By Jon Piccini, Senior Lecturer in History, Australian Catholic University
Roland Burke, Senior Lecturer, History, La Trobe University
Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ has raised questions about whether it is intended as an alternative UN. Australia should be wary of turning its back on the UN now.
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By Yixiao Zhou, Associate Professor in Economics and Director of China Economy Program, Australian National University
China’s economy met the government’s official growth target in 2025, with official figures showing real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5%.
Exports played an outsized role in delivering this headline growth. Despite a simmering trade war with the United States, China finished up the year with a record-breaking…
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By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology
Valentino, who died on Monday at 93, leaves a lasting legacy full of celebrities, glamour and, in his words, knowing what women want: “to be beautiful”.
The Italian fashion powerhouse has secured his dream of making a lasting impact, outliving Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.
Valentino was known for his unique blend between…
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By Amnesty International
Marking one year since President Trump returned to office, Amnesty International today rang the alarm bells on increasing authoritarian practices in the United States and a devastating erosion of human rights. In a new report released today, Ringing the Alarm Bells: Rising Authoritarian Practices and Erosion of Human Rights in the United States, Amnesty International documented how the Trump administration’s escalation of authoritarian practices, including closing civic space and undermining the […] The post USA: One year into President Trump’s return to office, authoritarian practices are eroding human…
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By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University
There is not just much information available on the proposed board. But the obstacles it faces in building and maintaining peace in Gaza are huge.
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By Viliame Kasanawaqa, Doctoral Researcher, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury
When the United States recently escalated its confrontation with Venezuela – carrying out strikes in Caracas and capturing President Nicolás Maduro – the moves were framed as political intervention.
But the raid also reflected a deeper contest over oil and critical mineral supply chains.
For Washington, controlling energy and strategic materials is now inseparable from power projection. That…
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By Shokoofeh Shamsi, Professor in Veterinary Parasitology, Charles Sturt University
Recent shark attacks may be linked less to shark behaviour – and more to the pollutants, pesticides and parasites humans send into the ocean.
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By Human Rights Watch
(Johannesburg) – Mozambique authorities need to urgently and impartially investigate the killing of three dozen artisanal gold and gemstone miners during clashes with the police on December 29, 2025, in Nampula province, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities need to hold all those responsible to account and ensure justice for victims and their families.Local civil society organizations said that the police killed at least 38 people during clashes in the Marraca mining area in Iuluti, Mogovolas district. Iuluti Community Radio reported that the victims’ relatives notified…
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By Ben Mather, ARC Early Career Industry Fellow, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Adriana Dutkiewicz, ARC Future Fellow, Sedimentology, University of Sydney
Dietmar Müller, Professor of Geophysics, University of Sydney
Sabin Zahirovic, ARC DECRA Fellow, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney
Our planet has experienced dramatic climate shifts throughout its history, oscillating between freezing “icehouse” periods and warm “greenhouse” states.
Scientists have long linked these climate changes to fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, new research reveals the source of this carbon – and the driving forces behind it – are far more complex than previously thought.
In fact, the way tectonic plates move about Earth’s surface plays a major, previously underappreciated role in climate. Carbon doesn’t just emerge where tectonic plates meet. The places where…
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By Cassandra Mudgway, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Canterbury
Andrew Lensen, Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Elon Musk finally responded last week to widespread outrage about his social media platform X letting users create sexualised deepfakes with Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
Musk has now assured the United Kingdom government he will block Grok from making deepfakes in order to comply with the law. But…
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