ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 12, 2026.
Why is the US so obsessed with controlling Cuba?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Shnookal, Research fellow, Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies, The University of Melbourne For months, US President Donald Trump has been fixated on Cuba. He’s issued threats and imposed additional sanctions on the island. The US military has conducted dozens of intelligence-gathering flights off the … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Feeling the pinch? Here are some ways to find savings – and even fight inflation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Mihaylov, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Adelaide University Do you ever feel like everything is getting more expensive, everywhere, all at once? You’re not alone. Australians have been grappling with a cost-of-living crisis since the pandemic. Last year, it briefly began to look like inflation might finally … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Fiji army commander admits military ‘at fault’ for custody death
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s military chief has made a public admission at a church service that the institution was “at fault” for the death of Jone Vakarisi while he was in military custody. Local media reported that Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) commander Ro Jone Kalaouniwai, while addressing officers at a military family service, admitted … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Hantavirus is very different to COVID. Here’s why the ‘Andes virus’ won’t cause the next pandemic
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rhys Parry, Research Fellow, Virology, The University of Queensland For many people, news of a virus outbreak on a cruise ship immediately brings back memories of COVID spreading when the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney in March 2020. Of the passengers and crew who disembarked, 575 had … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
NZ’s costly fees-free scheme did little to widen access to tertiary education – new study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Meehan, Director NZ Policy Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology The government’s decision to scrap the one-year fees-free tertiary scheme in this month’s Budget will be contentious. Some will see it as a sensible saving, others as another blow to students facing high living costs. But … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Netanyahu stresses the need for more propaganda as Israel’s Hasbara budget soars
In a fawning softball 60 Minutes interview released on Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the importance of winning “the propaganda war” on social media. This comes as Israel moves to quadruple its propaganda budget to $730 million a year. Major Garrett (which apparently is a real name belonging to a real guy who works for 60 … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
What is a ‘digital detox’ and will it make me healthier?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher, Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University Are you surrounded by screens? Today, we rely on technology to do everything from sending emails to ordering food. But being constantly connected can leave us physically and mentally exhausted. That’s why some people are doing “digital detoxes”, the … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
In an ant colony, the queen isn’t in charge. So who is?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Latty, Associate Professor in Entomology, University of Sydney Imagine trying to build a house without a blueprint, find a shortcut through an unfamiliar city without a map, or govern a large organisation with no leaders and no meetings. It sounds impossible. Yet tiny-brained ants, working without … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Trump-Xi summit will be no ‘Nixon in China’ moment – that they are talking is enough for now
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rana Mitter, Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School Meetings between Chinese and American leaders are not exactly routine, but few are historically groundbreaking. The exceptions include the very first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China, when Richard Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong in … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
We found hundreds of huge ancient mass graves hidden in the Sahara desert
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University We have been on a years-long campaign of satellite remote sensing of the vast desert landscapes in Eastern Sudan. This involved using satellite aerial imagery to systematically and painstakingly search for archaeological features in Atbai Desert of … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Specialist doctors are charging too much. 4 options to rein in excessive fees
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Scott, Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler has declared reducing specialists’ fees will be his next key focus of health policy reform. Doctors are currently free to set their own fees and … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Like solar, most of the first home battery subsidies went to the wealthy. We need a fairer approach
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Longden, Senior Researcher, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Australia is in the grip of a record-breaking battery rush. Last week Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that more than 380,000 home batteries have been installed since July last year. That’s over 100,000 more than the … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Help! I’m almost finished school but don’t know what I want to do next
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Bradshaw, Research Fellow, Motivation and Behaviour, Australian Catholic University As Year 12 students pass the halfway point of their final year, the question of “what next?” can start to loom large. Some students have a clear plan: a course they want to get into, a trade … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
In this year’s budget, Chalmers has to keep a lid on spending – or risk stoking inflation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Crafting a federal budget is never easy. Tonight’s budget is harder than most. The government faces irreconcilable pressures: spend more to meet community demands, spend less to keep inflation down. The Reserve Bank is concerned about inflation. Governor Michele … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
7 films to help you understand Iranian women’s fight for freedom
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miniature Malekpour, Research assistant, University of Sydney For women in Iran, life changed dramatically after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The new Islamic Republic of Iran enforced compulsory veiling, legalised polygamy, severely restricted women’s rights to divorce and child custody, lowered the minimum marriage age for girls, and … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
How the federal budget became unlocked – and allowed the digital world in
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Fitzpatrick, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University As Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to hand down another federal budget, attention is once again turning to one of Canberra’s most tightly controlled democratic traditions: the budget lock-up. For decades, journalists from legacy media organisations have gathered in a secure room, … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
What it would have been like to experience the dinosaur-killing asteroid armageddon: a blow-by-blow account
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael J. Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air. She picks up the scent from the carcass of a dead horned dinosaur, Triceratops, that she was feeding on yesterday. She walks … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
One Nation’s rise may seem sudden, but it follows long-term voter trends
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Cameron, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Griffith University The rise of One Nation may seem sudden. In the 2025 Australian federal election, Pauline Hanson’s party received only 6.4% of the national vote. A year later, One Nation has surpassed the Liberal Party in the polls, received … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Conspiracy theories: do 300,000 Kiwis really believe Canada is building an army of mutant super-raccoons?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Kerr, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Public Health, University of Otago Four percent of Americans – roughly 12 million people – believe that “lizard people” secretly control the Earth. At least, that was the finding of an infamous 2013 public opinion survey. Do so many people … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Ghana’s transport system is chaotic: how it can move more people with fewer vehicles – research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Appiah Osei, Research Fellow, African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), University of Ghana Every morning in Accra, Ghana’s capital, thousands of commuters sit in traffic while minibuses and taxis compete for limited road space. More than 70% of Ghanaians rely on informal public transport, predominantly minibuses (trotros) … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>