|
Zimbabwe, under the rule of Robert Mugabe, has been brought to its knees by a political and economic upheaval that dates back to the 2000’s. Roger Southall argues that the Mugabe government’s initiatives to facilitate recovery are failing and have left the country’s financial system resembling a house of cards.
It’s been 12 years since Iraq’s constitution was ratified and approved – and, writes Bamo Nouri, it’s an abject failure. He argues that Iraq is only a democracy on paper.
In Western Australia, the Aboriginal people of the Kutjungka Region have long shared stories of a century-old massacre. They say that many of their ancestors were killed. Their oral evidence and art have been the only record of this event until now. Pamela Smith and Keryn Walshe describe the new physical evidence that confirms this atrocity took place.
|
An illegal money changer holds bond notes outside a bank in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
Roger Southall, University of the Witwatersrand
Years of political instability and economic mismanagement under the rule of ZANU-PF have left Zimbabwe’s financial system in chaos. The country is living on borrowed time and borrowed money.
|
Read it and weep: the constitution in draft form, 2005.
EPA/Karim Sahib
Bamo Nouri, City, University of London
A decade and a half after it was invaded in the name of spreading democracy, Iraq turns out to have been set up to fail.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Rachel Caufield, Drake University
Former Trump associates face charges including conspiracy to launder money, failure to register as a foreign agent and lying to the FBI. A law professor explains what it means and what happens next.
-
Hellena Yoranita Souisa, University of Melbourne; Primatia Romana Wulandari, University of Melbourne
A recently passed regulation in lieu of law allows the government to ban organisations deemed against Indonesia's state ideology Pancasila. It marks a troubling turn towards ultra-nationalism.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Paul Fraser, CSIRO; Paul Krummel, CSIRO; Zoe Loh, CSIRO
Global greenhouse gas levels have hit their highest point in at least 3 million years, according to new figures from the World Meteorological Organisation.
-
Paul Manning, Dalhousie University
Some insects wear gory disguises and macabre masks year round, not just at Halloween.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Peter Marshall, University of Warwick
Just what are we celebrating when we imagine an Augustinian friar nailing a document to a church door?
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Pamela Smith, Flinders University; Keryn Walshe, South Australian Museum
The local Aboriginal people told stories and painted images of a massacre of their ancestors in the early 20th century, but there was no other evidence that the incident took place. Until now.
-
Christopher Wiebe, University of Winnipeg
Advanced materials that seem like they come from Star Trek are becoming reality today.
|
|
Ethics + Religion
|
-
Alexus McLeod, University of Connecticut
The pain of grief is part of human existence. Daoist and Confucian philosophy can help find meaning in grief.
|
|
