By Shadi Khan Saif. The two senior professors of the American University of Afghanistan under the custody of the Taliban have appeared in another video released by the militants, urging Washington and Canberra to enter prisoner swap deals to secure their liberty. More...

By Eugene Vorotnikov. Russia plans to more than triple the number of foreign students studying at its universities over the next eight years, with a 50% increase by 2019, under a new state programme for the export of educational services. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In our World Blog this week, Caroline Chipperfield discusses the development of an ASEAN student mobility scheme, with the first ASEAN Student Mobility Forum using the European Erasmus programme as a case study.
   In Commentary, Sven Engel writes about a conference held to discuss the development of a European student card, which would allow students to move more seamlessly across borders and institutional frameworks. David Atkinson highlights a new kind of university that has developed in Canada in response to changing demands for higher education and a re-examination of the current rigid structures, while Creso Sá says Canada may well stand out as a beacon of liberalism in today’s world, but its rise in international student numbers are more likely linked to longer-term trends. Saeid Golkar writes that policies to control and Islamise universities during two Cultural Revolutions in Iran’s past have undermined the quality of education and the state has not been successful in creating an Islamic university. And Sanna Ojanperä and Mark Graham discuss their recent research which suggests that increasing internet connectivity on the African continent, while important, is not enough to boost Africa’s position in the knowledge economy.
   Our Academic Freedom section focuses on Turkey, with Brendan O'Malley reporting on a Freedom for Academia study that shows a sharp drop in Turkish research output since the government’s purge of academics following the failed coup attempt a year ago.
   In Features, Nic Mitchell reports on a Horizon 2020 research project that offers a new approach to understanding violent extremism, which instead of starting with the perpetrators of terror and their motives, looks at the majority of people who hear the same messages of extremism but don’t act on them. María Elena Hurtado writes that the recent launch of the first Chilean-built satellite, developed by Universidad de Chile, exemplifies an opening of high-tech research possibilities for Latin American students and academics. And Wagdy Sawahel reports on the new Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences, which aims to strengthen teaching, research and investment in the field of planetary and space sciences on the continent. More...