Researchers say the likelihood of scorching summer temperatures in southern Europe is increasing because of man-made climate change. Hotter-than-usual temperatures in the Mediterranean region – including an August heatwave in Italy and the Balkans dubbed ‘Lucifer’ – resulted in higher hospital admissions, numerous forest fires and widespread economic losses this summer. The World Weather Attribution team says it combined temperature measurements and computer simulations, concluding that greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activity have increased the chances of such heatwaves four-to-tenfold. They warned Wednesday that summers like this one could …

A decades-old propaganda film has become a lightning rod again in Indonesia. The 1984 film called “The Treachery of the September 30th Movement/ Communist Party of Indonesia,” was sponsored by and became a propaganda tentpole of the Suharto military dictatorship.   It presents a revisionist account of an attempted coup on September 30, 1965, when six generals were assassinated. The murders were orchestrated, according to the film, by the Indonesian Communist Party, or PKI. The failed coup was the pretext for a military-led massacre of up to one million suspected …

Can children who have never been to school teach themselves basic reading, writing and math skills using only a tablet computer? The World Bank and XPrize are betting $15 million on the idea. “It’s a little bit out there, it’s a little bit of a crazy idea,” said Matt Keller, senior director of the Global Learning XPrize, a competition funded by the XPrize Foundation, a non-profit that spurs inventors to tackle global problems such as climate change and universal healthcare. The inaugural Global Learning XPrize competition awards $10 million dollars …