By Jean-Nicolas Bordeleau, Research Fellow, Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies, Flinders University
On Tuesday, voters across the United States will cast their votes in the 2026 midterm elections. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are on the ballot.
Forecast models give Democrats about a 95% chance of winning a majority in the House.…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband making a statement on Israel-Palestine in the House of Commons, London, United Kingdom, September 8, 2026. © 2026 Press Association via AP Photo The UK has significantly expanded its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, allowing the government, for the first time, to impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities involved in war crimes. The new powers were approved by parliament yesterday.The previous framework, adopted in 2020, did not allow for such sanctions, providing, instead, for targeted sanctions only for certain serious…
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Sunday, November 1st 2026
In Mexico’s armed forces, an order from a superior is meant to be obeyed without question. For many women in uniform, investigative journalist Zorayda Gallegos found, that can include an order to step into an officer’s bedroom.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A police vehicle on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, August 14, 2026. © 2026 Alfonso Nqunjana/AP Photo Zambian police and military forcibly disappeared, arbitrarily detained, beat, and threatened opposition members, lawyers, journalists, and government critics in the days before and after general elections in August. The post-election climate of intimidation, harassment, and repression has had a chilling effect on civic and political organizations, particularly on dissenting voices.The authorities should immediately halt the crackdown, allow access to lawyers…
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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
Labor’s primary vote dropped two points to 27% in Newspoll, equalling the mid-September Newspoll for their lowest this term. It’s near Labor’s record low in 2011.
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By Alisa Tian, Associate Lecturer in Translation and Interpreting, School of Humanities & Languages, UNSW
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are more widespread than ever, and one of the functions they offer is fast, real-time translation. Some people are even questioning the need to ever learn another language, if near-instant translation is so widely available to all of us, often for free.
However, those translations are far from perfect. While AI translations are very fluent, fluency doesn’t equal accuracy. Even proficient bilinguals can
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By Jared Mondschein, Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
In a politically polarised American electorate, it can be hard to find bipartisan consensus on many issues. Ahead of the US midterm elections, however, there is one thing almost everyone can agree on: concern about government corruption.
A record 89% of Americans recently said in a Gallup poll that government corruption is widespread, with Republicans, Democrats and independents all in agreement (ranging between 83-91%). This marks a significant increase from 73% in…
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By Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health, University of Otago
Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato
There are three steps the next government can take to restore New Zealand’s commitment to pandemic preparedness and other health security strategies.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The Adelaide Women’s Prison, South Australia, 2026. © 2026 Dean Faulkner/ABC News Prison authorities in the Australian state of South Australia are harming people with disabilities by using solitary confinement.Solitary confinement has a disproportionately harmful impact on people with disabilities and can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and even torture. Australia’s federal and state governments should take urgent action to ensure proper independent oversight of prisons and invest in alternatives to incarceration.(Sydney) — Prison authorities…
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By Jared Mondschein, Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
In a politically polarised American electorate, it can be hard to find bipartisan consensus on many issues. Ahead of the US midterm elections, however, there is one thing almost everyone can agree on: concern about government corruption.
A record 89% of Americans recently said in a Gallup poll that government corruption is widespread, with Republicans, Democrats and independents all in agreement (ranging between 83-91%). This marks a significant increase from 73% in…
(Full Story)
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