Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on July 23, 2025.
MIL-Evening Report: Auckland is NZ’s ‘primate city’ but its potential remains caged in by poor planning and vision
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images The recent report comparing Auckland to nine international peer cities delivered an uncomfortable truth: our largest city is falling behind, hampered by car dependency, low-density housing and “weak economic performance”. The Deloitte […]
MIL-Evening Report: Climate disasters are pushing people into homelessness – but there’s a lot we can do about it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Heffernan, Lecturer in Anthropology, Australian National University Almost half of all Australian properties are at risk of bushfire, while 17,500 face risk of coastal erosion. By 2030, more than 3 million will face riverine flood risk. Meanwhile, housing demand continues to outpace supply. With climate-related disasters […]
MIL-Evening Report: UK bans Gaza protest group – could the same thing happen in Australia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University More than 100 people were arrested in the United Kingdom on the weekend for supporting Palestine Action, a protest group that opposes Britain’s support of Israel. Palestine Action was recently proscribed as a terrorist organisation, placing it in the […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: The incredible impact of Ozzy Osbourne, from Black Sabbath to Ozzfest to 30 years of retirement tours
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Lachlan Goold, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music, University of the Sunshine Coast Ozzy Osbourne photographed in London in 1991. Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images Ozzy Osbourne, the “prince of darkness” and godfather of heavy metal, has died aged 76, just weeks after he reunited with Black Sabbath bandmates for […]
MIL-Evening Report: The incredible impact of Ozzy Osbourne, from Black Sabbath to Ozzfest to 30 years of retirement tours
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lachlan Goold, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music, University of the Sunshine Coast Ozzy Osbourne photographed in London in 1991. Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images Ozzy Osbourne, the “prince of darkness” and godfather of heavy metal, has died aged 76, just weeks after he reunited with Black Sabbath bandmates for […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Eat the rich’ — Why horror films are taking aim at the ultra-wealthy
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Heather Roberts, PhD Candidate in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario Samara Weaving in the horror film ‘Ready or Not.’ Weaving plays Grace, a bride who must survive until dawn on her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down. (Searchlight Pictures) This story contains spoilers […]
MIL-Evening Report: Could the latest ‘interstellar comet’ be an alien probe? Why spotting cosmic visitors is harder than you think
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Comet 3I/ATLAS International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech/Jen Miller/Mahdi Zamani, CC BY On July 1, astronomers spotted an unusual high-speed object zooming towards the Sun. Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the surprising space traveller had one very special quality: its […]
MIL-Evening Report: Should Australia lower the voting age to 16 like the UK? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pandanus Petter, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University The government in the UK is introducing legislation into parliament to lower the voting age to 16. If passed, the new age rules will be in place for the next general election, expected […]
MIL-Evening Report: Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Savulescu, Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, The University of Melbourne HRAUN/Getty A young woman needs an abortion and the reasons, while urgent, are not medical. A United States Navy […]
MIL-Evening Report: Ultra fast fashion could be taxed to oblivion in France. Could Australia follow suit?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rowena Maguire, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre of Justice, Queensland University of Technology Ryan McVay/Getty For centuries, clothes were hard to produce and expensive. People wore them as long as possible. But manufacturing advances have steadily driven down the cost of production. These days, […]
MIL-Evening Report: Central bank independence and credibility matters. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Simon, Adjunct Fellow in Economics, Macquarie University Olga Kashubin/Shutterstock In the United States, President Donald Trump has been pressuring the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, to slash interest rates. This is partly to ease the interest payments on the ballooning US government debt. […]
MIL-Evening Report: Kneecap’s stance on Gaza extends a long history of the Irish supporting other oppressed peoples
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ciara Smart, PhD Graduand in Australasian Irish History, University of Tasmania Love them or hate them, there’s no doubt Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are having a moment. Their music – delivered in a powerful fusion of English and Irish – is known for its gritty lyrics about […]
MIL-Evening Report: Do countries have a duty to prevent climate harm? The world’s highest court is about to answer this crucial question
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Cooper, Associate Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue a highly anticipated advisory opinion overnight to clarify state obligations related to climate change. It will answer two urgent questions: what are the obligations of states under international […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Yellowknife’s Giant Mine: Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Arn Keeling, Professor, Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland Giant Mine, just north of Yellowknife, N.W.T., in September 2011. The gold mine officially opened in 1948 and was operational for over 50 years before it was closed in 2004. (John Sandlos) Decades of gold mining at Giant […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Popular Tunisian island’s cultural heritage at risk due to tourism, neglect and climate change
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Majdi Faleh, Academic Fellow & Lecturer in Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Nottingham Trent University The Sidi Yati mosque in Djerba, which dates back to the 10th century, has been damaged by coastal erosion. Mehdi Elouati, CC BY-NC-ND Nestled in the southern Mediterranean, off the south-east coast of Tunisia, […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Farewell to summer? ‘Haze’ and ‘trash’ among Earth’s new seasons as climate change and pollution play havoc
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Felicia Liu, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainability, University of York Throughout history, people have viewed seasons as relatively stable, recurrent blocks of time that neatly align farming, cultural celebrations and routines with nature’s cycles. But the seasons as we know them are changing. Human activity is rapidly transforming […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: A Philosopher Looks at Clothes by Kate Moran is engaging and unpretentious – we need more philosophy books like this
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Richmond, Honorary Associate Professor of Philosophy, UCL With a few exceptions, philosophers have had little to say about clothes. Maybe this is because the topic seems frivolous, or feminine, unworthy of the attention of a predominantly male collection of thinkers. Perhaps, too, the transience of fashion, and […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Hosepipe ban survival guide: which garden plants to save and which to sacrifice
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alastair Culham, Associate Professor of Botany, University of Reading Studio 37/Shutterstock With hosepipe bans in force across several English regions and more restrictions likely to follow, gardeners face some tough choices. When every drop counts, which plants deserve your precious water from the water butt, and which should […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: As Sri Lanka’s economy pivots from tourism, it’s well placed to benefit from global trade and geopolitical jostling – new research
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hemamali Tennakoon, Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Management, Brunel University of London Dmytro Buianskyi/Shutterstock With its natural beauty, wildlife and culture, Sri Lanka is known as the “pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and attracts millions of tourists every year. But my research suggests that the country might not […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: A global treaty to limit plastic pollution is within reach – will countries seize the moment?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Winnie Courtene-Jones, Lecturer in Marine Pollution, Bangor University Bandung, Indonesia. Sony Herdiana/Shutterstock Representatives from 175 countries will gather in Geneva, Switzerland, in August for the final round of negotiations on a legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution. Non-governmental organisations, academics and industry lobbyists will also be […]