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Insights & Views

Fri, Feb 13, 2026 12:13 AM All times are UTC

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Iraqi Kurdistan faces a deepening economic crisis as unpaid wages pile up

| Insights & Views

A man waves the Kurdistan flag in northern Iraq. Felix Friebe / Shutterstock Public sector workers in Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq, have endured irregular and delayed salary payments for more...

Ukraine has a wealth of critical minerals − but extracting them isn’t so simple

| Insights & Views

A dragline excavator mines rare earth materials in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2025. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images Ukraines mineral wealth has been a key factor in negotiations with the U.S. over a...

Fresh fruit down, junk food up: our modelling suggests Australians’ diets will get worse by 2030

| Insights & Views

Farknot Architect/Shutterstock The age-old saying you are what you eat rings true diet quality affects our health from the inside out. While a healthy diet can improve health and wellbeing, a poor diet increases the risk...

A new definition of antisemitism from Universities Australia is attracting criticism – two historians explain why

| Insights & Views

Since Hamass attack on Israel on October 7 2023, and Israels war in Gaza, there has been a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents, some of these occurring at Australian universities. The wars ongoing reverberations have...

‘Benevolent’ bosses are also more generous with their company tax information

| Insights & Views

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock For over a decade, there has been an increase in calls for multinational corporations to be forced to disclose tax information publicly. The idea is that enhanced transparency reduces tax...

Australia’s superb lyrebirds ‘farm’ the forest floor to increase their prey – a behaviour rarely seen in nature

| Insights & Views

Miles Clifford Triniman/Shutterstock In wet forests of southeastern Australia, superb lyrebirds engage in extraordinary behaviour tilling the soil to create habitats for their prey to flourish. The superb lyreird...

Australia – like everyone else – fails to win exemption from Trump’s tariffs on aluminium and steel

| Insights & Views

Australia has failed to win an exemption from Donald Trumps 25% tariffs on aluminium and steel, but the government has vowed to fight on for a carve out. The White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, told Australian media...

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Economy

Oil Prices Edge Higher as US-Iran Tensions and Strong Payroll Data Shape Market Sentiment

Oil prices moved higher in Asian trading on Thursday as ongoing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran kept a risk premium firmly embedded in crude markets. Investors closely monitored developments in the...

Gold and Silver Prices Slip After Strong U.S. Jobs Data, Fed Rate Cut Bets Fade

Gold and silver prices edged lower in Asian trading on Thursday after stronger-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. However, ongoing geopolitical...

Asian Stocks Hit Record High as Strong U.S. Jobs Data Tempers Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Asian stocks surged to fresh record highs on Thursday, supported by a rally in technology shares and renewed investor confidence across the region. South Korean and Japanese equities led gains in early trading, pushing...

RBA Signals Further Interest Rate Hikes if Inflation Persists, Says Governor Michele Bullock

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock has warned that additional interest rate hikes remain possible if inflation in Australia becomes entrenched, underscoring the central banks firm commitment to...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Strong Jobs Data Clouds Fed Rate Cut Outlook

U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday evening following a muted session on Wall Street, as investors weighed a stronger-than-expected jobs report that dampened expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate...

Politics

House Votes to End Trump’s Canada Tariff Emergency, Senate Showdown Looms

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to terminate the national emergency declared by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Canada, marking a significant development in the ongoing debate over...

Pentagon Seeks Broader Access to AI Tools on Classified Military Networks

The Pentagon is accelerating efforts to deploy advanced artificial intelligence tools across both unclassified and classified military networks, signaling a major shift in how the U.S. Department of Defense plans to...

Trump to Host Governors at White House Amid Dispute Over Democratic Invitations

President Donald Trump plans to host a bipartisan group of U.S. governors at the White House on February 20, according to National Governors Association (NGA) Chairman Kevin Stitt. The annual NGA meeting in Washington...

U.S. Offers Payments to Afghans in Qatar as Camp As Sayliyah Closure Nears

The U.S. State Department has begun offering financial incentives to Afghans stranded in Qatar to encourage voluntary repatriation, as officials move to shut down Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) by the end of March. The facility, a...

Angus Taylor Challenges Sussan Ley as Liberal Party Leadership Tensions Escalate

Australias opposition leader Sussan Ley is facing mounting pressure within the Liberal Party after senior frontbencher Angus Taylor resigned from his role as shadow defence minister, signaling a potential leadership...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

U.S. Commerce Department Reaches $252 Million Settlement With Applied Materials Over China Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced a $252 million settlement with Applied Materials, resolving allegations that the semiconductor equipment maker illegally exported U.S. chip manufacturing technology to China....

Russia Moves to Fully Block WhatsApp as Kremlin Pushes State-Backed MAX App

Russia has reportedly attempted to fully block WhatsApp, the popular messaging service owned by Meta Platforms, as part of its broader efforts to tighten control over the countrys digital space. According to a company...

Instagram CEO Defends Platform in Youth Mental Health Lawsuit Over Social Media Addiction Claims

Adam Mosseri, head of Meta Platforms Instagram, defended the companys product decisions during a high-profile trial in Los Angeles centered on allegations that social media addiction has contributed to a youth mental...

FTC Questions Apple News Over Alleged Bias Against Conservative Media

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has raised concerns about Apple News following allegations that the platform favors left-leaning media outlets while excluding conservative publications. In a letter addressed to...

ByteDance Advances AI Chip Development With Samsung Manufacturing Talks

Chinas ByteDance is accelerating its push into artificial intelligence hardware, reportedly developing its own AI chip while holding discussions with Samsung Electronics for manufacturing support. The TikTok parent company...