Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on July 18, 2025.
MIL-Evening Report: Thinking of trekking to Everest Base Camp? Don’t leave home without this expert advice
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heike Schanzel, Professor of Social Sustainability in Tourism, Auckland University of Technology Purnima Shrestha /AFP via Getty Images Tourists in Kathmandu are tempted everywhere by advertisements for trekking expeditions to Everest Base Camp. If you didn’t know better, you might think it’s just a nice hike in […]
MIL-Evening Report: Pragmatic engagement – what Albanese’s visit reveals about China relations in a turbulent world
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Sing Yue Chan, Postdoctoral Fellow in China Studies, Australian National University The Albanese government has faced an increasingly uncertain world since its re-election in May. US President Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the Australia–US alliance, raising fresh questions about Canberra’s long-term regional strategy. […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Clawback of $1.1B for PBS and NPR puts rural stations at risk – and threatens a vital source of journalism
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Allison Perlman, Associate Professor of Film & Media Studies, University of California, Irvine Nathan Heffel and Grace Hood rehearse their Colorado Public Radio public affairs program in Centennial, Colo., in 2017. Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images The U.S. Senate narrowly approved on July 16, 2025, a […]
MIL-Evening Report: ‘Don’t tell me!’ Why some people love spoilers – and others will run a mile
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anjum Naweed, Professor of Human Factors, CQUniversity Australia DreamBig/Shutterstock, The Conversation This article contains spoilers! I once leapt out of a train carriage because two strangers were loudly discussing the ending of the last Harry Potter book. Okay – I didn’t leap, but I did plug my […]
MIL-Evening Report: Keith Rankin Analysis – Letter from Westphalia, Germany; 6 June 1933
Analysis by Keith Rankin. On Saturday I came into possession of this letter, transcript below. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. I will note that the recipient of the letter is someone I know a bit about; I would like […]
MIL-Evening Report: Australian law is clear: criticism of Israel does not breach the Racial Discrimination Act
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Swannie, Senior Lecturer, Thomas More Law School, Australian Catholic University Earlier this month, the Federal Court found controversial Muslim cleric Wissam Haddad breached the Racial Discrimination Act. Justice Angus Stewart ruled a series of speeches Haddad posted online were “fundamentally racist and antisemitic [and] profoundly offensive” […]
MIL-Evening Report: New Barbie with type 1 diabetes could help kids with the condition feel seen – and help others learn
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynne Chepulis, Associate Professor, Health Sciences, University of Waikato Mattel Inc/AP, The Conversation, CC BY Barbie has done many things since she first appeared in 1959. She’s been an astronaut, a doctor, a president and even a palaeontologist. Now, in 2025, Barbie is something else: a woman […]
MIL-Evening Report: AI is now part of our world. Uni graduates should know how to use it responsibly
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Fitzgerald, Associate Professor and Deputy Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, The University of Queensland MTStock Studio/ Getty Images Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming an everyday part of lives. Many of us use it without even realising, whether it be writing emails, finding […]
MIL-Evening Report: Rising seas threaten to swallow one of NZ’s oldest settlement sites – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter N. Meihana, Senior Lecturer in History, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University Veronika Meduna, CC BY-SA One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest settlement sites is at risk of being washed away by rising seas, according to new research. Te Pokohiwi o Kupe (Wairau Bar) near […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: In Reframing Blackness, Alayo Akinkugbe challenges museums to see blackness first
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Wanja Kimani, Associate Curator, The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge In Reframing Blackness, writer and curator Alayo Akinkugbe explores the way that art history is taught, and the impact this has had on what we see in national museums in western cities. This teaching has often led to […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Why some ‘biodegradable’ wet wipes can be terrible for the environment
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel James Jolly, PhD candidate, University of East Anglia Daniel James Jolly, CC BY-NC-ND Have you felt disgust when taking a walk along the riverside or plunging into the sea to escape the summer heat, only to spy a used wet wipe floating along the surface? Or shock […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: UK to lower voting age to 16 – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the future health of British democracy
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Mycock, Chief Policy Fellow, University of Leeds The UK government has announced that the voting age will be lowered to 16 at the next election as part of a wider effort to restore trust in and “future-proof” democracy. Votes at 16 has grown from a niche concern […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Will Donald Trump get Vladimir Putin (before Maga gets Trump)?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox. You know when the Kremlin is worried about something […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: We detected deep pulses beneath Africa – what we learned could help us understand volcanic activity
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emma Watts, Postdoctoral Researcher in Geography, Swansea University Earth’s continents may look fixed on a globe, but they’ve been drifting, splitting and reforming over billions of years – and they still are. Our new study reveals fresh evidence of rhythmic pulses of molten rock rising beneath east Africa, […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Why the UK’s butterflies are booming in 2025
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Willow Neal, Postgraduate Researcher in Conservation Ecology, The Open University Biodiversity is in rapid decline, across the UK and globally. Butterflies are excellent for helping us understand these changes. Where butterfly communities are rich and diverse, so too is the ecosystem. But the opposite is also true: if […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: When public money is tight, how do governments put a price on culture?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Nolan, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Liverpool John Moores University It’s no secret that public finances are tight in the UK. This spells trouble for many sectors, not least culture. After all, this is an area that often relies on public funding – with many projects facing an […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: The beauty of coral reefs is key to their survival – so we came up with a way to measure it
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tim Lamont, Research Fellow, Marine Biology, Lancaster University Why do people care about coral reefs? Why does their damage cause such concern and outrage? What drives people to go to great lengths to protect and restore them? Of course, it’s partly because of their ecological importance and economic […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Japan and South Korea can show governments how to compete with China and US
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robyn Klingler-Vidra, Vice Dean, Global Engagement | Associate Professor in Political Economy and Entrepreneurship, King’s College London Governments around the world are hustling. European policymakers, for example, are eager to boost the region’s industrial relevance in a world where the US and China dominate cutting-edge technologies. They want […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Israel: Netanyahu considering early election but can he convince people he’s winning the war?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brian Brivati, Visiting Professor of Contemporary History and Human Rights, Kingston University Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition is fracturing. Gil Cohen Magen / Shutterstock One of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Shas, has announced it will resign from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The party said its decision was made […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Reform spent just £5.5m on the 2024 election, while Labour’s majority cost £30m – new data
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Power, Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol The 2024 election was the most expensive in British political history, new figures confirm. Across parties, candidates and third parties, a whopping £94.5 million was spent. This compares with £72.6 million in 2019, which was a record high. Some parties […]