ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 14, 2026.
Pope Leo’s resolute response to Trump attack reveals a man of God, not politics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Professor of History, Australian Catholic University When Pope Leo XIV condemned threats to destroy Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable” in April 2026, the backlash was immediate. US President Donald Trump unleashed a tirade against the pope on social media, accusing him of being
Victoria has made public transport free – NSW hasn’t. Has there been any difference in uptake?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne The recent military conflict in the Middle East triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices throughout March, with the federal government’s subsequent excise cut providing only partial relief. To address the
Why Trump’s naval blockade to ‘strangle’ Iran is a joke
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean This US naval blockade is meant to strangle the Iranian economy by preventing it from exporting oil — the economic lifeline of Iran. It will do nothing of the sort. Please study the infographics below. Before the war started, Iran was furiously loading tankers with oil at 3 times the normal
It’s right under your nose – why some people can’t find things in plain sight
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol Many households will recognise this familiar exchange. One person insists an object simply isn’t there: impossible to find despite what they describe as a thorough and highly competent search. Another walks in, glances briefly at the same spot and
An extinct echidna the size of a small child once roamed Victoria, new fossil shows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Ziegler, Collection Manager, Vertebrate Palaeontology, Museums Victoria Research Institute Those who venture into Foul Air Cave, below Buchan township in eastern Victoria, quickly realise how it got its ominous name. In its deepest chambers, bacteria consume oxygen and excrete organic gases to produce a toxic stench.
Strait of Hormuz blockade: the complex regional realities the US ignores at its peril
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leon Goldsmith, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Middle East and Comparative Politics, University of Otago After the breakdown of ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump has now ordered a blockade of the pivotal Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. It’s just the
Iran threatens retaliation over Gulf ‘piracy’ in Trump’s naval blockade
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: Ship traffic has halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the US military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting on Monday. Iran denounced Trump’s move as an illegal act amounting to “piracy”. Iran has threatened to strike Gulf ports in
Google promotes ‘teacher approved’ apps for kids. Here’s what parents should know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Zomer, Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Deakin University As school holidays continue around Australia, many parents are looking for educational ways to keep their children entertained. If you own an Android device and have young children, you may find
Is Shaddap You Face Australia’s best ever novelty song, or a poor ethnic stereotype?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jess Carniel, Associate Professor in Humanities, University of Southern Queensland American Australian performer Joe Dolce’s 1980 one-hit wonder Shaddap You Face was recently inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia collection, which also named it Australia’s best novelty song. For its fans, the
NZ may be winning the fight against the invasive yellow-legged hornet – but a crucial phase lies ahead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phil Lester, Professor of Ecology and Entomology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Six months on from the discovery of a yellow-legged hornet queen in Auckland there are encouraging signs New Zealand’s eradication effort is gaining ground. Teams that have been searching intensively for the
Global Sumud Flotilla heads from Barcelona to break Gaza blockade
Asia Pacific Report A group of 39 boats known as the Global Sumud Flotilla has set sail from Barcelona to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, with organisers saying more vessels are expected to join along the route — making this their largest mission so far, reports Al Jazeera. Israeli security forces illegally intercepted and detained
Roblox is boosting safety features for young people. It’s a step in the right direction
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University Roblox has announced significant changes to its gaming platform to enhance safety for children under 16. The announcement comes just days after a man in the United Kingdom was jailed for
French Polynesia’s legislature shows new shape, more divisions
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk The Territorial Assembly of French Polynesia has for the first time shown a new configuration during its first administrative sitting on Friday, following a mass resignation of a group of young elected members of the ruling Tavini Huiraatira. This follows the mass resignation of a group
Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing: why an AI superhacker has the tech world on alert
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stan Karanasios, Professor in Information Systems, The University of Queensland New, more powerful artificial intelligence (AI) models are announced pretty regularly these days: the latest version of ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini always has new features and new capabilities that its makers are eager for customers to
What I would do if I was Mojtaba Khamenei – a Kenyan perspective
COMMENTARY: By Bonface Chisutia On the night of February 28, the Israel-US airstrike killed his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his wife, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. According to a recent report from Reuters, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei suffered life threatening injuries and apparently lost his leg and has a disfigured face. The report said
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade risks new costs for the global economy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sanjoy Paul, Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney For weeks now, the world economy has been on tenterhooks, waiting for one outcome: reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In response to war with Israel and the United States, Iran
As Artemis II is celebrated, the world faces hard questions about US leadership in space
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Art Cotterell, Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The successful Artemis II trip around the Moon was a historic achievement – the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years, and the greatest distance yet travelled by humans from our “pale blue dot”.
What Viktor Orbán’s election loss means for Putin, Trump and the rise of right-wing populism
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Hungary’s most consequential election in decades has just delivered an important victory for democracy and accountability. For Hungarians, opposition leader Péter Magyar’s emphatic defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Do you taste words or hear colours? Here’s the neuroscience behind synaesthesia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Smit, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Sydney Have you ever tasted a word, or seen colours while listening to music? If you have, you may be among the 1% to 4% of people who have a fascinating trait known as synaesthesia. Synaesthesia is
ABC’s Caper Crew delivers heists and heart – a bright spot in a struggling kids’ TV sector
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexa Scarlata, Lecturer, Digital Communication, RMIT University Australian kids’ TV shows are now few and far between. During the pandemic, the Australian government scrapped decades-old quotas for minimum hours of children’s content to try and bail out flailing commercial television networks. They were never reinstated. In 2023,
