Trump is blustering as usual but in reality praying for Iran peace deal
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Many American apologists cannot see the forest for the trees and think that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz represents a huge win for the United States and that Iran has caved in. Wrong. When the Iran ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on April 8, it

Pacific Forum responds to current global fuel and energy challenges
The Pacific Islands Forum troika Leaders have agreed to activate the Biketawa Declaration, placing the region on a co-ordinated high alert framework to respond to the unfolding global energy security crisis. The declaration was made by the leaders of the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Palau following discussions in Nadi, Fiji, on Friday in light of

Owen Jones: At The Telegraph, journalist support for Israel is now mandatory
COMMENTARY: By Owen Jones Britain’s Daily Telegraph is being acquired by a German-based media giant — and now its journalists are formally expected to support Israel. The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has cleared the takeover by Axel Springer SE. Its CEO, Mathias Döpfner, has written to Telegraph staff “outlining his commitment” to the paper. An

Man linked to gang activity dies after Fiji military detention, local media report
RNZ Pacific The Fiji Police Force has confirmed that a man who was taken in for questioning by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces in Suva has died in custody. Fijian media are reporting that the man was a wellknown “drug lord” known to local authorities. The man was among a group allegedly linked to

Neoliberalism caused two fractures in the world – why Iran’s resistance is so vital
ANALYSIS: By Prabhat Patnaik It is the people of the Global South, not governments, who must resist this subversion of the concepts of the “nation’ and of non-alignment. The Indian government’s position on the US-Israeli war against Iran shows an unbelievable degree of pusillanimity. India attended the recent meeting of about 50 countries called by

Israel and Lebanon have a ceasefire, but global attention shouldn’t move on. This isn’t a tidy end to the war
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marika Sosnowski, Senior research fellow, The University of Melbourne After weeks of bombardments in southern Lebanon that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million residents, Israel has announced a ten-day ceasefire with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, vowed to keep

Want to get the pill without seeing a GP? Here’s what you need to know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebekah Moles, Professor in Pharmacy Practice, University of Sydney The pill is the most common way Australian women avoid getting pregnant. Almost 30% of Australian women who use contraception take the pill. Now, several state and territory governments are giving women greater access to the pill. Just

Electric vehicles pass tipping point, breaking the link with oil prices
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viet Nguyen-Tien, Research Economist, London School of Economics and Political Science When the Strait of Hormuz first closed in March and oil hit US$120 a barrel, a very old question came back: is this finally the moment electric vehicles take off for good – or just another

DemosAU gives Labor one of its worst poll results this term
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 A DemosAU poll has Labor down three points on primary votes since February to just 26%, with Labor and One Nation now tied. The total vote for

‘Exceptional circumstances’: why was Ben Roberts-Smith granted bail?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melanie O’Brien, Professor of International Law, The University of Western Australia In early April, one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, was arrested and charged with five war crimes of murder. These charges were brought under the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act. On Friday, a bail hearing

More than 60% of home battery installations inspected in Australia are ‘substandard’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rusty Langdon, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney More than 60% of battery system installation work inspected under a federal government green energy program is substandard and 1.2% unsafe, according to a recent report by the Clean Energy Regulator. The Cheaper Home

Israel and Lebanon have signed a ceasefire. But this isn’t a tidy end to a war and attention moves on quickly
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marika Sosnowski, Senior research fellow, The University of Melbourne After weeks of bombardments in southern Lebanon that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million residents, Israel has announced a ten-day ceasefire with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, vowed to keep

Musk’s SpaceX is shaping up as the biggest IPO on record. It’s also bending the rules to do so
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marta Khomyn, Senior Lecturer, Finance and Data Analytics, Adelaide University Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX has filed confidential papers ahead of a planned public company listing on the US NASDAQ stock exchange. The initial public offering (IPO) for the company controlled by the world’s richest man

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 17, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 17, 2026.

‘Unconstitutional’ – NSW court strikes down Minns’ draconian anti-protest laws
By Stephanie Tran of Michael West Media The Supreme Court of New South Wales has struck down the state’s draconian anti-protest laws, ruling they impose an “impermissible burden” on political communication and are invalid. In a landmark decision yesterday, the court declared key provisions of the anti-protest laws introduced after the Bondi terrorist attack unconstitutional,

Marshall Islands government shuts down at 3pm daily amid fuel crisis
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal/RNZ Pacific correspondent Most government offices in the Marshall Islands began enforcing a new policy this week of closing by 3pm daily as a way to conserve fuel given uncertainties of fuel supply globally. The move is to save energy and reduce the strain on the Marshalls Energy Company’s

Will retatrutide help me lose weight or look ‘shredded’?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Injectable peptides are generating a lot of buzz online. One of these is retatrutide, a drug that’s being described as the next big thing in weight loss. Some say it may be even more powerful

The Myanmar civil war is at stalemate – but anti-junta forces may be gaining the upper hand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Kingsbury, Emeritus Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University Among the cruel ironies of the Myanmar civil war, now in its sixth year, is that for an army that is struggling to conscript soldiers, the Myanmar junta has repeatedly bombed its own troops held

Nurses with higher cultural competence don’t always perform better – new study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emmy van Esch, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Management and International Business, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The ability to function effectively in intercultural settings has been termed “cultural intelligence” – and it is often celebrated as a kind of modern superpower. But our latest research reveals

Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island Alarm over the war of words between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV has escalated with remarkable speed, from The New York Times to the Daily Beast and local television. The pope has repeatedly called for

Can I get a free flu shot? And will it cover ‘super K’? Your influenza vaccine questions answered
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash University For many of us, flu can mean a nasty few weeks of illness. But for the very young and old, and those with health complications, it can be extremely serious, leading to around 3,500 deaths in Australia each year.

Out of sight, but not out of trouble: groundwater contamination in NZ reveals a legacy of human pressure
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Rutter, Senior Adjunct Lecturer, Waterways Centre, University of Canterbury The latest official stocktake of the state of New Zealand’s freshwater carries many of the headline messages we have come to expect. Pressures such as intensive land use and climate change are continuing to degrade our lakes,

Inside One Nation’s strategy of scandal, chaos and controversy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ashlynne McGhee, Head of Editorial Innovation, The Conversation We’d all like deeply considered policy and informed debate to be at the heart of politics, but unfortunately controversies and scandals tend to steal the show. For most parties, scandals are disastrous: they lose seats, ministers and elections —

No‑one has been prosecuted for wage theft since it became a crime. 2 inquiries want answers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irene Nikoloudakis, PhD Candidate in Law, Adelaide University Another day, another Senate inquiry – this time into Australia’s federal laws dealing with “wage theft”. Wage theft became a federal crime on January 1 2025. Employers who deliberately “steal” from their workers’ pay can now be prosecuted and

Iran hasn’t survived decades of hostile sanctions, assassinations and sabotage by accident – it’s by strategy
COMMENTARY: By Prince Taofeek Ajibade US President Donald Trump probably thinks he can starve a country that feeds itself. Washington is selling the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a chokehold. However, it is worth asking whether the hand actually reaches the throat. Iran shares land borders with seven countries — Türkiye, Iraq,

Albanese and Indonesian governments land fertiliser supply deal for farmers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal government has secured access to 250,000 tonnes of extra urea from Indonesia for Australian farmers. The deal between Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and PT Pupuk Indonesia was facilitated by the governments of the two countries. It will provide about

Black hole jets ‘dance’ in the wind from a massive companion star
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Prabu, Adjunct Lecturer, School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Curtin University; University of Oxford Black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe. They can fling material outwards at speeds close to that of light, in powerful beams of plasma known as

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on next steps in fuel crisis
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The war in Iran has become the third major economic crisis in the last 20 years, with fuel prices jumping and inflation once again starting to pick up. Australians are feeling worsening economic pain. While the government has offered some

Grattan on Friday: Migration debate deserves better policy approach and less politicking from Liberals
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra An effective opposition is good at policy. Last term and so far this term, the Coalition has been very poor at policy formulation. Remember Peter Dutton’s defence policy? If you don’t, it’s probably because it was just a commitment to

Caitlin Johnstone: I hope the US loses and the empire collapses
COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone I don’t mind admitting that I hope the US and Israel suffer a crushing, devastating defeat in Iran. I hope this war collapses the entire US empire. My only loyalty is to humanity, and being on Team Human in today’s world means being against the US empire and against Israel. I

The new National Defence Strategy feels written for a bygone era – and ignores the elephant in the room
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Sometimes new government strategies really aren’t newsworthy. The 2026 National Defence Strategy (NDS) is like that. The biggest headline from the document is the additional defence spending of $53 billion over the next decade, which the government claims (with

A new minister in Victoria will tackle the manosphere. Here’s what they should do
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences, Monash University Victoria has its first minister for men and boys. Part of a cabinet reshuffle, the role was given to Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke. It comes with an explicit dual focus: on one hand, boys’ and men’s own

What does the Geelong refinery fire reveal about Australia’s fuel supplies?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Senior Fellow in Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute Late on Wednesday, Victorian firefighters were called to a large fire at Viva Energy Group’s oil refinery in Corio, a suburb of Geelong. The blaze is believed to have been an equipment failure. Thankfully, no-one was

When oil refineries burn, here’s what happens to your lungs and heart
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney The fire at a major oil refinery in the Victorian city of Geelong has now reportedly been extinguished. But with thick smoke from the blaze lingering in the air on Thursday, many residents in Geelong and

Nicole Kidman is training to be a ‘death doula’. What is a death doula?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Symon Braun Freck, PhD Candidate, School of Engineering, DeathTech Research Team, The University of Melbourne This week, Nicole Kidman revealed she is training to become a death doula. She told an audience at the University of San Francisco it “may sound a little weird”, but she was

Cyclone Vaianu: First impacts could be felt Saturday amid severe NZ warnings
MetService meteorologist John Law told RNZ Checkpoint the first impacts of the system could be felt on Saturday morning with large swells for north-eastern areas. “This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open

Iran has a powerful new tool in the Strait of Hormuz that it can leverage long after the war
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University The Trump administration claims its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is working, with nine ships complying with orders to turn around. One of those was a Chinese-owned tanker called the Rich Starry that turned around in the

The court ruling in Gina Rinehart’s mining dispute reveals a lot about the nation’s inherited wealth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland In a decision described by the judge as “a half-win” for each side, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to the heirs of Peter Wright, the business

Australia’s aged care algorithm is under fire. At last, someone’s listening
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Swerissen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, La Trobe University The way Australians are assessed for home-based aged-care funding is being investigated by the Commonwealth ombudsman. Critics say assessment for funding under the Support at Home program is flawed, leaving some older people unable to access the

Deadly landslide claims 10 lives in PNG’s East New Britain, reports local media
RNZ Pacific Ten people have died in a landslide in Gazelle district in Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain Province following continuous heavy rain, according to local news media reports. The disaster occurred after the Toriu River burst its banks after intense rainfall and severe weather conditions experienced across the region over the past few

The Middle East crisis has exposed NZ to a global fertiliser shock. Where is its plan?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murat Ungor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Otago New Zealand and Australia like to think of themselves as food powerhouses. But right now, a war in the Middle East and China’s fertiliser export restrictions are exposing a dangerous blind spot: their farms depend on imported fertiliser,

How do teens really use AI companions? With more creativity than you might think
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annabel Blake, PhD Candidate, Human-Computer Interaction, University of Sydney In 2022, the founders of chatbot startup Character.AI launched a platform where anyone could create interactive characters powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The app exploded, quickly growing to more than 20 million users who created more than 10

Trump’s naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz actually targets China
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Most of Iranian oil — 96.7 percent — is destined for China. If you note this figure, you will realise that the Americans are really trying to choke off the supply of Iranian oil to China by blockading the Strait of Hormuz. This is a major part of the American containment

Waking at 3am every night? Here’s what may be going on
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talar Moukhtarian, Assistant Professor in Mental Health, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick It’s 3am. The room is dark, the house is silent, but your brain is suddenly wide awake. Many people find themselves waking at roughly the same time each night and start to wonder whether

Thousands of AI-written, edited or ‘polished’ books are being sold – an eerie echo of Orwell’s ‘novel-writing machines’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Beers, Professor of History, American University At some point in the next several months, I am hoping to receive a modest check as a member of the class covered in the class-action settlement Bartz v. Anthropic. In 2025, the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, best known for

The secret sensory life of plants: researchers are discovering how they see, hear, feel – and even remember
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samarth Kulshrestha, Research Fellow in Molecular Biology, University of Canterbury Plants are often seen as passive organisms, rooted in one place and largely unable to react to the world around them. But a new field of research is challenging these assumptions and showing that plants are as

Thinking about acupuncture or herbs for menopause? Read this first
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Adelaide University Hot flushes, night sweats or swinging mood changes are some of the most common symptoms of menopause – the stage of a woman’s life when menstrual periods stop permanently, and she is no

Can we consider ‘play’ to be a religion? Bluey certainly thinks so
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Lawson, Academic Registrar at St Barnabas College in the University of Divinity, PhD Candidate in Ancient Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Education, CSU, Charles Sturt University Most of us are used to thinking of “religion” in terms of a belief in God or gods. Perhaps the

The Greens are relaunching their party think tank. What do these organisations do?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Fioritti, Lecturer in Politics, School of Social Sciences, Monash University The appointment of former high profile Greens federal housing spokesperson and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s arch nemesis, Max Chandler-Mather, as executive director of the party’s think tank – the Green Institute – raises several important questions.

What can you actually put in your yellow recycling bin? An environmental scientist explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Bryson, Lecturer in Science, CQUniversity Australia Most of us want to recycle, but it can sometimes be hard to know exactly how. Do jar lids and bottle caps go in the yellow bin? What kinds of plastic can be recycled? And given that food residue can

Employment data shows the early signs of AI job disruption are already here
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clinton Free, Academic Director, Executive Education, Business School, University of Sydney There has been no shortage of bold claims recently about artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs — from mass unemployment to over-hyped distraction. Much of this debate is speculative. Often, coming from the tech giants promoting their

Albanese government will commit to boosting defence spending to 3% of GDP, but under a revised definition
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will increase defence spending to about 3% of GDP by 2033 in its 2026 National Defence Strategy to be unveiled on Thursday. But it is using a revised definition that, in effect, makes the defence spend appear

Gallery: Standing up for the people of Iran . . . and Palestine, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba . . .
Asia Pacific Report A massive Stop Wars Aotearoa coalition rally and march on the US Consulate took place in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau last Saturday, 11 April 2026. “We’re going to stand up for the people of Iran, stand up for the people of Palestine, stand up for the people of Lebanon, stand up for the

High Court takes an axe to Victoria’s political donations laws – and it will make federal MPs nervous
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney The High Court has taken an axe to the Victorian Electoral Act, chopping out the entirety of Part 12. It deals with election spending, caps on political donations, three different types of public funding (for election campaigns,

Streaming platforms give us access to new music, so why are fewer people listening to it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Kelly, PhD Candidate, Department of Design and Society., University of Technology Sydney In September, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) excluded catalogue music (recordings more than two years old) from the Australian bestseller single and album charts. From a marketing perspective this decision is logical, as

Could Viktor Orbán be back in 2030? Why Péter Magyar has a fight on his hands after landslide win
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gerhard Schnyder, Professor of International Management & Political Economy, Loughborough University The mood was jubilant among liberals and pro-Europeans in Hungary and beyond on April 13 as Péter Magyar led the Tisza party to a landslide election victory. His win ended the 16-year administration of Viktor Orbán’s

Worried about feeding your baby solid foods? Here’s what you should know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lillian Krikheli, Lecturer in Speech Pathology, La Trobe University When you have a baby, mealtimes can be messy and stressful. If you’re a new parent you may be unsure what, when, and how to feed your little one. And you may also worry about choking, particularly when

How microplastics hurt the hidden helpers that keep our coasts healthy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Francis Thrush, Professor of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Walk across a mudflat at low tide and you might notice small, neat mounds of sediment scattered across the surface. These so-called “chimneys” are the calling card of the humble bamboo worm (Macroclymenella stewartensis)

In the face of rampant AI, is ‘data poisoning’ a new form of civil disobedience?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Tanner, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Gender Studies, Monash University The explosion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools has provoked both hopes and anxieties about the potential benefits and harms of this technology. In advanced economies, people are almost equally worried and optimistic about it. This

Searching for a ‘technofix’ to climate change has many dangers. Could radical humility save the planet?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nanda Jarosz, Researcher, Environmental Philosophy, University of Sydney In 1989, environmentalist Bill McKibben announced to the world that nature was dead. Due to the rapid rate and scale of anthropogenic climate change, he argued, the idea of nature as an entity independent of human activity had become

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Hale, Senior Lecturer in English and Writing (children’s literature), University of New England Isn’t it funnyHow a Bear likes honeyBuzz buzzI wonder why he does Just over a century ago, the satirical writer and playwright A.A. Milne, suffering from the after-effects of fighting in the trenches

The beloved emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal are now officially endangered. Here’s what can be done
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary-Anne Lea, Professor in Marine/Polar Predator Ecology, University of Tasmania In 1902, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott spotted a large group of large black and white birds at Ross Island, Antarctica. This was among the many milestones of Scott’s famous Discovery expedition: the first breeding colony of

Does your school do mental health checks? They should be regular, not just a one-off
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Rogers, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Students’ mental health is one of the biggest challenges facing schools. In Australia, half of all adult mental health challenges emerge before the age of 14. It is also estimated that more than 50% of children experiencing mental

When AI starts shopping for you, fashion may be entering a new era of pricing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aayushi Badhwar, Lecturer in Enterprise and Technology, RMIT University Fashion has always been a bit different to other industries. Consumers do not just buy because they need something. They buy because they are bored, influenced or simply browsing. That makes it a perfect space for technologies designed

Justin Bieber’s Coachella performance wasn’t ‘lazy’ – and actually references 50 years of music history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mike Callander, Lecturer in Music Industry, RMIT University After a four-year break from touring, Justin Bieber is headlining Coachella’s main stage. In a controversial section of the show he sang along to YouTube clips – and at times didn’t sing at all. Up to 125,000 punters attend

How do ionic hair dryers work? Can they do what they promise?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena Wajrak, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, Edith Cowan University If you’ve been in the market for a new hair dryer, you’ve likely seen advertising for ionic ones. Some claim to produce negative ions in the millions – with or without the help of added minerals like tourmaline.

Autism diagnoses are up, largely fuelled by the NDIS. What happens next isn’t entirely clear
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Whitehouse, Deputy Director, the Kids Research Institute Australia, Professor of Autism Research, The University of Western Australia Research published earlier this year found the strongest evidence yet that the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has played a key role driving up autism diagnoses

Trust in news rises after years of decline in NZ. What’s behind the shift?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Treadwell, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Auckland University of Technology Public trust in news in has risen for the first time since records began in 2020. According to the latest Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report, 37% of respondents now trust the news generally, up

Fiji military puts public ‘on notice’ citing national security threats
RNZ Pacific The Fiji military has warned that individuals responsible for “any attempt to destabilise national security” and those who aid “individuals engaged in criminal activity” have been “put on notice”. It comes after the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) confirmed just last Friday that “unknown individuals” had made “unsuccessful” attempts to access its

Liberal candidate draws top of ballot paper in Farrer but faces mammoth battle
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski has drawn top position on the ballot paper for the May 9 Farrer byelection, in a field of a dozen candidates. While she will be at the top of the ballot paper Butkowski, a lawyer with

Auckland council votes to probe sanctioning Israel over war crimes
Asia Pacific Report The planning and policy committee of New Zealand’s largest city today voted decisively to investigate sanctioning companies listed by the UN Human Right Council that are alleged to be complicit with the illegal Israeli occupation and settlements in Palestine Territory. Auckland Council is the local body governing a “super city” with a

Keith Rankin Analysis – Printing Money to Finance this and other Wars
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 14 April 2026. Despite the mega-commentary about the Israel-Iran war, and especially the United States’ participation in that war, almost nothing is being debated about how the war is being funded. I’ll make some comments about Iran later. But we need to focus on the United States, which is by far

The government wants to curb NDIS spending. Here’s how it might succeed
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Bennett, Disability Program Director, Grattan Institute Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has grown too big, too fast. The NDIS is a government-funded program providing support to more than 760,000 disabled Australians. It launched in 2013 as a way to make disability support more accessible and

Why Iran will never break – and Iranians will decide their own future
COMMENTARY: By Kaveh As an Iranian living in New Zealand, I wake up every morning to the quiet green hills and the calm sea, but my mind is always thousands of kilometres away in Iran. The news from home hits differently when you are far away. You feel helpless, but you sometimes also see things

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,

Is it anxiety or OCD? 2 psychology experts explain the difference
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Upton, PhD Candidate in Psychology, UNSW Sydney; Black Dog Institute Anxiety itself is not a mental illness. It’s a normal, adaptive emotion that helps us respond to perceived threats. Anxiety is the automatic reaction that makes you jump back when you think you’ve seen a snake

A new ad campaign is pushing Australians to use less petrol. Has this happened before?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lee, Associate Professor of History, UNSW Sydney A new federal government advertising campaign is prompting Australians to reduce their fuel consumption during the current global oil crisis. It asks Australians to consider using their car less and offers tips to boost fuel efficiency, such as “driving

Ten dead in Bougainville amid Cyclone Maila aftermath
RNZ Pacific Cyclone Maila has been downgraded to a tropical low but has caused widespread damage in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Ten people were reported dead in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville, including eight people killed in a landslide. The incident happened at Asiko Village in Kongara constituency in Central

Poetry for an anxious world: 5 experts share poems of grief, hope and restoration
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Ley, Deputy Books + Ideas Editor, The Conversation Tumultuous times create heightened, often complex, emotions. It can be hard to voice or even identify our feelings when faced with war, illness, worry, or great changes of any kind. Poetry offers many gifts – among them, capturing,

Special agents: the rise of the neurodivergent hero in TV crime drama
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronald Kramer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau There is a seemingly endless flow of crime dramas on streaming platforms these days. Many are fictional, some dramatise real historical crimes and criminal figures. But have you noticed how many characters – hero or

Why Vance couldn’t stop the Trump train wreck – an Iranian perspective
IRNA News Agency When news reports first indicated that US Vice-President JD Vance was going to lead the Americans in the negotiations with Iran, the country the US and Israel are waging a foolish war against, there was a sense that someone even as young him may have recognised the train wreck that Donald Trump

Children going through family courts face increased risk of self-harm, new research finds
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Marchant, Research Assistant & PhD Candidate in Mental Health, Swansea University Family courts step in at some of the hardest moments in a child’s life, when parents separate or when there are concerns about their safety. We already know that children involved in care proceedings are

Embryo fossil found in South Africa is world’s oldest proof that mammal ancestors laid eggs
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Benoit, Associate professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand Between 280 and 200 million years ago, a group of animals evolved which would eventually give rise to mammals, including humans: the therapsids. They were first described more than 150 years ago, based on fossils from

How does spider venom damage human cells? Researchers uncover the killer mechanism of recluse spider toxin
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Cordes, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona Spiders are among Earth’s most resourceful predators, nabbing prey by any means necessary. Orb weavers spin webs for capture. Wolf spiders ambush on the ground at night. Almost all spiders use venom when they hunt. But

To stop Australian democracy going the way of the US, here’s what we need to do
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Democracy Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute Around the world, democracy as a system of government is backsliding. After more than 50 years of liberal democracy in ascendancy, democratic progress plateaued around the turn of the century and is now going backwards. In 2025, there were

4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the United States in the great power game
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeffrey Taliaferro, Professor of Political Science, Tufts University “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the U.S. war in Iran dragged on. And now

From river stain to your cup of tea: the secret world of tannins
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne While stopped in heavy Melbourne traffic recently, I noticed that what looked like a shadow under a row of spotted gums (Corymbia maculata) along a major road was actually a stain

This Anzac Day falls on a Saturday – and these states will be getting an extra public holiday
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giuseppe Carabetta, Associate Professor of Workplace and Business Law, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney ANZAC Day is commemorated on 25 April each year as a tribute to more than 2 million Australians who’ve served in war and peacekeeping operations. That date is always the same.

Quantum computers are coming to break our codes faster than anyone expected
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Costello, Professor, School of Computer Science, Queensland University of Technology Online data is generally pretty secure. Assuming everyone is careful with passwords and other protections, you can think of it as being locked in a vault so strong that even all the world’s supercomputers, working together

Health-care workers risk their lives in warzones. Are we protecting them enough?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melanie O’Brien, Professor of International Law, The University of Western Australia Warzones are full of danger. But that’s never stopped humanitarian workers from living and working in such places, with the aim of keeping civilians safe. Humanitarian workers are deployed to locations ravaged by conflict or natural

Second fuel security trip to Asia for PM
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will leave on Tuesday for his second fuel security mission within a week. He will visit Brunei and Malaysia, after his trip to Singapore last week won assurances that the country would not be putting restrictions

Cyclone Vaianu: Damaging winds, heavy rain hit NZ’s North Island
RNZ News Weather warnings in New Zealand’s North Island are starting to lift, as Tropical Cyclone Vaianu tracks away from the country. Red and orange wind and rain warnings have been in place across much of the island since Friday. All red warnings and most orange warnings have now expired or been lifted. Orange wind

Protesters rally across Aotearoa in condemnation of Israel, US ‘warmongering’ and ‘shameful’ NZ
Asia Pacific Report Thousands of protesters took part in the “Stop Wars Aotearoa” rallies across New Zealand today, calling for an end to the illegal war on Iran and the brutal onslaught on Lebanon this week breaching a fragile two-week truce. While high-powered delegations from Iran and the United States were arriving in Islamabad for

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 12, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 12, 2026.

‘Ten minutes of terror’ – Lebanon death toll tops 300 from Israel’s ‘Black Wednesday’
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: As the US and Iran prepared to hold ceasefire talks in Pakistan today, Israel is continuing to bomb Lebanon. The death toll from Israel’s massive attack on Wednesday topped 300. More than 1150 people were injured. In a span of 10 minutes, Israel struck 100 sites across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 11, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 11, 2026.

Ending Israel’s war on peace – Iran’s 10-point proposal is serious
To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank cheque to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognised borders of June 4, 1967. Common Dreams reports. ANALYSIS: By Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares A two-week ceasefire

Cyclone Vaianu: First impacts could be felt Saturday amid NZ warnings
MetService meteorologist John Law told RNZ Checkpoint the first impacts of the system could be felt on Saturday morning with large swells for north-eastern areas. “This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open

More Australian LNG to Singapore flagged as Albanese looks to strengthen oil supply chain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Increased exports of Australian LNG to Singapore are in prospect, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong in Friday talks to shore up Australia’s oil supply chain. During a joint news conference Prime Minister Wong said

What is andrographis, the cold and flu ingredient the TGA says can be fatal?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, Adelaide University A herb commonly sold in cold and flu supplements may no longer be classified as “low-risk”, after Australia’s therapeutic goods regulator found it can cause severe allergic reactions and even death. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is proposing to

Who checks Australian theme park rides and roller coasters are safe? A risk expert explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Eager, Professor of Risk Management and Injury Prevention, University of Technology Sydney As thousands of people packed into the Gold Coast’s Warner Bros Movie World theme park for the school holidays on Wednesday, one of Australia’s biggest roller coaster rides ground to a halt. A Village

What actually is ‘civilisation’? The dark and loaded history behind Trump’s threat against Iran
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Buchan, Professor of History, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University In the midst of a war of his own choosing, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, recently tried to threaten his way out of it. On April 7, he posted on

Robert Reich: Lessons on how to defeat Donald Trump every time
COMMENTARY: By Robert Reich An hour before Trump said he’d cause the death of a “whole civilisation” if Iran didn’t open the strait of Hormuz, an Iranian official said the shipping channel would be reopened for two weeks if the United States stopped bombing Iran. The US has now stopped bombing Iran. So we’re back

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 10, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 10, 2026.

After ceasefire, negotiating a lasting deal with Iran would require overcoming regional rivalries and strategic incoherence
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ioana Emy Matesan, Associate Professor of Government, Wesleyan University President Donald Trump’s rapid and dramatic turn from threatening to kill “an entire civilization” in Iran on the morning of April 7, 2026, to announcing a two-week ceasefire later that day left many observers with a sense of

Hungary election: how a new opponent has forced Viktor Orbán into the first genuinely competitive race in 16 years
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zsofia Bocskay, Postdoctoral Researcher, CEU Democracy Institute, Central European University For the first time since Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010, the Hungarian electorate is faced with a genuinely competitive campaign ahead of the 2026 general election on April 12. For the past 16 years, Prime

Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb, has genuine warmth – but doesn’t quite work as a musical
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mara Davis Johnson, Lecturer in Creative and Performing Arts, University of Wollongong The Deb is finally here. The film has been plagued by unresolved legal troubles and repeated delays. But here it is – and for the most part, it’s an enjoyable Australian comedy with characteristically crude

What will it take to get ships going through the Strait of Hormuz again?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Parker, Adjunct Professor, Defence and Security Institute, The University of Western Australia; UNSW Sydney Wednesday’s ceasefire announcement by President Donald Trump, linked to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, prompted immediate optimism shipping would quickly resume. It didn’t. The following morning, traffic remained minimal. A handful

Artemis II: as humans return to the Moon, which of these 4 futures will we choose?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priyanka Dhopade, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The four Artemis II astronauts who looped around the Moon this week are expected to splash down soon. NASA’s grand mission spells a return to human deep-space travel, with renewed interest in building a

NZ is surrounded by ocean energy. Just what would it take to tap it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Stevens, Professor in Ocean Physics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Earth Sciences New Zealand “Same as it ever was” is a phrase that continues to resonate in 2026. The oil shocks of the 1970s, triggered by conflict in the Middle East, sent global energy prices

‘First contact’ that may have led to complex life on Earth finally witnessed by scientists
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Paul Burns, Associate Professor, School of Biotech & Biomolecular Science, UNSW Sydney On the shores of the west coast of Australia lies a window to our past: the stromatolites and microbial mats of Gathaagudu (Shark Bay). To the untrained eye they look like a collection of

Some countries in Asia are rationing energy – why they’ve been hit hardest by the crisis in the Gulf
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gokcay Balci, Lecturer in Sustainable Freight Transport and Logistics, University of Leeds The war in Iran has led to a global energy crisis. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major energy chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil, has been largely blocked by

The human body isn’t a masterpiece of design – it’s a patchwork of evolutionary compromise
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucy E. Hyde, Lecturer, Anatomy, University of Bristol The human body is often described as a marvel of “perfect design”: elegant, efficient and finely tuned for its purpose. Yet, when we look closer, a rather different picture emerges. Far from being a flawless machine, the body reads

Psilocybin mushrooms are going mainstream, but scientific research and regulation lag behind
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hollis Karoly, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Amid a renaissance in the science of psychedelics, public interest in psilocybin – or magic mushrooms, as they’ve long been known – is surging. One study found that rates of psilocybin use increased 44% among

¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! Speedy Gonzales set to make his triumphant return to the silver screen
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jared Bahir Browsh, Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies, University of Colorado Boulder “¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!” Meaning “hurry up, let’s go,” the trademark slogan of Speedy Gonzales was, for generations of children, the first Spanish words they learned. But by the 1980s, ABC had pulled

Fixating on a ‘magic number’ of childcare hours misses what’s most important for kids’ development
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harper, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney Families with kids juggling full-time work may have been alarmed by media reporting this week, suggesting “too much” time in early childhood education and care could harm their child’s development. Data from a major Australian

Pauline Hanson has a long list of enemies. It’s intentional
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ashlynne McGhee, Head of Editorial Innovation, The Conversation Pretty much everyone of a certain age remembers this line in Pauline Hanson’s maiden speech: “I’m afraid we’re in danger of being swamped by Asians.” It wasn’t the first racist comment she’d made in public and it certainly wasn’t

Will knee injections help your osteoarthritis? Here’s what the evidence says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Lawford, Senior Research Fellow in Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne Knee osteoarthritis is a complex disease that affects the whole joint, including bone, cartilage, ligaments and muscles. Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and movement difficulty, affecting 8.3% of people in Australia. When pain persists,

Is Australia at risk of a recession? Here’s what the data actually shows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Talk of a recession in Australia has picked up in recent weeks. Rising fuel prices, a sharp fall in consumer confidence, and signs of softer spending have all added to concerns the economy may be losing momentum.

Meet Diocletian – the Roman emperor who retired to grow cabbages
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Edwell, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Macquarie University Very few Roman emperors died natural deaths. Most were assassinated, some died in battle and one was even struck by lightning. Some emperors sensed the danger and got out of Rome altogether. But only one laid down his

Designing cities: should we build from scratch or keep history alive?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abeer Elshater, Professor of Urban Morphology, Ain Shams University Cities are often described as living archives of human memory. Walk through an old neighbourhood in an Islamic city like Fez in Morocco or Cairo in Egypt, and you can see layers of history in its streets and

PNG defence minister steps aside amid army recruitment controversy
By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor Papua New Guinea’s Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph has stepped aside to allow investigations into allegations he interfered with army recruitment. Prime Minister James Marape said he would assume the defence portfolio while an independent probe into PNG Defence Force recruitment irregularities proceeded. A media release from Marape

Grattan on Friday: Taylor and Canavan are chalk and cheese – and that’s a problem for Taylor
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra If you want a basic measure of the difference between Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan, compare these two reactions to US President Donald Trump’s extraordinary threat this week that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”. Asked

How does Medicare’s new Mental Health Check In work? Is this low-intensity CBT likely to help?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Baldwin, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology; UNSW Sydney If you’ve been struggling with your mental health lately, a new free service could help. Medicare Mental Health Check In launched earlier this year to give more Australians access to mental health care. The

Fake QR codes make for easy scams – be careful what you scan out there
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meena Jha, Head Technology and Pedagogy Cluster CML-NET, CQUniversity Australia It’s a simple thing we encounter many times every single week – often while in a hurry. You pull up at a parking spot, scan a QR code and pay within seconds. Or you sit down at

‘Cuddle therapy’ sounds like what we all need right now. But will it actually help?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glen Hosking, Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology, La Trobe University Cuddle therapy is having a moment. The idea for this emerging therapy is for you to book in a specified time with a “professional cuddler”. Websites promote cuddle therapists as specialists in platonic touch, offering

Donald Trump’s US ratings fall to a record low amid Iran war
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 United States President Donald Trump’s net approval has fallen to a record low on the Iran war, while Democrats had a 25-point swing in their favour in

NZ’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mingyue Selena Sheng, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system. The government will provide interest-free loans to private

Israeli threats to occupy or annex south Lebanon dust off a decades-old playbook
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mireille Rebeiz, Chair of Middle East Studies, Dickinson College A chorus of hawkish Israeli politicians is urging the country’s military to intensify its weekslong ground and air campaign against Hezbollah and pave the way for a more permanent presence in the country’s south. On April 5, 18

When a president is unfit for office, here’s what the Constitution says can happen
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Matoy Carlson, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University Bipartisan calls for President Donald Trump’s removal from office increased on April 7, 2026, after he issued threats to destroy “a whole civilization” if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Was the Hawke government really the ‘gold standard’ for reform?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra Journalism is sometimes called the first draft of history. Near contemporary works, such as the University of Canberra’s long running series of books on Australian governments, going back to the Hawke government (1983-1991), might be viewed as

Middle East conflict: this ceasefire may have made Iran stronger
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bamo Nouri, Honorary Research Fellow, Department of International Politics, City St George’s, University of London Ceasefires are often presented as moments of relief – pauses in violence that open the door to diplomacy. But sometimes they reveal something more consequential: who has actually gained from the war.

Recent outbreaks highlight the risks of bacterial meningitis – and the need to vaccinate
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Una Ren, Senior Scientist in Genomics, New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science Outbreaks of bacterial meningococcal disease in England and recent cases in students in New Zealand have raised awareness of this serious and life-threatening disease. The disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria

Humanity is heading back to the Moon. Australia isn’t even funding telescopes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Australian science policy is in a confused place. The government is negotiating with the European Union to join the Horizon Europe program for funding and collaboration. Australian facilities are crucial to NASA’s

Injectable peptides are the new anti-ageing trend. But what evidence do we have they’re safe for humans?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Piatkowski, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, The University of Queensland Injectable peptides are the new anti-ageing trend sweeping the beauty industry. These compounds are promoted on social media as tools for skin repair, collagen production and “cellular rejuvenation”. They are widely available online from overseas

K-pop without the K: BTS’ English-heavy comeback sparks debate over cultural identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan Moon, PhD Candidate, Department of Media, Adelaide University BTS is officially back. After a four-year hiatus for mandatory military service, the massively popular K-pop group has returned in full force with their new album Arirang, released March 20. The record debuted at number one on the

How Australia’s mining sector locks women out of high-paying roles
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Gander, Associate Professor, Business, Murdoch University Mining is a critical industry for the Australian economy and has the potential to offer secure, well-paid and meaningful careers. But the evidence from our review of the 29 studies of 40 years of research on women working in the

City animals act in the same brazen ways around the world
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel T. Blumstein, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles The urban monkeys in New Delhi are so bold they’ll steal the lunch right off your plate. If you’ve spent time in New York, you’ve probably seen

How Trump’s White House demands as prerequisites for stopping bombings bit the dust
COMMENTARY: By Yanis Varoufakis Having launched an illegal, destructive war that brutally struck the entire planet’s economy (and confirmed once again Europe’s combination of irrelevance and hypocrisy), and after threatening Iran with genocide and “civilisational annihilation,” President Trump ultimately backed down on everything. Like a Roman Emperor during the Empire’s declining years would declare victory

The US-Israel ceasefire with Iran presses pause on a costly war, but can peace last?
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 President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a Pakistani proposal for a two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran brings a sigh of relief to the international community. Just hours before,

Does the Iran ceasefire mean the fuel crisis is over? Not even close
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Morrison, Industry Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney It might feel like a lifetime ago, but it was just last week analysts began talking about fuel rationing in Australia. This week, that prospect seems less likely. A temporary ceasefire in the Iran war

Nationals leader Matt Canavan promotes work from home to grow regional areas
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals leader Matt Canavan has urged the embrace of work-from-home opportunities as a way to boost the growth of smaller towns and regions. In a Wednesday speech calling for an “economic revolution”, Canavan told the National Press Club that today

Money’s tight but food prices are up. Here’s how to save on your grocery bill
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Another interest rate rise and a spike in fuel prices is placing increasing pressure on household budgets. Many households are also seeing the impact of the war in the Middle East on the price of

Should the government encourage people to work from home to save fuel?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dorina Pojani, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Queensland The current fuel crisis, instigated by the war in the Middle East, has prompted countries to respond in different ways to ensure their fuel supply. One popular measure has been directing people to work from home

Are we ever truly free to make decisions? New study tracks a universal process in the brain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Claire Fong, PhD Candidate in Cognitive Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne Imagine you’re in line at your favourite bakery, deciding whether to have a doughnut or a tart. You weigh them up, the doughnut wins, and you settle on that. By the time you’re at the

Is sitting with your legs crossed actually bad for you?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Pate, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney Most of us were told off at some point for how we sat. “Don’t cross your legs, you’ll ruin your knees.” “You’ll get varicose veins.” “Sit properly.” “Sit up straight.” It belongs to that familiar pile of

‘Someone, everyone, stop them’ – and now Trump has pulled back from the brink
COMMENTARY: By Marilyn Garson, of Sh’ma Koleinu – Alternative Jewish Voices Vietnam survived Nixon’s madman theory and the world survived the era of mutually assured destruction. Now we face the moment of two super-empowered shitheads. There is nothing nicer to call them. Who will stop two self-obsessed, very old men, already dedicated to tearing down

Spotted a jellyfish bloom recently? Here’s what may have triggered it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa-ann Gershwin, Research Scientist in Marine Biology, University of Tasmania On a calm summer morning in southern Australia, the water can look deceptively clear, until you see thousands of gelatinous shapes washing ashore. In January, thousands of pink lion’s mane jellyfish washed into Port Phillip Bay, prompting

What’s the place of humans in a world redefined by AI? Steve Toltz’s new novel has some ideas
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Seth Robinson, Lecturer, Professional Communications, Public Humanities & Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne The conditions for Russell “Rusty” Wilson’s life were set with the roll of a dice. After his parents announced their divorce, Rusty and his twin sister, Bonnie, were split up in a move

Polls suggest Trump still shielding Labor as right-wing vote drops
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 In my March 30 article about Newspoll and two other polls, I said Donald Trump’s unpopularity was shielding Labor from a backlash over the fuel crisis. The

The government has boxed itself in over fuel saving strategies – but there is a way out
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau While the government works to reassure New Zealanders that fuel stocks are stable, the numbers tell an uncomfortable story: the country has about 27 days of onshore cover for petrol and 17 days of

Earthrise to Earthset: how the planet’s climate has changed since the photo that inspired the environmental movement
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Dunstone, Climate Science Fellow, Met Office Hadley Centre A new Earthset image has been captured by the crew of Artemis II, 58 years since the iconic Earthrise photograph taken by the crew of Apollo 8. Over these past six decades, the climate has changed dramatically. “Oh

Swum into a jellyfish bloom recently? Here’s what may have triggered it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa-ann Gershwin, Research Scientist in Marine Biology, University of Tasmania On a calm summer morning in southern Australia, the water can look deceptively clear, until you see thousands of gelatinous shapes washing ashore. In January, thousands of pink lion’s mane jellyfish washed into Port Phillip Bay, prompting

Keith Rankin Analysis – The Axis Nuclear Option in light of Japan 1945
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 8 April 2026. Based on my reading of the latest upscaling of US rhetoric, one of the military options being considered by the Israeli-American axis is the nuclear option. Refer Trump says a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ if deal isn’t reached, One News, 8 April 2026. The possibility of Netanyahu

Should clinics prescribe medicinal cannabis that they also supply? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Mintzes, Professor in Pharmaceutical Policy, School of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney You can have an online consultation, be prescribed medicinal cannabis, and have it sent directly to your home, in a seamless operation. This one-stop-shop certainly sounds convenient. But not everyone’s happy.

6 things Australia should do to tackle the energy crisis rather than just building bigger fuel reserves
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University The three-page fuel plan the Australian government released last week was very light on detail. So too was Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s address to the nation. This week, Energy Minister Chris Bowen moved to reassure Australians their fuel supply was

Australia’s biggest stock exchange needs tougher competition, or we all risk paying the price
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Bird, Industry Fellow, Corporate Governance & Senior Lecturer, Swinburne Law School, Swinburne University of Technology Almost every Australian has a stake in how well the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) works. Most working adults have superannuation savings invested in companies listed on the ASX, which together are

Ancient Romans were obsessed with a plant said to be contraception and aphrodisiac. Then one day, it went extinct
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas J. Derrick, Gale Research Fellow in Ancient Glass and Material Culture, Macquarie University Roman leader Julius Caesar is said to have kept a stock of it in the treasury. Ancient writer Pliny the Elder says Rome’s Emperor Nero owned the last stalk of it. And some

Plagiarised research passed automated tests, and I detected it – but only because it copied my work
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Heward, Senior lecturer, Clinical Psychology, James Cook University Earlier this year, I published a paper on the ethics of researching military populations. The core argument was straightforward: the standard rules researchers follow to protect participants – for example, informed consent and voluntary participation – don’t work

Slopaganda wars: how (and why) the US and Iran are flooding the zone with viral AI-generated noise
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Alfano, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Macquarie University In early March, a week after the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the White House posted a video of real American attacks mixed with clips from popular movies, television series, video games and anime. Iran and its sympathisers responded

Open letter to Peters: We fought fascism. Why are we silent now?
OPEN LETTER: By Nureddin Abdurahman to NZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters Minister, You are about to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a time of real global tension. Moments like this define countries. My great-grandfather fought fascism. In 1935, when fascist Italy invaded my country of birth, Ethiopia, then Abyssinia, Emperor Haile Selassie

Ben Roberts-Smith is accused of 5 war crime murder charges. How did we get here?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Taucher, Lecturer in History, Murdoch University After landing in Sydney airport following a flight from Brisbane, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, was arrested by Australian Federal Police. He’s faced court in New South Wales and been charged with five counts of the war crime

This isn’t journalism – Australia’s Bowen beat-up and the Iran war
The Murdoch press runs cover for an illegal war by blaming the wrong man entirely, instead of informing the public of facts. Michael West Media reports. COMMENTARY: By Andrew Brown Here is a reliable indicator that you are being managed rather than informed. When the story gets complicated, when the real cause of your pain

It’s now easier to get antibiotics for UTIs. But here’s what to do if your symptoms don’t go away
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Iris Lim, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Science, Bond University You wake up with that familiar urgency to go to the toilet and burning when you pee – and no matter how many times you go, that urgency doesn’t let up. You know exactly what it is: a

Growing EV popularity is leading to queues at fast chargers. Could a kerbside charger network help?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bjorn Sturmberg, Senior Research Fellow, Battery Storage & Grid Integration Program, Australian National University The war on Iran has made crystal clear how shaky our reliance on fossil fuels is. It’s no surprise electric vehicles and transport have become more appealing. In Australia, sales of electric vehicles

Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply – why grocery price hikes are coming
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aya S. Chacar, Professor of International Business, Florida International University The global energy crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is only the beginning of the economic cost of the war with Iran. I study how institutions affect businesses and supply chains, and I

Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise to join Global Sumud Flotilla mission to Gaza
By Brett Wilkins Greenpeace International has announced that the MY Arctic Sunrise — one of its largest vessels — will be taking part in the upcoming Global Sumud Flotilla relaunch in order “to directly challenge Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid to Gaza”. The green group said the Arctic Sunrise, an icebreaker that’s been part of

What is ‘muscle memory’ and can I improve mine?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Celia Harris, Associate Professor in Cognitive Science, Western Sydney University Whether it’s riding a bike or knitting a sweater, there are some tasks you do without thinking. These are commonly associated with “muscle memory”, the idea your body can remember how to perform complex tasks and, over

Almost 200,000 New Zealanders are now living with long COVID – where is the government plan?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Donne Potter, Professor of Public Health, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University A high prevalence of long COVID is perhaps the starkest reminder that the pandemic is far from over. The latest New Zealand Health Survey confirms the impacts of the COVID pandemic continue, six

‘Vegan leather’ isn’t as sustainable or eco‑friendly as brands might claim
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Swee Lin Tan, Associate Professor in Fashion Entrepreneurship, RMIT University In a high-end fashion store or luxury car showroom, the term “vegan leather” sends a strong message of quality. For many shoppers, it promises the look and feel of real leather without using animal skins. As

‘Never have I felt so dependent on … feelings of one administration’, says NZ’s Willis on Trump and Iran
RNZ News New Zealand’s Finance Minister says she has “never felt so dependent on the actions and feelings of one administration and its leaders”, as concerns grow about the fuel shock triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. And the Prime Minister has called the US President’s foul-mouthed threats to Iran “unhelpful” and the US’

What is CREC and how does it shape Pete Hegseth’s religious rhetoric?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Perry, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Baylor University Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s conservative evangelical religious beliefs drew attention even before his confirmation hearings in January 2025. He is a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches – CREC – whose beliefs have been influenced by a

Can medicinal cannabis help kids’ autism, ADHD or Tourette’s? Here’s what we know so far
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Efron, Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne In the past ten years or so there has been a lot of interest to see if medicinal cannabis can help children with emotional and behavioural problems – the ones associated with conditions such as autism,

Australia’s alpine ash forests are now officially endangered. Can we save them?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Fairman, Forest and fire scientist, The University of Melbourne The tall alpine ash forests in Australia’s high country have lived in a delicate relationship with fire for tens of thousands of years. Intensifying fire seasons are threatening this balance to the extent the Federal Government has

Could NZ’s next Christchurch Call be a push for fairer, safer AI?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lensen, Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington For New Zealanders, artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming as much a part of everyday life as smartphones and social media did before it. According to the recently released 2026 InternetNZ Internet

This little-known government scheme can help retirees tap into $3 trillion of housing wealth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katja Hanewald, Associate Professor in Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Sydney For many Australians, most of their retirement wealth is tied up in their home. A simple, well-designed program to tap into those trillions in home equity could help boost their retirement incomes. Such a program exists.

All The President’s Men at 50: one of the finest films about investigative journalism ever made
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Nighttime. A dim and dingy car park. Woefully inadequate fluorescent lights flicker and buzz overhead. Two men stand in half-shadow. One is barely visible, his face almost entirely swallowed by darkness. His voice is low

By avoiding means testing, the government is giving handouts to the rich
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Breunig, Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia is a global success story. The structural reforms in the 1980s and ‘90s of liberalising trade, floating the dollar and reducing government involvement in the economy

From Jurassic Park to dreams of AI doom, pop culture shapes science more than we like to admit
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna-Sophie Jürgens, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and Founder of Popsicule, ANU’s Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub, Australian National University The relationship between science and pop culture often looks like a one-way street: scientific

‘No kings’: What Americans can learn from other nonviolent civil activism movements
ANALYSIS: Introduced by Robert Reich From time to time, I post transcripts I’ve come across of particularly insightful conversations. Here’s one that’s particularly relevant to the US “No Kings” Day protests at the weekend. Recently, The Conversation hosted a webinar in which executive editor and general manager Beth Daley interviewed John Shattuck, professor of practice

Monsters of war – the men who have put the world at risk
The war in Iran is in its second month. A war started by a criminal defendant, a convicted felon, and a blackmail network that explains everything Western leaders won’t say. Michael West Media reports. COMMENTARY: By Andrew Brown Two men are mainly responsible for the war on Iran. And then there are those — such

NZ’s Peters called on to stress Palestine ‘open wound’ with Rubio
Asia Pacific Report Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has appealed to Foreign Minister Winston Peters to stress to the Palestine genocide “open wound” in his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington this week. Co-chair Maher Nazzal of PSNA said in a statement the international crisis in West Asia “must be reined in”

Mass Easter resignations within Tahiti’s pro-independence ruling party
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A rift within French Polynesia’s ruling party Tavini Huiraatira deepened during Easter weekend with a mass resignation from a group of 14 members. The resignation was tendered by a group of young members of the local Territorial Assembly. In their resignation letter, the members of the

At least five Papuans reported dead as violence explodes in Dogiyai
RNZ Pacific Reports from West Papua say as many as five people have been shot dead in Dogiyai regency in an alleged retaliatory attack after a policeman was killed. A joint police and military operation was launched in the regency in Indonesia’s Central Papua province to respond to the killing, by apparent stabbing, of a

Richard David Hames: When will we make war untenable for the power elites?
COMMENTARY: By Richard David Hames An Easter message. There’s no mystery about why wars start. They happen because someone, somewhere, decides that negotiation is more dangerous to them than to the people being bombed. Look at what was happening this “Good” Friday. Iran. Gaza. The West Bank. Lebanon. Thirty-six days of missiles and a Strait

The unseen challenges of life on the Moon
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damian Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of South Wales For the first time since the Apollo era, humans are preparing not just to visit the Moon, but to live and work there for weeks, months – and eventually years. But what would it really be

Silence: a brief literary history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate McLoughlin, Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford Literature expresses complex and nuanced ideas – the powerful feelings that define us as human beings and the detailed observations that illuminate all aspects of our lives. It does so with words put together with consummate skill. So,

How medieval chess created a space in which players – regardless of race – could engage as equals
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Krisztina Ilko, Junior Research Fellow, Queens’ College and Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge In the medieval European imagination, racial difference was often highly polarised. Black people were perceived either as exotic status symbols – including saints and wealthy rulers such as the

Despairing at the state of the world? The ancient Greeks and Romans knew the feeling
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia If you’re feeling fed up with the way things are in the world, then, no matter your politics, you are experiencing an emotion people have felt for millennia. Perhaps you feel helpless. Maybe you

Lebanon’s political elites are using displacement and humanitarian crisis to delay elections again
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jasmin Lilian Diab, Assistant Professor of Migration Studies; Director of the Institute for Migration Studies, Lebanese American University Lebanon was meant to be preparing for key parliamentary elections in May 2026. Then came the return of war. Two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their military

Israel isn’t just responding to threats – it’s reshaping the Middle East
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Spyros A. Sofos, Assistant Professor in Global Humanities, Simon Fraser University Discussions about Israel’s role in the Middle East still revolve around threats and responses. Yet recent developments suggest that Israel isn’t only reacting to events, but is increasingly shaping the conditions in which they occur. This

Humans’ closest invertebrate ancestors date back much further than thought – how we discovered the fossils that show this
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Parry, Associate Professor of Palaeobiology, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford Animal life is extraordinarily diverse and complex, having colonised almost all environments on Earth – from hostile hydrothermal vents in the deep sea to the skies across our continents. But the planet was not

Bypass the Strait of Hormuz with nuclear explosives? The US studied that in Panama and Colombia in the 1960s
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Keiner, Chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology With the world struggling to get oil supplies moving from the Middle East, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich raised eyebrows with a social media post highlighting a radical idea: Use nuclear bombs

When is the best time to get your flu shot? 2 infectious diseases experts explain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Sydney We usually have to wait until winter approaches before we see an increase in cases of influenza, or the flu. But we have already seen a lot of flu this year, with 25,000 cases reported

Trump welcomes Columbus to the White House – and reignites America’s history wars
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato Christopher Columbus is back. At least, a statue of him is back, reinstalled by US President Donald Trump on the White House grounds in late March – part of the president’s stated mission to cancel “cancel

How will the Iran war change the Middle East? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin On February 28, the US and Israel launched a war against Iran following weeks of US military build-up in the region and threats from US President Donald Trump. In the ensuing weeks, Iran has retaliated by

The sound of our cities: why the Australian pedestrian button belongs in our archives
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miles Park, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Industrial Design, UNSW Sydney The PB/5 pedestrian crossing button is an immediately identifiable product in our physical and aural urban landscape. Now inducted into the National Film Sound Archive of Australia’s 2026 Sounds of Australia, it is one of very few physical

Want a dog-friendly workplace? Here’s what you’ll need to get right
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giuseppe Carabetta, Associate Professor of Workplace and Business Law, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney Dogs are increasingly appearing in Australian workplaces. From “take your dog to work” days to permanent pet-friendly offices, the trend is often framed as an easy win for staff morale. Evidence

How one local council helped 1,200 low-income residents finance solar and home energy upgrades
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paris Hadfield, Research Fellow, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Most of Australia’s existing homes are old, uncomfortable, and expensive to run. Too many are energy inefficient, and rising electricity and gas prices are making things worse. Mainstream programs are supporting home energy upgrades. But the transition

Farmers are boosting their profits and production – with nature’s help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Radford, Associate Professor, Ecology and Environment, La Trobe University Farming is a vital industry, contributing an estimated A$100 billion to the Australian economy this year alone. Nearly 60% of Australia is used for agriculture. The lion’s share of that land is used to graze livestock, such

Choosing a school holiday program can be tricky. Here’s how to identify a good one
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alyssa Milton, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney When the bell rings at the end of each term, there is a happy buzz as kids leave school for the break. But for many parents, the start of the holidays brings

Pope’s message for peace: ‘The Church cannot remain silent when power is used without moral responsibility’
Asia Pacific Report As tensions rose ahead of Easter, US President Donald Trump publicly criticised Pope Leo XIV, accusing the pontiff of “interfering in political matters he does not fully understand”. During a rally, Trump reportedly said: “The Vatican should focus on religion, not tell strong nations how they should defend themselves. America will always

Eugene Doyle: Who will pay billions in reparations to Iran? We will
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle In the coming years, if Iran survives as a sovereign state and retains control over the Strait of Hormuz, countries like Australia, New Zealand, the UK, South Korea and Japan will be made to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in reparations for the US-Israeli war on Iran. For this to

Protesters condemn Luxon govt for failing to condemn illegal war on Iran
Asia Pacific Report New Zealand’s government was taken to task today for its lack of a principled stand against Israel’s Gaza genocide and the illegal and unprovoked US-Israel war on Iran. Several speakers at a rally in the heart of Auckland expressed disappointment and anger at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s failure to condemn the war

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 4, 2026
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 4, 2026.