Australia will protect a vast swathe of the Southern Ocean, but squanders the chance to show global leadership

By Andrew J Constable, Adviser, Antarctica and Marine Systems, Science & Policy, University of Tasmania

The Albanese government has today declared stronger protections for the waters around Heard Island and McDonald Islands, one of Australia’s wildest, most remote areas. The marine park surrounding the islands will be extended by 310,000 square kilometres, quadrupling its size.

Announcing the decision, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said Heard Island and McDonald Islands – about 4,000 kilometres southwest of Perth – are a “unique and extraordinary…

Read complete article

~	Moldova has introduced a state of emergency in the energy sector

~	Syria: Rights investigators call for protection of evidence, including mass grave sites

~	Brazil Bans X from Using Children to Power Its AI

~	El Salvador: A thousand days into the state of emergency. “Security” at the expense of human rights.

~	Prince Andrew and the British establishment’s ‘target-rich environment’ for spies

~	Times journalists deemed ‘legitimate military targets’ – how Russia muzzles criticism at home and abroad

~	Climate, migration and conflict mix to create ‘deadly’ intense tropical storms like Chido

~	What the colour of your snot says about your immune health

~	What next for Syria? The danger of violence in post-war transitions

~	Who chooses to work, and who is forced to, after retirement?