Experts

Mentre il Missouri chiede agli elettori se eliminare la tassa, gli esperti affermano che le tesi secondo cui ciò farebbe crescere le imprese e creerebbe posti di lavoro non sono vere.

Le morti per overdose negli Stati Uniti sono precipitate, ma gli esperti avvertono che lo ‘shock dell'offerta’ derivante dai precursori cinesi potrebbe essere solo una soluzione temporanea Mentre Donald Trump si reca a Pechino questa settimana, il fentanyl – e il ruolo della Cina nella sua catena di approvvigionamento – rimane un punto di acrimonia persistente nelle relazioni bilaterali. In una riunione dell'ONU a marzo, gli Stati Uniti hanno nuovamente accusato la Cina di non aver impedito alla propria industria chimica di vendere i precursori necessari per produrre il potente oppioide sintetico, mentre la Cina ha suggerito che gli Stati Uniti stiano spostando la colpa del proprio problema interno di droga. Continua a leggere...

Samhsa ha dichiarato che i finanziamenti non possono essere utilizzati per l'acquisto o la distribuzione di strisce reattive per il fentanyl o altri kit per il test delle droghe. La decisione dell'amministrazione Trump di limitare l'uso dei fondi federali per le strisce reattive per il fentanyl, in quello che i funzionari hanno descritto come un "chiaro allontanamento dalla riduzione dei danni", potrebbe avere conseguenze fatali, hanno avvertito esperti e critici. La Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa) ha pubblicato una lettera aperta ad aprile ordinando la cessazione dell'uso dei suoi finanziamenti per tutte le strisce di test per le sostanze, inclusi fentanyl, xilazina e medetomidina, l'ultima nuova droga di strada a seminare il caos negli Stati Uniti. Continua a leggere...

• La ricerca rivela che paesi come gli Stati Uniti e il Messico, con orari di lavoro più lunghi, presentano tassi di obesità più elevati. • Chi lavora più ore ha maggiori probabilità di essere obeso e ridurre il tempo trascorso al lavoro potrebbe aiutare a mantenere il peso forma, suggerisce lo studio. • Una ricerca internazionale presentata all'European Congress on Obesity di Istanbul ha confrontato i modelli lavorativi e la prevalenza dell'obesità in 33 paesi OECD dal 1990 al 2022.

As Reform vows to block solar and windfarms, energy leaders say renewables offer most secure future, insulating UK from hostile forcesUK politics live – latest updates• May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland?The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the links between inflation and the affects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis – or the remedies they choose – may make the situation worse, green campaigners have warned.Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “With people’s bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context – driven by the Iran war. Continue reading...

• Southeast Asia's economic resilience is under pressure from a fragmented global economy, requiring deeper intra-regional integration, according to The Business Times analysis. • Key challenges include trade barriers and supply chain shifts, with ASEAN's intra-regional trade at just 25% of total commerce. • Strategic engagement with partners like the US, China, and EU is essential to mitigate deglobalization risks and sustain growth above 4.5% annually.

Bloc’s leaders to hold first summit with Armenia on Tuesday at it ramps up efforts to combat Kremlin’s influenceThe EU is sending a team of experts specialised in combating Russian propaganda and interference to Armenia, as it increases its support to the former Soviet republic in a tense political period.In a highly symbolic sequence of events, EU leaders will hold their first summit with Armenia on Tuesday, after a pan-European gathering of about 45 leaders at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan. Continue reading...

Islamabad has reportedly switched to lower-profile role but believes peace can make progress without face-to-face meetingsPakistan is passing proposals between Iran and the US to keep talks alive behind the scenes and inch towards a peace agreement, officials and experts say.Pakistani officials say that they are conscious of the fact that at stake is not only regional peace, but the health of the global economy and the livelihoods of millions of the poorest people in the world – including in Pakistan, whose monthly energy import bill has almost tripled as a result of the war. Continue reading...

Report calls for tough action to combat ‘escalating and unsustainable burden’ of liver-related problems in EuropeGovernments in Europe should impose much higher taxes on alcohol and unhealthy food to tackle the continent’s 284,000 deaths a year from liver disease, experts say.Taxes on those products should rise sharply enough for the money raised to cover the huge costs they place on health services, the criminal justice system and social services. Continue reading...

US generated more power from renewables like solar and wind than fossil fuels recently for a full month in a firstDonald Trump has wielded the full might of his administration to crush the progress of clean energy, which has called a “scam” and “stupid”. But there are signs this assault is not going to plan.In March, the US generated more of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind than it did via gas, the first time clean energy has surpassed the planet-heating fossil fuel for a full month nationally, according to data from the Ember thinktank. Continue reading...

The firms said last week that they will be reducing parental leave and other benefits for employees starting next yearRecent moves by US companies Deloitte and Zoom to reduce how much paid parental leave they offer employees could signal a larger reduction in benefits in corporate America, according to labor market experts.American workers are already seen as having less benefits and labor protections than many of their counterparts across the world, especially in Europe. Continue reading...

In latest stage of £42m restoration project, 30-strong team removed mast from Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar flagshipThere is only one correct way to extricate a 15-tonne wrought iron mast from one of the world’s most famous and beloved warships – very slowly, and with extreme care.Which is precisely what a 30-strong team, led by shipwrights and riggers, did on Monday night into Tuesday morning, when they lifted the foremast from HMS Victory as part of a £42m conservation project. Continue reading...

Experts fear losing ground to virus even as the end of the HIV epidemic is in sight, and say decline in infant testing is ‘particularly concerning’The US government released likely the last report from Pepfar (President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) earlier this month and the chief science officer announced his resignation days later as the US moves to a patchwork of individual partnerships with each country, potentially driven by resource extraction.While more leadership with other countries has long been the goal with global HIV efforts, experts fear the US is moving too quickly without being able to monitor its efforts as well as it has done with Pepfar for more than two decades. They fear losing ground to the virus even as the end of the HIV epidemic is in sight. Continue reading...

A poll shows most Australians think the country is either in a recession or will be soon. Economists have a different viewGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian households were already on edge before the bombs started falling in Iran.The cost of living was high and inflation was accelerating again, forcing the Reserve Bank to start ratcheting up interest rates. Continue reading...

Analyst who worked on Internet Watch Foundation report says content exists ‘across all social media platforms’ and is ‘very easy’ to findThe number of commercial child sexual abuse websites has doubled in a year as experts say that criminal gangs are making “huge profits” from online sexual exploitation.According to data collected by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), 15,031 commercial child sexual abuse sites were found in 2025, compared with 7,028 found in 2024, a 114% increase. Continue reading...

Chemicals known to affect brains of common garden birds, and to kill unborn chicks, found in most feather samplesConservationists have called for restrictions on pet flea treatments after research found songbird feathers widely contaminated with substances that can damage the birds’ brains and kill unborn chicks.Almost every feather sample tested from five common species of UK garden birds contained either permethrin, imidacloprid or fipronil – all insecticides that are banned for agricultural use but still common in pet tick and flea treatments. Continue reading...

Tice’s image on X was almost certainly generated or altered using AI, according to Peryton IntelligenceIn a picture of a blue-skyed day in Birmingham, a diverse group of Reform supporters gathered with placards and cheesy grins to knock on doors for their party. Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, posted the picture as evidence of the activists’ commitment through thick and thin.“That is what resilience looks like,” he wrote. “This is what belief looks like.” Continue reading...

Non-appearance of Pam Bondi and remarks from Todd Blanche suggest full accounting may never be revealedIn the days since Pam Bondi’s exit from Donald Trump’s justice department, Jeffrey Epstein survivors and transparency advocates have been confronted by mixed messaging, prompting questions about whether a full accounting of his crimes would ever be revealed.Legal veterans told the Guardian that authorities’ decisions – such as Bondi’s failure to appear for a congressional subpoena about her handling of Epstein investigative files – portend poorly for accountability. Moreover, her replacement’s comments about the status of Epstein investigations has been perceived by some as an effort to acknowledge prior missteps without presenting definitive solutions. Continue reading...

Some petrol stations may see short-term fuel outages as refinery output slows, but national supplies should not be affectedFull report: Geelong oil refinery fireGeelong oil refinery fire: what we know so farFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictorian motorists are being warned to brace for a spike in petrol prices of up to 20c a litre due to a huge blaze at Viva Energy’s oil refinery in Geelong, but oil and supply chain experts say the effects should be short-lived.Viva’s Corio facility is one of two domestic refineries that reduce Australia’s heavy reliance on direct imports of ready-to-use oil products from Asia. Continue reading...

Experts say natural kratom may offer benefits and blame synthetic derivatives for surge in poisonings noted by CDCA recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report shows that kratom poisonings have soared in the US, but experts say this is probably due to synthetic derivatives like 7-OH, and that blanket kratom bans could harm people using natural kratom to aid pain management or addiction recovery.Walter Prozialeck, a pharmacology professor at Midwestern University, said he was unsurprised by the report, which found that kratom-related poisonings went up by about 1,200% over the last decade, with a marked surge in 2025. Continue reading...

‘Predatory industry’ adept at pivoting quickly to target new mediums and markets, says independent senator David Pocock Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s plan for a partial ban on gambling advertising is ripe for exploitation, say experts and crossbench MPs, including David Pocock, warning rules applying to podcasters, social media platforms and influencers need to be tightened.But industry sources say podcast companies including Apple could consider removing all wagering advertising if there were no simple mechanism to work within the rules. Continue reading...

Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countriesOpening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned.The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, some trade unions and parts of the Treasury to give the green light to new oil and gas fields, despite clear evidence that doing so would not cut prices and would have almost no effect on imports. Continue reading...

Strain found in 29 states and Puerto Rico carries spike mutations, but no data shows increased severitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxBA.3.2, an Omicron variant of Covid-19 with dozens of new spike mutations, has been detected in 29 US states and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but experts say there is not yet evidence it is more severe than other recent variants.“The right response to BA.3.2 is serious attention, not alarm,” says Dr Jake Scott, a Stanford professor and infectious disease expert who authored a systematic review of Covid vaccines for the New England Journal of Medicine. Continue reading...

Lack of regulation for specialist classes leaves UK fitness enthusiasts at risk, say professional bodiesThe boom in reformer pilates has created a “wild west” of studios where poor regulation has resulted in inexperienced teachers and a rise in injuries, professional standards bodies have warned.Pilates is not formally or legally regulated, and as its popularity has surged, industry experts say, so too has the growth of packed reformer-based classes often led by instructors with limited training. Continue reading...

Academics and youth workers say cuts to services, not social media, help explain recent unrest in south LondonIt started with a flyer sent around on Snapchat. Teenagers were invited to gather at a south London basketball court to celebrate the start of the Easter holidays. They were told to bring their own weed and laughing gas because it was going to be a late one.What followed in the hours after was chaos. Hundreds of young people came to the “link-up” last Saturday, and then gathered on Clapham High Street. Continue reading...

Last April, the president unleashed a tidal wave of tariffs on ‘liberation day’. Analysts say the policy has failed, even by the Trump administration’s own termsBefore Donald Trump declared “liberation day” on 2 April 2025 and shocked the world by raising import tariffs on nearly every country the US did business with, he had spent almost three months causing chaos in Washington.The wholesale slashing of government jobs under Doge (the “department of government efficiency”) and the defunding of US aid agencies had shown White House watchers that the US president was in a hurry to upset institutions he considered profligate or useless. Continue reading...