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The Trump administration has attempted to force Ukraine back to the negotiating table with a 28-point peace plan that stunned many observers.
As Matthew Sussex writes, the plan looked – and sounded – as if it had been written by Russia. It would have had as much credibility if it was written in crayon, Sussex writes.
With the proposal, the United States has again backed Ukraine into a corner, demanding massive concessions and a swift response, while expecting very little from the Russian side.
So, where to from here? Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said overnight Ukraine was ready to move ahead with the deal, but wants to discuss changes with US President Donald Trump.
As Sussex notes, the stakes are high. The plan, as originally written, could be disastrous for the country.
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Justin Bergman
International Affairs Editor
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Matthew Sussex, Australian National University
Once again, Trump has proven he is more interested in long-term deals with autocrats than achieving just and lasting resolutions to security crises.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
No union is always smooth sailing, but the probable Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson partnership may be testier than most.
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Roslyn Petelin, The University of Queensland
AI slop was the clear winner of Macquarie’s Word of the Year – it also won the People’s Choice Award. Honourable mentions included another AI-related word: clanker.
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Melanie Baak, University of South Australia; Claire Moran, University of South Australia; Monash University
In new research, young African Australians speak about how they get vital information about their culture and identity on social media.
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Geoffrey Heard, The University of Queensland; Australian National University; Sarah McGrath, The University of Queensland; Tayla Lawrie, The University of Queensland
Australia is home to many endangered reptiles and frogs. This national snapshot shows their numbers have dropped sharply. But it’s possible to reverse this trend.
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Beth Driscoll, The University of Melbourne
Print books embody culture. We see it in social media trends for annotating books, community publishing and wartime destruction of books spanning the Nazis to Gaza.
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Paul Harrison, Deakin University
What does creativity mean when machines can generate entire advertising campaigns?
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Politics + Society
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Rachel Carey, The University of Melbourne
It’s a missed opportunity to think differently about how we can ensure all Australians have access to enough healthy and sustainably produced food.
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Health + Medicine
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Nadeem O. Kaakoush, UNSW Sydney
The microbes in your poo could be a gift to others. Here’s what to think about if you’re interested in donating your poo.
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Katherine Y. Ko, Monash University
This debilitating brain disease is rare. But its early symptoms are often mistaken for anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue or dementia.
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Business + Economy
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Michael Rawling, University of Technology Sydney
News of the proposed deal broke a day before rival delivery company Menulog’s closure in Australia – with its customers set to be redirected to Uber Eats.
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Meena Chavan, Macquarie University; Anna Earl, University of Canterbury
Small businesses in Australia and New Zealand navigate sanctions through loopholes and grey zones. But they run big risks if they get it wrong, deliberately or not.
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Education
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Sara Tolbert, Monash University; Ben Kennedy, University of Canterbury; Sibel Erduran, University of Oxford; Troy D Sadler, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Critical thinking is an essential skill students should be encouraged to develop as part of their science learning. NZ’s draft science curriculum fails the test.
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Environment + Energy
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Cheng Cheng, Australian National University
Australia’s renewable boom has created a new bottleneck: grid access. As new transmission line costs blow out amid protests, we need to optimise the build.
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Science + Technology
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Kylie M. Cairns, UNSW Sydney; Mathew Crowther, University of Sydney; Melanie Fillios, University of New England; Mike Letnic, UNSW Sydney
Just like everyone and everything else that was already in Australia when the First Fleet arrived in 1788, dingoes had to adapt to their new reality.
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Arts + Culture
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Laura Walls, Queensland University of Technology
Much of The Beast in Me is sensitive, sophisticated storytelling. So why is this sacrificed for a gratuitous depiction of violence against women?
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I read it on AI
"Mindless propagation and following of conspiracy theories without any definitive proof is clearly dangerous on a number of levels. Too often, people swallow these theories whole, based on hypotheses that ‘make sense’, or ‘ring bells’. Unfortunately there appears to be a phenomenon where many people, having accepted one theory, go on to accept all others. Who, then, is the arbiter of truth in the design and implementation of AI and its ‘guardrails’? What is the cost to humanity if we get this wrong?"
Ingrid Palmer
Protect our libraries
"As a librarian, I was heartened to read that Australia's public libraries are thriving – particularly when viewed against the trends in the USA and UK. It’s disappointing to read our libraries are employing fewer trained librarians, even though I understand the reasons. Librarians still have a few skills not covered by Google or AI. However, it’s the decrease in funding which I find most alarming. Libraries are not an optional extra – they are essential to the life and wellbeing of our country."
Josephine Hennock 
Thanks for your support Lyn!
“I have been getting the daily issue of The Conversation since the beginning really, and have on occasion given feedback on my appreciation of the diversity and veracity of the articles. I really value news I can trust. Every now and then, one issue will cover a range of issues that are important, informative and for me, riveting. Yesterday was one of those days. I’m happy to continue my support for The Conversation.”
Lyn Pearson
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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