By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The Liberal-National Coalition is over for the second time in less than 12 months, this time over hate crimes legislation.
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By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University
The United States is set to become “the world’s undisputed [artificial intelligence-enabled] fighting force”.
At least that’s the view of the country’s Department of War, which earlier this month released a new strategy to accelerate the deployment of AI for military purposes.
The “AI Acceleration Strategy” sets an unambiguous objective of setting up the US military as the frontrunner in AI warfighting.…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image US President Donald Trump speaks at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, at the UN headquarters in New York City, on September 23, 2025. © 2025 Laura Brett/Sipa USA via AP Photo Last weekend the United Nations celebrated the 80th anniversary of the General Assembly’s first meeting. The commemoration comes as the world organization established to prevent a repeat of the crimes against humanity and genocide that took place during World War II is under unprecedented attack.The United States played a leading role in establishing the UN. Now, US President Donald…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The grandchildren of Patrice Emery Lumumba during a session of the Brussels council chamber, in the case concerning the 1961 murder of Lumumba the first elected Prime Minister of the DRC Congo, January 20, 2026. © 2026 by Benoit Doppagne/Belga/Sipa USA via AP Photo On January 20, a Belgian court held a closed-door hearing to determine whether to pursue a criminal case against the last living former Belgian official for his alleged involvement in the 1961 assassination of the first democratically elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo,…
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Wednesday, January 21, 2026
From Davos, the President of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday warned that the world has entered a “make‑or‑break” moment for multilateralism, saying the rules‑based order can survive only if states speak the truth and act when it’s hard. She called for a cross‑regional alliance to push back against growing lawlessness, disinformation, and power‑based politics.
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By Yanyan Hong, Adjunct Fellow in Communication, Media and Film Studies, Adelaide University
In Hamnet, Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley) asks William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) to introduce himself by telling her a story. It is her way of seeing who this man really is.
Here, storytelling becomes a mirror held up to the heart. Are we, as human beings, moved by the same things? Are our hearts shaped from the same material?
Chloé Zhao knows how to make people feel. Hamnet sees a new phrase in her artistry, turning a Western literary classic into a quiet meditation on grief, love and the enduring power of art.
From Beijing to the world
Born in Beijing…
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By Chad Gibbs, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, College of Charleston
Students respond to history that feels local and personal. There are ways to do that even as Holocaust survivors pass away, one professor writes.
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By Saskia Sivananthan, Affiliate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McGill University
Dementia today occupies the same stigmatized, system-neglected space that cancer did half a century ago. And history shows us that stigma, not simply the absence of cures, delays progress.
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By Eric Van Rythoven, Instructor in Political Science, Carleton University
Looking at headlines around the world, it seemed like United States President Donald Trump’s annexation of Greenland was imminent. Buoyed by the success of his military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric and is now threatening tariffs on any nation that opposes him.
Adding insult…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Malian tanker trucks drive at the entrance of Boundiali, northern Côte d'Ivoire, on the way to Yamoussoukro and Abidjan to load oil, October 30, 2025. © 2025 Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images Truck drivers in Niger now face a stark choice: risk your life or lose your livelihood.On January 6, Niger’s transport minister issued a decree punishing at least 34 fuel transport operators and long-haul truck drivers who refused to deliver fuel to neighboring Mali. Since September 2025, an Al Qaeda-linked armed group, known as Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin…
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