food and water 24. April 2026 (13:18) Top commander fired after wife of one malnourished soldier posted shocking images on social mediaUkraine’s defence ministry has fired a top commander after photos emerged of a group of emaciated soldiers who have been left on the frontline for months without proper food and water.The scandal erupted after the wife of one of the soldiers, Anastasiia Silchuk, posted the images on social media. The four men appeared to be pale and visibly malnourished, with prominent ribcages and thin arms. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Soundtrack of the sea: divers use underwater speakers to help dying coral reefs 24. April 2026 (12:30) Divers are installing waterproof speakers in the ocean to help pull a coral reef near Jamaica back from the brinkThe northern coast of Jamaica once served as the backdrop for scenes in the James Bond thriller No Time to Die. But today, beneath those same turquoise waves, a real-life mission is unfolding: the race to pull a dying coral reef back from the brink.However, the tools a team of divers are carrying to the seafloor are not what you would expect to find in a marine biologist’s kit. They are installing waterproof speakers at the bottom of the ocean, and the man leading the team is not a scientist. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: Trump says Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks but claims he won’t rush Iran deal 24. April 2026 (12:01) US president orders navy to ‘shoot and kill’ boats laying mines in Hormuz and claims ‘total control’ over the straitTrump claims US has total control over strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes two container shipsAnalysis: Trump may talk of regime infighting, but Iran seems united by strategy born of warThe EU’s foreign chief has said that talks with Iran should include nuclear experts otherwise “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”Speaking on Friday ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said: “If the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
After Meloni’s law change, Americans hope Italian supreme court ruling will open door to citizenship 24. April 2026 (12:00) Sabrina Crawford among those refused because of rule change, which now also affects children of immigrants born in ItalyIn 2025, after a long and arduous journey in her attempts to gain Italian citizenship, including a pivotal genealogical research trip to a village in Calabria, US-born Sabrina Crawford was hoping to fulfil her lifelong dream of building a life in Italy as she edged towards the final hurdle of the bureaucratic process.But her plans were scuppered when Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government enacted a law stopping access to Italian citizenship via distant ancestry. Since May last year, only those with a parent or grandparent who was an Italian citizen at birth, and who did not take on dual nationality, are eligible to apply. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US gambling addiction is ‘out of control’ as betting markets boom, policy expert warns 24. April 2026 (12:00) The gambling crisis ‘demands a public health response’ and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert says Gambling addiction is spiraling “out of control” in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, “demands a public health response”, according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Digested week:Iranian embassy trolls the most ‘powerfool’ man on the planet | Emma Brockes 24. April 2026 (11:55) Diplomats poke fun at Donald Trump, while elsewhere Madonna loses her corset off the back of a golf buggyThe one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missoverions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
