Violence is endemic in eastern Congo: what drives it

UN soldiers patrol the road where Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was killed. Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP via Getty Images...

Gulf War: 30 years on, the consequences of Desert Storm are still with us

Lorena De Vita, Utrecht University and Amir Taha, University of Amsterdam It was a short message to end a short war. On February 26 1991, Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz put his signature...

How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine compare to other coronavirus vaccines?

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose. Phill Magoke/AFP via Getty Images Maureen Ferran, Rochester Institute of...

Why AstraZeneca and J&J’s Vaccines, In Use the World Over, Are Still on Hold in America

Sarah Jane Tribble, Kaiser Health News February 26, 2021 This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free. The World Health Organization greenlighted...

Can the laws of physics disprove God?

Could God travel faster than the speed of light? robert_s/Shutterstock Monica Grady, The Open University I still believed in God (I am now an...

Ebola strikes West Africa again: key questions and lessons from the past

Medical staff check each others protective suits. Photo by SUMY SADURNI/AFP via Getty Images Mosoka Fallah, University of Liberia News of a new...

Why We Can’t Make Vaccine Doses Any Faster

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.Series:...

Australia, fighting Facebook, is the latest country to struggle against foreign influence on journalism

The New York Times Facebook site on Feb. 18, 2021 as seen in Melbourne, Australia: Empty. Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Vanessa Freije, University...

The human genome at 20: how biology's most-hyped breakthrough led to anticlimax and arrests

Rost9/Shutterstock Alasdair Mackenzie, University of Aberdeen and Andreas Kolb, University of Aberdeen When President Bill Clinton took to a...

What's behind fresh unrest in Somalia -- and what needs to be done

Supporters of different Somali opposition presidential candidates protest over delayed elections in Mogadishu on February 19, 2021. Photo by -/AFP via Getty...

Opinion: It’s not only about Paris: Will America confront all the environmental treaties it put in limbo?

Rejoining the Paris Agreement is just the first step toward U.S. green global leadershipFebruary 19, 2021 — A U.S. president announced America’s distancing from the most significant climate treaty...

One month in, how Biden has changed disaster management and the US COVID-19 response

The National Guard joined forces with FEMA to launch a mass vaccination site in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Brian J....

Indian farmers are a powerful force in Indian politics, and here's why their protests matter

A large number of women have joined the protests against new farm laws in India. Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Surupa Gupta,...

House restarts conversation about reparations for Black Americans

The discussion of payments from the federal government comes as the administration focuses on racial equity. Errin Haines Originally published by The 19th House lawmakers on Wednesday debated...

Why being endowed with oil is not always a boon: the case of Nigeria and Angola

Young Angolans protest for bettter living conditions in the capital Luanda in 2020. EFE-EPA Ross Harvey, University of Johannesburg In...

Mars: Perseverance rover set for nail-biting landing – here's the rocket science

Landing on Mars is extremely difficult. NASA/JPL-Caltech Andrew Coates, UCL Following “seven minutes of terror” after it reaches Mars’ upper...

Top court ruling on South Africa's spy law is a victory for privacy, but loopholes remain

shutterstock Jane Duncan, University of Johannesburg South Africa’s Constitutional Court has declared the law which governs the...

Trump evades conviction again as Republicans opt for self-preservation

AAP/EPA/Michael Reynolds Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Twice-impeached former US President Donald Trump has evaded...

People Over 75 Are First in Line to Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19. The Average Black Person Here Doesn’t Live That Long

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rosalyn Campbell and her...

Why Myanmar is rising up in collective fury after a military coup – The Conversation Weekly podcast

Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, The Conversation In episode two of The Conversation Weekly podcast we talk to academic experts about the tense situation in Myanmar following...

How the pandemic may damage children's social intelligence

Children’s brain development rely on interaction with other kids. sutadimages/Shutterstock Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, University of Cambridge;...

Arab Spring: when the US needed to step up, it stood back – now, all eyes are on Biden

Michelle Bentley, Royal Holloway The tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring has been an opportunity for some to declare the protests a failure – not least in the face of ongoing conflict in...

Bitcoin: why a wave of huge companies like Tesla rushing to invest could derail the stock market

Gavin Brown, University of Liverpool After Tesla announced it has invested US$1.5 billion in bitcoin and expects to start accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment for its electric vehicles...

The legal implications of humanitarian aid blockades

Ethiopian refugees, who fled fighting in Tigray, receive snacks at a Sudanese border reception centre in November 2020. Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty...

The search for dark matter gets a speed boost from quantum technology

Dark matter can be inferred from an assortment of physical clues in the universe. NASA Benjamin Brubaker, University of Colorado...

Work can be a violent experience for Zimbabwe's forest rangers

Militarised conservation has had unfortunate consequences. Shutterstock Tafadzwa Mushonga, University of Pretoria As cases of poaching rise...

Will the COVID pandemic cause London's population to decline?

heliray/Shutterstock Humphrey Southall, University of Portsmouth The purpose of a city is to allow people to live and work close together,...

Gene Screenings Hold Disease Clues, but Unexplained Anomalies Often Raise Fears

Christina Bennett February 9, 2021 When her gynecologist recommended genetic testing, Mai Tran was reluctant.“I didn’t really want to do it,” recalled Tran, who had just turned 21...

The queen's gambit — new evidence shows how Her Majesty wields influence on legislation

AAP/AP/Frank Augstein Anne Twomey, University of Sydney We all know the queen can’t refuse assent to a bill just because she doesn’t like...

The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists

Supporters wave national and military flags in Yangon, Myanmar after the military staged a coup. AP Photo/Thein Zaw Anders C. Hardig, American...

Africa at the Football World Cup: 10 defining moments

Cameroon’s Roger Milla held aloft at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. RENARD eric/Corbis via Getty Images Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu,...

5 twinkling galaxies help us uncover the mystery of the Milky Way's missing matter

Yuanming Wang, University of Sydney and Tara Murphy, University of Sydney We’ve all looked up at night and admired the brightly shining stars. Beyond making a gorgeous...

Why the African Union's decision on a top post is being seen as a litmus test

The reform of the operations of the African Union is key to its future. US Department of State/Flickr Linda Darkwa, University of Ghana The...

Comparing Death Tolls From Covid to Past Wars Is Fraught

Will Stone and Carrie Feibel, NPR News February 5, 2021 This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free. Counting the dead is one of the first, somber steps...

North Korea targeted cybersecurity researchers using a blend of hacking and espionage

North Korea has a long history of hacking targets in the U.S. Chris Price/Flickr, CC BY-ND Paulo Shakarian, Arizona State University North...

Wall Street isn't just a casino where traders can bet on GameStop and other stocks – it's essential to keeping capitalism from crashing

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1955. AP Photo Alexander Kurov, West Virginia University Shares of GameStop and other...

Scintillating discovery: these distant 'baby' black holes seem to be misbehaving — and experts are perplexed

Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin / ICRAR) and The GLEAM Team, CC BY-NC Kathryn Ross, Curtin University and Natasha Hurley-Walker, Curtin...

LGBT+ history month: forgotten figures who challenged gender expression and identity centuries ago

Catherine Armstrong, Loughborough University Non-binary and trans people have always been here, not least in every recorded society from the ancient world onwards. Why is it then that...

How Mars became the prize for the new space race – and why China is hellbent on winning it

All eyes on Mars. Kevin Gill/Flickr Steffi Paladini, Birmingham City University Looking at its achievements over the past decade, nobody...

Coronavirus variants, viral mutation and COVID-19 vaccines: The science you need to understand

By jailing Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin may turn him into an even more potent opposition symbol

Myanmar coup: how the military has held onto power for 60 years

h. Michael W. Charney, SOAS, University of London The military once again hold the reins of power in Myanmar. Citing constitutional provisions...

Myanmar's military reverts to its old strong-arm behaviour — and the country takes a major step backwards

Adam Simpson, University of South Australia and Nicholas Farrelly, University of Tasmania Just before the newly elected members of Myanmar’s parliament were due to be sworn in today, the...

India farmers' protests: internet shutdown highlights Modi's record of stifling digital dissent

Subir Sinha, SOAS, University of London The storming of the Red Fort in Delhi on January 26 marked an escalation of tensions between the Indian government – led by Prime Minister Narendra...

Why Indian farmers are so angry about the Modi government's agricultural reforms

Bhavani Shankar, University of Sheffield India’s farmers have been protesting since the autumn, with a growing intensity that culminated in a violent breaching of barriers in the Red Fort...

SpaceX vs Nasa: who will get us to the Moon first? Here's how their latest rockets compare

Nasa’s Space Launch System. Nasa Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham and Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University No-one has visited...

Navalny returns to Russia and brings anti-Putin politics with him

Protesters oppose riot police during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny on January 31, 2021 in Moscow, Russia. Oleg Nikishin/Getty...

U.S.-Cuba relations: Will Joe Biden pick up where Barack Obama left off?

American and Cuban flags hang from a wall with an old camera hung in between in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) John...

Memes like Bernie Sanders' mittens spread through networks the same way viruses spread through populations

Sen. Bernie Sanders (far right) attended the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Caroline Brehman/Pool via...

Google is leading a vast, covert human experiment. You may be one of the guinea pigs

Shutterstock Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology On January 13 the Australian Financial Review reported Google had removed some...