By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
On the backdrop of a solemn day in Parliament, the government and opposition moved closer to a deal to pass hate-speech laws.
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By Robert Joseph Gill, Associate Professor in Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology, Swinburne University of Technology
Even non tennis fans knew about ‘Fed’, ‘Rafa’ and ‘Serena’. The same can’t be said about today’s top tennis players.
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By Zulker Naeen
Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup matches scheduled on Indian soil represents far more than a diplomatic standoff or a security dispute.
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Sunday, January 18, 2026
Nearly three years of war have plunged Sudan “into an abyss of unimaginable dimensions” and human rights must be at the centre of efforts to end the fighting and build lasting peace, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Sunday in Nairobi.
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By Douglas Sheil, Professor, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Wageningen University
Erik Meijaard, Honorary Professor of Conservation, University of Kent
Flawed scientific articles don’t just clutter journals — they misguide policies, waste taxpayer funds, and endanger lives. Errors in top-tier research persist due to a broken correction system. Consider our own recent experiences.
In March 2025, Communications Earth & Environment published a paper claiming oil palm certification reduces yields and drives land expansion. But the study misread satellite data – interpreting temporary declines during replanting as a loss of production area. When corrected,…
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By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney
Grace Gillard, Technical Officer, Herpetology Collection Division, Australian Museum
Almost two-thirds of Australia is privately owned. But most of our scientific understanding of how threatened species are faring comes from research done on public lands. Traditional biodiversity surveys by professional scientists are time and resource intensive and navigating access to private lands can be tricky.
This means there’s a huge gap in our knowledge amid worsening biodiversity loss. That’s where citizen…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Top row: Lok Bahadur Ghaley; Rinzin Wangdi; Chandra Raj Rai; Kumar Gautam. Bottom row: San Man Gurung; Birkha Bdr Chhetri; Omnath Adhikari; Chaturman Tamang. © Private The recent death of Sha Bahadur Gurung, one of Bhutan’s longest serving political prisoners, is a tragic reminder of the injustice and needless suffering endured by alleged government critics in Bhutan’s grim prisons. Gurung, 65, was arrested in 1990 while he was a member of the Royal Bhutan Army and accused of attending protests demanding rights for his minority Nepali-speaking community.…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A police anti-riot unit in Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 30, 2024. © 2024 Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via AP Photo (Bangkok) – The Sri Lanka government’s proposed counterterrorism legislation includes numerous provisions similar to the current abusive law and risks facilitating the same kind of repression, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill does not meet benchmarks set out by the United Nations counterterrorism expert or comply with human rights obligations and commitments that Sri Lanka made to the European Union to benefit from trade arrangements under…
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By Caitlin Nicholls, PhD Candidate, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
Guido J. Parra, Associate Professor, Research Leader of the Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab, Flinders University
Luciana Möller, Associate Professor in Marine Biology, Flinders University
Dolphins, whales and seals are highly social animals. Many live in groups, form long-term relationships, and repeatedly interact with the same individuals over years or even decades. Some dolphins have preferred companions, while others move between groups in fluid, ever-changing social networks.
These social lives bring many benefits, from cooperative foraging to protection against predators. However, our new research, published in the journal…
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By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The US depends on imports of over 40 critical minerals and Donald Trump is looking for trade deals on his terms.
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