Martin McKenzie-Murray While terrorism is impossible to predict, a correlation may exist between those with domestically abusive pasts and those who hope to commit acts against the state.

Karen Middleton While the dealings of the government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility remain shrouded in secrecy, pressure mounts over funding for the Adani rail line.

Matthew Clayfield The G7 summit in Sicily discussed aid and investment in Africa to stem the flow of refugees heading across the Mediterranean, but also brought tighter Italian maritime borders now threatening the lives of thousands.

Steve Dow Ben Mendelsohn, currently seen in the harrowing drama Una, has adapted to life in the US, where he has become an in-demand film actor. But his teen years spent living there were more tumultuous. “The cultural shift was profound and deeply weird to me. I couldn’t make any sense of who those strange beings were.”

Andrew McConnell These dumplings are quite rich and cheesy. They would be too much with a rich ragout. I like the simplicity of burnt butter and sage with this dish but, if you wanted to add to it, some blanched broccolini or grilled ribbons of zucchini could be turned through as well.

Jane Caro While Birmingham and Turnbull adopted the original funding formula’s idea of an SRS – simply what a school needs to do its job properly – they appear to be using it in a way that risks abandoning the principle of funding schools according to student need. In other words, Gonski 2.0 may turn out to be a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing funding formula.

Paul Bongiorno Turnbull has unveiled a needs-based schools-funding package winning Labor’s champion reformer David Gonski to its cause. And he began to look and sound like the Turnbull of yore with a clean energy target scheme that takes climate change seriously and sets out to reduce emissions. For good measure he has begun to bang the national security drum more. And yet the dark clouds have not lifted.

Richard Ackland Honestly, Jane Goodall did her best, but up against the combined crashing boredom of Senator “Sprog” Paterson and right-wing religious fellow the Reverend Peter Kurti, from the Centre for “Independent” Studies, Q&A on Monday was doomed.

Saturday marks the close of Australia’s Refugee Week. A week that began just days after our government expensively settled a class action on detention of refugees and that ends today with debate about the government’s proposed changes to citizenship law.

Santilla Chingaipe Federal budget changes to a program that teaches new Australians language skills are, according to the Adult Migrant English Service, prioritising cost savings above social integration.

Hamish McDonald Kurds could fight for Iraqi homeland; US hawks eye Iran forces in Syria; PNG elections begin

Christos Tsiolkas A film about Emily Dickinson and a documentary on Whitney Houston may seem worlds apart but both address – with varied success – the notion of divine gifts.

Omar J. Sakr A drive with founder of western Sydney literary collective Sweatshop, Michael Mohammed Ahmad.

Eliza Compton Craft beer is taking over Paris and persuading at least one committed wine drinker to change her order.

Alyx Gorman Emma Mulholland’s new label Holiday returns to the retro beachside style that launched her career.

Jack Kerr World Games representative Thomas Traill on the power, technique and challenging outfits used in sumo wrestling.

Cindy MacDonald Test your general knowledge with our weekly quiz.