By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
As countries around the world look to follow Australia’s lead in restricting young people’s access to social media, a new report by the eSafety Commissioner might give them reason to pause, at least temporarily.
Australia’s online watchdog found more than 80% of kids were still using an age-restricted platform, such as Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat, three months after the trailblazing social media ban took effect.
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By K.O. Chong-Gossard, Associate Professor of Classics (Ancient Greek & Latin), The University of Melbourne
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey has been criticised for simplifying its complex characters – particularly women. We asked an expert to fill some of the film’s gaps.
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By Faith Tabalujan, Assistant Editor, Environment + Energy, The Conversation
Australians are bracing for more pain at the fuel pump, with the federal government set to scrap its fuel excise discount this Sunday.
The government has confirmed the full fuel excise – a flat tax on petrol and diesel bought at the bowser – will kick in again at midnight on August 2.
In February, Australians were paying 52.6…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Mopti region, Mali. © 2016 Luis Dafos/Getty Images (Nairobi, July 31, 2026) – The Russian government-controlled Africa Corps carried out airstrikes in central Mali on June 15, 2026, that killed eight civilians, including three children, in an apparently unlawful attack, Human Rights Watch said today. That morning, an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24, dropped at least two munitions on Kyrnia village, Mopti region. The first struck outside the village chief’s residence, killing two of his children, his wife, and another…
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By Andrea Paola Hernandez
From Mexico City, an exiled Venezuelan watches her homeland collapse in real time, confronting the helplessness of displacement, authoritarian neglect, and the unbearable distance between survival and home.
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By Sarah Ward, Researcher, Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University
Five decades ago, Bali’s coastline was adorned with traditional fishing canoes with colourful carvings of mythical elephant-fish. Where did they go?
The disappearance of these canoes tells a much bigger story about how tourism, collecting and coastal change are reshaping Indonesia’s living maritime heritage – and why preserving these traditions matters.
The boats that once lined Bali’s beaches
Before Bali became one of the worlds’ most popular tourist destinations, fishing villages lined the beaches of Benoa, Nusa Dua and Sanur, along the island’s southern coast.
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By Alan Brent, Professor and Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Stellenbosch University
Andrew Crossland, Professor in Practice, Department of Engineering, Durham University
AI data centres are contentious for consuming large resources. But with the right incentives and regulation, can they make for more flexible electricity systems?
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By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Health Data Scientist | Expert Witness, UNSW
David Eager, Emeritus Professor, University of Technology Sydney
As a parent you may not like the thought of your child swinging upside-down from the monkey bars or jumping off that big rock. But it’s important for children to have risky play. It encourages them to learn their limits and build confidence in themselves.
However, sometimes the risks outweigh the benefits, and it can be hard for parents and carers to know how to manage the balance.
This month a tube…
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By Timothy Piatkowski, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, The University of Queensland
A targeted ad for illegal peptides pops up in our social feed, so we start a chat with the supplier. The videos and pictures they send us are revealing and concerning.
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By Kai Riemer, Professor of Information Technology and Organisation, University of Sydney
Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney
“We are now, like, in the singularity”.
These are the words of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, speaking on the Relentless podcast on July 25.
He added: “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, and I think it’s going to be incredible, hugely positive, awesome for the world”.
Days earlier, OpenAI had disclosed that two of its artificial…
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