By Human Rights Watch
(Nairobi) – Uganda’s military is arbitrarily seizing government critics, holding them incommunicado, then handing them over for bogus prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today. These actions are an apparent effort to silence and curtail all opposition and the independent media.Since mid-June 2026, security forces have unlawfully seized at least five critics of President Yoweri Museveni and his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF). The army has also raided and is laying siege to the country’s largest independent media company, forcing it to cease…
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By Jemma Geoghegan, Professor and Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, University of Otago
Nigel French, Distinguished Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Public Health, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
The confirmation of the bird flu virus in a brown skua appears to be a single detection. Ongoing surveillance will be essential to detect any further cases.
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By Brittany Hogben, PhD Candidate in Conservation Biology, Adelaide University
Andrew Lowe, Director, Environment Institute, Adelaide University
Colette Blyth, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide
James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong
The spidery wattle (Acacia araneosa) is a national treasure.
This plant is named for its spidery, leaf-like phyllodes and shares the same iconic golden flowers as Australia’s floral emblem, the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha).
The spidery wattle is extremely rare, found only in a tiny area of South Australia’s Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and Vulkathunha-Gammon…
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By Justine Nolan, Professor of Law and Justice and Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney
The changes come just weeks after the US threatened new tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 countries – including Australia – for inaction on slave labour.
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By Angela Glindemann, PhD Candidate, Creative Writing, RMIT University
Angela O’Keeffe’s compelling new novel, Phantom Days, is a haunting contemplation of the power (or, perhaps more precisely, the agency) of stories.
Isabel, in her thirties, ends a short romance with Lewis after an act of violence he attempts to obscure. Shortly afterwards, she develops a phantom pregnancy: while her body behaves as though she is pregnant, there is no foetus.
Review: Phantom Days…
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By Siobhan Lyons, Scholar in Media and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University
Martin Scorsese recently announced he will be joining generative artificial intelligence (AI) company Black Forest Labs. He said he would embrace AI for storyboarding – the practice of creating a visual outline in the early stages of developing a movie or TV show.
The announcement was met with significant online backlash…
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By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
There’s a perennial appeal to medical TV shows. A hospital – as a kind of self-contained environment – is a great context for the study of different characters, and there’s something about the episodic format that fits with the idea of having to treat different illnesses on different days.
Each episode can involve a panoply of different acute cases, and there’s space around this to develop the kinds of character quirks and interpersonal relationships that fuel TV drama.
Add to this the high-pressure context of working in a hospital emergency dapartment, and we can see…
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By Courtney Walton, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Aden Kittel, Lecturer - Motor Learning & Development, Deakin University
If VAR catches a player offside by their toe, this is a correct decision. Whether this is what we want as fans is a philosophical debate.
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By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University
The antisemitism envoy has criticised the ABC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. But presenting all sides equally can distort the truth.
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By Reidar P. Lystad, Research Fellow, Injury Epidemiology, Macquarie University
After recent reports of dozens of former Australian footballers diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the death of 27-year-old footballer Nathan Fitzgerald from an on-field brain injury, many parents are wondering whether they should let their kids play footy.
As a parent of two young boys, I have asked myself the…
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