ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 2, 2026.
Booked to travel through the Middle East? Here’s why you shouldn’t cancel your flight
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Heap, Lecturer in Aviation, University of Southern Queensland Travellers are being advised not to cancel their tickets for flights through the Middle East and check with their airlines, as airspace remains closed indefinitely. If travellers cancel a ticket, they may lose some of their consumer rights
Last total lunar eclipse until 2029 is coming tomorrow – don’t miss it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Hill, Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria Research Institute; The University of Melbourne On Tuesday March 3, the Moon will pass directly through Earth’s shadow, creating a total lunar eclipse. Best of all, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are in a prime position to watch the show.
After a sports hall in Iran was bombed, witnesses describe chaos and ‘continuous screaming’
By Mahmoud Aslan in Lamerd, southern Iran Dozens of teenage girls were attending their regular training sessions of volleyball, basketball, and gymnastics in the main sports hall in Lamerd, a city near the Persian coast, when a missile slammed into the building at 5pm on Saturday. Additional strikes hit two nearby residential areas and a
Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu issue advisories amid US-Israeli strikes on Iran
RNZ Pacific The governments of Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have issued advisories for their nationals in the Middle East to remain calm and take the necessary precautions due to US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Fiji’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi said Fijian nationals who were not residents of the United Arab Emirates should register with the
Labor down in Newspoll and Redbridge polls, with One Nation still in a clear second position
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 New federal polls from Newspoll and Redbridge have Labor’s primary vote dropping, with One Nation seven or nine points ahead of the Coalition in second place. Labor
AI is already creeping into election campaigns. NZ’s rules aren’t ready
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lensen, Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington If you’re often on social media, you’ve probably seen it: the deluge of low-quality, artificial intelligence-made material clogging up our feeds. So-called “AI slop” – the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year
Luxon defends NZ’s position on Iran attacks – same as Australia
RNZ News Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand’s stance on the United States and Israeli bombing of Iran mirrors that of Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government supported the United States acting to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. A statement by Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters yesterday “acknowledges” the strikes.
Bad Bunny says reggaeton is Puerto Rican, but it was born in Panama
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Frizzell, PhD Student in Sociology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Bad Bunny likes to remind the world where he and his music come from. In “EoO,” a song from his 2025 album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” he raps, “‘Tás escuchando música de Puerto
Victory in Gorton and Denton is historic for the Greens – and cataclysmic for Britain’s two-party politics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Tonge, Professor of Politics, University of Liverpool The Green party’s dramatic capture of Gorton and Denton, supposedly one of Labour’s safest parliamentary constituencies, offers yet more evidence of the fragmentation of British politics. The Green candidate, 34-year-old plumber Hannah Spencer, won 40.69% of the vote, a
How to whistle: the art and history of our shrillest skill
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wendy Hargreaves, Academic in the School of Education and Creative Arts, University of Southern Queensland Whether you whistle or not, you can’t escape whistlers. They’re dog owners, construction workers, day dreamers, concertgoers and annoying sports fans whose shrill makes you wish for earplugs. And there are tradies
Meet the ‘Old Mother Goose’ from NZ’s subtropical prehistoric past
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago During the early to mid Miocene period, 14 to 19 million years ago, a vast lake covered much of what is now Central Otago. Along the shores of Lake Manuherikia, whose remnants are found near present-day St
From high-tech greenhouses to fruit netting: how protected cropping can shield crops from climate extremes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Bacic, Professor of Plant Biology, La Trobe University For many of us, food is something we buy at a supermarket or order at a cafe. We usually give little thought to the complex systems required to produce and deliver it – until they stop working. It’s
Back at uni? How to help your wellbeing while you study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew J. Martin, Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney University can be a time of great opportunities, but it can also be very stressful. Many students need to support themselves financially and may be living away from home. Students are also under constant deadlines
New study finds 6 types of ‘discouraged’ workers in Australia – and why they stop job-hunting
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sora Lee, Lecturer in Ageing and End of Life, La Trobe University When we hear that Australia’s unemployment rate is low, it sounds like good news. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines an unemployed person as someone who is not working but is actively looking for a
Critics say weak NZ response over US-Israel attacks on Iran a ‘disgrace’
Asia Pacific Report New Zealand’s weak response to the unprovoked and illegal United States and Israel attacks on Iran at the weekend has stirred strong criticism from many quarters. A former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark, who also held a top United Nations position for eight years, labelled the government’s response “a disgrace”. “In
Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University The joint US–Israel strikes on Iran, which killed the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel and neighbouring Arab countries have again plunged the
Bipartisan support for US attack on Iran, but Greens says it is ‘abhorrent’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has backed the American strike on Iran, while confirming Australia was not given prior warning. Federal cabinet’s national security committee met early Sunday. Although supporting what has been done, the government is emphasising Australia is not a
Pesta Babi – ‘Pig Feast’ . . . a vivid new film exposing Papua’s political ecology
REVIEW: Jubi Media Yasinta Moiwend was startled when, on a quiet morning, a massive ship docked at her village pier in West Papua. The vessel carried hundreds of excavators and was escorted by military forces. It was the first convoy of 2000 heavy machines to arrive in Papua under a National Strategic Project for food
At a glance: US-Israel attack on Iran
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Digital Storytelling Team, The Conversation The US and Israel have launched joint coordinated attacks on Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes from Iran on Israel and US military bases in the region. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in the strikes, Iranian state
Neither preemptive nor legal, US-Israeli strikes on Iran have blown up international law
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast The joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran represent a further erosion of the international legal order. Under international law, these attacks are neither preemptive nor lawful. Israel and the United States launched Operation Shield
