By Nicholas Manganas, Head of School, School of Communication and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
Set across 1932, 1937 and 2017, new Spanish film La Bola Negra follows three gay men whose lives become connected across generations.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, New York, September 23, 2026. © 2026 AP Photo/Heather Khalifa (New York) – Burundi is set to win re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council in a vote on October 12, 2026, with no competition, Human Rights Watch said today. Burundi is seeking to retain its seat even though the government of this Central African country has not improved its abusive human rights conditions.Burundi is one of the four African countries running for the…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Renovated Dakar Railway station inaugurated, May 2026. © 2026 Human Rights Watch Senegal’s intensifying crackdown on LGBT people is violating their rights and causing increasing fear and stigma. Fear of arrest and stigma are causing people to go into hiding, to avoid HIV testing and treatment, and deterring lawyers from representing them. The crackdown on LGBT people calls into question Senegal’s compliance with its own laws and international law, as well as the Olympic charter, given it will host the Youth Olympics Games at the end of the month.(Dakar)…
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By Ary Hoffmann, Professor, School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne
Michael Kearney, Professor in Ecophysiology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Melbourne
A vast stretch of land where animals roam widely and plants grow freely. That’s what most people would picture if they thought of a conservation area.
Such places are vital for protecting large animals and entire ecosystems. They make managing environmental threats, such as fire and weed invasions, much easier.
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By John Hawkins, Senior lecturer, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
Governments need to work hand in hand with the private sector, rather than leaving business to its own devices. They should be “moving away from fixing market failures and government failures towards actively shaping how markets are governed”. International economist and adviser to governments, Mariana Mazzucato, argues this in her new book, the Common Good Economy.
Review: The Common Good Economy (A New Compass) – Mariana Mazzucato (Allen Lane/Penguin)
Mazzucato is known for
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By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne
Tackling traffic congestion is one of the biggest challenges facing large cities around the world. When it comes to reducing congestion, one solution almost instinctively comes to mind: build more roads or widen existing ones.
But the science of transport economics has shown for decades that increasing road capacity does not necessarily translate into smoother traffic. In fact, under certain conditions, it can do the opposite.
Here’s how it works.
A simple road network…
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By Ray Nickson, Senior Lecturer, School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle
Last week, New Zealand Rugby began legal action in the High Court of New Zealand to protect the club name “Chiefs” against its use by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC).
The trademark dispute is over whether the Papua New Guinea expansion team in the National Rugby League (NRL) can use a club name already claimed by a Super Rugby team based in Hamilton, Waikato.
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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 federal polls taken last week (Newspoll and Resolve) have gains for Labor and the Greens and drops for One Nation. The total One Nation and Coalition vote was 48% in both Newspoll and Resolve (down one in Newspoll and down three in Resolve).
I had expected Labor to be adversely affected by the Reserve Bank’s September 29 interest rate hike. Voters may be blaming Donald Trump and the Iran war more.
Seven weeks before the Victorian election…
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By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago
Winston Peters says New Zealand foreign policy should address “the world as it is, not how we wish it would be”. But how viable is that really?
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By Caitlin Macdonald, Researcher, School of Art, Communication and English, University of Sydney
Amanda Curtin’s Six Days opens with a girl dying in a Paris cemetery in 1991, during one of the coldest winters the city has experienced in years. More than two decades later, another vulnerable figure emerges: Daniel Despard, an Australian expatriate, recovering alcoholic and building caretaker. His carefully regulated life is disrupted by the arrival of a young homeless girl.
What follows is a novel concerned with homelessness, addiction,…
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