ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on February 5, 2026.
Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: history, new events and Australian medal chances
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania This year’s Winter Olympics will be held in northern Italy, starting on Friday. They will be the most spread out in history: the two main competition sites – Milan and the winter resort of Cortina
Big tech companies are still failing to tackle child abuse material online
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Scanlan, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Law; Academic Co-Lead, CSAM Deterrence Centre, University of Tasmania In the 2024–25 financial year alone, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received nearly 83,000 reports of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), primarily on mainstream platforms. This was a
This central Auckland cottage tells a remarkable tale of the city’s bicultural history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ahmed Uzair Aziz, PhD Candidate in Māori Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Rose Davis, CC BY-NC-ND This story begins with a 160-year-old cottage, sited in a vortex of overlapping histories, and becomes the tale of a city itself. The green and cream weatherboard house at
French shrug off cocaine case costs with new smugglers ‘strategy’
SPECIAL REPORT: By Jason Brown Fast-paced electronic music pumps in the background as a rapid montage of moving images flash across the screen. In a 20 second video, French sailors hunker down in an inflatable speeding over swells. Another sailor, in bright red shorts, is lowered from a helicopter onto the vessel’s back deck. Captured
Indigenous and Pacific leaders unite at Waitangi with shared messages on ocean conservation
By Coco Lance, RNZ Pacific digital journalist As Waitangi Day commemorations continue drawing people from across Aotearoa and around the world to the Bay of Islands, Te Tii Marae has become a gathering point for Indigenous ocean leadership from across the Pacific. Taiātea: Gathering of the Oceans held its public forum yesterday, uniting more than
One family’s ocean paddle almost ended in tragedy. It reminds us coastal weather is notoriously changeable
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Fernando Garcia/Unsplash The extraordinary rescue this week in Geographe Bay, Western Australia has been described as heroic. A 13-year-old boy swam four hours to shore in rough seas after his family was swept far
In the Australian outback, we’re listening for nuclear tests – and what we hear matters more than ever
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hrvoje Tkalčić, Professor, Head of Geophysics, Director of Warramunga Array, Australian National University ANU Media Tyres stick to hot asphalt as I drive the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs northward, leaving the MacDonnell Ranges behind. My destination is the Warramunga facility, about 500 kilometres north – a
Digital ghosts: are AI replicas of the dead an innovative medical tool or an ethical nightmare?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Cornwall, Senior Lecturer and Education Adviser, University of Otago Elise Racine, CC BY-NC-ND For centuries, work with donated bodies has shaped anatomical knowledge and medical training. Now, digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping education and we can imagine a future where AI-generated representations of
Can One Nation turn its polling hype into seats in parliament? History shows it will struggle
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kurt Sengul, Research fellow, Far-Right Communication, Macquarie University One Nation is no stranger to the headlines, but it’s been a long time since the party has been talked about as a serious political force. Operating on the fringes of Australian political life for years, suddenly Pauline Hanson
The ‘hot flush gold rush’: how women feel about being flooded with menopause marketing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Thomas, Professor of Public Health, Deakin University Every person with functioning ovaries will eventually experience menopause. While the biology is relatively universal, the experience varies dramatically between individuals and in the same person over time. Menopause has long been shrouded in stigma and shame but recently
School breaks make up more than an hour of the day. Should they be considered part of learning?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education and Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University Johnny Greig/ Getty Images Most public debate about schooling focuses on what happens inside the classroom – on lessons, tests and academic results. But students also spend significant time
City skylines need an upgrade in the face of climate stress
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohamed Shaheen, Lecturer in Structural Engineering, Loughborough University The downtown district of Hong Kong city. Lee Yiu Tung/Shutterstock When structural engineers design a building, they aren’t just stacking floors; they are calculating how to win a complex battle against nature. Every building is built to withstand a
What will a rebuilt Gaza look like? The competing visions for the Strip’s future
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy J. Dixon, Emeritus Professor in the School of the Built Environment, University of Reading; University of Oxford A girl walks along a street in Gaza to get food during the war between Hamas and Israel. Jaber Jehad Badwan / Wikimedia Commons, FAL Following a visit to
Why cheaper power alone isn’t enough to end energy poverty in summer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Duygu Yengin, Associate Professor of Economics, Adelaide University Declan Young/Unsplash Australia is an energy superpower. We have abundant natural resources, high average incomes and one of the highest per-capita rates of rooftop solar uptake in the world. Yet every summer, many households across the country skimp on
AC/DC in surgery and lo-fi beats in the office: what the science says about working to music
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emery Schubert, Professor, Empirical Musicology Laboratory, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW Sydney Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash Phil is in prep for surgery. As the anaesthetic is about to be administered, the anaesthetist says: “Oh, and by the way, during the procedure the surgical team will be listening
West Papua Solidarity Forum, mini film festival aim to educate
Asia Pacific Report A two-day West Papua Solidarity Forum and mini film festival is being held in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau next month featuring West Papuan and local academics, advocates and journalists. Hosted by West Papua Action Tamaki and West Papua Action Aotearoa, keynote speeches, panels and discussion on the opening day, March 7, will focus
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Barnaby Joyce on getting on with Pauline Hanson and One Nation’s rise
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Barnaby Joyce’s political career has hit the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He’s been Nationals leader and deputy prime minister twice. As a senator, he was a maverick, often crossing the floor. As party leader, he had
New Zealand holds out hope for halted PNG electrification aid project
By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor The New Zealand government says it hopes an electrification aid project that was halted in Papua New Guinea can still be completed if security improves. Work on the Enga Electrification Project in PNG’s Enga province has stopped due to ongoing violence around the project area in Tsak Valley.
Victoria’s mountain ash forests naturally thin their trees. So why do it with machines?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elle Bowd, Research Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University David Clode/Unsplash, CC BY-ND There has been much global discussion about the best ways to manage Earth’s forests in an era of climate change and more frequent bushfires. Some foresters and forest managers support
‘Journalism is not a crime’ – US journalists arrested for covering anti-ICE protest in church
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show looking at the arrests of two American journalists for covering a protest at the Cities Church [in the Minnesota Twin City of] St Paul, where a top ICE official serves as pastor. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist
