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Ursula von der Leyen approaches her 2026 State of the Union address with the European Commission exercising an expanding role in defence, migration, borrowing, digital regulation and support for Ukraine. Behind the institutional language lies a larger question: how much power and financial responsibility is moving towards Brussels, and how effectively are those decisions being scrutinised? INR Report: Based on reporting by the RT newsroom in…

In 2008, NATO made an unequivocal declaration: Ukraine and Georgia "will become members of NATO." Fourteen years later, Russia invaded Ukraine, setting in motion a devastating war, transforming European security and generating hundreds of billions of dollars in military expenditure. INR Report: Based on remarks by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, examined against declassified diplomatic records, NATO documents, Ukrainian parliamentary records, corporate…

Germany has developed an unusual system for financing weapons for Ukraine: German taxpayers provide billions of euros, German officials scrutinise projects, but Ukraine can become the legal purchaser. The arrangement has dramatically accelerated weapons procurement while raising a fundamental question about how transparency and competitive safeguards operate when public money moves outside conventional purchasing structures INR Report: Based on…

Ukraine spirals further into political turmoil, as its former Prosecutor General, who’s being probed for corruption, accuses the head of Kiev’s anti-graft agency NABU of forgery and unlawful benefit. The US president warns Ukraine to stop attacking Russia’s energy infrastructure. Anti-government protests rage for a second day in Syria, as people demand the resignation of senior officials over a sharp rise in fuel prices.

Andy Loader argues that New Zealand’s debate over the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori representation and co-governance has become increasingly disconnected from the principles of equal citizenship. Looking from the conflicts preceding 1840 through to today’s political institutions, he challenges prevailing interpretations of the Treaty and asks whether race-based representation and policy can be reconciled with a modern democracy in which every…

Every Jewish New Year, thousands of Hasidic pilgrims travel into Ukraine to gather at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Their destination is Uman, but behind that pilgrimage lies a much longer and more complicated journey through Jerusalem, Babylon, Persia, the Caucasus, Khazaria, medieval Europe, Poland-Lithuania, the lands of present-day Ukraine and finally the modern State of Israel. An eLocal Feature · Every Rosh Hashanah, an unusual…

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is proposing that from 2029, eligibility for NZ Superannuation should require New Zealand citizenship, not simply permanent residency. Duncan Garner argues the proposal deserves serious debate as the cost of Super rises and an ageing population places increasing pressure on future taxpayers. Winston Peters Wants NZ Super Restricted to Citizens · NZ First proposal puts residency, citizenship and Super…

The Ukraine war is usually presented as beginning on 24 February 2022: Russia invaded, Ukraine resisted and the West rallied to its defence. But political scientist Ivan Katchanovski argues the real story begins years earlier, with Maidan, the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, Crimea, Donbas and Western intervention. His research raises a far harder question: how many Ukrainians can be sacrificed before defending the country becomes…

Political scientist Ivan Katchanovski argues that Ukraine's military, economic and manpower position is becoming increasingly unsustainable as Russian forces continue advancing. In a wide-ranging interview with Lena Petrova, he challenges Western narratives about the battlefield, forced mobilisation and the prospects for victory, arguing that continued Western support is prolonging a war Ukraine cannot win. INR Report: Based on an interview…

In this opinion, former police officer Mike McDaniel argues that Sweden’s tougher approach to organised crime, including deporting foreign offenders, increased policing and measures aimed at gang recruitment, has contributed to a dramatic fall in shootings. With Sweden facing another election, he questions whether voters will continue supporting the policies he credits with reversing years of escalating gang violence. Opinion by Mike McDaniel |…