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Fri, Dec 19, 2025 09:23 PM All times are UTC

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USAID’s apparent demise and the US withdrawal from WHO put millions of lives worldwide at risk and imperil US national security

| Insights & Views

USAID was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as a way to consolidate existing foreign aid programs. JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images On his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump began a...

Giant glaciers pulverised Earth’s ancient rocks, setting the stage for complex life

| Insights & Views

Petr Jan Juracka / Shutterstock Imagine floating in space, gazing on a frozen white orb. The ball hangs in the void, lonely and gleaming in the light from its star. From pole to equator, the sphere is covered in a thick...

AI-detection software isn’t the solution to classroom cheating — assessment has to shift

| Insights & Views

Two years since the release of ChatGPT, teachers and institutions are still struggling with assessment in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Some have banned AI tools outright. Others have turned to AI tools only to...

Presumed extinct, this desert rat-kangaroo may still be alive in hiding. New analysis reveals its delicate diet

| Insights & Views

Hedley Herbert Finlayson, The Red Centre, 1935 When it comes to how hard an animal can bite, size always matters. There may be no truer a case of this than the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris), known as the...

‘They’re meant to help and did the complete opposite’: many children feel silenced by family courts

| Insights & Views

Bricolage/AAP When parental separation ends up in the family courts, serious risks such as family violence, child abuse, drug, alcohol or substance misuse, and mental health issues are often involved. But many children...

Ignore the ‘ivory tower’ clichés – universities are the innovation partners more Kiwi businesses need

| Insights & Views

When it comes to turning research into real-world success, New Zealand has a problem. Despite the countrys NZ$3.7 billion research and development spending in 2023 a 17% jump from the previous year too many New Zealand...

Your super fund is invested in private markets. What are they and why has ASIC raised concerns?

| Insights & Views

If you are a member of a super fund, some of your long-term savings are probably invested in private markets. Public markets are familiar to most of us the stock market and government and corporate bond markets. Private...

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Economy

EU Delays Mercosur Free Trade Agreement Signing Amid Ukraine War Funding Talks

The European Union has decided to delay the formal signing of its long-anticipated free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, as EU leaders convened in Brussels to prioritize discussions on funding Ukraines war effort....

Precious Metals Rally as Silver and Platinum Outperform on Rate Cut Bets

Gold prices edged slightly lower in Asian trading on Friday but were still on track to post modest weekly gains, as strong safe-haven demand continued to support the precious metals market. At the same time, silver and...

Oil Prices Steady in Asia but Headed for Weekly Loss on Supply Glut Concerns

Oil prices were mostly steady during Asian trading on Friday, but both major benchmarks were still on track to record a second consecutive weekly decline as persistent concerns over a global supply glut continued to...

New Zealand Business Confidence Hits 30-Year High as Economic Outlook Improves

New Zealands business confidence surged sharply in December, reaching its highest level in three decades, according to the latest ANZ Bank Business Outlook survey released on Friday. The data highlights growing optimism...

BOJ Poised for Historic Rate Hike as Japan Signals Shift Toward Monetary Normalization

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is widely expected to raise interest rates to a three-decade high, marking another milestone in its gradual exit from ultra-loose monetary policy. At the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Friday,...

Politics

U.S. and China Push for Ceasefire as Thailand–Cambodia Border Clashes Escalate

China and the United States are intensifying separate diplomatic efforts to revive a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, as Southeast Asian leaders prepare for a crucial ASEAN meeting aimed at addressing the worst...

Syria, Kurds and U.S. Race to Show Progress on SDF Integration Deal

Syrian, Kurdish and U.S. officials are intensifying diplomatic efforts ahead of a year-end deadline to demonstrate progress on a long-stalled agreement to integrate Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian state, according to...

Putin Signals Possible Peace or Continued War in Ukraine at Major Year-End Address

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to send a significant signal to the United States and European powers regarding the future of the Ukraine war when he speaks at his annual end-of-year news conference on Friday....

Trump Administration Reviews Nvidia H200 Chip Sales to China, Marking Major Shift in U.S. AI Export Policy

The U.S. government under President Donald Trump has launched a formal review that could pave the way for the first-ever shipments of Nvidias H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to multiple sources...

Trump Signs Order to Ease Federal Marijuana Rules, Signaling Major Policy Shift

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to loosen regulations on marijuana, a move that could mark one of the most significant changes in U.S. cannabis policy in decades. The...

Science

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...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

TikTok U.S. Deal Advances as ByteDance Signs Binding Joint Venture Agreement

TikTok has taken a major step toward securing its future in the United States after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, announced it has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new joint venture...

Oracle Stock Surges After Hours on TikTok Deal Optimism and OpenAI Fundraising Buzz

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) shares surged sharply in extended trading on Thursday, reflecting renewed investor optimism fueled by reports of a potential U.S. TikTok transaction and fresh fundraising discussions...

Apple Opens iPhone to Alternative App Stores in Japan Under New Competition Law

Apple has announced a major shift in its App Store policies in Japan, opening iPhones and other Apple devices to alternative app stores in order to comply with new competition laws aimed at reshaping the countrys...

Micron Technology Forecasts Surge in Revenue and Earnings on AI-Driven Memory Demand

Micron Technology delivered record first-quarter results and issued a bullish forecast for the current quarter, driven by rising memory prices and strong demand linked to artificial intelligence workloads. The upbeat...

Oracle Stock Slides After Blue Owl Exit Report, Company Says Michigan Data Center Talks Remain on Track

Oracle shares fell more than 4% on Wednesday after a Financial Times report claimed that Blue Owl Capital, Oracles largest U.S. data center partner, decided not to support a planned $10 billion data center project in...