68,000 to lose their jobs; Government advised to use embryos for research; judges get 4.8 percent pay increase; iwi to buy land at Miramar Peninsula; Fiji standoff unresolved; Labour Party staffers allegedly stole wine from press gallery party
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday December 18
British will pull out of Iraq "by the end of May"; Bird flu is back; China's reveals new property stimulus package; Zardari rejects Mumbai bombing claims; and more
Read MoreThe tragedies behind the Bush Victory Lap of the Middle East
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush has refocused attention on the plight of an occupied people
Read MoreNational news brief, Thursday, December 18
Economic forecast worse than we thought; Commerce Commission says Shell ads misleading; $258 million iron sands deal fails; Griffins closes Lower Hutt factory; taxi-cams could become compulsory; 33-year-old woman allegedly pregnant to 15-year-old
Read MoreThe politics of urgency
The real challenge confronting John Key's new National-led Government is the rush to judgment on its sense of urgency
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday December 17
ANC faces first political challenger as "non racial" COPE launches; China resumes website bans; India "pauses" peace process; US Fed cuts rates to near zero; and more
Read MoreNational News Brief, Wednesday December 17
Government defies Fijian ultimatum; Corrections predicts four new prisons will be needed; Chris Kahui speaks out; teens happier but exposed to more violence, World Cup ticket prices revealed; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday December 16
Giant fraud rattles banks, could prompt more regulation; New Thai Prime Minister elected; Bush makes final tours of Iraq and Afghanistan; ANC rival grows in South Africa; and more
Read MoreThese are the people in your neighbourhood
Appearances are deceptive in one of Auckland's "up-and-coming" suburbs
Read MoreNational News Brief, Tuesday December 16
Redundancy plan offers nothing to some workers; Fiji to expel another NZ diplomat; NZ journalist detained in Fiji; mortgages affordable again; Air New Zealand will defend price-fixing claims; Peter Ellis may get another Commission of Inquiry
Read MoreWhy isn't National more stimulating?
While the government sends parliament into urgency to pass stale bills, its response to the global financial crisis is about as urgent as a tortoise
Read MoreThe Beltway Blues: Random Thoughts from Inside the Bubble
Cue harmonica: It looks like the more things change in parliament, the more they stay the same.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday December 12
Auto bailout passes the House, looks set to struggle in the Senate; China reveals "dreadful" export figures; no progress in North Korea nuclear talks; Ireland to reconsider Lisbon Treaty; and more
Read MoreA week to make you weep
The new government's first week in the House leaves the country less fair, less green and less democratic. Is this the change New Zealanders voted for?
Read MoreNational News Brief, Friday December 12
Hefty fines for parents of truants; two children die from accidents each week; Te Papa faces financial pressure; childcare rates for under-fives among highest in world; more Kiwis holidaying at home; Mangatawhiri bypass opens today
Read MoreAn indignant Quebec has voted, sending Canada's PM a message
The Canadian PM's desperate clutch at power is likely behind the resurgence of the sovereignist Parti Quebecois in this week's provincial election, and could have major federal implications when he is next forced to go to the polls
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday December 11
Greek riots become anti-government protests; Britain plans to leave Iraq in March, new agreement to re-shape Thai politics; Chinese detain human rights protesters; and more
Read MoreNational News Brief, Thursday December 11
Alan Bollard calls for companies to share the pain; free Herceptin sets "dangerous precedent"; Maori Party opposes 90-day probation bill; Ernest Rutherford's centennial; and more
Read MoreThe good, bad and ugly politics of probations
National rewards its base with a dance it calls the 90-day probationary two-step. But is it good law or just a political sop?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday December 10
Japan's GDP fall worse than expected; Thai parties rally behind opposition Democrats; Likud nominates hard-liners for Israeli elections; Ghana's ruling party has lead in presidential vote count; and more
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