CoveragePost
May 20, 2026
Asia Pacific Report Three New Zealanders are being illegally held hostage by the Israeli military after security forces boarded more than 50 boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid bound for the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza. They have been named by the flotilla Aotearoa delegation as Mousa Taher, turning 39 next week; ... <a title="Family pleas for kidnapped 3 Kiwis as Gaza flotilla demands global activists’ freedom from Israel" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/family-pleas-for-kidnapped-3-kiwis-as-gaza-flotilla-demands-global-activists-freedom-from-israel-2/" aria-label="Read more about Family pleas for kidnapped 3 Kiwis as Gaza flotilla demands global activists’ freedom from Israel">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 20, 2026
By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A new law in Papua New Guinea, requiring a political parties to meet a quota for fielding women candidates, is being described as a step in the right direction, but maybe not far enough. The new elections rule that women must make up 10 percent of parties’ endorsed ... <a title="New bid to tackle Papua New Guinea’s chronic lack of women MPs" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/new-bid-to-tackle-papua-new-guineas-chronic-lack-of-women-mps/" aria-label="Read more about New bid to tackle Papua New Guinea’s chronic lack of women MPs">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 20, 2026
ANALYSIS: By Robert Reich On Saturday, Trump took revenge on Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy for Cassidy’s vote five years ago to convict Trump, in his second impeachment, for instigating an attack on the US Capitol. Cassidy thereby became the first GOP senator defeated by a Trump-endorsed candidate in a Republican primary. (Other Republican senators who ... <a title="Robert Reich: Has Trump’s Republican Party become a criminal enterprise?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/20/robert-reich-has-trumps-republican-party-become-a-criminal-enterprise/" aria-label="Read more about Robert Reich: Has Trump’s Republican Party become a criminal enterprise?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 19, 2026
Asia Pacific Report Türkiye has condemned Israel’s intervention against the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, describing it as “a new act of piracy”, reports TRT World News. In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israeli forces had yesterday intervened against the flotilla, which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. Three New Zealanders ... <a title="Türkiye condemns new Israeli ‘piracy’ against Gaza aid flotilla in international waters" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/19/turkiye-condemns-new-israeli-piracy-against-gaza-aid-flotilla-in-international-waters/" aria-label="Read more about Türkiye condemns new Israeli ‘piracy’ against Gaza aid flotilla in international waters">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 19, 2026
Tehran believes Trump will attack in the next 48 hours — and is ready to counter-escalate, writes US-Iran affairs analyst Trita Parsi. ANALYSIS: By Trita Parsi The Middle East is once again teetering on the brink as Trump appears poised to reignite war with Iran. Press reports indicate he will convene military advisers on Tuesday, ... <a title="Trita Parsi: Is Trump poised to restart the Iran war?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/19/trita-parsi-is-trump-poised-to-restart-the-iran-war/" aria-label="Read more about Trita Parsi: Is Trump poised to restart the Iran war?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 18, 2026
Middle East Monitor Israel is now perceived more negatively than any other country in the world, according to new global polling published by Nira Data as part of its 2026 democracy and country perception research. The five most positively perceived countries were Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Sweden and Italy. The findings place Israel at the bottom ... <a title="Israel becomes world’s most disliked country, global survey finds" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/18/israel-becomes-worlds-most-disliked-country-global-survey-finds/" aria-label="Read more about Israel becomes world’s most disliked country, global survey finds">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 18, 2026
COMMENTARY: By Kathrine Ross What a blast at the Auckland Writers Festival today, I had tickets for Marika and I to attend Palestinian writer Tareq Baconi’s talk and decided to dress up and wear my Palestine-flag-dress. Little did I know the stir it would cause — the Aotea Centre security literally chased me through the ... <a title="Palestine on patrol – how a flag-dress caused a writers’ stir for justice" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/18/palestine-on-patrol-how-a-flag-dress-caused-a-writers-stir-for-justice/" aria-label="Read more about Palestine on patrol – how a flag-dress caused a writers’ stir for justice">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 18, 2026
ANALYSIS: By Laurens Ikinia in Jakarta The eighth floor of the Tempo building in Jakarta became the setting for a gathering rich with meaning. What brought together community leaders, politicians, academics, religious figures, journalists, and the family of the late Thom Beanal was not merely a book launch. It was an earnest attempt to revisit ... <a title="Thom Beanal – saluting a human rights legacy for Papua’s ‘father’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/18/thom-beanal-saluting-a-human-rights-legacy-for-papuas-father/" aria-label="Read more about Thom Beanal – saluting a human rights legacy for Papua’s ‘father’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 17, 2026
By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor Niue’s assembly has re-elected Dalton Tagelagi as its prime minister, continuing his leadership for the next three years. Tagelagi, 57, has led Niue since 2020 and was nominated alongside Emani Fakaotimanava-Lui during the leadership vote. The 19th Niue Assembly was officially sworn in on Wednesday local time. Billy ... <a title="Close vote sees Niue’s Dalton Tagelagi back in as prime minister" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/17/close-vote-sees-niues-dalton-tagelagi-back-in-as-prime-minister/" aria-label="Read more about Close vote sees Niue’s Dalton Tagelagi back in as prime minister">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 17, 2026
PROFILE: By Campion Ohasio The Solomon Islands has entered a new political era. In a historic morning at Parliament House yesterday, Matthew Cooper Wale was elected as the nation’s new Prime Minister. His victory marks the culmination of a dramatic week in Honiara and signals a potential shift in both the country’s internal management and ... <a title="New chapter for Hapi Isles – Matthew Wale takes the helm as PM" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/17/new-chapter-for-hapi-isles-matthew-wale-takes-the-helm-as-pm/" aria-label="Read more about New chapter for Hapi Isles – Matthew Wale takes the helm as PM">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 17, 2026
Fijian Media Association Fiji’s media workers finally got to celebrate their World Press Freedom Day this week 11 days late — on Thursday, May 14. The event was pushed back from its traditional May 3 global date — which fell on a Sunday this year — to accommodate a packed news cycle dominated by parliamentary ... <a title="Fiji’s journalists celebrate belated World Press Freedom Day – but warn of threats" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/17/fijis-journalists-celebrate-belated-world-press-freedom-day-but-warn-of-threats/" aria-label="Read more about Fiji’s journalists celebrate belated World Press Freedom Day – but warn of threats">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 17, 2026
ANALYSIS: By David Robie, Pacific Media Watch When the Paris-based global watchdog Reporters Without Borders released their annual World Press Freedom Index dossier online three days before World Press Freedom Day, journalists in the Asia-Pacific region were quick to check out their ranking. Overall the prognosis wasn’t very flattering. No country in the region was ... <a title="Improvements in Pacific media freedom, but a shameful silence on Gaza ‘death trap’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/05/17/improvements-in-pacific-media-freedom-but-a-shameful-silence-on-gaza-death-trap/" aria-label="Read more about Improvements in Pacific media freedom, but a shameful silence on Gaza ‘death trap’">Read more</a>
