ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 13, 2026.
Why doesn’t Hobart have a Chinatown?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Imogen Wegman, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania On November 18 1909, greengrocer Claude Nam Shing was woken up by shouts of “fire”. He found his store, on the corner of Elizabeth and Melville Streets in central Hobart, ablaze. He escaped quickly. The fire brigade arrived and
Desperate to flee abuse in Cambodian scam compounds, these young Indonesians are now facing suspicion back home
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Setijadi, Lecturer in Asian Studies, The University of Melbourne In the first two weeks of March, two young Indonesian women died alone in a hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first, who Indonesian officials have identified as 22-year-old Susi Yanti Br. Sinaga died following a critical
Oil, petrol, gasoline: a chemical engineer explains how crude turns into fuel
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zachary Aman, Professor of Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia As the US–Israel war on Iran escalates, so too does the global oil crisis. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas flows, and the
Should I take vitamin C to ward off colds, lower blood pressure or reduce cancer risk?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Vitamin C is one of the most iconic nutrients in popular health culture, often credited with preventing colds, boosting immunity and even fighting serious diseases. But while it’s essential for our bodies to function, its benefits are often
Job performance reviews are outdated and often pointless. Why do we still use them?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danaë Anderson, Lecturer in Occupational Health and Safety, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Every year organisations roll out their refreshed strategies, new KPIs and ambitious goals for the year ahead. But despite the changing pace in work patterns, technology and workforce requirements, one thing
Is ‘period syncing’ real? Two reproductive health experts explain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emmalee Ford, Adjunct Lecturer, Sexual and Reproductive Health, University of Sydney Have you ever heard two or more women say they’re on the same cycle? This is a common claim among women who live together, for example in a family or as housemates. This idea that people
Keith Rankin Analysis – Israel, Epstein, and Big Money
Analysis by Keith Rankin. On Tuesday, I wrote UAE, Israel, And The Hexagon Alliance which illuminated Israel’s duplicity in relation to Hamas, and the understated but very strong alliance between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. And Israel’s agenda to divide and rule the ‘Middle East’ by creating its own encircling alliance; and setting
Friday essay: ‘epic fury’ – the men of MAGA might be the most emotional US leaders ever
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Kon-yu, Associate Professor, Creative Writing and Literary Studies, Victoria University In 2016 and again in 2024, Donald Trump ran against two supremely qualified presidential candidates, who both lost. Both had decades of service to government and high-ranking jobs within Democratic administrations. Both were women. Hillary Clinton
Iran’s cultural heritage in the crossfire – expert explains what has been damaged and what could be lost
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katayoun Shahandeh, Lecturer in Museum Studies, SOAS, University of London Following joint attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, the country has come under repeated strikes. These attacks, which were ostensibly supposed to target Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, have also caused
We can’t coerce our way to social cohesion. Here’s what else governments should be doing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keiran Hardy, Associate Professor, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University Last week, Queensland followed the New South Wales and federal parliaments by passing stronger hate crime laws in response to the Bondi terror attack. The Queensland laws target two specific phrases – an approach that risks the laws
Social media has supercharged real estate marketing – and made it cheaper. But it also brings risks
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Piyush Tiwari, Professor of Property, The University of Melbourne Whether using newspaper or television ads, posters or signposts on the front lawn, the mechanism for selling a home has been the same for many decades: broadcast the message to the crowd and hope the right person finds
A PhD is an apprenticeship in research – we can’t let AI take that away
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Murray, Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne When OpenAI launched ChatGPT-5 in August of last year, many academics scoffed at the tech company’s claims its new artificial intelligence (AI) model possessed “PhD-level” intelligence. After all, how could systems so
Why exposing young children to AI content could have irreversible consequences
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Whitcombe-Dobbs, Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Psychology, University of Canterbury Artificial intelligence (AI) already affects many areas of daily life, including the lives of young children. Many families give screens to children younger than two, and AI-generated content is increasing on the popular YouTube Kids
Do therapies like EMDR affect memories of traumatic events?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Bryant, Professor & Director of Traumatic Stress Clinic, UNSW Sydney To recover from abuse or another traumatic experience, some people turn to a therapy called eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing, or EMDR. But this may present problems if these people pursue justice in the courts. In New
NAPLAN is being used by some schools as an entrance exam. This isn’t what it’s designed to do
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Lewis, Associate Professor of Education Policy, Australian Catholic University School students around Australia have begun their NAPLAN tests this week. Amid technical glitches during the writing component of the exam on Wednesday, there has also been confusion about the purpose of the test. Earlier this week,
A deadly strike, or Call of Duty clip? How the US government is trying to memeify the war on Iran
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Baldino, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Notre Dame Australia Millions of people recently watched a video posted by the White House showing US strikes against Iranian targets. The clip didn’t just resemble Call of Duty: it mixed real strike footage with footage
‘The world should see this’, say Papua deforestation doco filmmakers
By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist For a country with a record of large deforestation projects, Indonesia’s current activities in the far southeastern corner of the republic, South Papua province, surpass all. With 2.5 million hectares of land being cleared for sugarcane and rice production for food and biofuel projects, alongside large oil palm concessions,
Four possible outcomes with the war on Iran – but only one viable
Only one of these four paths protects humanity — the other three are likely destroy it. ANALYSIS: By Qasim Rashid This week Donald Trump threatened more war crimes on the people of Iran. We are now in the most dangerous phase of this crisis, and pretending otherwise is reckless. As a human rights lawyer, I
Grattan on Friday: Dennis Richardson’s exit puts antisemitism royal commissioner under more pressure
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra By personality and at his stage in life, Dennis Richardson is a man who, on occasion, stands on his dignity. Richardson, 78, has a stellar public service career behind him. As a former head of ASIO, and former secretary of
Journalist Barbara Dreaver’s memoir on three decades reporting from the Pacific
RNZ Pacific The seventh narco sub in Pacific waters was discovered last week as the wave of methamphetamine becomes the latest crisis challenging the region. 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has spent decades reporting on the region from this country, including the drug battle and subsequent HIV epidemic in some countries. Dreaver has released her
