ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on October 16, 2025.
Optimising is just perfectionism in disguise. Here’s why that’s a problem
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Houlihan, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast Willie B. Thomas/Getty If you regularly scroll health and wellness content online, you’ve no doubt heard of optimising. Optimisation usually means striving to make something the best it can be – the “optimal” version. A
Peter Thiel thinks Greta Thunberg could be the Antichrist. Here’s how three religions actually describe him
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip C. Almond, Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland In a series of four lectures, Silicon Valley tech billionaire Peter Thiel has been opining on the Antichrist. Thiel’s amateur riffing identifies the Antichrist with anyone or any institution that he dislikes
From the Knesset to Sharm el-Sheikh: How the US president offered Netanyahu a way out
ANALYSIS: By Elijah J Magnier Benjamin Netanyahu insisted, until just hours before Donald Trump’s arrival, that the war in Gaza would not stop. Then, standing in the Knesset before Israel’s hardline ministers, Trump announced that it had — and whisked a delegation of world leaders to Egypt to formalise the ceasefire before a global audience.
Wenda accuses Indonesian troops of bombarding village in Star mountains
Asia Pacific Report Indonesian military forces have again bombed Kiwirok, the site of a massacre in 2021 that killed more than 300 West Papuan civilians, amid worsening violence, alleges a Papuan advocacy group. “While President Prabowo talks about promoting peace in the Middle East, his military is trying to wipe out West Papua,” said United
Human ancestors were exposed to lead millions of years ago, and it shaped our evolution
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Professor in Geochronology and Geochemistry, Southern Cross University A 2 million-year-old tooth of an early human ancestor. Fiorenza and Joannes-Boyau When we think of lead poisoning, most of us imagine modern human-made pollution, paint, old pipes, or exhaust fumes. But our new study, published today
It’s been 50 years since the Balibo 5 were killed in Timor-Leste. No one’s been held accountable
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast On October 16, 1975, five journalists were killed in the remote Timorese town of Balibo. To this day, no one has been charged with their deaths. Known as the “Balibo Five”, the men
Why won’t my abusive parent admit they were wrong and apologise?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cher McGillivray, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Bond University Former tennis champion-turned-commentator Jelena Dokic this week revealed she had sought to reconcile with her abusive father as an adult. He never, however, apologised or showed remorse for the physical and psychological abuse he meted out to her throughout
A crucial store of carbon in Australia’s tropical forests has switched from carbon sink to carbon source
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Jayne Carle, Postdoctoral Researcher in Tropical Forest Ecology, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, WSU, Australian National University One approach to help fight climate change is to protect natural forests, as they absorb some atmospheric carbon released by burning fossil fuels and store large volumes of carbon.
The price of gold is skyrocketing. Why is this, and will it continue?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Hartigan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney The price of gold surged above US$4,100 (A$6,300) an ounce on Wednesday for the first time, taking this year’s extraordinary rally to more than 50%. The speed of the upswing has been much faster than analysts had predicted and
The world wide web was meant to unite us, but is tearing us apart instead. Is there another way?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Buchanan, Deputy Dean, School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University The hope of the world wide web, according to its creator Tim Berners-Lee, was that it would make communication easier, bring knowledge to all, and strengthen democracy and connection. Instead, it seems to be driving us apart
Government to introduce new powers to fight money laundering, terrorism financing, crypto crime
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Thursday will outline new powers to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and crime risks associated with cryptocurrency and Crypto ATMs. AUSTRAC, Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator, estimates 85% of the transactions sent
Hamas is battling powerful clans for control in Gaza – who are these groups and what threat do they pose?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Kear, Sessional Lecturer, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Despite the euphoria surrounding the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Gaza is still wracked with violence. More than two dozen Palestinians have been killed in recent days in clashes between Hamas and members of
Trump keeps admitting that he is bought and owned by the world’s richest Israeli
COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone It’s bizarre how little mainstream attention is given to the fact that the President of the United States has repeatedly confessed to being bought and owned by the world’s richest Israeli, especially given how intensely fixated his political opposition was on the possibility that he was compromised by a foreign government
Pacific voices urge experts to ‘decolonise’ adaptation at New Zealand’s largest climate forum
RNZ Pacific Pacific leaders believe climate experts are missing an opportunity to incorporate indigenous knowledge into adaptation measures. The call has been made as hundreds of scientists, global leaders, and climate adaptation experts around the globe gather at the Adaptation Futures Conference in Christchurch. At the conference’s opening session, Tuvalu’s Environment Minister Maina Talia explained
View from The Hill: Liberal frontbencher James Paterson delivers some sharp messages to his party
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson has, figuratively speaking, taken his Liberal colleagues by the scruffs of their necks and given them a good shake. His blunt message is, get out of your funk and cooperate in rebuilding the house. In
Banning combustion engine cars by 2035 will be necessary to get Australia moving on electric vehicles
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hussein Dia, Professor of Transport Technology and Sustainability, Swinburne University of Technology Kokkai Ng/Getty Australia’s sluggish electric vehicle transition has begun to accelerate. In the first half of the year, more than 72,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were sold. That’s about 12% of all new
5 reasons we shouldn’t ‘compliment’ people who lose weight
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Gardiner, PhD Candidate in Public Health, The University of Queensland Allgo/Unsplash “You look so great! Have you lost weight?” “Wow, you’re looking so healthy now! Good for you.” As fat people, we’ve heard comments like this for most of our lives. At the times when our
Labor slides back in a Victorian Resolve poll; federal Labor still well on top
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A Victorian Resolve poll has Labor sliding back after a surge in August. Federal Labor had a 55–45 lead in Resolve and a 54–46 lead in Redbridge,
Should I increase weights at the gym? How often? And by how much?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Thomas Barwick/Getty Many of us go to the gym to bulk up. But how does it actually work? When you lift weights, it increases tension on the fibres in your muscles, and causes metabolic by-products (such as
ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for October 15, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on October 15, 2025.
