The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation Weekly

When Donald Trump gave a press conference in late September urging pregnant women to avoid taking paracetamol unless medically necessary because of a possible link to autism, the reaction from the scientific community was swift and loud.

For months, Donald Trump has badgered the US Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell, to lower interest rates. When the governors of the Fed did so by 0.25 percentage points in mid-September to a target of between 4% and 4.25%, it wasn’t big or fast enough for Trump.

France, the UK and Canada are expected to become the first G7 countries to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in late September, where Australia will also announce its recognition. Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, will not be present as he is banned…

In the remote mountain high country of the Australian state of Victoria, police are continuing a huge manhunt. The fugitive is Dezi Freeman, a man alleged to have killed two police officers and injured a third in late August in the town of Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne.

With Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un among 26 world leaders watching, China’s president Xi Jinping made a muscular address to 50,000 people in Tiananmen Square marking 80 years since the end of the second world war. China is “never intimidated by bullies” and would “stand by the…

World War II casts a very long shadow in East Asia. Eighty years after ending with Japan’s surrender to Allied forces on Sept. 2, 1945, the conflict continues to stir debate over the past, in the context of today’s geopolitical tensions.

Scientists can get animals to do the strangest things. They’ve taught goldfish to drive cars, primates to perform calculations with Arabic numerals and giraffes to do statistical reasoning. But what’s the point?

Donald Trump’s lawyers are pushing to get Rupert Murdoch deposed, and quickly.

Israel has never officially confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons and has never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Instead, even as evidence has emerged about its nuclear capabilities, Israel has maintained a policy of nuclear ambiguity.

The majority of the world’s rechargeable batteries are now made using lithium-ion. Most rely on a combination of different rare earth metals such as cobalt or nickel for their electrodes. But around the world, teams of researchers are looking for alternative – and more sustainable – materials to build the…

 Across Europe, far-right movements are gaining ground. From the Netherlands, to Germany and Italy, they’re winning seats in parliaments and sometimes joining ruling coalitions. By normalising nationalist rhetoric and challenging democratic institutions, these parties raise comparisons with former periods of fascism on the continent.