By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
The latest inflation figures are an important piece of the puzzle for the Reserve Bank ahead of its next interest rate decision in February.
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By Caitlyn Forster, Associate Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
Australia is baking through another extreme heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach above 45°C for multiple days in a row across large swathes of the country.
Heatwaves are a deadly threat to humans, disproportionately impacting older people and those with…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A church member reads a bible during a service in Hong Kong in solidarity with the Early Rain Covenant Church in China, whose members face persecution, December 18, 2023. © 2023 Stanley Leung/SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire/Reuters (New York) – Chinese authorities have detained half a dozen members of an underground Protestant church based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Human Rights Watch said today. This was the latest in a string of arrests of members of prominent unofficial “house churches” in China in the past year. The Early Rain Covenant Church posted…
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By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health & Community Medicine, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia
We name severe cyclones and storms, but not heatwaves or floods. Why? Are there benefits to giving Australia’s climate-fuelled extreme weather a name?
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By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
Two state governments are up for re-election in Australia, while the US midterms offer an opportunity for the Democrats to take control of Congress.
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By Michael Mintrom, Professor of Public Policy, Monash University; Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)
The government is under significant pressure to launch a royal commission into antisemitism. Here’s how these sorts of inquiries work and what they can and can’t do.
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By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast
Juan Zahir Naranjo Cáceres, PhD Candidate, Political Science, International Relations and Constitutional Law, University of the Sunshine Coast
So far the response across the continent to both the Greenland threats and the US’ actions in Venezuela, have been feeble and confused.
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By Rebecca Hanson, Associate Professor of Latin American Studies, Sociology and Criminology, University of Florida
Verónica Zubillaga, Mellon Visiting Professor, University of Illinois Chicago
How various factions respond to the Trump administration’s threat to be the de facto ruler of the country could quickly inflame domestic tensions and lead to conflict.
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By Christopher Stevens, Associate Professor, Sport and Exercise Science, Southern Cross University
You’ve just cleaned your teeth, you’re feeling minty fresh and ready to climb into bed. You take a sip of water, but the water is icy cold, and your next breath feels cool and crisp.
What has the toothpaste done to your mouth? And could this be a hack to help you feel cooler when you really need it?
Tricking the brain
Menthol, a natural compound that comes from mint plants, is the ingredient in toothpaste that creates the feeling of cold.
Menthol activates TRPM8 receptors on nerve endings…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025. © 2025 Fars News Agency/AP Photo Iranian authorities are brutally cracking down on nationwide protests with lethal force, killing at least 27 protesters and bystanders, including children, and injuring many more in just over a week, while carrying out mass detentions of protesters. Human Rights Watch is investigating the government’s violent repression of the protests and related human rights violations.Protests began on December 28 in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and rapidly spread to at least 27 provinces…
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