Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on April 29, 2025.
MIL-Evening Report: Echidna ancestors lived watery lifestyles like platypuses 100 million years ago – new study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sue Hand, Professor Emeritus, Palaeontology, UNSW Sydney Mary_May/Shutterstock As the world’s only surviving egg-laying mammals, Australasia’s platypus and four echidna species are among the most extraordinary animals on Earth. They are also very different from each other. The platypus is well adapted for a semi-aquatic lifestyle, spending […]
MIL-Evening Report: ‘I’m always afraid for the future of my family’: why it’s too hard for some refugees to reunite with loved ones
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University When refugees flee their home country due to war, violence, conflict or persecution, they are often forced to leave behind their families. For more than 30,000 people who have sought asylum in Australia since arriving more than […]
MIL-Evening Report: ‘Do something about it before it gets worse’: young people want government action on gambling reform
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Pitt, Senior Research Fellow – Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University David P. Smith/Shutterstock Do something about it before it gets worse. This was a response from a 16-year-old boy in one of our recent studies when asked what he would say to the prime minister […]
MIL-Evening Report: 1 billion years ago, a meteorite struck Scotland and influenced life on Earth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Kirkland, Professor of Geochronology, Curtin University Stoer Head lighthouse, Scotland. William Gale/Shutterstock We’ve discovered that a meteorite struck northwest Scotland 1 billion years ago, 200 million years later than previously thought. Our results are published today in the journal Geology. This impact now aligns with some […]
MIL-Evening Report: Major survey finds most people use AI regularly at work – but almost half admit to doing so inappropriately
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Gillespie, Professor of Management; Chair in Trust, Melbourne Business School Matheus Bertelli/Pexels Have you ever used ChatGPT to draft a work email? Perhaps to summarise a report, research a topic or analyse data in a spreadsheet? If so, you certainly aren’t alone. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools […]
MIL-OSI Global: What Canada can learn from China on effectively engaging with Africa
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Isaac Odoom, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Carleton University Canada’s recent launch of a new Africa Strategy comes at a moment of profound geopolitical change and growing shifts in global development co-operation. As the western-led order and development model faces increasing scrutiny, countries like China are expanding their reach […]
MIL-Evening Report: Arsenic is everywhere – but new detection methods could help save lives
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena Wajrak, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, Edith Cowan University Arsenic is a nasty poison that once reigned as the ultimate weapon of deception. In the 18th century, it was the poison of choice for those wanting to kill their enemies and spouses, favoured for its undetectable nature […]
MIL-Evening Report: Forming new habits can take longer than you think. Here are 8 tips to help you stick with them
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Singh, Research Fellow, Allied Health & Human Performance, University of South Australia SarahMcEwan/Shutterstock If you’ve ever tried to build a new habit – whether that’s exercising more, eating healthier, or going to bed earlier – you may have heard the popular claim that it only takes […]
MIL-Evening Report: ‘Complaining is career suicide’: the hidden mental health crisis turning our screen industry upside down
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Hegedus, Associate Professor, Griffith Film School, Griffith University Shutterstock The Australian screen industry is often associated with fun, creativity and perhaps even glamour. But our new Pressure Point Report reveals a more troubling reality: a pervasive mental health crisis, which could see the screen industry lose […]
MIL-Evening Report: New survey shows business outlook is weakening and uncertainty rising as the trade war bites
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Simon, Adjunct Fellow in Economics, Macquarie University Vivid Brands/Shutterstock Uncertainty is everywhere these days. There is even uncertainty about the uncertainty. The Reserve Bank of Australia, for example, noted in the minutes from its April 1 meeting: The most significant development in the period leading up […]
MIL-Evening Report: How ICE is becoming a secret police force under the Trump administration
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University Secret police are a quintessential feature of authoritarian regimes. From Azerbaijan’s State Security Service to Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation, these agencies typically target political opponents and dissidents through covert surveillance, imprisonment and physical violence. In […]
MIL-Evening Report: Democracy on display or a public eyesore? The case for cracking down on election corflutes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer in Marketing, Research School of Management, Australian National University In my time researching political advertising, one common communication method that often generates complaints is the proliferation of campaign corflutes. Politicians love them. Not so, many members of the general public. People are so fed […]
MIL-Evening Report: Here’s how to make your backyard safer and cooler next summer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pui Kwan Cheung, Research Fellow in Urban Microclimates, The University of Melbourne Varavin88, Shutterstock Our backyards should be safe and inviting spaces all year round, including during the summer months. But the choices we make about garden design and maintenance, such as whether to have artificial turf […]
MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s first 100 days show him dictating the terms of press coverage − following Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán’s playbook for media control
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adam G. Klein, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Pace University President Donald Trump shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a meeting in the Oval Office on May 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty Images Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stood before a […]
MIL-OSI Global: Juggling dynamite? At 100 days in office, Donald Trump is no Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ronald W. Pruessen, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Toronto Watching United States President Donald Trump weave and chainsaw his way through the first 100 days of his second term in office, I’ve been reminded of what Anthony Eden, the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary in the 1930s and […]
MIL-OSI Global: ‘White Lotus’ music: When talented creators strive to realize their visions, differences and chattering can erupt
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Deaville, Professor of Music, Carleton University After the first two seasons of The White Lotus (set respectively in Hawaii and Sicily), the buzz in the media and on social media typically focused on the selection of the next site for the award-winning show. Not so much in […]
MIL-OSI Global: Language of peace: why talk of ‘making deals’ rather than ‘reaching agreements’ is not helpful
Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Gledhill, Associate Professor of Global Governance, University of Oxford Upon returning to the US after his symbolically powerful meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, President Donald Trump told reporters: “I think [Zelensky] wants to make a deal.” He also called […]
MIL-OSI Global: The ‘cortisol belly’ myth: when diet culture is rebranded as ‘wellness’
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nadia Maalin, Lecturer in Psychology, Birmingham City University Prostock-studio/Shutterstock The latest viral wellness trends – “cortisol belly” and “cortisol face” – promise a calmer, leaner, more radiant you … if you can just lower your stress hormones. With attention-grabbing claims like “You don’t have a belly fat problem. […]
MIL-OSI Global: How Trump is prompting China to change its relationship with the world
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies, Lund University China has spent much of the past two months shoring up friendships both near and far. Two rounds of ministerial meetings with regional rivals Japan and South Korea took place in Tokyo and Seoul at the end of […]
MIL-OSI Global: Five ways to make cities more resilient to climate change
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul O’Hare, Lecturer in Human Geography and Urban Development, Manchester Metropolitan University John_T/Shutterstock Climate breakdown poses immense threats to global economies, societies and ecosystems. Adapting to these impacts is urgent. But many cities and countries remain chronically unprepared in what the UN calls an “adaptation gap”. Building climate […]