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New Zealand’s economic narrative is shifting. · According to the latest insights from Kiwibank’s Kiwi Economics commentary, the country is emerging from a difficult period — with signs of recovery beginning to appear across housing, employment, and consumer activity. Lower interest rates are starting to “do their job,” easing pressure and lifting confidence. ([Kiwibank][1]) · On paper, the outlook looks encouraging. · But beneath the surface,…

Arguments about the current energy crisis have shifted. It is no longer just about what ministers are doing now. It is also about what they chose not to do when they had the chance. This morning brought the clearest accountability journalism to this debate. Kate MacNamara in the Herald and Edward Miller in The Post both zero in on the same issue: New Zealand was left more exposed than it needed to be, and ministers were warned about the…

In this episode of Duncan Garner, Editor-in-Chief, we dive into the mounting pressure on Labour leader Chris Hipkins. · Read my full take here: https://www.rova.nz/articles/opinion-... · Duncan argues that the case for his resignation is now black and white following revelations about COVID vaccine advice for 12 to 17-year-olds. We break down the timeline of a March cabinet paper that referenced health risks for teenagers, which Hipkins told…

The Iran war is ending on Trump's schedule, backed by a pre-planned economic and energy strategy that is breaking the transatlantic energy-control system while exposing states and nations that rejected Drill, Baby, Drill. · Barbara Boyd · Barbara Boyd argues the Iran war is being compressed toward a defined endpoint determined by President Trump and key Arab allies in the Abraham Accords, who want Iran no longer to pose a military…

Never before has the US had the dual incentive for radically reforming NATO after the bloc refused its request to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the US now officially prioritizes restoring its dominance in the Western Hemisphere and containing China over containing Russia. · Andrew Korybko · Trump raged against NATO last week after it refused his request to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was analyzed here as throwing the bloc…

The combined effect of the UAE and Saudi Arabia exerting pressure on Russia could really harm its interests. · Andrew Korybko · Zelensky dispatched drone experts and interceptor drones to the Gulf Kingdoms last month to aid them in thwarting Iranian attacks of the sort that Ukraine became accustomed to over the past four years due to Russia using Iranian drones (or domestically produced variants) in its own attacks. It was assessed…

US President Donald Trump will decide what to do regarding the bloc after ending the war with Iran, the Pentagon chief has said · US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. © Getty Images / Win McNamee · US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has refused to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to NATO’s collective defense, pointing to the bloc’s refusal to assist or participate in the American-Israeli war on Iran.  · Speaking at a Pentagon…

Moscow has denied giving Kiev two months to withdraw from Donbass, insisting Ukrainian forces should have left “yesterday” · FILE PHOTO. Kremlin. © Getty Images / David Clapp · The Kremlin has dismissed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Moscow issued a two‑month ultimatum for Kiev to withdraw from Russia’s Donbass region, insisting that the troops should have left the region long ago. · Speaking to…

Draft enforcers now wear civilian clothing and include women in their ranks, the Berliner Zeitung has reported · FILE PHOTO: New recruits training at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. © Getty Images / Maciek Musialek · Ukrainian draft enforcers have begun employing new, more elaborate tactics to catch potential conscripts unawares, the Berliner Zeitung (BZ) has reported. The steps are said to include deploying women as…

Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi armed groups and the Houthis in Yemen are helping the Islamic Republic widen the conflict and raise its costs By Murad Sadygzade, President of the Middle East Studies Center, Visiting Lecturer, HSE University (Moscow). https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/murad-sadygzade/Telegram · ©  Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images · The war’s second ‘ring of fire*’ is no longer forming around Iran. It…