ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on February 18, 2026.
PNG one step away from blacklist, warns global money laundering watchdog
By Kaya Selby, RNZ Pacific journalist Papua New Guinea is under a close watch for money laundering, running a risk of being abandoned by global investors. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed PNG on its “grey list” due to “strategic deficiencies” in government oversight. The grey-list means that watchdog officials are monitoring closely,
Hamas refuses to follow US-Israel calls to unilaterally disarm in Gaza, says senior official
Democracy Now! In Gaza, a senior Hamas leader involved in the ceasefire negotiations has told Drop Site News that Hamas will not agree to demands that it unilaterally disarm. Basem Naim also said that Hamas would not submit to Israel’s demand for a total demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip. This comes amid reports that President
Indigenous businesses are losing millions to fraudulent firms. We need stronger oversight
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gaala Watson, Lecturer, Indigenous Business Hub, UQ Business School, The University of Queensland Over the next five years, the federal government plans to buy more from Indigenous businesses, while cracking down on a practice known as “Black cladding”. That’s when non-Indigenous businesses fraudulently exaggerate or falsify Indigenous
Australia plans to sell off defence land to developers – but could it deliver homes instead?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Sundermann, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, Monash University The federal government plans to sell A$3 billion of Department of Defence properties on prime land across Australia, including Paddington in Sydney, St Kilda in Melbourne and Victoria Barracks in Brisbane. The sales may help the
5 weird armours from history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Waye-Harris, Early Career Researcher in History, Adelaide University For the medieval knight, armour was essential. It provided protection on the battlefield and signified status and rank. As the medieval period came to a close, Renaissance ideals of peace and diplomacy prevailed and the need for battle-hardened
How Israel won the Pacific – and its backing at the UN
Asia Pacific Report Several small Pacific countries regularly vote in support of Israel at the United Nations in spite of overwhelming opposition for the Zionist state in the Middle East over its genocide in Gaza. Why? In this AJ+ video short, senior presenter/producer Dena Takruri sets out to explain the Pacific backing for Tel Aviv,
Caitlin Johnstone: More shockingly honest confessions from the Empire managers
COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone US Empire managers have been making some surprisingly honest admissions in recent days, with Senator Lindsey Graham saying the wars of the future are being planned in Israel and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for a return to old-school Western colonialism. During a Monday press conference in Tel Aviv after
Eugene Doyle: Silencing Francesca Albanese – ‘Not in our name’ Gaza reflections
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is again at the heart of a witch hunt over a speech she made at the Al Jazeera Forum last week that was “doctored” by the pro-Israel and anti-United Nations NGO UN Watch to claim falsely that she described Israel as the “common enemy”. Albanese responded — as shown by
