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Featured Comment & Analysis stories
Why do phones sometimes not ring when people call?
Analysis - And how do they actually work?
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Israel's attacks on Iran hint at bigger goal - regime change
14 Jun 2025Analysis - Israel's surprise attack aims to disrupt Tehran's nuclear programme, but the scale, choice of targets and its politicians' own words suggest another…
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What's it like to survive a mass disaster?
14 Jun 2025Being a sole survivor of a mass casualty event can have complex psychological challenges. Audio
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Los Angeles protests not the American dream
13 Jun 2025Analysis: As the Trump administration cracks down on undocumented migrants, stages mass deportations and raids workplaces, for many the American dream is…
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
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Trump's China 'truce' is nothing of the sort
13 Jun 2025Analysis: Tariff rates from both countries remain historically high, and significant export restrictions remain in place.
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NZ’s goal to get smoking rates under 5 percent this year – why that’s highly unlikely
11 Jun 2025Analysis: Smoking rates in New Zealand have flatlined rather than fallen for the first time in a decade.
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With so many parties 'ruling out' working with each other, is MMP losing its way?
11 Jun 2025Analysis: At next year's election, voters will effectively face the same scenario they confronted under electoral rules rejected over 30 years ago.
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Fake news and real cannibalism: a cautionary tale from the Dutch Golden Age
10 Jun 2025What can happen when disinformation is allowed to run rampant.
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Trump seizes on LA protests in contentious use of military amid migrant crackdown
10 Jun 2025Analysis: Unrest sparked by federal immigration raids in Los Angeles provided a questionable catalyst for President Donald Trump to stage a demonstration of military force.
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Labour faces balancing act over haka protest
6 Jun 2025The saga over Te Pāti Māori's protest has ended - but it foreshadows fault lines to come, Craig McCulloch writes. Audio
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Making it easier to build a granny flat makes sense - but it's no solution to a housing crisis
Analysis: Soon granny flats up to 70sqm will not need consents.
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Trump-Musk divorce threatens a business empire
7 Jun 2025Analysis - Elon Musk's decision to go all in on Donald Trump never made much sense. His scorched-earth approach to breaking up with Trump is even harder to square.
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The ugliest things Trump and Musk just said about one another
6 Jun 2025From calls for impeachment to claims about the "Epstein files" and name-calling - a fight between the two has rapidly escalated.
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Trump is increasingly hostile to China. He’s playing with fire
6 Jun 2025Analysis: Despite concerns over a trade war, the US President has notched quite a few wins on his economic belt in recent weeks.
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Resignation of PM's press secretary highlights gaps in NZ law on covert recording and harassment
5 Jun 2025The police have said the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
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Supermarket sector competition reports like Groundhog Day
5 Jun 2025Analysis - The latest report on the supermarket duopoly concludes much as the first report.
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‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes
4 Jun 2025In all sorts of situations, users are lip synching to audio clips of Broadway star Jennifer Simard.
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The problem with local body candidates aligning with national political parties
4 Jun 2025Political party affiliations in local government are not actually the norm.
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Antarctica's sea ice is changing, impacting the marine food web
29 May 2025Changes could ripple through ecosystems further afield with the potential to affect key fisheries in the Southern Ocean, Jacqui Stuart and Natalie Robinson write.
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What's the future of local music in the streaming age?
28 May 2025Analysis: As Music Month turns 25, it highlights their lack of visibility on streaming services and commercial radio.
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How to fix the confusing, dull Monaco Grand Prix?
27 May 2025Analysis: This year's race went from dull to borderline comical.
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Fourth time lucky? ACT's regulatory standards law may finally pass
26 May 2025This is the fourth time since 2006 a similar law has been proposed by the ACT Party during different governments.
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What we learnt as Raiders ended Warriors' NRL winning streak
26 May 2025Analysis - The 'Green Machine' have now accounted for their trans-Tasman rivals twice this season.
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Head knocks and ultra-violence: The viral dangers of Run It Straight
25 May 2025Opinion - Social media appeal and simplicity may be a large part of why the concerningly dangerous new tackling game Run It Straight has begun to capture attention and crowds in Australasia, three…
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KiwiSaver at a crossroads: Another missed opportunity to fix NZ's retirement scheme
25 May 2025Analysis: Changes to KiwiSaver laid out in this year's Budget undermine what was already an underperforming scheme.
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How snails and oysters became luxury foods
23 May 2025Analysis - From a cheap source of protein to a luxury food, how did oysters and escargot become items of conspicuous consumption?
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Peace in Ukraine looks further away after Trump’s call with Putin
Analysis - Most observers believe there will be no peace unless America exerts maximum leverage.
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Why was the Privileges Committee so harsh on Te Pāti Māori MPs?
17 May 2025Analysis: Reactions and advice from Parliament's Clerk, Speaker and even the committee chair show it has recommended harsh punishments.
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