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After a period of precarious peace, the United States and Iran are again trading airstrikes in the Middle East. Iran went first, targeting vessels trying to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. The US retaliated by attacking Iranian cities near the crucial shipping passage. While the temporary ceasefire arrangements have been breached by both sides numerous times, Middle East conflict expert Jessica Genauer writes this is the most severe violation yet. US President Donald Trump has now declared the
ceasefire “over”. Genauer argues both countries have reasons for not wanting to scale up the fighting, yet neither wants to back down. The result will likely be an
ongoing conflict that doesn’t return to all-out war but also never achieves substantive peace. It’s a delicate geopolitical situation that requires a cool head and immaculate statecraft. And yet in Trump we have the opposite. As Bruce Wolpe writes, Trump’s erratic media comments about other nations at this week’s NATO summit ran the gamut from furious to affectionate, and give us ever more reason to doubt his stability.
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Erin Cooper-Douglas
Public Policy Editor
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Jessica Genauer, UNSW Sydney
New tit-for-tat airstrikes between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz suggest the ceasefire will not turn into a permanent peace.
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Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney
The US president unleashed grievances against Europe, reopened his bid to claim Greenland and referred to the Iranian leadership as ‘scum’ in wild NATO performance.
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Niusha Shafiabady, Australian Catholic University; Md Akhtaruzzaman, Australian Catholic University
The most important lesson for Australia is not to slow digitalisation, but to make it more resilient and remove single points of failure.
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Keith Rathbone, Macquarie University
Infantino’s global game runs on money and power. As they become increasingly concentrated, the possibility for challenging his leadership diminish.
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Fei Gao, University of Sydney; Richard Krever, The University of Western Australia
Negative gearing hasn’t been abolished, only restricted. But the new rules could distort the housing market in other ways.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The government believes it can’t allow “the tech bros to let it rip”, as one source puts it. But it can’t allow the country to fall behind the pack either.
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Charles Livingstone, Monash University
Research shows young Australians are most at risk of experiencing gambling harm.
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Em Murdock, University of California, Berkeley; Lucas Vargas Zeppetello, University of California, Berkeley
Too often, Australian authorities have relied on ad hoc preparations for the droughts and bushfires made more likely by El Niño.
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Politics + Society
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Kris Gledhill, Auckland University of Technology
Same-sex marriages and an apology from the state followed the homosexual law reform, but gaps remain for some people trying to have historic convictions expunged.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Angus Taylor has delivered his most comprehensive attack so far on One Nation in a speech to the Sydney Institute.
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Health + Medicine
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Centaine Snoswell, The University of Queensland
There are myriad, quiet ways Australians rely on an internet connection for their health and wellbeing. The impact is harder to count.
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Dushanthi Madhushika Manamalage, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Frederick Sundram, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Partha Roop, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Reza Shahamiri, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
As more people turn to chatbots for support, new research is exploring a potential role for AI in spotting early signs of depression.
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Nicholas Wood, University of Sydney; Lucy Deng, University of Sydney
It’s soon going to be easier than ever to get your young children vaccinated.
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Environment + Energy
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Shauna Murray, University of Technology Sydney; Cheong Xin Chan, The University of Queensland; Craig Styan, University of Adelaide; Greta Gaiani, University of Technology Sydney; Gustaaf Hallegraeff, University of Tasmania
A new Australian-led study examined what makes the Karenia cristata algae so deadly.
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Science + Technology
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Derek Arnold, The University of Queensland; Loren N. Bouyer, The University of Queensland
When we’re awake, our imaginations are quite different. But what about our dreams?
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Steve Bickley, Queensland University of Technology
‘Silicon sampling’ promises easy answers to tough questions about human behaviour – but the reality is more complicated.
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Darryl Veitch, University of Technology Sydney; Allison Kealy, Swinburne University of Technology
Telecommunications is only one domain in which timing faults can have serious consequences.
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Arts + Culture
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Gemma Blackwood, University of Tasmania
Maybe we love Neil because we’re jealous of his freedom
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Erin Harrington, University of Canterbury
The new Australian film is an effective exploration of one woman’s eating disorder, and a worthy entry into the growing canon of contemporary female-led horror.
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Books + Ideas
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Alexander Howard, University of Sydney
The concept of ‘Cultural Marxism’, which can be traced back to the 1930s, has become a staple of contemporary right-wing discourse.
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Your Say
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The reason for banning young people's access to social media was because of the harm it was doing. The government is well aware of the harm online gambling does but because of the powerful gambling industry lobbyists, the call for the banning of online gambling is being dismissed as unimportant. Our elected representatives are there to serve the people and protect vulnerable people, not pander to industries that cause financial and psychological harm. All gambling ads should be banned along with the term "gaming". Gambling is not a game, it is a sophisticated exploitation industry that prioritises dopamine over serotonin.
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Steve Bentley, Camira QLD
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