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HISTORICAL FACTS: The conversation weekly | History Defined

The hunt for a new Ebola vaccine: two scientists explain the challenges

The ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda has now killed 61 people, with 359 confirmed cases. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus has a fatality rate of between 30% and 50%, and there is currently no vaccine approved for it. Two scientists at…

The Conversation

Two scientists on their race to make a new Ebola vaccine

As health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continue to battle an ongoing Ebola outbreak, scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the strain of the virus that’s causing it.

The Conversation

How and where the world’s 2 billion barrels of strategic oil reserves are stockpiled

Drive on Interstate 10 along the Gulf Coast of the United States, through Louisiana and into Texas, and you’ll see signs of the oil industry everywhere. There are offshore rigs out in the water and refineries lining the shoreline, where tankers deposit crude oil extracted from the Gulf floor.

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Why Javier Milei’s inflation ‘miracle’ in Argentina is more of a mirage

When Javier Milei took over as president of Argentina in December 2023, monthly inflation was 25.5%. The annual rate for that year was 211%. Now it has plummeted.

The Conversation

The conspiracy theorists who feel vindicated by the Epstein files

At 8.16am on August 10 2019, a post appeared on the online forum 4Chan: “[D]ont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this.”

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China’s ability to weather Trump’s trade war was two decades in the making

As Xi Jinping prepares to host Donald Trump for a delayed summit in Beijing on May 14-15, a lot has changed since the US president’s last visit to China in November 2017. Trump’s first trade war with China began in earnest the following year, ushering in a new era of…

The Conversation

What is a just war? Inside the war of words between the Trump administration and the Catholic church

Pope Leo’s words on Palm Sunday were pointed. “Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war”, he said during an address at the Vatican.

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How Israel’s history has shaped the way it wages war

A little after 2pm on April 8, the Israeli military hit more than 100 targets in Lebanon in just ten minutes. Israel called the attack Operation Eternal Darkness and said it struck Hezbollah command and control centres across Lebanon. The Lebanese government said at least 300 people were killed and…

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Who is Hungary’s Péter Magyar and how he overturned Viktor Orbán’s illiberal democracy

The day after Péter Magyar ousted Victor Orbán as prime minister of Hungary, he gave a combative press conference. He spoke in Hungarian, but was talking to the world – and particularly to Europe.

The Conversation

The pseudoscientific attractiveness scale that grew out of incel forums and is now making money for looksmaxxing influencers

If you have teenagers in your life, they’ll probably have heard of the PSL scale. Or at least the language associated with it. Chad. Stacy. Normie. Subhuman.

The Conversation

Why is the US going back round the Moon with Artemis II? A space policy expert explains

Final preparations are underway for NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission around the Moon for more than 50 years. Four astronauts, three men and one woman, will spend 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft, going further into space than any other humans as they orbit the Moon and…

The Conversation

How the US copied a cheap Iranian kamikaze drone and used it to bomb Iran

As Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host turned Donald Trump’s defense secretary, stood on the front lawn of the Pentagon to record a promotional video in July 2025, a drone hovered above him.

The Conversation

Why global methane levels spiked during COVID lockdowns

Six years ago, as countries around the world went into COVID lockdowns, the air got cleaner. Factories slowed down, roads emptied and aeroplanes were grounded. As people stayed home, the world burned fewer fossil fuels and so carbon dioxide emissions dropped – by around 7% in 2020.

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The Gulf’s delicate balancing act between the US and Iran is now in flames

As Israel and the US continued to bomb Iran after killing the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iran lashed out at its neighbours. Among the targets of Iranian drone strikes were a hotel in Dubai, a port in Oman, gas facilities in Qatar, and multiple US bases and embassies in…

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South Korea’s birth rate is rising – but the population is still shrinking

South Korea’s very low birth rate and ageing population have long served as a cautionary tale for other governments worried that they’ll see similar demographic challenges.

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How Putin turned Russia’s post-Soviet ‘national humiliation’ into military aggression in Ukraine

As the 21st century dawned, a newly elected Vladmir Putin was making friends on the world stage. He smiled for photo ops at G8 meetings, and was the first foreign leader to call George W. Bush after the attacks of 9/11, offering his support against terrorism.

The Conversation

How anti-ICE organising in Minnesota reactivated mutual aid networks started after George Floyd’s murder

Whenever US federal immigration agents pull up to a location in Minneapolis, people take their whistles out, start blowing them and start filming.

The Conversation

How the 1986 Super Bowl kickstarted prop betting in America – and why it’s threatening the integrity of US sports

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest night in American sports. The 2026 NFL showdown between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in California will be more than just a football game – it’s a full evening of entertainment, from the live music performances to the multi-million dollar ad…

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How Iran shut down the internet and built a sophisticated system of digital control

On January 8, as thousands of Iranians took to the streets in nationwide protests, the government cut off the internet.

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What a US military base lost under Greenland’s ice sheet reveals about the island’s real strategic importance

In the summer of 1959, a group of American soldiers began carving trenches in the Greenland ice sheet. Those trenches would become the snow-covered tunnels of Camp Century, a secret Arctic research base powered by a nuclear reactor.

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Most of the world just agreed on something: a new treaty to protect our oceans

In a moment being celebrated by global marine conservationists, a new UN high seas treaty comes into force on January 17 providing a new way to govern the world’s oceans.

The Conversation

How Venezuela has been preparing for a US invasion for more than two decades

In the latest escalation of tensions between the US and Venezuela, on December 17 US President Donald Trump ordered a “complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela. His Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, called the move “warmongering threats”, and accused the US of trying to steal…

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Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor-Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation

Oecusse, a rugged, remote district of Timor-Leste in south-east Asia, is usually a pretty sleepy place. It’s located on the western side of Timor island, part of Indonesia, and is isolated geographically from the rest of Timor-Leste, which has governed the eastern side of the island since 2002.

The Conversation

The American fixation on white Afrikaners in South Africa stretches back nearly a century

A few days after Donald Trump boycotted a G20 summit in Johannesburg, he announced South Africa would not be invited to the next G20 meeting, taking place at his resort in Miami in March 2026.

The Conversation

Flu shots: how scientists around the world cooperate to choose the strains to vaccinate against each year

Twice a year, 40 scientists gather together for five days to decide what strains of influenza to vaccinate against for the next flu season. It takes around six months to prepare the vaccine – which usually includes protection against three different strains of flu. So in February, the group’s decision…

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