By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The treasurer says the government needs to do more on several fronts: from fighting antisemitism after Sunday’s deadly attack, to cracking down on illegal tobacco.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Gyula Balog (1959-2025), housing rights and anti-poverty activist, speaking with Human Rights Watch at his home in Budapest, November 2025. On the wall is a map of Amsterdam Island, part of a remote archipelago in the southern Indian ocean, about which Balog was writing a novel. © 2025 Human Rights Watch Gyula Balog had a twinkle in his eye to match his wide smile, as he declared, “I’m an alcoholic, a homeless person, an activist, an actor, and an expert by experience.” He made sure the interpreter captured these words in that precise order, and then continued, “I…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Dr. Abd al-Khaliq Farouk. © Private (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities should quash the conviction of prominent economist Abd al-Khaliq Farouk, who on October 2, 2025, was sentenced to five years in prison for articles and social media posts in violation of his free speech and due process rights, Human Rights Watch said today. An appeals court is scheduled to hear his case on December 25.A misdemeanor court convicted Farouk of “disseminating false news” under the penal code for criticizing Egypt’s economic policy and alleging government corruption. Egyptian authorities…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Special police force officers stand outside the Orda.kz editorial office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, during a December 1, 2025 search of the premises after authorities opened a criminal case against Gulnara Bazhkenova, the publication's editor-in-chief, for allegedly “disseminating knowingly false information." © 2025 Meiirim Bakytzhanqyzy (RFE/RL) (London, December 17, 2025) – Authorities in Kazakhstan have targeted independent journalists and media outlets in recent weeks, a coalition of nine human rights groups said today. The authorities have searched the newsroom…
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By Hong Kong Free Press
Lai was found guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and sedition. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment and the court will determine the final sentence early next year.
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By Amnesty International
Former Hong Kong prison inmates have told of inhumane and degrading conditions in new research published today by Amnesty International, as the organization called for authorities to urgently investigate the situation in the city’s correctional facilities. Nine former inmates jailed between 2016 and 2023 reported physical violence, prolonged solitary confinement, poor sanitary conditions and dangerously […] The post Hong Kong: Prisons rife with violence and inhumane treatment, inmate testimony reveals appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Anna Marie Brennan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Waikato
An independent inquiry would go beyond operational misconduct to examine police culture and assess compliance with New Zealand’s international obligations.
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By James Ley, Deputy Books + Ideas Editor, The Conversation
Recent studies have shown declining levels of trust in democratic systems. We asked experts to consider democracy’s strengths and weaknesses.
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By Bec Kavanagh, Senior Tutor in Publishing & Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
Social media communities on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have encouraged teens to read for fun. Now, Australian teens are banned from them until they turn 16.
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By Cody Lindsay, Lecturer, Exercise and Sport Science, Flinders University
Bowlers in cricket look to challenge batters with swing, seam and spin bowling. Scientists are still learning how bowlers achieve them.
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