Education

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Australia's top young spelling champions on Monday, where he faced some challenging spelling requests. When Queensland student Jillian Strong asked him to spell the scientific name of the platypus (ornithorhynchus anatinus), Albanese diplomatically passed the challenge to fellow champion Aditya Paul, who spelled it perfectly. Albanese did take on some spelling challenges, successfully spelling both "astrophysicist" and "filibuster." This showed improvement from the previous year's meeting, where he had struggled with several difficult words. The meeting featured three national spelling champions: Jillian Strong from Queensland, Aditya Paul from Sydney, and Echo Feng from Canberra. Aditya, who had initially planned to ask the Prime Minister to spell "bourgeois," chose an easier word after observing a busy Question Time in Parliament. The spelling champions shared their preparation methods, which included extensive reading. The competition attracted over […]

Zimbabwe has launched a comprehensive academic study examining the effects of colonialism, potentially leading to a formal reparations request from Britain, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced. The research initiative, led by the Zimbabwe National Elders Forum under Dr. Felix Mukonowengwe's direction, brings together prominent academic leaders including University of Zimbabwe's Professor Paul Mapfumo and Bindura University's Professor Eddie Mwenje. The study will investigate colonial impacts from 1890 to 1980, the year Zimbabwe gained independence. President Mnangagwa indicated the research aims to explore healing options for affected communities while seeking to rebuild relationships with the former colonial power. The initiative follows recent examples of colonial reconciliation, including Britain's apology to Kenya's Mau Mau and Germany's apology to Namibian communities. This development comes after 55 Commonwealth nations met in Samoa last October, calling for "meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common […]