The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest crisis ever to hit international education

Feb 07, 2020 06:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

The coronavirus outbreak may be the biggest disruption to international student flows in history. There are more than 100,000 students stuck in China who had intended to study in Australia this year. As each day passes,...

Nike Vaporfly ban: why World Athletics had to act against the high-tech shoes

Feb 07, 2020 06:01 am UTC| Insights & Views Sports

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge last year became the first person to run a marathon distance in under two hours. But instead of being a pure celebration of human performance, the achievement (though not technically an...

China: rise of a new philanthropic power

Feb 07, 2020 05:59 am UTC| Insights & Views

In response to the ongoing coronavirus emergency, on January 31, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma pledged the equivalent of US$144 million for medical supplies for Wuhan and Hubei as well as $14 million to help develop a...

Why do people in different countries speak different languages?

Feb 07, 2020 05:59 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Humans have long been puzzled by the existence of different languages. A long time ago, people took guesses or made up stories to explain this. You might know the tale of the Tower of Babel (have a look at a famous...

The Iowa caucuses still have a great claim to retain first-in-nation status

Feb 07, 2020 05:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The most notable thing about this years Iowa (Democratic) caucuses was the debacle where results could not be reported on the night and indeed for a good while after. Some combination of new reporting requirements, a...

Here's a radical reform that could keep super and pay every retiree the full pension

Feb 07, 2020 05:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The governments retirement income review is being told our current tax and benefit treatment of retirement incomes is a mess. Much of financial planning industry is devoted to structuring affairs to maximise access to...

No food, no fuel, no phones: bushfires showed we're only ever one step from system collapse

Feb 07, 2020 05:57 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

This summers bushfires were not just devastating events in themselves. More broadly, they highlighted the immense vulnerability of the systems which make our contemporary lives possible. The fires cut road access, which...