Independent Analysis and Reportage
Source: Radio New Zealand The government’s redesigned branding places “New Zealand Government” in bold above “Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa”, reversing the previous order. Supplied / Screenshot The government has updated its official branding to give greater prominence to English over te reo Māori, following a directive from new Public Service Minister Paul Goldsmith. The Public…
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is almost upon us. This sporting spectacle – the largest ever World Cup, with 48 teams – will generate ... <a title="Why Trump and FIFA are perfect bedfellows as the World Cup heads to the US" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/why-trump-and-fifa-are-perfect-bedfellows-as-the-world-cup-heads-to-the-us-276172/" aria-label="Read more about Why Trump and FIFA are perfect bedfellows as the World Cup heads to the US">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago Today’s announcement by Texas-based de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences about a successful hatching of chicks from an artificial egg would represent a major innovation, if the claims can be verified. The company says its artificial egg supports the ... <a title="De-extinction company says it’s made an artificial egg – if true, it could help save living species" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/de-extinction-company-says-its-made-an-artificial-egg-if-true-it-could-help-save-living-species-283138/" aria-label="Read more about De-extinction company says it’s made an artificial egg – if true, it could help save living species">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Evans, Adjunct Researcher, English and Writing, University of Tasmania During the final season of Lena Dunham’s acclaimed comedy drama series, Girls, the character she plays, Hannah Horvath, says her ambition as a writer is to make people laugh about painful things. In real life, this is ... <a title="Famesick: Lena Dunham makes us laugh about a dream job turned brutal nightmare" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/famesick-lena-dunham-makes-us-laugh-about-a-dream-job-turned-brutal-nightmare-282725/" aria-label="Read more about Famesick: Lena Dunham makes us laugh about a dream job turned brutal nightmare">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands outside China’s Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, for 14 seconds. Almost immediately, we saw various pundits trying ... <a title="From ancient kings to Trump and Xi: when did humans start shaking hands? And why?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/from-ancient-kings-to-trump-and-xi-when-did-humans-start-shaking-hands-and-why-283078/" aria-label="Read more about From ancient kings to Trump and Xi: when did humans start shaking hands? And why?">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Russo, Professor, Director of Research, Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University Six passengers from the hantavirus cruise ship have started their quarantine at Australia’s purpose-built facility in Western Australia. Over the next three weeks, the Australians and one New Zealander will be housed at the 500-bed Bullsbrook ... <a title="Hantavirus quarantine has started. Two infection control experts explain what to expect" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/hantavirus-quarantine-has-started-two-infection-control-experts-explain-what-to-expect-282967/" aria-label="Read more about Hantavirus quarantine has started. Two infection control experts explain what to expect">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tamara Wilkinson, Lecturer in Private Investment Law, Monash University With this year’s budget, the Albanese government has delivered a suite of bold tax reforms aimed at improving Australia’s “intergenerational equity” – particularly young people’s access to home ownership. The reception, however, has been mixed. Some groups have ... <a title="Are this budget’s tax changes really an ‘assault on aspiration’?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/are-this-budgets-tax-changes-really-an-assault-on-aspiration-283264/" aria-label="Read more about Are this budget’s tax changes really an ‘assault on aspiration’?">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zhonghua Zheng, Assistant Professor in Data Science and Environmental Analytics, University of Manchester More than half the world’s population now lives in cities that are often much hotter than their rural surroundings. Roads, buildings and paved surfaces absorb and store heat during the day, then release it ... <a title="How traffic makes cities warmer" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/how-traffic-makes-cities-warmer-283195/" aria-label="Read more about How traffic makes cities warmer">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelley Cotter, Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State Anthropic, the company behind the generative AI tool Claude, claimed in March 2026 that it used an AI interviewer to conduct “the largest and most multilingual qualitative study” ever done. The AI tool collected responses from ... <a title="AI interviewers can’t connect with people the way human researchers can – they can produce only data, not meaning" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/ai-interviewers-cant-connect-with-people-the-way-human-researchers-can-they-can-produce-only-data-not-meaning-279437/" aria-label="Read more about AI interviewers can’t connect with people the way human researchers can – they can produce only data, not meaning">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Christine Reynolds, Associate Professor in Hominin Palaeoecology, Bournemouth University For most of the 20th century, the model of human origins was a tree: with the trunk dividing into branches, and then twigs. Each species of human relative (hominin) was a neat, single branch. As an undergraduate, ... <a title="Ancient tooth proteins suggest ‘Homo erectus’ may have left a genetic legacy in people today" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/19/ancient-tooth-proteins-suggest-homo-erectus-may-have-left-a-genetic-legacy-in-people-today-282785/" aria-label="Read more about Ancient tooth proteins suggest ‘Homo erectus’ may have left a genetic legacy in people today">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania Days after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied American forces the use of the Naval Station Rota and the Morón Air Base – installations that ... <a title="Why the Iran war is breaking the US-European strategic alliance" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/19/why-the-iran-war-is-breaking-the-us-european-strategic-alliance-281975/" aria-label="Read more about Why the Iran war is breaking the US-European strategic alliance">Read more</a>
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vitomir Kovanovic, Professor and Associate Director of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L), Education Futures, Adelaide University The pre-print website arXiv has announced that researchers who put their names to papers which included errors clearly generated by artificial intelligence (AI) will face a year-long ... <a title="A key science publishing platform is cracking down on AI slop" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/19/a-key-science-publishing-platform-is-cracking-down-on-ai-slop-283136/" aria-label="Read more about A key science publishing platform is cracking down on AI slop">Read more</a>