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A man with a gun is seen in front of a road sign saying 'India-Pakistan border'

India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise fact that norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder

Farah N. Jan, University of Pennsylvania

A man in brocaded vestments waves with both his hands while some others dressed in red shoulder capes over white robes smile.

Pope Leo XIV: Why the College of Cardinals chose the Chicago native and Augustinian to lead the church after Francis

Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross

Pope Leo XIV faces limits on changing the Catholic Church − but Francis made reforms that set the stage for larger changes

Dennis Doyle, University of Dayton

A man, dressed in brocaded vestments, stands with his arms folded and smiles gently.
From pulpit to pitch: Pope Francis used sport to get his message to a wider world − that could continue with baseball-loving Leo XIV

Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, Catholic Theological Union

A giant screen shows the image of the pope above a stadium packed with supporters
Armed men wearing face masks standing in formation, with one man at the front holding up a flag with green, white and red stripes and a black star in the middle

Somaliland’s 30-year quest for recognition: could US interests make the difference?

Aleksi Ylönen, United States International University

A black and white photo of Italian resistance fighters in uniform.

Italy’s areas of wartime fascist resistance remain less susceptible to the far right today

Juan Masullo, Leiden University and Simone Cremaschi, Bocconi University

A close up of a colourful Moomins illustration.

How Tove Jansson’s Moomins illustrations taught us to imagine, resist and belong

Amelia Huw Morgan, Cardiff Metropolitan University

US cuts tariffs on British metals and cars, as countries strike broad trade deal – experts react

Maha Rafi Atal, University of Glasgow; Conor O'Kane, Bournemouth University; David Collins, City St George's, University of London, and Sangeeta Khorana, Aston University

keir starmer on a phone call to donald trump surrounded by workers from jaguar land rover
Friedrich Merz confirmed as Germany’s chancellor – but betrayal by MPs in a secret ballot means he starts from a position of weakness

Ed Turner, Aston University

Friedrich Merz in parliament, surrounded by his MPs.
Four puppets show the faces of four men.

North Korean spy drama in China may signal Beijing’s unease over growing Pyongyang-Moscow ties

Linggong Kong, Auburn University

a row of identical faces against an orange background.

Digital clones of real models are revolutionizing fashion advertising

Luana Carcano, Simon Fraser University

An IDF armoured personnel carrier churning up dust as it prepares to cross into Gaza, May 6 2025.

Israeli plan to occupy all of Gaza could open the door for annexation of the West Bank

Leonie Fleischmann, City St George's, University of London

Burkina Faso and Mali’s fabulous flora: new plant life record released

Cyrille Chatelain, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de Genève (CJBG); Adjima Thiombiano, Université Joseph Zi-Kerbo; Blandine Marie Ivette Nacoulma, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, and Mamadou Lamine Diarra, Université des sciences, des techniques et des technologies de Bamako

A plant with reddish flowers against a grassy background
Pandas and politics − from World War II to the Cold War, zoos have always been ideological

John M. Kinder, Oklahoma State University

A panda sits on a grassy area as people crowd around and take photos from a distance.
Who would win in a fight between 100 men and 1 gorilla? An evolutionary expert weighs in

Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University

A large gorilla standing on a rock in a forest.
How did sport become so popular? The ancient history of a modern obsession

Konstantine Panegyres, The University of Western Australia

Roman mosaics discovered in Sicily show women playing different sports.
Two smartphone screens, each showing a young Egyptian woman talking.

TikTok in Egypt: where rich and poor meet – and the state watches everything

Gabriele Cosentino, American University in Cairo

Tensions over Kashmir and a warming planet have placed the Indus Waters Treaty on life support

Fazlul Haq, The Ohio State University

Mountains flank a blue river
How the US ‘war on woke’ and women risks weakening its own military capability

Bethan Greener, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with US troops saluting in background
In Yemen, Trump risks falling into an ‘airpower trap’ that has drawn past US presidents into costly wars

Charles Walldorf, Wake Forest University

A man walks through a pile of rubble after a bombing.
The global costs of the US-China tariff war are mounting. And the worst may be yet to come

Kai He, Griffith University

The global costs of the US-China tariff war are mounting. And the worst may be yet to come
A rifle covered in American flag imagery.

Guns in America: A liberal gun-owning sociologist offers 5 observations to understand America’s culture of firearms

David Yamane, Wake Forest University

A crowd of young Japanese people scramble to grab leaflets promoting a music concert in Tokyo.

Oshikatsu, the fandom phenomenon Japan hopes can boost its flagging economy

Fabio Gygi, SOAS, University of London

Cambodia’s haunted present: 50 years after Khmer Rouge’s rise, murderous legacy looms large

Sophal Ear, Arizona State University

A young man looks over a pile of weapons.
Make Russia Medieval Again! How Putin is seeking to remold society, with a little help from Ivan the Terrible

Dina Khapaeva, Georgia Institute of Technology

A man stands in the shadow of a religious leader.
Trump’s aggressive actions against free speech speak a lot louder than his words defending it

Daniel Hall, Miami University

A young woman with dark hair and a bandage covering her mouth.
How Iran’s government has weaponized sexual violence against women who dare to resist

Mina Fakhravar, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Protesters carry placards featuring the faces of Iranian women.

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Life and art

Older woman smokes cigarette while surrounded by gaggle of well-appointed people.

The woman who turned the Met Gala into the biggest party of the year

Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén, University of Southern California

Why Hollywood is finally taking horror films seriously

Reece Goodall, University of Warwick

A woman lying on a bathroom floor with stitches up her back
When rock music met ancient archeology: the enduring power of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii

Craig Barker, University of Sydney

Pink Floyd in an Ancient Roman amphitheatre

Environment

Trump is stripping protections from marine protected areas – why that’s a problem for fishing’s future, and for whales, corals and other ocean life

David Shiffman, Arizona State University

A colorful reef with many types of fish feeding on it.
If we must bring back extinct species, let’s focus on the giant herbivores

Timothy Neal Coulson, University of Oxford

Woolly rhino looks at wombat
Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security

Bradley J. Cardinale, Penn State; Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian Institution, and Rod Schoonover, Georgetown University

A person uses a chain saw to cut logs next to a massive tree stump.
Chewing gum is plastic pollution, not a litter problem

David Jones, University of Portsmouth

gum on paving near plant

Health

The MMR vaccine doesn’t contain ‘aborted fetus debris’, as RFK Jr has claimed. Here’s the science

Hassan Vally, Deakin University

Two hands wearing pink gloves drawing up an MMR vaccine.
Malaria scorecard: battles have been won and advances made, but the war isn’t over

Shüné Oliver, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases

A long-legged insect with its head down
What’s the difference between a tantrum and a meltdown?

Shawna Mastro Campbell, Bond University and Susan Rowe, Bond University

Overwhelmed boy in supermarket about to put hands on ears
Cancer hijacks your brain and steals your motivation − new research in mice reveals how, offering potential avenues for treatment

Adam Kepecs, Washington University in St. Louis

Despondent cancer patient wearing knit hat and nasal cannula sitting on hospital bed with another person holding their shoulders

Ukraine war

Coverage from across the network

Science and Technology

Indicators of alien life may have been found – astrophysicist explains what the new research means

Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University

Illustration of a habitable planet with a red dwarf sun
Earth’s oceans once turned green – and they could change again

Cédric M. John, Queen Mary University of London

Emerald sea at sunset.
A century after its discovery, scientists capture first confirmed footage of a colossal squid in the deep

Kat Bolstad, Auckland University of Technology

gif of squid swimming
Scientists in Antarctica: why they’re there and what they’ve found

David William Hedding, University of South Africa

A small boat drives through melted ice with a backdrop of ice bergs and shelves.

Business and economy

As Warren Buffett prepares to retire, does his investing philosophy have a future?

Angel Zhong, RMIT University

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett waves
Could Trump be leading the world into recession?

Steve Schifferes, City St George's, University of London

exterior shot of a shop with closing down sale signs on it.
IMF World Economic Outlook: economic uncertainty is now higher than it ever was during COVID

Sergi Basco, Universitat de Barcelona

IMF World Economic Outlook: economic uncertainty is now higher than it ever was during COVID
Why Americans care so much about egg prices – and how this issue got so political

Clodagh Harrington, University College Cork

A sign in a US shop saying they had sold out of eggs.

The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Three scientists speak about what it’s like to have research funding cut by the Trump administration

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

A sign saying science helps you held up by a protestor.
Birkin v Wirkin: the backlash against the global elite and their luxury bags – podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

A Hermes bag with a view of a city skyline behind
How AI could influence the evolution of humanity – podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Illustration of evolution of humanity from primates to an unknown future with a blue light.
Syria after Assad: why many Syrian refugees aren’t returning home

Charlotte Al-Khalili, University of Sussex and Melissa Gatter, University of Sussex

Insights
Group of young boys play basketball with refugee camp in background.
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Scam factories series

Aerial view of a large compound

‘We could hear the screams until midnight’: life inside Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds

Ivan Franceschini, University of Melbourne; Ling Li, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; The Conversation Digital Storytelling Team

Scam Factories: the inside story of Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds
Scam Factories: the inside story of Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds
‘I thought about escaping every day’: how survivors get out of Southeast Asia’s cybercrime compounds – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 3
Listen
A man who was trafficked to a scam compound.
‘Your life becomes a nightmare’: how scam operations exploit those trapped inside – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 2
Listen
A man who was trafficked to a compound praying.
‘It seemed like a good job at first’: how people are trafficked, trapped and forced to scam in Southeast Asia – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 1
Listen
Buildings under construction in Sihanoukville.

Israel-Gaza war

Coverage from across the network

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