05.12.2025

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India-Pakistan Ceasefire

India and Pakistan agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire Saturday. Despite violations yesterday, the ceasefire remains in effect as of this writing, alleviating some of the worst hostilities between the two countries in roughly 50 years.

The ceasefire ended four days of air fighting in which India is believed to have lost at least two of its most advanced fighter jets, Pakistan lost control of its airspace, and dozens of people were killed in gunfire and airstrikes. The exact toll could not be immediately determined; India and Pakistan have disputed each other's accounts. The air battle, which began May 7, is believed to have been among the largest dogfights since World War II.

The violence stems from an April 22 attack in which at least four gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. India blames Pakistan for harboring terrorists. See a history of India and Pakistan's longstanding dispute over Kashmir here.

Chimps Got the Rhythm

A new study revealed chimpanzees drum with rhythm when they bang on tree trunks and share similarities with humans in their ability to hold a beat. The discovery, in one of the closest relatives to modern humans, sheds light on the evolutionary building blocks of music.

The behavior is believed to be a form of long-distance communication (read study) and suggests the chimps employ different sequences depending on the social situation. Researchers who analyzed 11 communities of chimps across six populations and two subspecies found groups from separate regions of Africa produced different rhythms for the same context, suggesting the mammals independently developed their own methods of communication.

The study also hints at a longstanding anthropological question—despite being a common human experience, how and why humans produce music remains unclear. 

The study comes on the heels of a separate observation of an individual Californian seal—named Ronan—that can keep time via rhythmic beats. 

Eurovision's 69th Contest

Eurovision Song Contest begins tomorrow in Basel, Switzerland—the first time the country is hosting since 1989, one year after Celine Dion's win for the country. The competition is the world's largest annual televised music event, reaching an audience of roughly 160 million people. Thirty-seven acts are slated to perform, with several from beyond the European Union, such as Australia, Israel, and Ukraine. See all acts here.

The format includes two semifinals followed by the grand final. Twenty-six finalists, selected through a combination of a public voting and expert picks, include 10 winners from each semifinal, the previous year’s winner, and five prequalified countries known as the "Big Five": France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The winner will be selected Saturday. See how voting works here.

This year, as with last year, there have been protests over Israel's participation amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel has warned tourists not to wear Israeli or Jewish symbols in public places amid concern over potential attacks.

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