How Paraguay dumps billions of illicit cigarettes on the global market

By Benoît Gomis

On Sep. 25, 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products entered into force. According to the WHO, illicit trade refers to any practice or conduct prohibited by law and...

Medium-scale farms are on the rise in Africa. Why this is good news

By Thomas Jayne Et Al

Driven by population growth and growing land scarcity, most African farm households are witnessing the gradual sub-division of their land. Over time farms are getting smaller and smaller. Today, over 80% of farms in...

Labor promises a comprehensive overhaul of federal environmental framework

By Michelle Grattan

Australia will get the biggest overhaul of its federal environment laws in two decades if a Labor government wins next years election. Labor would create a new Australian Environment Act and establish a federal...

Shorten's subsidy plan to boost affordable housing

By Michelle Grattan

Institutional investors would receive longterm subsidies to build new dwellings - on condition they rented them out below market rates - under an affordable housing program Bill Shorten is announcing on the first day of...

A 'lifetime income super-tax' offers a new way to tax wealth and fix inequality

By Nick O'Donovan

The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing. So said Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of finance to Frances 17th-century Sun King,...

Dreaming of a green Christmas? Here are five ways to make it more sustainable

By Sharon George

Moderation is the last thing on peoples minds at Christmas. Shopping, travelling and eating reach peak levels putting pressure on our planet. Even Santa poses a problem. If you dont believe in flying reindeers, that...

Brexit waiting game: the truth behind Theresa May's delay tactics

By Andrew Glencross

If theres one thing that unites supporters of Brexit and its opponents, the passionate and the apathetic, it is the plaintive question: when will it end? No one can deny that the process of leaving the EU has been...

How an app can help fight loneliness in old people at Christmas

By Niall Hayes

Loneliness, as a leading cause of depression and obesity, is believed to cost 6,000 per person in health and social care services. Loneliness is especially prevalent during the winter holidays, perhaps intensified by the...

The NRA's financial weakness, explained

By Brian Mittendorf

The National Rifle Associations political spending fell during the 2018 midterm elections. Theres talk of ending small perks like free coffee at its offices and even employee layoffs. These and other trends indicate...

What the US could learn from Thailand about health care coverage

By Joseph Harris

The open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) draws to a close on Dec. 15. Yet, recent assaults on the ACA by the Trump administration stand in marked contrast to efforts to expand access to health care and...

Nearly all sexual harassment at work goes unreported – and those who do report often see zero benefit

By Carly McCann Et Al

The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have brought renewed attention to workplace sexual harassment. However, the vast majority of allegations go unreported, and those who do report tend to face troubling outcomes. Our new...

Worry over kids' excessive smartphone use is more justified than ever before

By Jean Twenge

Parents who fear their kids are spending too much time in front of screens now have more reason for concern. New research funded by the National Institutes of Health found brain changes among kids using screens more...

May defiant, Macron contrite amid crises that threaten the EU's stability

By Helen Drake

By some freakish alignment of political firmaments, both Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron have lived the week from political hell. Both the British prime minister and French president face challenges to their very survival...

Young people suffering chronic pain battle isolation and stigma as they struggle to forge their identities

By Abbie Jordan

Adolescence can be a difficult but exciting time, when young people make discoveries and decisions about their futures, and develop a sense of who they are and their place in the world. But for young people with chronic...

Native cherries are a bit mysterious, and possibly inside-out

By Gregg Müller

People dont like parasites. But theres a local Aussie tree thats only a little bit parasitic: the native cherry, or cherry ballart. Its what we call hemiparasitic. It can photosynthesise, but gains extra nutrients by...

Women don't speak up over workplace harassment because no one hears them if they do

By Lisa Heap

There are good reasons why those experiencing sexual harassment particularly in the workplace dont report it at the time it occurs. To do so is likely to result in ostracism, exclusion, career suicide or a direct threat...

Some sharks have declined by 92% in the past half-century off Queensland's coast

By George Roff Et Al

There has been a striking decline in the number of large sharks caught off Queenslands coast over the past 50 years, suggesting that populations have declined dramatically. Our study, published today in the journal...

How to narrow the gap between Ardern's foreign policy aspirations and domestic debate

By Nina Hall Et Al

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stands out on the international stage. In an era of poisonous xenophobia and mean-spirited rhetoric, she has called for more compassion and kindness in politics and has stressed...

Cyntoia Brown needs support, not 51 years in prison

By Jerry Flores

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently confirmed that Cyntoia Brown must serve 51 years in prison for shooting and killing a man in 2004 when she was just 16. News stories and social media have widely reported and shared...

Ontario's new climate plan is far from conservative

By Jennifer Lynes Et Al

In late November, the Ontario government unveiled its game plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change by replacing the previous Liberal governments cap-and-trade program. The first few pages of the...

Role reversal: China cites human rights in spat with Canada

By David Webster

When Chinas government recently protested the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou, it used something rarely heard from Beijing the language of individual human rights. The detention...

Wonder and wisdom in a children's forest nature program

By Louise Zimanyi

On a windy autumn morning, children dressed in colourful woolly hats and mittens sing a greeting to the Earth near a towering 150-year-old willow tree. Children notice how the wind and sun play with the tree. They...

How to infuse your family with the spirit of generosity this holiday

By Sheri Madigan

Around this time each year, many children have made a Christmas wish list that includes items like toys, games, crafts and electronics. While children may express gratitude and joy in response to receiving gifts, the...

The contest for the worst air pollutant

By Laurent Alleman

In its report published on June 28, 2018, the French Agency for Health Safety (ANSES) presented a list of 13 new priority air pollutants to monitor. Several air pollutants that are harmful to human health are already...

Morrison’s health handout is bad policy (but might be good politics)

By Stephen Duckett

The A$1.25 billion Community Health and Hospitals Program Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced this week should be awarded a big policy fail. The move sets back Commonwealth-state relations by decades and its...

How people seeking asylum in Australia access higher education, and the enormous barriers they face

By Lisa Hartley Et Al

Accessing higher education is critical for many people seeking asylum. Its not simply a means of acquiring the qualifications and skills necessary for employment. Its also essential to living a meaningful life Despite...

It's not so easy to gain the true measure of things

By Cris Brack

I teach measurement the quantification of things. Some people think this is the most objective of the sciences; just numbers and observations, or what many people call objective facts. Lord Kelvin, a famous British...

Monday's MYEFO will look good, but it will set the budget up for awful trouble down the track

By Warren Hogan

An appallingly perfect storm is brewing for the federal budget: a government with much more income than expected a federal election due within months a government well behind in the...

Vital Signs: No, Joe, America should not be copying Australia's 'asset recycling' misdirection

By Richard Holden

Anyone who has been to La Guardia airport in New York can attest the dire need in the United States for infrastructure spending. Its not just crumbling bridges, pot-holed roads and lousy airports that provide the...

Our cities fall short on sustainability, but planning innovations offer local solutions

By Sebastien Darchen Et Al

Thirty years after the landmark Brundtland report, the debate on urban sustainability continues. Urban planners are still grappling with the challenges of making our cities sustainable. Urban sustainability is an...

Looking for a high-tech gift for a young child? Think playgrounds, not playpens

By Marina Umaschi Bers

Shopping for a new high-tech gift for the child in your life this holiday season? Its easy to be overwhelmed by all the options. Bright boxes, colorful apps and cute plastic robots will promise that learning outcomes will...

Is Britain heading for Canada plus plus Brexit?

By Paul Whiteley

Theresa Mays successful defence of her leadership has left her weakened, particularly since she had to give an assurance that she would not stay on as leader after the negotiations with the EU are complete to convince some...

Why the new Arctic 'Cold War' is a dangerous myth

By Danita Catherine Burke

All too often the Arctic region is portrayed as an area on the cusp of military crisis. This is an easy narrative to sell; it harks back to the Cold War. Potent imagery persists of submarines trolling silently beneath the...

Italian Mafia activities are expanding abroad – and European police forces are still unprepared

By Felia Allum

Members of the Italian mafia like to travel abroad not necessarily for pleasure, but to make money. And the harm they are doing to European economies is often underplayed, trivialised or ignored. Organised crime groups...

Orangutans can communicate about the past just like humans, new research finds

By Adriano Reis e Lameira

The evolution of language converted a defenceless naked ape into a world-dominating force. It fundamentally transformed how humans transmit information and knowledge. A large and potent component of language is our ability...

Nature is a rich source of medicine – if we can protect it

By Ross Piper Et Al

The Pacific yew tree is a fairly small and slow growing conifer native to the Pacific Northwest. The Gila monster is a lizard with striking orange and black markings from the drylands of the Southwestern US and Mexico. Two...

Why football's festive fixture congestion is so bad for injuries

By Peter Francis Et Al

For many football fans, the festive football schedule is a highlight of the Christmas break. But for many clubs, the cold conditions and congestion around fixtures can lead to an increase in injuries. In fact, earlier in...

Watership Down: family-friendly BBC version risks losing the power of epic original

By Catherine Lester

Author Richard Adams may have thought it was just a story about rabbits, but for more than 40 years, Watership Down has functioned as a litmus test for what is and is not considered to be suitable content in childrens...

Hate Christmas? A psychologist's survival guide for Grinches

By Karen Rodham

Two years ago, I came into work on December 1 to find a bag on my desk labelled Karens Christmas Intervention. It contained many Christmas themed gifts and challenges such as watching a Christmas DVD and going to a carol...

Ebola in the DRC: expert sets out critical lessons learnt in Liberia

By Mosoka Fallah

Ebola in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) has now spread to urban areas. The Conversation Africas Moina Spooner spoke to Mosoka Fallah who was head of case detection during Liberias ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015 about...

How poor management of Nigerian forests led to exploitation by criminals

By Azeez Olaniyan

Nigerias forests cover about 96,043 square km thats about 10% of the countrys landmass. But the presence of authorities in these sanctuaries is either non-existent or, at best, sporadic. This has led to forest areas being...

Why South African community's win against mining company matters

By Sonwabile Mnwana

A South African High Court has passed an important judgment putting a stop to the pervasive practice by companies to mine ancestral lands in rural areas without the villagers consent. The case was brought by the...

Lessons from the massive Siemens corruption scandal one decade later

By Bertrand Venard

Ten years ago a colossal corruption scandal involving Siemens, one of the worlds largest electrical engineering companies, shocked the world. The scale of it marked it out as the biggest corruption case of the time. A...

Theresa May's mission to secure more Brexit guarantees from the EU is meaningless

By Paul James Cardwell1

After a dramatic day of watching the Conservative Party tear itself apart and try to put itself back together again, Theresa Mays immediate political future appears to be safe. The leadership challenge was only a partial...

Gypsy Christmas food bank challenge is just one of their many contributions to society

By Hazel Marsh

While out shopping with his baby daughter last month, Watson Harrop Jr. a Gypsy and professional harness racer from County Durham, UK sparked off a social media challenge that has since gone viral. Harrop filmed himself...

Why shaming your children on social media may make things worse

By Brian Edward Kinghorn

Matt Cox knew he would be criticized when he forced his 10-year-old daughter to walk 5 miles to school in 36-degree weather as her punishment for being suspended from the school bus twice for bullying. I know a lot of...

The key to our humanity isn't genetic, it's microbial

By Ian Myles

What if the key to perfecting the human species were actually … yogurt? The fantasy of trying to perfect humanity through genetics was recently reignited by the announcement of the Chinese scientist claiming to...

In 2019, women's rights are still not explicitly recognized in US Constitution

By Deana Rohlinger

Over nine decades, efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to recognize womens rights have faced major challenges. Congress finally passed such legislation, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, in 1972. The amendment...

No coups occurred in 2018. Will next year be so stable?

By Clayton Besaw

The past year may have felt politically tumultuous, between Saudi Arabias brazen killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, the resurgence of authoritarianism in Eastern Europe and Donald Trumps unorthodox approach...

What winter solstice rituals tell us about indigenous people

By Rosalyn R. LaPier

On the day of winter solstice, many Native American communities will hold religious ceremonies or community events. The winter solstice is the day of the year when the Northern Hemisphere has the fewest hours of...