E1: the illegal settlement at the heart of the UK’s West Bank trade ban Rory McCarthy, Durham University UK plan to sanction Israel’s illegal West Bank settlements is a historic shift in tone and policy Mohamed Ibrahim Hafez, Nottingham Trent University Germany: why the AfD won in Saxony-Anhalt – and what happens next Ed Turner, Aston University How ‘egalitarian’ Sweden became more comfortable with wealth Håkan Johansson, Lund University and Axel Vikström, Lund University Journeying through Syria’s shattered cities as they move from war to peace Osman Bahadir Dincer, Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) ; Bahar Baser, Durham University, and Zeynep Sahin Mencütek, Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) The failure to stop 9/11 was a catastrophe. But even bigger mistakes were made in its aftermath Greg Barton, Deakin University What we forget when we remember 9/11 Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University 9/11 anniversary: democracy was not doomed to fail in Afghanistan – the US did not live up to its promises William Maley, Australian National University Decades after 9/11, toxic dust and PTSD may be accelerating brain aging among first responders Roberto Lucchini, Florida International University Xi, Putin and Modi looking in different directions as Shanghai Cooperation Organisation marks 25th anniversary Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham Meta’s $18b settlement echoes past tobacco lawsuits – and how they avoided harsh penalties Shelley Marshall, RMIT University Moscow has a long history of paranoia about Britain’s support for Russia’s enemies Peter Whitewood, York St John University Himalayan hazards are becoming more complex. Our warning systems need to catch up Mehebub Sahana, University of Manchester; Nimesh Dhungana, University of Manchester; Priyank Pravin Patel, Presidency University, Kolkata, and Reshma Shrestha, Kathmandu University DRC’s Ebola epidemic could be the worst in history: 4 things that could help end it Yap Boum, Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Marie Roseline Belizaire, Universidad de Alcalá Satellite images show how penguins’ diets are changing in response to Antarctic climate change Casey Youngflesh, Clemson University Why Pacific Island states should seek collective security for the region Anne-Marie Brady, University of Canterbury A landmark UN report says the world will overshoot the 1.5°C climate target. What happens now? Jacqueline Peel, The University of Melbourne and Wesley Morgan, UNSW Early mammals weren’t all loners, as scientists thought – some already lived in pairs alongside the dinosaurs Carsten Schradin, Université de Strasbourg; University of the Witwatersrand Feminist icon Gloria Steinem lifted up women everywhere, leaving behind a more gender-equal world Sharon Crozier-De Rosa, University of Wollongong My unsung hero of science: Harriet Taylor Mill, the radical feminist philosopher who lived in the shadow of her husband Helen McCabe, University of Nottingham Inside the booming ‘shadow fleet’ industry keeping rogue states afloat 25 years after 9/11, what disasters reveal about Americans’ ability to reconnect Tonya Cross Hansel, University of Texas at Arlington Why Gaza peace deals keep unravelling Adam Farquhar, University of Edinburgh Ceuta crisis: anti-migrant ‘invasion’ rhetoric threatens Europe’s food supply and economy Diana Tung, Universitat de Barcelona and Seth M. Holmes, Universitat de Barcelona; ICREA; University of California, Berkeley I lived through the first Taliban girls’ school ban — watching it happen again is heartbreaking Ghazaal Habibyar, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa How Ukraine is bringing the war home to Russia Mark Carney’s defiance shows how to respond to Donald Trump’s threats Eric Van Rythoven, Carleton University Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions over Red Sea port have turned the Tigray peace deal into a political weapon Hafte Gebreselassie Gebrihet, University of Oslo; University of Cape Town After Ceuta, Europe is once again mired in migration chaos of its own making Kelsey Norman, Rice University and Nicholas R. Micinski, American University School of International Service Understand what's going on in the world The music that made Dolly Parton a global icon Bayeux tapestry: Matilda of Flanders – the woman who was instrumental to William the Conqueror’s success Natasha R. Hodgson, Nottingham Trent University Robert Harris returns to ancient Rome with Agrippa – a novel about an empire’s forgotten architect Catherine Steel, University of Glasgow

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: a queer slasher about trauma and desire Darren Elliott-Smith, University of Stirling Sunscreen for lakes and dams: could a thin floating layer of nanomaterial shield water from evaporation? Daniel Kwasi Kpeglo, University of South Africa Butterflies are on the move as the planet warms: new research Shawan Chowdhury, Monash University; Aletta Bonn, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research; Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, and Jonathan Lenoir, Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection Doug Specht, University of Westminster Africa’s Greater Horn region is facing a looming polycrisis fueled by conflict, prices, climate and disease Daniel Maxwell, Tufts University; Alex de Waal, Tufts University; Luka Kuol, University of Juba; Merry Fitzpatrick, Tufts University, and Peter Hailey, Tufts University Behind the betel nut smile: the quiet epidemic of oral cancer in Papua New Guinea Nerida Bun, The University of Papua New Guinea How pigeon fanciers are helping scientists understand lung disease Richard Allen, University of Leicester; Louise Wain, University of Leicester, and Mark Spears, University of Dundee Can Ozempic prevent cancer? A doctor explains why the headlines are easy to misread Ziyad Al-Aly, Washington University in St. Louis When a teenager makes the ‘stupid choice’, their brain is working exactly as designed Evelyn Svingen, University of Birmingham Science and Technology China is launching a Moon mission to find water ice. It’s unlike anything NASA has done How a ‘psychic’ horse named Clever Hans changed the way we do science Matyáš Moravec, Queen's University Belfast Sam Altman says we’re ‘in the singularity’ with AI. Here’s why he’s wrong Kai Riemer, University of Sydney and Sandra Peter, University of Sydney Al-Qaida and the Islamic State are both adopting AI – but differ in how they think about the technology Sara Harmouch, George Washington University Business and economy The idea of the ‘company man’ was forged decades ago. Its problems still haunt leaders today Claire Wright, University of Technology Sydney These 3 charts show female-dominated jobs are actually the most exposed to AI Leonora Risse, Queensland University of Technology and Elise Stephenson, Australian National University Why you should live your life like an accountant – and how you probably already do Jack Campbell, Dublin City University Featuring Trump on US coins and bills would put America in rare company Jacques Hymans, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; University of Southern California The Conversation Weekly Podcast How Ukraine is bringing the war home to Russia Isabella Podwinski, The Conversation and Justin Bergman, The Conversation From Count Binface to AI Steve: why are we voting for joke candidates? Isabella Podwinski, The Conversation and Justin Bergman, The Conversation How do we know what dinosaurs looked like? Why Javier Milei’s inflation ‘miracle’ in Argentina is more of a mirage Most read this week 1 . A record-shattering El Niño is almost here. Here’s what that means for the world’s weather Mandy Freund, The University of Melbourne A record-shattering El Niño is almost here. Here’s what that means for the world’s weather Mandy Freund, The University of Melbourne 2 . What we forget when we remember 9/11 Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University What we forget when we remember 9/11 Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University 3 . Sex with 1,000 men in 12 hours: why Bonnie Blue is neither a feminist nor a monster Lexi Eikelboom, Australian Catholic University Sex with 1,000 men in 12 hours: why Bonnie Blue is neither a feminist nor a monster Lexi Eikelboom, Australian Catholic University 4 . The failure to stop 9/11 was a catastrophe. But even bigger mistakes were made in its aftermath Greg Barton, Deakin University The failure to stop 9/11 was a catastrophe. But even bigger mistakes were made in its aftermath Greg Barton, Deakin University 5 . How ‘egalitarian’ Sweden became more comfortable with wealth Håkan Johansson, Lund University and Axel Vikström, Lund University How ‘egalitarian’ Sweden became more comfortable with wealth Håkan Johansson, Lund University and Axel Vikström, Lund University 6 . Germany: why the AfD won in Saxony-Anhalt – and what happens next Ed Turner, Aston University Germany: why the AfD won in Saxony-Anhalt – and what happens next Ed Turner, Aston University