By Lauren Johnston, Associate Professor, China Studies Centre, University of Adelaide
The demand for donkey hides has grown exponentially over the past 15 years, driven mainly by demand from China. Lauren Johnston is a specialist on China trade with Africa. She has spent several years looking into the donkey trade, and has just published a book, China, Africa and the Market for Donkeys. She answers questions about what she found.
What drives the demand? Which countries have the biggest markets?
The demand is driven almost exclusively by China. The…
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By Lotfi Sour, enseignant-chercheur, Université Mustapha Stambouli de Mascara
Algeria recently announced it would deploy its army into neighbouring Niger. This marks a departure from its long-standing reluctance to deploy its military outside its borders. It last sent forces to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
On 25 October 2026, both chambers of Algeria’s parliament approved…
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Saturday, October 31, 2026
The UN human rights chief on Saturday demanded an independent investigation into the death of a Yemeni colleague held by the Houthis for more than two years, whose family learned of his death only weeks after it happened.
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Saturday, October 31, 2026
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is building factories and hospitals, rolling out smartphones and mobile banking, and passing new laws at an unprecedented rate. But its people are more cut off from the outside world than at any point in the country’s history.
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Friday, October 30, 2026
More than 300,000 people displaced since early March remain internally displaced in Lebanon, where the humanitarian crisis is “far from over,” according to the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA).
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By Tara Deans, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Zombies have taken many forms in popular culture. In Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video, corpses climb out of their graves and perform an impressively coordinated dance. In HBO’s “The Last of Us,” a fungus infects humans, takes over their bodies and turns them into hosts that help spread the infection. Even Plankton has tried his hand at taking control of another…
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Friday, October 30, 2026
More than 300,000 people displaced since early March remain internally displaced in Lebanon, where the humanitarian crisis is “far from over,” according to the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA).
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari (right) and Hadi Ali Chattha, during a court hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan, December 5, 2025. © 2025 Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images (New York) – An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan imposed 10-year prison sentences on two human rights lawyers on October 29, 2026, in an escalation of the government’s crackdown on civil society, Human Rights Watch said today. Pakistani authorities should immediately quash the convictions, release Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha, and cease criminal proceedings aimed at punishing…
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By Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City Political Economy Research Centre, City St George's, University of London
John Healey’s steady-as-she-goes budget was a picture of a government doing its best to offer “what help we can afford”, while weathering the economic storms. But despite its 98 policy measures, decisions on some of the biggest issues appear to have been kicked down the road.
In the meantime, it seems that the real incomes of UK households could fall by 1% next year. This forecast, from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), offered a grim picture. It also predicted UK economic growth of
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By Dipa Kamdar, Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University
Some allergy tablets make you sleepy and slow your reactions, others barely affect you. Here’s why – and what to check before you buy.
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