Month: February 2026

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By James Trapani, Associate Lecturer of History and International Relations, Western Sydney University

After toppling Venezuela’s leader earlier this year, the Trump administration has turned its sights on Cuba. The near-total blockade of the island is now posing the greatest challenge to the government since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Cuba is quickly running out of oil, creating a dire political and economic crisis for the island’s 11 million residents.

US President Donald Trump’s embargo has prevented any oil tankers from reaching the island for months. A ship carrying Russian fuel is now reportedly on the way to the island to attempt to break the blockade, but the US has seized other ships that have previously tried.

The Trump administration has also threatened tariffs on any nation that tries to send Cuba fuel, putting Latin American leaders in an uncomfortable position. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called out the embargo as “very unfair”, but she’s been careful not to antagonise Trump by putting an emphasis on the Cuban “people”, not the government.

This is not the first time the US has isolated Cuba, or coerced Latin American leaders to take part. Cuba has been under a US embargo for the past 66 years, which has stunted its economy and caused widespread human suffering.

The island has always found a way to get by, but can it survive this new round of American pressure?

Animosity grows in the 1950s

The Cuban Revolution caught the United States by surprise in 1959. During the Cold War, the US had supported dictatorships in Latin America, such as Cuba’s Fulgencio Batista, with political, financial and military support, creating widespread anti-US activism across the region.

After coming to power, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro instituted modest reforms to land tenure and infrastructure to support the impoverished people. Then-US President Dwight Eisenhower opposed these moves because of their impact on US commercial interests on the island. This opposition turned into a US embargo of Cuban sugar imports in 1960.

In response, Castro looked to the Soviets as an export alternative. Eisenhower retaliated by refusing to ship oil to Cuba, leading Castro to sign an oil deal with the Soviets and eventually nationalise American and British refineries. In 1961, Castro declared his adherence to “Marxism-Leninism”.

Castro and Cuba were hugely popular throughout Latin America. When the Cuban military defeated the CIA-trained force of exiled Cuban fighters at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro was lauded for standing up to the US, though few knew of the military and intelligence support coming from the Soviets.

And when President John F. Kennedy began the campaign to remove Cuba from the Organisation of American States (OAS) in 1961, most Latin American democracies moved to block it.

To bring those leaders to his side, Kennedy used a carrot-and-stick approach. He proposed an “alliance for progress” to meet the “basic needs of the [Latin] American people for homes, work and land, health and schools”. But his government also passed the Foreign Assistance Act, which established a total blockade of the island and prohibited US aid to any country providing assistance to Cuba.

The OAS removed Cuba as a member the following year and, in 1964, voted to embargo all trade to Cuba, except food and medicine.

Life under the embargo

The embargo prevented Cuba from reaching the modern technological age. Instead, it existed in socialist bubble, emphasising the care of its people over economic development.

Nonetheless, Cuba’s Cold War economic growth was comparable to its neighbours. In 1970, the nominal GDP per capita for Cuba was US$645 (A$900), slightly lower than Mexico and about double the Dominican Republic. By 1990, it was US$2,565 (A$3,600), about 80% of Mexico’s and more than triple the Dominican Republic’s.

Cuba was not industrialised, but the country did reach full literacy before any other Latin American nation and extended health care to all Cubans. Cuba then exported its teachers and doctors throughout Latin America, and beyond.

However, life on the island was still difficult, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

With no clear replacement for Soviet imports and subsidies, the economy began to buckle. From 1990 to 1994 (a time known as the “Special Period”), food production decreased by 40%, leading to food rationing, malnutrition and other health issues.

Protests broke out across the island in 1994 and some 35,000 Cubans fled on boats for Florida.

Cuba and the US after the Cold War

However, the end of the Cold War brought newfound sympathy and assistance from Cuba’s neighbours. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, for example, provided Cuba with oil in exchange for Cuban doctors.

Then, in 2009, the OAS voted to readmit Cuba and allow for regional trade and tourism again.

US President Barack Obama followed suit in 2014, saying the US embargo of Cuba had “failed”.

His administration then initiated what would become known as the “Cuban thaw”. Then-President Raul Castro visited Washington in 2015 and, the following year, Obama became the first US president to visit Cuba since 1928.

Obama did not end the embargo, but he did open the door to US tourism, providing a lifeline for Cuba’s economy.

Why is Trump punishing the island again?

Now, Trump is reimposing the Cold War-era embargo on the island and ramping up the pressure on President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government.

The White House claims Cuba presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States, saying the island is cooperating with “dangerous adversaries” on intelligence activities, chief among them Russia and China.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned Trump’s embargo, saying “we do not accept anything like this”.

If Russian oil makes it to Cuba, more aid could follow. If that eventuates, the US will have invited Russia into its backyard again, laying the foundation for another Cold War-style stalemate, with the Cuban people once more trapped in the middle.

James Trapani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Cuba has survived 66 years of US-led embargoes. Will Trump’s blockade break it now? – https://theconversation.com/cuba-has-survived-66-years-of-us-led-embargoes-will-trumps-blockade-break-it-now-276065

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Simon Theobald, Research Fellow, University of Oxford; University of Notre Dame Australia

As Iranian and US diplomats meet in Geneva for crucial negotiations to avoid a potential war, opposition groups in exile are sniffing an opportunity.

The Islamic Republic faces its greatest political crisis since its inception. US President Donald Trump is threatening an imminent attack if Iran doesn’t capitulate on its nuclear program. And anti-regime protesters continue to gather, despite a brutal government crackdown that has killed upwards of 20,000 people, and possibly more.

Talk of a future Iran after the fall of the Islamic regime has grown increasingly fervent. And buoyed by cries heard during some of the protests in Iran of “long live the shah” (the former monarch of Iran), the voices of royalists in the Iranian diaspora are everywhere.

But is a return of the shah really what Iranians want, and what would be best for the country?

What are the monarchists promising?

Iran’s monarchy was ancient, but the Pahlavi dynasty that last ruled the country only came to power in 1925 when Reza Khan, a soldier in the army, overthrew the previous dynasty.

Khan adopted the name Pahlavi, and attempted to bring Iran closer to Western social and economic norms. He was also an authoritarian leader, famous for banning the hijab, and was ultimately forced into exile by the British following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941.

His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, attempted to continue his father’s reforms, but was similarly authoritarian. Presiding over a government that tolerated little dissent, he was ultimately forced out by the huge tide of opposition during the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

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Read more:
How Iran’s current unrest can be traced back to the 1979 revolution

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Now, the exiled crown prince, 65-year-old Reza Pahlavi, is being touted by many in the diaspora as the most credible and visible opposition figure to be able to lead the country if and when the Islamic Republic collapses.

Pro-monarchy groups such as the US-based National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) have become vocal supporters of Pahlavi.

In early 2025, the NUFDI launched a well-coordinated and media savvy “Iran Prosperity Project”, offering what the group claimed was a roadmap for economic recovery in a post-Islamic Republic Iran. Pahlavi himself penned the foreword.

Then, in July, the group released its “Emergency Phase Booklet”, with a vision for a new political system in Iran.

Although the document is mostly written in the language of international democratic norms, it envisions bestowing the crown prince with enormous powers. He’s called the “leader of the national uprising” and given the right to veto the institutions and selection processes in a transitional government.

One thing the document is missing is a response to the demands of Iran’s many ethnic minority groups for a federalist model of government in Iran.

Instead, under the plan, the government would remain highly centralised under the leadership of Pahlavi, at least until a referendum that the authors claim would determine a transition to either a constitutional monarchy or democratic republic.

But students of Iranian history cannot help but note echoes of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had promised a more democratic Iran with a new constitution, and without himself or other clerics in power.

After the revolution, though, Khomeini quickly grasped the reigns of power.

Online attacks against opponents

Pahlavi and his supporters have also struggled to stick to the principles of respectful debate and tolerance of different viewpoints.

When interviewed, Pahlavi has avoided discussing the autocratic nature of his father’s rule and the human rights abuses that occurred under it.

But if Pahlavi tends to avoid hard questions, his supporters can be aggressive. At the Munich Security Conference in February, British-Iranian journalist Christiane Amanpour interviewed the crown prince.

After the interview, Amanpour’s tough questions resulted in an explosion of anger from his supporters. In a video that has been widely shared on X, royalists can be seen heckling Amanpour, saying she “insulted” the crown prince.

In online forums, the language can be even more intimidating. Amanpour asked Pahlavi point-blank if he would tell his supporters to stop their “terrifying” attacks on ordinary Iranians.

While saying he doesn’t tolerate online attacks, he added, “I cannot control millions of people, whatever they say on social media, and who knows if they are real people or not.”

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Read more:
The rise of Reza Pahlavi: Iranian opposition leader or opportunist?

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Do Iranians want a monarchy?

As I’ve noted previously, the monarchist movement also talks as though it is speaking for the whole nation.

But during the recent protests, some students could be heard shouting: “No to monarchy, no to the leadership of the clerics, yes to an egalitarian democracy”.

The level of support for the shah within Iran is unclear, in part because polling is notoriously difficult.

A 2024 poll by the GAMAAN group, an organisation set up by two Iranian academics working in the Netherlands, attempted to gauge political sentiment in Iran. Just over 30% of those polled indicated Pahlavi would be their first choice if a free and fair election were held.

But the poll doesn’t indicate why people said they wanted to vote for him. It also showed just how fragmented the opposition is, with dozens of names getting lower levels of support.

The future of Iran is very unclear at the moment. Even if the Islamic Republic were to be dislodged – a very big “if” – the transition could very well be chaotic and violent.

Would Pahlavi make a good leader? For many critics, his behaviour, and that of his supporters, call into question the royalists’ promises of a more liberal and tolerant Iran.

Simon Theobald receives funding from the University of Oxford and the University of Notre Dame Australia.

– ref. Iran’s exiled crown prince is touting himself as a future leader. Is this what’s best for the country? – https://theconversation.com/irans-exiled-crown-prince-is-touting-himself-as-a-future-leader-is-this-whats-best-for-the-country-276629

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Joshua Kumbani, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Tübingen

Rock art is widespread across southern Africa and includes a wide range of depictions such as human figures, animals, dots, handprints, and other painted or engraved imagery on rock surfaces. The rock art tradition of paintings was made by San hunter gatherers over thousands of years.

The first dance scenes in southern African rock art were documented 100 years ago. But there’s been some confusion as to whether certain scenes could indeed be interpreted as a dance.

Dance can be simply defined as intentional and organised bodily movement. It also functions as an expression of mood and a form of nonverbal communication. In southern African cultures, dance is also performed during moments of celebration and in ritual contexts. Sometimes dancers go into a trance.

Scholars in the past have interpreted the dances in San rock art as ritual dances, mainly trance dances. But ethnography (the study of living people) points to the fact that San communities also danced for leisure and entertainment. Hence the need to systematically examine and categorise dancing scenes in the rock art.

We are archaeologists with a special interest in sound and music in rock art. In a recent study, we examined selected dancing scenes in rock art from four of South Africa’s provinces: the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. The aim was to categorise the different types of dances depicted and to explore whether all dancing scenes represent ritual performances or whether some might reflect entertainment or leisure activities.

We concluded that some of the performances depicted were likely undertaken for leisure and enjoyment rather than ritual purposes.

We hope that our study provides a way to categorise dancing scenes in San rock art. This framework can be refined and expanded by future researchers working in music archaeology, the study of sound and its effects, or the iconographic analysis of musical instruments and dance imagery (working out what the images mean). This kind of research also helps people appreciate their music heritage from the past.

Sources and categories

Our article examined selected dancing scenes through a literature review and by consulting the African Rock Art Digital Archive database curated by the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand.

We consulted foundational works on rock art by pioneers George Stow and Dorothea Bleek (1930), and by more recent scholars such as Patricia Vinnicombe and David Lewis-Williams. Ethnographic accounts by Lorna Marshall (1969, 1976), Richard Katz (1982) and Megan Biesele (1993) of dance among San communities in the Kalahari (Botswana) and Nyae Nyae (Namibia) regions further informed our analysis.

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Read more:
An enigmatic theme in San rock paintings is finally unlocked

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We identified three broad categories of dances in the ethnographic records: ritual dances, circumstantial dances, and entertainment dances. Some circumstantial dances were performed to celebrate a successful hunt, while entertainment dances included those celebrating a newlywed couple, as well as dances done simply for fun and games by boys and girls.

We therefore argue that dancing scenes in the archaeological record should be examined critically: not all of them depict rituals.

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Read more:
What archaeology tells us about the music and sounds made by Africa’s ancestors

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Six points of identification

To systematically identify dancing scenes, we applied six analytical attributes:

• body postures, including bent figures, outstretched arms and flexed legs

• paraphernalia held by dancers, such as sticks, rattles or headgear

• interaction between dancers

• evidence of synchrony (moving in unison)

• direction of movement

• the gender of the figures represented.

In the following section, we provide examples of different kinds of dances in rock art and suggest how they may be interpreted on the basis of ethnographic information.

Ritual dances

Our study identified several ritual dances depicted in the rock art, including the trance or medicine dance. (An example is the Attakwas Kloof dance image above, from a site in the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape.) This is one of the most widespread dances among San communities. It is a communal healing practice in which medicine men, believed to possess healing powers, treat the sick through touch and dispel harmful spirits or misfortune.

During the trance dance, men dance while women sing and clap in accompaniment. Some of the male dancers serve as healers. The dancers move in a circular pattern, stamping their feet until a shallow furrow forms on the ground. Prolonged dancing induces an altered state of consciousness, during which healers may fall or collapse as they enter trance.

In South Africa, several forms of trance dance are depicted in the rock art. These scenes typically show clapping female figures accompanying male dancers, who are often shown bending forward. In some images, however, the clapping figures are absent, and only the dancers are represented.

Ethnographic accounts (for example, Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd, 1911: 190) note that leg rattles are commonly used during trance dances to produce a sharp, rhythmic vibration, yet these rattles are not frequently depicted in the rock art. A notable exception comes from the Halstone site in the Eastern Cape (above), where several dancers are shown wearing leg rattles. Some figures balance on dancing sticks and appear to be in an altered state of consciousness, or in a trance.

Female initiation rituals that are accompanied by eland dances, performed during the first menstruation rite, also appear in the rock art.

The women mimic the moves of the female eland, a spiritually important animal. These dances are performed only by women, usually in a secluded space. The dancers move in a circle while bending forward, and the ceremony celebrates a girl’s first menstruation. This interpretation is supported by ethnographic research conducted among San communities in Botswana and Namibia by anthropologists such as Marshall and Biesele.

Other ritual dances depicted in the rock art include boys’ initiation ceremonies, commonly known as the Tshoma. This dance marks the transition from boyhood to manhood and is performed exclusively by males. The ethnographic accounts mentioned above indicate that these ceremonies take place in secluded areas away from the main camp.

We identified some other dance scenes at G3 Site II (Vinnicombe 1976) (below) as possibly circumstantial or leisure dances and we suggested that this could have well been the case for the performance depicted at Witsieshoek (bottom).

It is likely that, because of their non-ritual nature, circumstantial or leisure dances – which ethnographic literature suggests were very common – were only rarely depicted in paintings.

This article is part of the ERC Artsoundscapes project (Grant Agreement No. 787842) that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. PI: Margarita Díaz-Andreu.

Joshua Kumbani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Dance scenes in South African rock art: a closer look at ritual, music and movement – https://theconversation.com/dance-scenes-in-south-african-rock-art-a-closer-look-at-ritual-music-and-movement-275489

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ambrose Kolawole Dada, Research Assistant, 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.

Bushiri is one of the most influential and controversial Pentecostal prophets to emerge from southern Africa in the digital age. As journalist Pumza Fihlani writes:

This is a man who says he has cured people of HIV, made the blind see, changed the fortunes of the impoverished and, on at least one occasion, appeared to walk on air.

The growth of African evangelical movements has often been associated with self-styled pastors taking advantage of Africans who are already vulnerable. Their lives are characterised by socioeconomic failures of government, inadequate healthcare systems, beliefs in supernatural forces, and corruption-driven inequalities.

In recent years, Bushiri has been involved in a series of legal battles – including charges of financial crimes and sexual assault – leading to his exit from South Africa to Malawi, where he was born.

His sermons continue to reach masses of worshippers online, with 794,000 subscribers on YouTube alone at the time of writing. He says he has two million registered congregants today.

As media and communication scholars who are interested in religious communication, we analysed what his sermons can tell us about why his online presence is so successful.

We found that, like other rhetoric (persuasive language, for example by politicians or advertisers), his YouTube sermons are carefully framed narratives that promote ideas about faith, authority and prosperity. They strengthen the pastor’s personal influence over his audience and, at the same time, build his brand.

Who is Shepherd Bushiri?

Bushiri – called Major 1 by his followers – is the founder of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church. He rose to prominence in the 2010s through TV broadcasts and social media (he has 5.8 million followers on Facebook alone), presenting himself as a prophet with supernatural insight.

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Read more:
The rise of African prophets: the unchecked power of the leaders of Pentecostal churches

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His ministry expanded rapidly across Africa and among Africans living overseas. Reports claim that Bushiri is one of the richest pastors in Africa. His ministry reflects what has been described as “prophetpreneurship” – the strategic blending of prophecy, charisma and business.

These descriptions raise interesting questions. How are prophetic authority and prosperity communicated to followers? And what role does digital media play in sustaining this influence?

Sermons as communication

To answer these questions, we turned to Bushiri’s YouTube sermons. Video-sharing platforms play a central role in African Christianity today. YouTube has the capacity to boost religious audiences. Sermons are watched on mobile devices, replayed repeatedly and shared across borders, often outside formal church spaces.

Rather than evaluating Bushiri’s teachings as “true” or “false”, our study focused on how his sermons communicate meaning. Sermons function as public communication. Like political speeches or advertising, they’re designed to persuade, inspire and guide behaviour.

We used Critical Discourse Analysis, a research method that examines language to uncover underlying messages about power, authority and values. This was supported by framing theory, which explains how speakers present issues through storylines. A frame is simply the angle through which a message is communicated.

Four dominant themes

The analysis identified four recurring frames in a selection of 10 of Bushiri’s YouTube sermons.

1. Paying to pray

It’s a human aspiration to want to prosper. In Bushiri’s 3 Types of Keys sermon, human prosperity is closely tied to financial giving, emphasising that God requires the “whole tithe”.

South African theologian Mookgo Solomon Kgatle argues this emphasis resembles a money cult. While the Bible has references to tithing, interpretation and context are crucial. When money is a condition for divine favour, faith risks becoming about moneymaking rather than spirituality.

2. Self-positioning

In the sermon Exposure to the Spiritual World, Bushiri claims:

The spirit of God is in your nostrils; if I can breathe on you, you will see the power of God.

This teaching seems rather simplistic, and shifts focus to the self-positioning of Bushiri as a super prophet whose very breath has spiritual power.

Scholars have noted that such practices, common among new prophetic churches, can oversimplify or misrepresent spiritual truths. Despite their emotional appeal, these teachings risk misleading followers by elevating a prophet’s opinion over the scripture and established Christian tradition.

3. Building the brand

Self-branding is common in business, but in religious contexts it can be intensified. Bushiri repeatedly presents himself as a channel of divine blessings, with what he calls his “contract-winning touch”.

He recounts testimonies from international visitors who said, “Papa touched me and the contract came.” He claims that when he touches someone, he leaves a spiritual “substance” on them.

This framing encourages dependency on him. Personal contact is a drawcard for those seeking jobs or “healing” from illness.

4. Media strategy

Digital media has allowed more people to have access to more religious content, but it also raises ethical concerns. Scholars have argued that media-mediated spiritual encounters can blur the line between what’s real and what’s a performance.

In The Perfect Will of God, Bushiri claims that physical distance does not limit spiritual connection. He claims he can anoint people through the screen.

Televised images of new prophet church leaders are often carefully constructed to project success and extraordinary spiritual power, reinforcing their authority. Bushiri, for example, once made headlines for apparently raising a man from the dead.

The role of YouTube

Digital platforms intensify these frames. On YouTube, sermons can be consumed privately, without immediate discussion or challenge from a physical faith community. Emotional moments – prophecies, miracles and dramatic testimonies – are rewarded by likes and comments, and can be enhanced by controversies.

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God in Nigeria: the country’s novelists help us understand the complexity of Christianity

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Followers affirm their faith and loyalty in a video’s comments. Over time, this creates a sense of a global spiritual community centred on a single individual.

Digital religion is not only about spreading faith. It is also about expanding influence and, in some cases, monetising belief.

Why this matters

Religion plays a vital role in African societies, offering hope, identity and belonging. But religion, like all forms of communication, is not neutral. It is designed to achieve particular aims. Recognising this does not mean dismissing faith; it means engaging with it critically and responsibly.

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Jesus chatbots are on the rise. A philosopher puts them to the test

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For audiences navigating online spaces, learning to recognise persuasive strategies, religious or otherwise, is increasingly important.

Understanding how religious messages are framed can help believers make informed choices and encourage healthier forms of accountability in religious leadership.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Prophets and profits: the art of the sell in Shepherd Bushiri’s YouTube sermons – https://theconversation.com/prophets-and-profits-the-art-of-the-sell-in-shepherd-bushiris-youtube-sermons-276277

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

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.

But now, for the second year running, more people in South Korea are having children, according to new preliminary data published by the ministry for data and statistics.

The 6.8% rise in births in 2025 is the largest rise since 2007, and has taken the country’s total fertility rate to 0.80, up from 0.75 in 2024. The news is being cautiously celebrated, but with South Korea’s overall population still shrinking, it is yet to reverse its demographic fortunes.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Stuart Gietel-Basten, a demographer and professor of social science and public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, about how South Korea has got to this point. Part of the reason is that a generation of so-called “echo-boomers”, born in the 1990s after a relaxation of the coutry’s strict anti-natalist policies, are now starting to have children.

But Gietel-Basten says many of the issues stopping people in South Korea from having children remain, despite huge sums spent by the government on tax incentives, housing benefit and childcare support. “ Unless you change underlying structural issues around gender roles, around work, culture, and so on, then even well-meaning policies are not necessarily going to have the impact that they should,” he says.

Listen to the interview with Stuart Gietel-Basten on The Conversation Weekly podcast. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Katie Flood. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer.

Newsclips in this episode from WION.

Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript of this episode is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.

Stuart Gietel-Basten is a also guest professor at Osaka University and an adjunct professor at Khalifa University.

– ref. South Korea’s birth rate is rising – but the population is still shrinking – https://theconversation.com/south-koreas-birth-rate-is-rising-but-the-population-is-still-shrinking-276924

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Victor (Vik) Pérez, Associate Professor of Practice, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

For most of human existence, listening was closely tied to moments that carried meaning, emotion or survival. Nature supplied the backdrop – wind, water, animals – and music surfaced in hunting rituals, healing ceremonies and communal celebrations.

That balance began to shift with the industrial revolution, and the arrival of many loud, unnatural sounds. Today, many people move through the day with a near-constant stream of sounds: playlists for work, ambient study tracks, noise-cancelling headphones on commutes, podcasts on walks, background music for comfort.

Sound is no longer occasional or, for much of the time, collective. It is personal, portable and continuous.

What has changed is not only how we listen, but what listening is for. Many people use sound to manage how they feel and perform – to drown out distractions, stay motivated, reduce stress or make demanding tasks feel easier. Streaming platforms use music labels such as “deep focus” or “workflow” – signalling that these sounds are designed to do something for your mind.

There are upsides to this modern soundscape. In busy workplaces or homes, shaping the auditory environment can restore a sense of control and reduce disturbance – especially from intelligible speech. What we listen to can be a key tool for emotional self-regulation.

But there are downsides too. Continuous audio can crowd out silence, which supports recovery and reflection. What often disappears in a continuous soundscape is not just silence but the space to think. This daily exposure to non-stop music, chat and other sounds may be shaping how you think, decide and cope without you even noticing.

The always-on effect

Neuroscience points not to a dramatic rewiring of our brains through this changing audio experience, but a gradual adaptation. Repeated sound environments shape how attention is allocated, how effort is experienced and how mental states stabilise over time.

Those effects vary, though, depending on the context. Music can support repetitive or low-complexity tasks by increasing engagement and reducing boredom. But when tasks rely on language, problem-solving or new learning, the same music can compete for attention, making sustained thinking feel more effortful.

How listening shapes thinking:

Reviews consistently find that music with lyrics is more likely to interfere with reading, writing and verbal reasoning, and that harder tasks are generally more vulnerable to interference. When sound competes with task demands, it can increase mental effort and fatigue, even if outward performance remains unchanged.

Experimental work suggests higher background sound levels can impair auditory working-memory performance — the capacity to hold and rehearse spoken information while filtering competing sounds. In other words, sound can reshape how thinking is experienced from the inside, long before measurable performance changes become visible.

Because these shifts accumulate gradually, they rarely announce themselves as effects. Instead, they shape mental defaults – how patiently you think, how quickly you judge and how you cope when answers aren’t clear.

Here are some ideas, based partly on my work exploring sound-based cognitive environments and learning readiness, for how to redesign your soundscape before it designs you.

Three principles of audio happiness

A simple principle is to match the sound environment to the kind of thinking you’re doing. Some types of louder sound can support repetitive work, while quieter conditions are often better for reading, writing or analytical reasoning.

While lyrical music is more likely to disrupt reading, writing and analytical work, simpler sound is often safer for language-heavy tasks. By contrast, for repetitive or low-complexity work, self-selected or familiar music may support engagement for some listeners by tuning arousal into a more workable range.

Familiar or self-selected music can sometimes support repetitive work because the brain spends less effort processing novelty. Instead of continuously analysing new sounds, attention can remain anchored on the task itself, helping stabilise alertness during routine activities.

A second principle is self-monitoring. Generic “focus playlist” advice is less useful than paying attention to your own signals: rising distraction, mental fatigue, irritability or the feeling that you are working harder than you should. Audio that boosts energy or enjoyment does not always improve sustained concentration.

When these signals appear, pausing your soundtrack and shifting to a simpler sound environment can help reset your attention balance. Reducing linguistic content, lowering volume or introducing short periods of silence may ease the cognitive load before performance begins to suffer.

Which brings me on to the third principle: protect silence. Quiet time supports neural recovery and internally directed thought – functions linked to default-mode brain activity, when regions linked to reflection, memory integration and future planning become more active.

But valuing silence does not mean removing sound altogether. Beginning complex tasks in quieter settings, introducing short sound-free intervals between activities, or ending the day without continuous background audio can give the brain space to reset attention and recover from sustained input.

Environmental noise can also influence sleep quality by increasing micro-awakenings and reducing deeper restorative stages, even when people do not fully wake up. Many people use sound to help them sleep, but evidence shows it can have a disruptive effect on sleep quality.

Day or night, the sounds we live with do more than just fill the background. They help shape the mental conditions under which we learn, decide and live.

And that is the perhaps uncomfortable point. If you don’t actively choose your soundscape, someone or something will choose it for you – and your mind may start adapting before you realise it.

Victor (Vik) Pérez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What the constant sound of modern life is doing to our minds – https://theconversation.com/what-the-constant-sound-of-modern-life-is-doing-to-our-minds-276486

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory, Queen Mary University of London

The very public feud between the US Department of Defense (also known these days as the Department of War) and its AI technology supplier Anthropic is unusual for pitting state might against corporate power. In the military space, at least, these are usually cosy bedfellows.

The origin of this disagreement dates back months, amid repeated criticisms from Donald Trump’s AI and crypto “czar”, David Sacks, about the company’s supposedly woke policy stances.

But tensions ramped up following media reports that Anthropic technology had been used in the violent abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by the US military in January 2026. It was alleged this caused discontent inside the San Francisco-based company.

Anthropic has denied this, with company insiders suggesting it did not find or raise any violations of its policies in the wake of the Maduro operation.

Nonetheless, the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has issued Anthropic with an ultimatum. Unless the company relaxes its ethical limits policy by 5.01pm Washington time on Friday, February 27, the US government has suggested it could invoke the 1950 Defense Production Act. This would allow the Department of Defense (DoD) to appropriate the use of this technology as it wishes.

At the same time, Anthropic could be designated a supply chain risk, putting its government contracts in danger. These extraordinary measures may appear contradictory, but they are consistent with the current US administration’s approach, which favours big gestures and policy ambiguity.

At the heart of the dispute is the question of how Anthropic’s large language model (LLM) Claude is used in a military context. Across many sectors of industry, Claude does a range of automated tasks including writing, coding, reasoning and analysis.

In July 2024, US data analytics company Palantir announced it was partnering with Anthropic to “bring Claude AI models … into US Government intelligence and defense operations”. Anthropic then signed a US$200 million (£150 million) contract with the DoD in July 2025, stipulating certain terms via its “acceptable use policy”.

These would, for example, disallow the use of Claude in mass surveillance of US citizens or fully autonomous weapon systems which, once activated, can select and engage targets with no human involvement.

According to Anthropic, either would violate its definition of “responsible AI”. Hegseth and the DoD have pushed back, characterising such limits as unduly restrictive in a geopolitical environment marked by uncertainty, instability and blurred lines.

Responsible AI should, they insist, encompass “any lawful use” of AI models by the US military. A memorandum issued by Hegseth on January 9 2026 stated:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and social ideology have no place in the Department of War, so we must not employ AI models which incorporate ideological ‘tuning’ that interferes with their ability to provide objectively truthful responses to user prompts.

The memo instructed that the term “any lawful use” should be incorporated in future DoD contracts for AI services within 180 days.

Anthropic’s competitors are lining up

Anthropic’s red lines do not rule out the mass surveillance of human communities at large – only American citizens. And while it draws the line at fully autonomous weapons, the multitude of evolving uses of AI to inform, accelerate or scale up violence in ways that severely limit opportunities for moral restraint are not mentioned in its acceptable use policy.

At present, Anthropic has a competitive advantage. Its LLM model is integrated into US government interfaces with sufficient levels of clearance to offer a superior product. But Anthropic’s competitors are lining up.

Palantir has expanded its business with the Pentagon significantly in recent months, giving rise to more AI models.

Meanwhile, Google recently updated its ethical guidelines, dropping its pledge not to use AI for weapons development and surveillance. OpenAI has likewise modified its mission statement, removing “safety” as a core value, and Elon Musk’s xAI (creator of the Grok chatbot) has agreed to the Pentagon’s “any lawful use” standard.

A testing point for military AI

For C.S. Lewis, courage was the master virtue, since it represents “the form of every virtue at the testing point”. Anthropic now faces such a testing point.

On February 24, the company announced the latest update to its responsible scaling policy – “the voluntary framework we use to mitigate catastrophic risks from AI systems”. According to Time magazine, the changes include “scrapping the promise to not release AI models if Anthropic can’t guarantee proper risk mitigations in advance”.

Anthropic’s chief science officer, Jared Kaplan, told Time: “We didn’t really feel, with the rapid advance of AI, that it made sense for us to make unilateral commitments … if competitors are blazing ahead.”

Ethical language saturates the press releases of Silicon Valley companies eager to distinguish themselves from “bad actors” in Russia, China and elsewhere. But ethical words and actions are not the same, because the latter often entails a real-world cost.

That such a highly public spectacle is happening at this time is perhaps no accident. In early February, representatives of many countries – but not the US – came together for the third time to find ways to agree on “responsible AI” in the military domain. And on March 2-6, the UN will convene its latest conference discussing how best to limit the use of emerging technologies for lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Such legal and ethical debates about the role of AI technology in the future of warfare are critical, and overdue. Anthropic deserves credit for apparently resisting the US military’s efforts to undercut its ethical guidelines. But AI’s role is likely to be tested in many more conflict situations before agreement is reached.

Elke Schwarz is affiliated with the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC)

Neil Renic is affiliated with the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC)

– ref. Anthropic v the US military: what this public feud says about the use of AI in warfare – https://theconversation.com/anthropic-v-the-us-military-what-this-public-feud-says-about-the-use-of-ai-in-warfare-276999

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Libby John, Professor of Sustainability, University of Lincoln

A yellow disc with rays of white – an icon of childhood drawings and a flower with healing properties. We have picnics on it, play football on it and make daisy chains out of it.

The common or lawn daisy, Bellis perennis, is probably familiar to most people living in temperate climates. But there may be few things you do not know about this fascinating and perhaps under estimated flower.

A flower made of little flowers

Each daisy is actually an inflorescence – a multitude of tiny flowers called florets working together to set out a buffet for pollinators. There are two types of florets. The tube florets form the yellow centre of the inflorescence, about 100 in a typical daisy. You can see them open in sequence over several days from the outside inwards, revealing their treasures of nectar and pollen.

The ray florets have the long white petals. They are female, whereas each tiny tube floret has a set of male and female floral attributes. Every tube floret produces pollen and nectar as well as having an ovary which can make a tiny fruit at the bottom.

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Many people think of plants as nice-looking greens. Essential for clean air, yes, but simple organisms. A step change in research is shaking up the way scientists think about plants: they are far more complex and more like us than you might imagine. This blossoming field of science is too delightful to do it justice in one or two stories.
This article is part of a series, Plant Curious, exploring scientific studies that challenge the way you view plantlife.

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The white and yellow contrast between the two types of florets is probably attractive to pollinators. Watch a pollinating insect land on a daisy and it will probe each open floret for a sip of nectar. The florets all sit on a capitulum (a cone-shaped platform), which is surrounded by green phyllaries (or bracts). The capitulum also bears the miniature fruits called achenes which are one-seeded fruits.

Unlike some members of the same family, such as the dandelion, the little seeds have no hairy parachute or pappus to help them disperse. This means that most probably drop close to the parent plant, although they can also be dispersed on muddy paws or shoes, and by worms, ants and birds.

Intrepid explorers

The formal name of the daisy – Bellis perennis – was chosen in the 18th century by biologist Carl Linnaeus, who invented the system by which botanists still name species. Bellis is probably from the Latin for beautiful and perennis for perennial or long-lasting. The word daisy is thought to come from “day’s eye”, a reflection of the fact that the flowers close at night.

However, the word daisy is applied to many other species with similar inflorescences and is used to describe a whole family of plants, the Asteraceae. This is the largest family of flowering plants, incorporating species from thistles to sunflowers, almost all of which have the same inflorescence structure of smaller florets collected on a capitulum. There are over 32,000 species in this family, from tiny daisies to large tropical trees. They are found in most ecosystems on earth, except Antarctica.

This indicates they have a successful evolutionary strategy that has allowed them to adapt and spread. The little lawn daisy has travelled around the world from its native distribution in Europe to be ubiquitous in temperate climates from New Zealand to the US.

Circadian strategy

Most flowers stay open all the time but some, like daisies, open towards the sun in the morning to maximise warmth. This may make them more attractive to insect pollinators who need heat to regulate their body temperatures.

The ray florets do the opening and closing, covering the inner disc florets when closed. On cloudy cool days the daisies might not open at all. The movement of the petals is likely to be as a result of cell growth on either side of the long white ligule of the ray floret, with the cells on both sides of the petals growing at different rates.

Resourceful

Gardeners who want the perfect lawn may see daisies as a nuisance. But a 2021 study showed that lawn daisies provided up to 11% of the nectar available to pollinators in some urban environments, making them important food for our urban bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects. These insects are, in turn, food for so many other animals along the food chain.

Daisies can self-pollinate. They can also clone themselves – sending stolons (runners) sideways to colonise a patch of ground. Bellis perennis seems to be well adapted to human-made habitats, with its short sward or dense mat. Daisies with longer swards tend to get outcompeted as they only produce leaves in a rosette near the ground. Its natural habitats include areas of low or disturbed vegetation such as trampled ground, stream edges and lake margins.

Bellis perennis, in common with most flowering plants, forms associations with fungi in its roots. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have been co-evolving with plants for the last 400 million years, allowing the colonisation of land by early plants. The plant feeds the fungi with carbohydrates and in turn, the fungi reach out into the soil and supports the plant with nutrients. This ancient partnership between plants and soil fungi still mediates plant interactions with other soil microbes, and regulates plant-plant interactions.

Human connection

The Asteraceae is probably the most popular plant family in popular medicine containing a wide range of active plant chemicals or phytochemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflamatory, antimicrobial, diuretic and wound-healing properties. Bellis perennis itself has had many common names over the centuries including gardener’s friend, bruisewort and poor-man’s arnica.

It feels like daisies have always been part of our lives in the temperate parts of the world and always will be. Daisies have long featured in literature and poetry, mentioned by Chaucer (The Good Woman), Shakespeare (Ophelia’s flowers in Hamlet) and the 19th century poet John Clare.

But the species that are thriving today are not necessarily assured a future. For example, many once common species of birds, like swifts and skylarks, are in decline now in the UK. Arable weeds such as common corncockle (Agrostemma githago) or cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) that were once a nuisance in crops are now rare species that need intervention to prevent their extinction.

So, we must treasure and monitor these flowers, to ensure they are part of our future as well as our past.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The wonders of daisies: the buffet we walk on – https://theconversation.com/the-wonders-of-daisies-the-buffet-we-walk-on-241396

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kevin Zapata Celestino, LSE Fellow in the Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science

When we think about school bullying, we often focus on victims given the emotional toll they endure, the academic disruption they face and the long-term scars that follow them into adulthood.

Victim-centred research has been critical in shaping strategies to prevent bullying. But there’s a perspective that would help us understand bullying that is too often ignored: that of the aggressors themselves.

There is a growing body of research that explores how students themselves understand and explain bullying, but very few explicitly address the perspectives of the aggressors. Consequently, there’s a risk of misunderstanding the complex social and psychological forces that drive this behaviour.

In a study I carried out in Mexico, I interviewed 13 former secondary students – now adults – who had once been bullies. By delving into their life stories and memories from childhood and adolescence, the study uncovered critical insights into why school violence occurs and how we might interrupt it.

What emerged from these conversations was not a portrait of monsters, but of children navigating harsh environments, social pressure and emotional confusion. The findings challenge some of the myths that revolve around bullies. My research reveals reveal how aggression is often learned, normalised, and even rewarded.

What do bullies say?

Many participants told me that their aggressive behaviour was modelled and reinforced in their homes, schools and communities. Several recounted growing up in households where domestic violence and dysfunctional relationships were common. “We grow up in a violent environment … it becomes normalised … even to survive,” one said.

Others described how violence was institutionalised in several community spaces. This included in sport clubs where abusive coaches “toughened up” players, inadvertently teaching them to equate aggression with strength. Media and social media also played a role. One interviewee admitted to replicating a violent social media trend, highlighting how digital platforms can amplify harmful behaviour.

People in my research described how, rather than being punished, physical dominance and violence was praised and reinforced through the approval of their peers. One explained: “The jerk who made life impossible was the one everyone wanted to hang out with … How are you going to change if everyone celebrates you?”

Perhaps most revealing was the role of bullying in securing social status and group belonging. Participants described aggression as a way to solidify friendships, join peer groups or avoid becoming victims themselves. The “game” of bullying, as they called it, was often seen as a ritual – one rooted in reciprocal joking, physical roughhousing and group cohesion. One participant explained: “You’d hit someone as a sign of friendship … That’s just how the group got along. If you complained, no one would invite you anymore.”

Importantly, such practices also involve blaming the victim, especially when victims were constructed as “weak” or “deserving” of mistreatment.

Bullying functioned also as a way to police norms, particularly around gender and conformity. Boys who failed to perform dominant masculinity, broadly understood as an idealised manhood shaped by aggression and toughness, were often a target. One recalled: “A guy who doesn’t fight back is labelled ‘pathetic’, ‘coward’, ‘less of a man’.” But girls, too, engaged in bullying to maintain social order, often within friendship circles.

These testimonies challenge simplistic views of bullies as merely “bad kids”. Instead, they reveal a troubling mirror of broader social values: competition, dominance, emotional repression and the normalisation of exclusion.

What this means for schools

School-based programmes must go beyond punitive discipline. Many former aggressors shared that suspensions or expulsions had little impact, and in some cases, even increased their hostility. One participant described expulsion as a “reward” that placed them in a school with other aggressive peers, perpetuating the cycle of violence.

What mattered more were moments of emotional connection. For some, a heartfelt conversation with a parent or a teacher’s genuine concern became a turning point. As one interviewee shared: “I stopped bullying when my mom talked to me … I saw her crying and realised I needed to change.”

Interventions should include restorative practices such as family group boards, reflection circles and community service, which are aimed at building community rather than just punishing. These practices include dialogue sessions, peer mediation, and conflict resolution and reparation mechanisms such as apologies, paying for damages or any other agreement to repay the harm.

Equally, social-emotional learning that helps students to understand and manage their feelings and teacher training focused on recognising subtle forms of aggression, also must be considered. Parents must be engaged not only as disciplinarians but as partners in emotional development. And importantly, students must be invited into honest conversations about empathy, belonging, and responsibility (to themselves and to other peers).

By listening to the voices of those who once caused harm, we can have a better picture of the complex dynamics that underpin school bullying. And in doing so, we open up new pathways for healing, not just for victims, but for those who once harmed.

Kevin Zapata Celestino does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Understanding what motivates bullies could help tackle school violence – https://theconversation.com/understanding-what-motivates-bullies-could-help-tackle-school-violence-259227

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Donald Amuah, Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of South Wales

When the global financial crisis hit in 2008, banks around the world collapsed or came close to it. Governments were forced to step in with billions of pounds of public money to stop the system imploding.

In response, regulators promised change. In the UK, these reforms were reinforced by ring-fencing, which separated everyday retail banking from riskier investment activities. The aim was simple: protect the public.

Our latest research looks at what actually happened next. Using more than 20 years of data, we studied how these post-crisis rules affected the UK’s four largest retail banks: HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group. In a system dominated by a handful of large institutions, there is a deeper question. If regulation made banks both safer and richer, who really benefited?

After 2008, regulators cracked down on excessive risk-taking. Capital rules were tightened, forcing banks to rely more on their own funds. Liquidity rules required them to hold enough cash and safe assets to survive sudden shocks.

These changes worked. The system is now far more resilient than it was before the crash. But this came at a cost to competition in the banking market – and so to consumers.

Higher capital levels consistently improved profitability at the largest banks. In plain terms, being forced to hold more of their own money made them look safer to investors and lenders. That reduced their funding costs and boosted returns.

Liquidity rules had a weaker effect on overall profits, but they did increase interest margins, which is the gap between what banks pay savers and what they charge borrowers. In other words, regulation didn’t just stabilise the big banks. It strengthened them.

We also found that productivity barely improved over time. When efficiency did fall – during the financial crisis and again during the COVID pandemic – it was mainly due to operational problems, not a lack of technology. Recovery depended on internal management fixes rather than innovation.

Our findings matter because the UK banking market is already highly concentrated. Large institutions can spread the cost of compliance across enormous balance sheets. They have diversified income streams and access to global funding. But smaller banks and building societies don’t.

For challengers, the fixed costs of regulation bite much harder. Higher reporting requirements, capital buffers and liquidity rules limit their ability to grow, invest or compete on price. The result is that reforms designed to make the system safer also raised barriers to entry.

So, post-crisis regulation reinforced the dominance of the biggest players. The market power of HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest became more entrenched, not weakened. Stability came at the price of competition.

What this means for customers

You can see the effects on the high street. A small number of large banks now dominate everyday banking. Mortgage rates, savings products and current accounts look strikingly similar across providers. Branch closures have accelerated, while access to in-person services has shrunk, especially outside major cities.

Despite rising profits at the biggest banks, service has not noticeably improved for many customers. With less competitive pressure, there is little incentive to cut fees, raise savings rates or innovate. In this sense, consumers may have paid indirectly for stability, through fewer choices and less diversity, particularly in smaller communities.

Post-crisis reforms have delivered a safer banking system, and that does matter. Deposits are better protected. Essential services are more secure. But our research highlights a difficult trade-off.

Capital rules improved resilience without lasting damage to profitability or efficiency. Liquidity rules remain essential, but may need careful calibration to avoid unnecessarily constraining lending.

More broadly, regulation alone cannot deliver a healthy banking sector. Long-term performance depends on better cost control, stronger risk management and improved lending standards.

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These issues sit at the heart of today’s policy debate, including the Bank of England’s recent decision to cut capital requirements. While intended to boost lending and growth, some critics argue it is more likely to fuel shareholder payouts than increased credit supply. Our findings support those concerns.

The UK appears to have traded diversity for stability. But weakening bank resilience is not the answer. If policymakers want stronger lending and better outcomes for customers, they should focus on encouraging reinvestment, improving efficiency and strengthening competition, not simply making it easier for already dominant banks to return cash to investors.

The lesson of the past 15 years is clear. Regulation can make banks safer. But unless it is designed with market power in mind, it can also make the biggest players even bigger.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How post-2008 financial reforms quietly strengthened Britain’s banking giants – https://theconversation.com/how-post-2008-financial-reforms-quietly-strengthened-britains-banking-giants-276303