By Yinghua Yu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Western Sydney, Western Sydney University
Azadeh Dastyari, Director, Centre for Western Sydney, Western Sydney University
From July 1, government-funded paid parental leave increases from 24 weeks to 26 weeks. While welcome, many challenges remain for new parents, particularly mothers.
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By Luke Hartigan, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney
Over the past few years, central banks have been quietly buying up significant quantities of gold.
As the trend has accelerated, official agencies now hold the highest quantity of gold since 1975 – more than 36,000 tonnes of the precious metal.
Central bank buying of gold picked up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The World Gold Council says central banks have…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Amret MFI advertisement posted on the wall of the home of a Tampuan Indigenous borrower in Pa Chon Thom village, Ratanakiri, Cambodia, reading: “Amret helps you buy agricultural equipment without having your own money” [left]; “Amret is always ready to help you and your family” [right]. © 2023 Private The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) rejected its ombudsman’s findings about harm related to investments in Cambodia’s microfinance sector, failing a critical test of accountability, Human Rights Watch said today. In its response, published on June…
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By Brooke Zanco, Postdoctoral Researcher, The Pollinator Futures Research Centre, Macquarie University
Carmen da Silva, Macquarie University Research Fellow, The Pollinator Futures Research Centre, Macquarie University
When we think of bees, we often think of flowers. The more flowers the better, right? Well, not exactly. Like us, bees need to consume specific nutrients in suitable amounts and combinations.
So, the mere presence of flowers doesn’t necessarily mean the bees are getting nutritionally adequate food.
This matters because climate change is altering both the quantity and nutritional…
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By Danaë Anderson, Lecturer in Occupational Health and Safety, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Chris Peace, Lecturer in Occupational Health and Safety, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Joanne Crawford, Professor of Health and Safety, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The government’s proposed workplace safety reforms aim to create simpler rules for employers. Critics argue they may also move risk onto workers.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A same-sex couple hold hands during an event to raise awareness of gay rights in Hong Kong on May 25, 2019. © 2026 Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images (New York) – The censorship of prominent social media accounts, foreign films, and events with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) themes around Pride month illustrates the deteriorating rights situation for LGBT people in China, Human Rights Watch said today. A number of these events were organized by foreign embassies and cultural institutes.“Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese government’s intensifying repression…
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to news that Maksim Kruglov, deputy chair of the Russian opposition Yabloko party and former Moscow City Duma deputy, has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for social media posts about civilian casualties in Bucha, Mariupol and elsewhere in Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “Maksim Kruglov has […] The post Russia: Authorities continue to crackdown on dissent with harsh prison sentence for opposition politician Maksim Kruglov appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University
While many countries will try to copy Ukraine’s successful drone tactics, technology isn’t enough. A military must first build a culture capable of maximizing the potential of drones.
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By Mariana Batha Alonso, Professora Adjunta do Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Leonardo Vazquez, pesquisador, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Scientists have identified sertraline — the active ingredient in Zoloft and dozens of other antidepressants — in the brain tissue of hammerhead sharks caught off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
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By Grant Duncan, Research Associate, Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The UK leader’s resignation speaks to the challenges facing centre-left parties as they struggle to hold together increasingly diverse voters.
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