Latest News

Families say they are struggling to pay school fees – why are so many still choosing private schools?

August 3, 2026 (Conversation) This month, multiple news outlets have reported families’ concerns about rising private school costs during the cost-of-living crisis. It’s likely this trend will increase, as private school tuition fees rise faster than inflation. Why are families putting themselves under this pressure? What does it suggest about the broader Australian school system? Parents are struggling In Australia, on average, private school fees (including additional costs) sit at around $8,973 for each year of schooling per student. Costs can total over $100,000 over the course of an K-12 private school education. However, fee averages can differ across Australia.

Good things take time – but new research suggests mindfulness can make the wait easier

August 3, 2026 (Conversation) Ask someone if they’d rather take $5 today or $10 next week and they’ll know which option is better. Yet that idea of “today” can have a magnetic pull. It’s precisely the reason many shoppers purchase things they can’t afford yet through “buy now, pay later” schemes – and often regret it afterwards. We might put such unwise choices down to weak willpower or poor self-control. But our new research suggests something else may be going on: it’s not that our brains undervalue the future, but that they hate waiting. We have also found that mindfulness

Gold, silver seen range-bound as focus shifts to US job numbers, Fed cues: Analysts

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Gold and silver are likely to trade in a narrow range this week as traders await a raft of economic data, including the US non-farm payrolls report, for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook, analysts said. Investors will monitor purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from the US, the UK, the Eurozone and Japan. Focus will remain on July employment data from the US, comprising non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate. Globally, developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict and the stability of crude oil supplies through key shipping routes will remain important drivers of

Why Arbaeen – the Shiite Muslim pilgrimage of mourning – has a deep significance that brings millions to Iraq each year

Miami, August 2, 2026 (The Conversation) Every year, millions of pilgrims walk from the deserts of southern Iraq to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world. In 2026, pilgrims will converge on Karbala on Aug. 5. Arbaeen falls 40 days after Ashura, which commemorates the killing of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 680 C.E. It marks the end of the mourning period that begins during the Islamic month of Muharram. As a scholar of religion and politics who studies Shiite communities across the Indian Ocean world,

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 1,648