By Amnesty International
On the fourth anniversary of the sentencing of Maykel Castillo Pérez “Osorbo” and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Amnesty International said: “The conviction of rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez ‘Osorbo’ and visual artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara starkly exposed how the Cuban authorities use the criminal justice system to punish dissident artists and silence their right to […] The post Cuba: Four years after an unjust conviction, Afro-Cuban artists remain imprisoned for expressing themselves appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Sarah Rogers, Associate Professor of Geography, The University of Melbourne
Sonia Graham, Future Fellow in Human Geography, University of Wollongong
Zoe Ju-Han Wang, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, James Cook University
It is illegal to use paraquat in at least 74 jurisdictions worldwide, including the European Union, China, Malaysia, Brazil and, most recently, the US state of Vermont.
But today, Australia’s chemical regulator gave this effective but highly toxic herbicide the green light.
After a nearly 30-year review,…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The government had little choice but to agree to the extension, which will take several hundred million off its projected savings.
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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
In two federal polls that were partly taken after Pauline Hanson’s June 17 National Press Club address, One Nation’s surge continued, gaining two points on primary votes in both the DemosAU and Morgan polls, to reach 30% and 31.5% respectively.
Owing to a five-point slump for the Coalition, the DemosAU poll was better for Labor with the combined One Nation/Coalition vote down three points to 48%. But in Morgan the right vote was up 2.5 points to 49%,…
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By David Lindenmayer, Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
Chris Taylor, Research Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
There is ongoing turmoil in the native forest logging industry, as revealed in the ABC’s Four Corners program that aired last night.
The evidence presented was unambiguous: the native forest logging industry has been in financial, social, and environmental decline for decades.
Yet it continues to be financially supported by federal and state government subsidies that are detrimental to the economy, environmental integrity and the efficient spending of taxpayer dollars.
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By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland
This week, Vegemite launched a new product specifically for children called Vegemite Kids that contains 50% less sodium (salt) than the traditional iconic spread.
Reactions have been divided. Some have called it “un-Australian”, said it would make kids less resilient, and called for Vegemite to be left alone.
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By Maria Nawaz, Project Lead, Australian Climate Accountability Project at the UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney
Gillian Moon, Senior Visiting Fellow and Research Lead, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney
Ten Australians – including a firefighter, First Nations leaders and young people – are bringing their concerns about the nation’s coal and gas exports to the United Nations.
On Tuesday, the group lodged a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee, claiming the Australian government is failing to protect them from climate harms.
They argue Australia’s continued exports are inconsistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as set out in the Paris…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A room in the emergency department at UCI Health hospital in Irvine, California, US, November 6, 2025. © 2025 Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images (Washington, DC) – The United States Congress’ failure to extend public subsidies for private health insurance has caused millions to lose healthcare coverage, increasing financial hardship and deepening inequality, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America said today. Six months after the subsidies expired on January 1, 2026, early data indicate that millions of households lost health…
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By Nipa Saha, Lecturer, Macquarie University
The Dutch government is considering making it illegal to use children under 16 in paid social media content. The government argues such online content featuring children – designed to sell goods to child consumers – is basically involving them in child labour.
With Australia’s under-16s social media ban in place and other countries – most recently the United Kingdom – following suit, would this be the next logical…
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By Toby Murray, Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne
Using AI for cybersecurity without first investing in fundamentals is like deploying a robot guard dog to defend an unlocked door.
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