ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 8, 2026.
Thermal drones can track dolphin health without having to touch or disturb them
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlie White, PhD Candidate, Behaviour and Evolution Lab, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University Thermal image of an adult bottlenose dolphin captured by a drone-mounted thermal camera. Charlie White/CEBEL Marine mammals are sentinels of the sea. When dolphins and whales show signs of stress or illness,
‘Straight-up piracy and extortion’: Trump says he will control money from sale of Venezuelan oil
By Jake Johnson US President Donald Trump has claimed that Venezuela’s interim leadership will turn over to the United States as many as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to be sold at market price, part of a broader, unlawful administration effort to seize the South American nation’s natural resources. Trump, who authorised the illegal
Stephen Miller: portrait of Donald Trump’s ideologue-in-chief
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex During a recent interview with CNN host Jake Tapper, the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, laid out what appears to be the core of the new ideology driving US foreign policy: the notion
US boards a ship sailing under a Russian flag: what we know and don’t know about the legal position
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Serdy, Professor of the Public International Law of the Sea, University of Southampton Relations between the US and Russia have hit a fresh bump after the US coastguard boarded a vessel sailing in the Icelandic waters, claiming it was in breach of sanctions on Venezuela. The
Why grieving a pet can be as hard as grieving a person
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead (Paramedicine), La Trobe University Solovyova/Getty For many of us, pets are more than just animals. They are family. So, when a beloved pet dies, the grief can feel overwhelming. For some, like me, it does more than break your heart.
Bryce Edwards: NZ’s craven stance on the US invasion of Venezuela
ANALYSIS: By Bryce Edwards When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, New Zealand responded with unusual speed. Sanctions followed. Condemnations were issued. The language was unambiguous. We were told this was about defending the “rules-based international order” — a phrase our politicians have grown remarkably fond of. Winston Peters has deployed it frequently in his time
Malcolm Evans: What have we become that we accept such brigandry?
COMMENTARY: By Malcolm Evans What have we become if to survive in our so-called “free world” we must turn a blind eye to cold-blooded genocide, must arm ourselves to oppose our major trading partner, must support a contrived war to defeat an adversary that no longer exists, (lest its new form otherwise achieves its potential)
Where will the next megafire break out? Climate change is making it tougher to predict
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Helene Nolan, Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Matt Palmer/Unsplash, CC BY Much of south-eastern Australia is currently in the grip of a heatwave, which is expected to peak over the next two days. Heatwaves often trigger bushfires, particularly if combined with
As Australia bakes through an extreme heatwave, even insects aren’t immune to its impact
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, Associate Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney Дмитрий Пропадалин/Pexels Australia is baking through another extreme heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach above 45°C for multiple days in a row across large swathes of the country. Heatwaves are a deadly threat to
Inflation cooled more than expected in November. But rate cuts remain unlikely anytime soon
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra Annual inflation cooled in November. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) consumer price index (CPI) report, released on Wednesday, shows inflation over the year to November was 3.4%, down from 3.8% a month earlier. This 3.4%
X is facilitating nonconsensual sexual AI-generated images. The law – and society – must catch up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Woodley, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Communications, Edith Cowan University UMA Media/Pexels X (formerly Twitter) has become a site for the rapid spread of artificial intelligence-generated nonconsensual sexual images (also known as “deepfakes”). Using the platform’s own built-in generative AI chatbot, Grok, users can edit images
ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for January 7, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 7, 2026.
