By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Burkina Faso's president, Capt. Ibrahim Traore (center), in an armored vehicle in Ouagadougou, October 2, 2022. © 2022 Vincent Bado/Reuters The military junta in Burkina Faso has adopted a bill restoring the death penalty nearly a decade after the West African country abolished the heinous practice. The last known judicial execution in Burkina Faso took place in 1988.On December 4, the junta’s council of ministers approved a bill amending the penal code and reintroducing capital punishment for crimes including “high treason, terrorism and acts of espionage.” Justice…
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By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide
Sean Connell, Professor, Sustainable Marine Futures, Environment Institute, University of Adelaide
South Australians are heartbroken about the state’s unprecedented algal bloom. But eating oysters, donating shells and restoring lost reefs will boost ocean health.
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By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University
Lebanon faces a grave predicament. Israel wants the Hezbollah militant group based in the country to be disarmed. Hezbollah has refused to give up its arms as long as Israel threatens Lebanon. And the Lebanese government is not strong enough to subdue Hezbollah on its own.
This is a recipe for renewed internal conflict in Lebanon, as well as another round…
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By Rachael Helene Nolan, Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
Chris Gordon, Research Fellow in Landscape Ecology, Western Sydney University
Rachael Gallagher, Professor and ARC Future Fellow, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
Dozens of fires burning across New South Wales and Tasmania over the weekend claimed dozens of houses and the life of a firefighter. This is why they were so bad.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Top row, left to right: Pygambergeldy Allaberdyev © 2020 Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Nurgeldi Halykov © Private; Soltan Achilova, forcibly held in an infectious disease hospital in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. November 20, 2024. © 2024 PrivateBottom row, left to right: Alisher Sakhatov © 2025 Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Abdulla Orusov © 2025 Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Murad Dushemov, February 2020. © Private As the world marks Human Rights Day on December 10, celebrating the adoption in 1948…
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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
While federal Labor remains well ahead of the competition, a poll modelling seat outcomes has Pauline Hanson’s party picking up a dozen in the lower house.
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By Miriam McCaleb, Fellow in Public Health, University of Canterbury
New research shows caregivers don’t get advice on smartphone use, even though we know it can affect a baby’s feeding, language development and attachment.
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By Megan Willis, Associate Professor, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University
As Christmas approaches, many of us are busy making plans to spend the day with family – organising travel, buying presents and looking forward to (or perhaps dreading) long-held traditions.
For others, this time of year also brings a resurgence of grief as we face Christmas without family. This can be the result of distance and death. But for many, it’s due to family estrangement, though this often goes unspoken.
What is family estrangement?
Family estrangement is a deliberate and sustained…
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By Exile Hub
"“To me, being a feminist means kindness. If I stay silent when others suffer, one day it will be my turn to suffer too."
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By Christian Jakob, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, Monash University
As Earth continues to warm, Australia faces some important decisions.
For example, where should we place solar and wind energy infrastructure to reliably supply Australians with electricity? How can we secure our food production and freshwater supply? Should we invest in bigger dams to increase our resilience to drought, or better flood mitigation to manage more intense rainfall?
Deciding on the best path forward depends on having reliable and detailed information about about how wind, water and sunlight will behave in our future. This information is provided by
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