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In his column Biosafety Now, Dr. Simon Wain-Hobson revisits controversial gain of function research conducted in 2014 funded by US NIH contract HHSN26620070001 which successfully managed to transfer the H7N1 avian (bird flu) virus from ostriches to ferrets. Once transferred, the virus established itself in the ‘captive’ lab ferrets sufficiently to cause airborne transmission to other ferrets without loss of virulence. H7N1 is as deadly for…

The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Flights through the Middle East have been cancelled. Petrol has surged well past $3 a litre. · Four thousand shipping containers of New Zealand meat and dairy sit stranded on rerouted vessels. Tourism operators are fielding mass cancellations. The Reserve Bank Governor gave an emergency speech to business leaders on Tuesday. · The national conversation, understandably, is about issues such as fuel prices,…

The first four parts of this series traced the hollowing out of New Zealand from structure to consequence. We began with a country that was once highly sovereign in practical terms — productive, internally anchored, and comparatively resilient. We followed the monetary shifts, the capital liberalisation, the foreign banking dominance, the housing-led financialisation, the deindustrialisation, and finally the shock exposure of recent years. Par…

Not Resource Poor — Policy Poor · New Zealand has been told for decades that it is an energy-dependent nation. · Too small. Too remote. Too reliant on global supply. · But the data tells a different story — not of scarcity, but of system design. · The Numbers Don’t Lie · Between April 2020 and March 2021, New Zealand produced about 1.48 billion litres of oil, condensate and LPG, exported about 1.11 billion litres of that total, and imported…

Trump handed Putin a soft power victory that earned him thunderous applause from the World Majority. · Andrew Korybko · Trump declined to enforce the US’ de facto blockade on Cuba for a Russian oil tanker that was carrying enough fuel to meet the island’s needs for approximately one week. In his words, “We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload, because they have to survive. If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now,…

In this episode of RT’s Sanchez Effect Rick discusses the Iran war with Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Amid news and speculation about a possible US ground invasion of Iran, Parsi says it would be a disastrous mistake for Trump because right now, he still has the backing of many Americans, with Fox News and legacy media ‘misinformation’ helping him. · However, …

No help from the US. As Washington's war on Iran sends shockwaves across the global energy market.. Donald Trump tells oil-poor nations to buy pricey American Petrol, or attack the Strait of Hormuz themselves. Israeli hardliners celebrate the passing of a hugely controversial bill that green-lights the hanging of those convicted of carrying out deadly terror attacks in West Bank. Critics say the law discriminates against…

American forces reportedly fired a missile that disperses small tungsten pellets at the city of Lamerd · FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises after US-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on March 13, 2026. ©  Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu / Getty Images · The US struck a school and sports hall in the southern Iranian city of Lamerd with a ballistic missile previously untested in combat, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing its own…

Tyler Robinson’s defense team may use this argument in an attempt to get the charges against him dropped · Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, September 10, 2025 ©  Getty Images;  Trent Nelson · Investigators could not match the bullet that killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk to the rifle used by his alleged assassin, lawyers for the suspect have…

Tehran has warned Kiev it would become a legitimate target if its involvement in the US-Israeli war continues, Farhad Ibragimov has said · A missile fired from a vessel during Iranian navy drill in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, August 21, 2025 ©  Masoud Nazari Mehrabi / Iranian Army via AP · An Iranian strike that reportedly destroyed a depot of Ukrainian anti-drone systems in Dubai served as a “slap in the face” to…