Lead Story
'Alternative Nobel' honors four women-led groups taking on authoritarianism, patriarchal violence and unchecked AI
The Right Livelihood Foundation named its 2026 laureates on October 1, choosing four recipients from 200 nominees across 72 countries: Pakistani human rights lawyer Jalila Haider, the first female attorney from her Hazara community; AI researcher Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute, honored for challenging concentrated power in artificial intelligence and exposing the harms AI systems cause to marginalized communities; South Africa's grassroots Rural Women's Assembly, representing small-scale farmers across eleven Southern African countries; and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, recognized for three decades of work safeguarding democracy and civic participation in Georgia. Often called the "alternative Nobel Prize," the award will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 1.
Read more →Lead Story
'Alternative Nobel' honors four women-led groups taking on authoritarianism, patriarchal violence and unchecked AI
The Right Livelihood Foundation named its 2026 laureates on October 1, choosing four recipients from 200 nominees across 72 countries: Pakistani human rights lawyer Jalila Haider, the first female attorney from her Hazara community; AI researcher Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute, honored for challenging concentrated power in artificial intelligence and exposing the harms AI systems cause to marginalized communities; South Africa's grassroots Rural Women's Assembly, representing small-scale farmers across eleven Southern African countries; and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, recognized for three decades of work safeguarding democracy and civic participation in Georgia. Often called the "alternative Nobel Prize," the award will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 1.
Rescued gorilla orphan gives birth in the wild, a milestone for a critically endangered population
Conservation groups announced on September 10 that Lulingu, an eastern lowland (Grauer's) gorilla rescued from the illegal wildlife trade as an 18-month-old orphan, has given birth in the wild on Mount Tshiaberimu in Congo's Virunga National Park — the first time a gorilla raised at the GRACE sanctuary has reproduced after release. The infant's father is a wild silverback named Mwasa, confirming Lulingu successfully integrated into the mountain's small, isolated group of Grauer's gorillas, which had dwindled to just eight individuals before conservationists began relocating sanctuary-raised females there at the end of 2024. GRACE staff say the mother and newborn are doing well, offering fresh hope for a subspecies the IUCN lists as critically endangered.
Read more →Rescued gorilla orphan gives birth in the wild, a milestone for a critically endangered population
Conservation groups announced on September 10 that Lulingu, an eastern lowland (Grauer's) gorilla rescued from the illegal wildlife trade as an 18-month-old orphan, has given birth in the wild on Mount Tshiaberimu in Congo's Virunga National Park — the first time a gorilla raised at the GRACE sanctuary has reproduced after release. The infant's father is a wild silverback named Mwasa, confirming Lulingu successfully integrated into the mountain's small, isolated group of Grauer's gorillas, which had dwindled to just eight individuals before conservationists began relocating sanctuary-raised females there at the end of 2024. GRACE staff say the mother and newborn are doing well, offering fresh hope for a subspecies the IUCN lists as critically endangered.
Scientists identify first new penguin species in over a century
Researchers have described a fourth gentoo penguin lineage, the southeastern gentoo (Pygoscelis kerguelensis), as its own species after analyzing whole-genome data from 64 penguins across 10 breeding colonies on the remote Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The population had long been lumped in with other gentoo penguins because it looks nearly identical, differing only subtly in body size and call, making it what biologists call a "cryptic species" — one hidden in plain sight. The genetic analysis indicates the lineage split off and evolved independently over roughly 300,000 to 500,000 years, and the study elevates all four geographically isolated gentoo populations worldwide to full species status, the first new penguin species named in more than 100 years.
Read more →Scientists identify first new penguin species in over a century
Researchers have described a fourth gentoo penguin lineage, the southeastern gentoo (Pygoscelis kerguelensis), as its own species after analyzing whole-genome data from 64 penguins across 10 breeding colonies on the remote Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The population had long been lumped in with other gentoo penguins because it looks nearly identical, differing only subtly in body size and call, making it what biologists call a "cryptic species" — one hidden in plain sight. The genetic analysis indicates the lineage split off and evolved independently over roughly 300,000 to 500,000 years, and the study elevates all four geographically isolated gentoo populations worldwide to full species status, the first new penguin species named in more than 100 years.
Electric cars keep overtaking petrol models across the EU as 2026 sales milestones pile up
Battery-electric vehicles outsold standard petrol cars across the European Union for the first time ever in December 2025, with 217,898 new BEV registrations against 216,492 petrol registrations, according to ACEA figures analyzed by Carbon Brief. The milestone has since repeated: preliminary industry data shows EVs again outselling petrol cars in June 2026, with 270,557 battery-electric registrations compared with 244,833 petrol, as quarterly figures put EVs' share of the EU market at 22% for the second quarter. While petrol still leads over the full year to date, the repeated monthly crossovers mark a fast-closing gap in the world's third-largest car market.
Read more →Electric cars keep overtaking petrol models across the EU as 2026 sales milestones pile up
Battery-electric vehicles outsold standard petrol cars across the European Union for the first time ever in December 2025, with 217,898 new BEV registrations against 216,492 petrol registrations, according to ACEA figures analyzed by Carbon Brief. The milestone has since repeated: preliminary industry data shows EVs again outselling petrol cars in June 2026, with 270,557 battery-electric registrations compared with 244,833 petrol, as quarterly figures put EVs' share of the EU market at 22% for the second quarter. While petrol still leads over the full year to date, the repeated monthly crossovers mark a fast-closing gap in the world's third-largest car market.
Uzbekistan's poverty rate falls to 3.9%, beating its own 2026 target early
Uzbekistan has cut its official poverty rate to 3.9% in 2026, down from 5.8% at the end of 2025 and 8.9% the year before, according to government figures reported by Daryo — surpassing the 4.5% target officials had set for unemployment and poverty by year's end. The government credited expanded employment programs and targeted social support, noting in January that roughly 366,000 families had been lifted out of poverty over the previous year alone as part of a broader push that had already met an earlier goal of halving poverty by the end of 2026.
Read more →Uzbekistan's poverty rate falls to 3.9%, beating its own 2026 target early
Uzbekistan has cut its official poverty rate to 3.9% in 2026, down from 5.8% at the end of 2025 and 8.9% the year before, according to government figures reported by Daryo — surpassing the 4.5% target officials had set for unemployment and poverty by year's end. The government credited expanded employment programs and targeted social support, noting in January that roughly 366,000 families had been lifted out of poverty over the previous year alone as part of a broader push that had already met an earlier goal of halving poverty by the end of 2026.