By Mohib Abderrahim, Chercheur en Préhistoire et conservateur principal des Monuments et Sites, Institut national des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine in Rabat
Could a Moroccan cave hold a crucial piece of the puzzle of human origins? Hominin fossils dating back 773,000 years discovered in the country are bringing new evidence to the debate about the last common ancestor of present-day humans (Homo sapiens), Neanderthals and Denisovans. The discovery points to a long evolutionary history in north Africa, much earlier than modern Homo sapiens. It also supports Africa’s central role in the major stages that shaped the human species.
Abderrahim Mohib is a prehistoric archaeologist, heritage curator, and associate professor and researcher…
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By Ambrose Kolawole Dada, Research Assistant, Media and Communication, Nelson Mandela University
Janelle Vermaak-Griessel, Senior Lecturer and head of the Department of Media and Communication, Nelson Mandela University
In a widely viewed YouTube sermon called 3 Types of Keys, a preacher, dressed in a sky blue Italian suit, holds a microphone and speaks with great assurance about spiritual matters. Prophet Shepherd Bushiri is telling his audience that their financial struggles are not accidental.
He warns that business, marriage or social standing can easily crumble if believers don’t pay their tithes to the church every month – 10% of their earnings. This message is not presented as advice, but as divine instruction.
…
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By Amnesty International
Since December 2025, Israeli authorities have unleashed a series of unlawful measures deliberately designed to dispossess Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to make the annexation of the territory an irreversible reality, Amnesty International said today. These decisions represent an unprecedented escalation – in scale and speed – in Israel’s project to expand illegal settlements. They facilitate the takeover of more Palestinian land, authorize a record number of new settlements, expanding existing ones, and formalize registration of land in the West Bank as…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2025. © 2025 Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images Mr. President,We thank the Special Rapporteur for his comprehensive report on the Taliban’s systematic violation of women’s rights, including the right to health.The Taliban have recently passed a new criminal procedure code that further deepens repression and discrimination in Afghanistan. The new law defines Muslims exclusively as adherents of the Hanafi jurisprudence and labels other religious groups, including Shia, as heretics. It prescribes strict punishments…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and US President Donald Trump in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. © 2025 Suzanne Plunkett/Getty Images On February 20, Indonesia and the United States agreed to a new trade deal, with US$15 billion specifically allocated for fossil fuel imports. This deal is part of a broader series of global fossil fuel agreements promoted under the US “Energy Dominance Agenda,” which aims to expand domestic fossil fuel production and boost exports. Key provisions of the Indonesia-US Reciprocal Trade Agreement…
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By Laura Tensen, Assistant Professor, University of Greifswald
Animals of the same species don’t always look the same. From birds with different beak shapes to mammals that vary in size or colour, populations living in different places can often look very different.
What’s much harder to pin down is why these differences arise. Are they shaped by local environments? Or driven by natural or sexual selection? Or are they simply the result of the random loss of gene variants as populations become isolated and slowly diverge over time?
I’m part of a team of leopard conservationists and researchers who set out to answer some of these questions…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The ISIS brides story is the latest instance of how the Labor caucus, and particularly the left, has mostly taken a vow of public silence.
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By Anastasia Topalidou, Associate Professor in Perinatal Biomechanics and Health Technologies, University of Lancashire
For years, debates about maternity care have centred on how women give birth. But the more important question has always been safety.
Vaginal birth, assisted birth and caesarean section are different clinical routes, not measures of success. The outcome that matters is the wellbeing of both mother and baby, guided by individual risk and informed decision making.
In the wake of maternity…
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By Amnesty International
Since December 2025, Israeli authorities have unleashed a series of unlawful measures deliberately designed to dispossess Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to make the annexation of the territory an irreversible reality, Amnesty International said today. These decisions represent an unprecedented escalation – in scale and speed – in Israel’s project to expand illegal settlements. They facilitate the takeover of more Palestinian land, authorize a record number of new settlements, expanding existing ones, and formalize registration of land in the West Bank as…
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By Pam Jagger, Professor of Environment and Development, University of Michigan
Charles B.L. Jumbe, Professor at the Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Congyi Dai, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Michigan
Ryan McCord, PhD Candidate, Duke University
Thabbie Chilongo, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Even small solar devices that can power phone chargers and lights have made a difference in rural Malawi. Now, bigger and better solar systems are needed.
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