By Nicole Froio
In the last decade in Brazil, transphobia has become one of the main tools for disseminating misinformation. In many cases, it is spread by elected politicians with millions of followers
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By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Adelaide University
Diseases once thought confined to history are making a comeback in Australia. And vaccination is only part of the story.
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By James Trapani, Associate Lecturer of History and International Relations, Western Sydney University
After a week of speculation, the US Department of Justice has officially indicted Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old ex-president of Cuba.
The charges relate to a 1996 incident in which the Cuban military allegedly shot down two unarmed civilian planes operated by Brothers to…
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By Misha Ketchell, Editor-in-chief & Executive Director, The Conversation
In the washup following the federal budget last week, the ABC did a vox pop interview with a voter about a tax change that would leave him worse off. The answer he gave was unexpected. Instead of complaining, he told the reporter that he supported the change because it could help young people get into housing, and that would serve the greater good.
I’ve been thinking about what he said ever since. How often, these days, do you hear anyone talk about the “greater good”? For a long time now, large sections of the media and political class have behaved as though public policy is a game…
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By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University
In a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday night, detained activists from dozens of countries are shown kneeling on the ground with their foreheads on the floor and hands zip-tied behind their backs.
Some of the activists, who had been intercepted by Israeli forces on a flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea, are then pushed and dragged by Israeli personnel. Ben-Gvir is seen waving an Israeli flag and taunting them.
The video on his X account had a simple…
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By Mei-fen Kuo, Lecturer in Contemporary Chinese Culture and History, Macquarie University
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and her English translator Lin King have received the 2026 International Booker Prize for Taiwan Travelogue. The novel is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award in its ten-year history, and Yang is the first Taiwanese writer to take the prize.
The judges described Taiwan Travelogue as “a captivating, slyly sophisticated novel” that “pulls off an incredible double…
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Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Speech given by Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict – 20 May 2026, New York
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By Christian Jakob, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, Monash University
Andy Hogg, Professor and Director of ACCESS-NRI, Australian National University
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Deputy Director, Engagement and Impact, The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, Australian National University
CSIRO has told staff it will cut 92 positions in its environment unit – just days after the Australian government boosted funding to the national science agency by A$387 million.
Our scientific colleagues have told us roughly a third of CSIRO’s climate modellers will lose their jobs – between four and six roles out of about 15 scientists. These cuts come on the back of decades of slow but steady reductions in funding in the same area. This threatens Australia’s ability to do its own climate modelling at a time when the United States has drastically…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Foreign Minister Penny Wong ordered the Israeli ambassador, Hillel Newman, to be called into the department over a video posted by far right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in which he insults and taunts detained members of the flotilla carrying aid for Palestinians.
Wong said on social media: “The images we have seen overnight are shocking and unacceptable”.
The video shows the activists keeling with their heads on the ground.
A gloating Ben-Gvir says: “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords.”
“They came with much pride, as…
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By Dave Carter, Associate Professor, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Jesse Austin-Stewart, Lecturer, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
A finding of anti-competitive behaviour by US industry giant Live Nation raises questions about New Zealand’s heavily consolidated music market.
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