By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Families mourn victims of Sri Lanka’s 1983-2009 civil war on the beach at Mullivaikal where the final battle took place, May 17, 2024. © 2024 Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo (Geneva) – A new United Nations report about sexual violence related to Sri Lanka’s civil war is another step forward in the struggle for accountability for crimes under international law that were committed in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN report, issued on January 13, 2025, finds that sexual violence was “part of a deliberate, widespread, and systemic pattern of violations” by…
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By Richard Morris, Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, New Zealand
The viral idea that polite prompts waste electricity is an exaggeration. But it reflects a growing awareness of AI’s enormous infrastructure costs.
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By William Gourlay, Teaching Associate in Politics & International Relations at the School of Social Sciences, Monash University
The geopolitical temperature is rising in the Red Sea.
Ethiopia is threatening Eritrea, its diminutive neighbour, making a claim on the Eritrean port of Assab. Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed recently remarked that regaining Red Sea access would correct a “historical mistake” and address an “existential question” for landlocked Ethiopia.
Eritrea’s Information Minister…
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By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne
Bull bars were designed for use in remote and rural areas but are now everywhere. This is putting pedestrians at risk.
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By Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation
Digital Storytelling Team, The Conversation
There’s a recipe for autocracy: six steps tried and tested by some of the world’s most notorious leaders. How many has Donald Trump ticked off?
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By Susan M Park, Professor of Global Governance, University of Sydney
The new strategic reserve may provide the West with greater access to key minerals. But China still dominates the processing of many of them.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Family members and neighbor (far right) of Alimnur Turganbay, a Kazakhstan citizen detained in China, outside their house in Uzynagash village, located outside Almaty, Kazakhstan on August 4, 2025. © 2025 Chris Rickleton (London, January 15, 2026) – Kazakh authorities should drop charges against 18 Kazakh activists who peacefully protested against Chinese government abuses in Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch said today. The activists, from the Nagyz Atajurt Volunteers group, face up to 10 years in prison for exercising their freedom of expression. Thirteen are…
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By Graham H. Pyke, Honorary Professor in School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Amy-Marie Gilpin, Lecturer in Invertebrate Ecology, Western Sydney University
Kit Prendergast, Postdoctoral Researcher, Pollination Ecology, University of Southern Queensland; Curtin University
If the governments of Australia can invest millions into the honeybee industry, they surely have the resources to support native pollinators.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Activists attend a procession to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 25, 2025. © 2025 MD Abu Sufian Jewel/NurPhoto via AP Photo On February 12, Bangladesh is scheduled to hold its first general elections since the country’s August 2024 Monsoon revolution. But ahead of the elections, attacks on women, girls, and religious minorities are on the rise, exposing the interim government’s failure to protect fundamental human rights. Police data shows that gender-based violence increased between…
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By Gisèle Yasmeen, JW McConnell Professor of Practice, Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University
Julian Tayarah, Master's Student, Public Policy, McGill University
Umme Salma, Master's Student, Public Policy, McGill University
Across the world, urbanization affects how food is grown, distributed and consumed, and cities are primary drivers changing food systems.
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