Karzai set to accept election run-off; US considers pushing for a Karzai-Abdullah coalition; Indonesian president sworn in; Iran accues Pakistan of co-operating with terrorists; and more
Read MoreBirthday toast
Another bottle of wine leaves Pundit HQ
Read MoreKicking tyres all the way to the top
Obama photo-ops, David Letterman and 'kicking tyres' have taken John Key and his government to giddy heights in the latest Pundit poll of polls. But will ACC and the foreshore taint his gloss?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday October 20
US troop numbers could depend on Afghan election re-run; Dozens die in Iran bombings; Pakistan army try to crush Taliban insurgency; Gordon Brown says 'Copenhagen deal must make history'; and more
Read MoreA sea-ice free Arctic by 2028, and other chilling facts
The latest and best climate science is not recommended for bedtime reading. The globe is already committed to warming in excess of dangerous levels
Read MoreRugby row raises bigger TV issues
Ructions over free-to-air television coverage of the Rugby World Cup raise major questions about the sustainability of
Obama to reveal trade agenda: the untold story
The APEC summit in Singapore next month will host Barack Obama's debut on the Asia-Pacific stage. And it seems we can expect the president to finally draw the curtain on his trade policy
Read MoreThe real estate roller coaster swoops again
Here we go again—property prices are on the rise and all sense and order has flown out the window
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday October 16
Suicide bombings rock Pakistan; South Korea and EU agree $28 billion trade deal; Dow Jones rallies to 10,000; British government forces banks to reform bonus system; and more
Read MoreThe martial art of good political interviewing
Are New Zealanders, God forbid, losing their appetite for rigorous political interviewing? Confronting questions should be encouraged, especially by those who have made an art of it themselves
Read MoreOne nation under the influence of one drug
Television has not been kind to the government this week
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday October 15
Pakistan says US aid violates its sovereignty; China grows share of global trade; US sentate passes healthcare bill; Russia won't budge on Iran sanctions; and more
Read MoreThe Greens: leading from behind
“Where are the Greens?” chorus the political pundits. Well, they’re where they’ve always been, doing what they’ve always done—but there’s news about their alliance with the government
Read MoreAt What Price Peace?
Obama needed the Nobel Peace prize like another hole in the head, because it is effectively a set of virtual handcuffs on a President mired in war and global unrest—and don't his opponents know it
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday October 14
Clinton woos Russians to join Iran sanctions (+analysis); US has already sent more troops to Afghanistan; China and Russia agree gas and oil deals; North Korea may test more missiles; and more
Read MoreAfghanistan: time to lift the veil
John Key says his government will review the long-standing convention of secrecy over Special Air Service operations. He needs to lift the veil on much more than that
Perhaps Key can compare himself to Obama after all
John Key was roundly mocked last year when he claimed that he and Barack Obama had a lot in common. However the early months of their respective administrations suggest he was onto something
Read MoreNew Zealand's new best friend?
America's decision to re-start training with the New Zealand military eliminates the absurdity that our troops could die alongside US soldiers, but not train alongside them. But what will the rest of the world make of it?
Read MoreElectoral finance reform: back to the future?
Stage two of National's electoral finance reform proposals is out—and it looks oddly familiar
Read MoreHow not to sell your nation to tourists
And you thought John Key's bit on Letterman was a sad attempt at scaring up tourists. In Denmark the state tourism organisation filmed a fake YouTube appeal in which a hot Dane woman admitted her fling with a foreign visitor produced a child
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