By Edward D. Melillo, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Amherst College
A century ago, Americans barely ate soy. Now it’s everywhere in people’s diets, even in places they don’t look or expect.
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By Anna Walker, Senior Arts + Culture Editor, The Conversation
Practical Magic is still bewitching
Every generation of women has its witch. For my grandmother, it was the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, with her striped stockings and flying monkeys. For my mother, a child of the sixties, it was the villainous Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf, who zoomed around on a rocket-powered broom.
My own witches were far less frightening. The Owens sisters of Practical Magic (played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman) weren’t green and warty, nor cackling and cruel. They were stylish and free-spirited. The film follows the sister…
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By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation
The Burnham government has announced it will sanction all trade in goods and services from illegal settlements in the West Bank.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad, Pakistan, June 20, 2022. © 2022 Anjum Naveed/AP Photo (New York) – The Punjab provincial assembly in Pakistan on August 31, 2026, passed a bill that would threaten the right to a fair trial in counterterrorism proceedings, Human Rights Watch said today. The provincial governor should return the bill to the assembly, which should develop rights-respecting protections for such proceedings, subject to independent oversight.The Anti-Terrorism (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2026 authorizes unspecified government officials…
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By Michael Noetel, Associate Professor of Psychology, The University of Queensland
Earlier this week, researcher Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic, saying the firm and its competitors are “gambling with our lives”. “We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,” added current Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger in a post on X.
Coxon isn’t the first to down tools over fears of AI doom. The idea that AI could wipe out humanity, advanced in Nick Bostrom’s 2014 book
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By Amnesty International
Responding to the sentencing of activists who organized Tiananmen vigils in Hong Kong, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said: “During most of the 30 years that Hongkongers commemorated the Tiananmen crackdown with an annual candlelight vigil, it would have been unthinkable that the organizers of the event could be jailed for their peaceful […] The post Hong Kong: Sentencing of Tiananmen activists a ‘triple tragedy’ and affront to history appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication and Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Swinburne University of Technology
Catherine Page Jeffery, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Sydney
Recent reports of a 16-year-old Sydney girl’s tragic death by “sexual choking” have understandably been met by calls for increased safety education for young people.
International research shows parents play a vital role in educating young people about sex, sexuality and pornography. Starting these discussions early is…
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By Carol Johnson, Emerita Professor of Politics, Adelaide University
Voters’ economic pain is real. But perceptions matter too, and the government must get better at selling its message on its key policies.
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Thursday, September 10, 2026
Twenty-five years ago, the heinous terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 against the United States claimed thousands of lives and represented “an assault on humanity itself”, the UN chief said on Thursday.
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By Stephen John Taylor, Research Affiliate, Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago
Labour MP Deborah Russell’s knitting caused a stir in parliament. But the humble craft has a long history as a tool for protest, solidarity and political change.
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