The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation

Young Canadians aren’t drifting toward conservative and far-right parties

When the Conservatives did unusually well among young voters in Canada’s 2025 federal election, even winning the national student mock vote for the first time in over a decade, one explanation making the rounds was that Canada was following what happened south of the border.

The Conversation · Aug 25

Why some Chinese immigrants avoid signing contracts, and why blaming ‘culture’ misses the bigger picture

For the past three years, as a researcher of legal consciousness in Asian and Canadian societies, I have interviewed Chinese immigrants and the lawyers who represent them, trying to understand why predatory practices — deceptive rental agreements and exploitative work arrangements — remain so common within this community.

The Conversation · Aug 25

Ceuta crisis: anti-migrant ‘invasion’ rhetoric threatens Europe’s food supply and economy

In August 2026, a deep humanitarian crisis unfolded in Ceuta, a small Spanish enclave situated on Morocco’s northern coast. Around 72,000 people entered from Morocco over the course of two days. More than 100 drowned trying to cross into Spanish territory.

The Conversation · Aug 25

Rwanda’s national pension fund has helped power the economy, but it faces new challenges

Rwanda is routinely celebrated as a growth miracle on the African continent. The country’s GDP growth averaged 7.4% annually between 2000 and 2023, one of the fastest in Africa.

The Conversation · Aug 25

People forage for wild food in public spaces in South African cities – how to plan for this

Foraging, the act of gathering wild plant and animal materials from the environment, is becoming more and more popular in cities around the world. In South African cities, some people pick wild berries and imifino (wild spinach) in open areas, considering them to be fresher and more nutritious than store-bought…

The Conversation · Aug 25

Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions over Red Sea port have turned the Tigray peace deal into a political weapon

The large-scale war between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray regional government forces ended in November 2022 with the signing of the Pretoria Agreement. The two sides agreed that the Tigrayan forces would disarm, and that foreign forces and other troops outside the federal army would withdraw from Tigray. They…

The Conversation · Aug 25

Latest sanctions on Iran risk strengthening Tehran and undermining US credibility

The United States has announced its latest plan to put maximum economic pressure on Iran. Launching “Operation Economic Outcast” on August 24, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said the plan would involve the “toughest sanctions in history” against Iran.

The Conversation · Aug 25

A ‘super El Niño’ could make India’s monsoon drier yet more dangerous

India is currently in the middle of its summer monsoon, but this year’s rainfall presents an interesting paradox. Much of the country has received less rain than usual so far, yet has still been hit by severe floods and landslides. In the southern state of Kerala, for example, devastating floods…

The Conversation · Aug 25

What children worry about when they start secondary school – and how to support them

Moving from primary to secondary school can evoke a range of emotions, from excitement and anticipation to uncertainty and anxiety. It is an important rite of passage: many children look forward to the new opportunities, experiences and greater independence that secondary school offers.

The Conversation · Aug 25

Britain’s quarter century: crime falls, sea-levels rise and education yet to recover from COVID

In this fifth part in our series on how the UK has changed in the past 25 years, we look at crime, education, transport, energy and the environment.

The Conversation · Aug 25