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By David McMillan, Professor in Finance, University of Stirling The price of gold reached a historic high in April and remains close to that value. Conventional investing wisdom puts gold as a “safe-haven” asset – one that investors move towards in times of crises as they desert higher-risk assets such as stocks. But in August, … Continue reading “Why gold may be losing its shine as a safe-haven investment”
By Ran Porat, Affiliate Researcher, The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University As the longest-serving Israeli prime minister (17 years), Benjamin Netanyahu is famous for his political wizardry and survival skills. But he is also a highly controversial figure with questionable moral standards and legacy. His latest term in office, beginning in late 2022, … Continue reading “With eyes on re-election, Netanyahu’s fights with world leaders aim to distract from his many political problems”
By Peter Edwell, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Macquarie University Some of the most enduring ancient myths in the Persian world were centred around gardens of almost unimaginable beauty and opulence. The biblical Garden of Eden and the Epic of Gilgamesh’s Garden of the Gods are prominent examples. In these myths, paradise was an opulent … Continue reading “the paradise pleasure gardens of ancient Persia”
By Rachael Jolley, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation The US president, Donald Trump, claims to have “solved six wars in six months”. To work out if there was any substance to his claims, The Conversation international affairs editors Sam Phelps and Rachael Jolley interviewed six academic experts on those regions to find out what Trump … Continue reading “Did Trump really resolve six conflicts in a matter of months? We spoke to the experts to find out”
By Rachael Jolley, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation The US president, Donald Trump, claims to have “solved six wars in six months”. To work out if there was any substance to his claims, The Conversation international affairs editors Sam Phelps and Rachael Jolley interviewed six academic experts on those regions to find out what Trump … Continue reading “Did Trump really resolve six conflicts in a matter of months? Here’s what the experts say”
By Carey Durkin Treado, Associate Teaching Professor of Economics, University of Pittsburgh When more than 1,300 people at the U.S. State Department lost their jobs in a mass firing this summer, most headlines focused on what it meant for American diplomacy. But the layoffs are about more than embassies and foreign policy – they could … Continue reading “State Department layoffs could hurt US companies’ ability to compete globally – an economist explains why”
By Julie M. Norman, Senior Associate Fellow on the Middle East at RUSI; Associate Professor in Politics & International Relations, UCL In Gaza City, Palestinians are fleeing a renewed Israeli [assault] to take control over the area, following days of air strikes that have killed dozens. Just days earlier in Cairo, Hamas officials announced their … Continue reading “No end to the violence as Israel launches its assault on Gaza City”
By Ran Porat, Affiliate Researcher, The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University As the longest-serving Israeli prime minister (17 years), Benjamin Netanyahu is famous for his political wizardry and survival skills. But he is also a highly controversial figure with questionable moral standards and legacy. His latest term in office, beginning in late 2022, … Continue reading “With eyes on re-election, Netanyahu’s fights with world leaders aim to distract from many political problems”
By Jane Kershaw, Gad Rausing Associate Professor of Viking Age Archaeology, University of Oxford In the archaeology galleries of the Yorkshire Museum, an incredible Viking silver neck-ring takes centre stage. The ring is made of four ropes of twisted rods hammer-welded together at each end, its terminals tapering into scrolled S-shaped hooks for fastening behind … Continue reading “Vikings were captivated by silver – our new analysis of their precious loot reveals how far they travelled to get it”
By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University A seismic political shift has taken place in Bolivia. The country’s leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party, which has dominated Bolivian politics for nearly 20 years, was voted out of power in a general election on August 17. Centre-right Rodrigo Paz Pereira and rightwing Jorge “Tuto” … Continue reading “voters bring two decades of leftist politics to an end”