The Taliban are planning to set up shop in Qatar – but in a good way. They'll have a physical address that could open the door to serious peace talks on Afghanistan and spark hopes of future stability
Read MoreGetting by with a little help from my friends
In which the author seeks to have the New Zealand legal community do his job for him.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 20
Iran helping Syria get around oil embargo, says report; Analysis – Removing Assad would weaken Iran and strengthen US, but military intervention perilous; Arab League to decide on Sunday whether to extend Syria mission; Indonesia gets rare credit rating upgrade; Italy plan major overhauls to create growth; Obama says nada to vast oil pipeline; and more
Read MoreBecause politics is the LAST thing you need to see at election time!
NZ on Air wants to stop people thinking they are biased in a partisan way. So why are they being accused of acting in a way that shows partisan bias?
Read MoreNZ on Air gets it back-to-front on political docos
The debate over TV3's scheduling of Inside Child Poverty should prompt us to get back to some pretty basic core principles surrounding independence
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday January 18
Credit-rating downgrades EU rescue fund, yet investors show confidence; Rating agencies critiqued as "neither accurate nor merely observers"; Chinese economy slows; South Korea latest to feel US pressure on Iran sanctions; Pakistani Supreme Court orders PM to appear, South Carolina debate draws fire at Romney; and more
Read MoreThe Exclusive Economic Zone: for sale
In which the government invites anyone who can pay enough into our offshore marine environment. The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill does not "protect and preserve" the environment. It states its price
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 13
Hillary Clinton denies US involvement in a car bombing that killed an Iranian nuclear scientist; Japan will reduce Iranian oil imports as part of US-led sanction; Myanmar government has negotiated ceasefire with Karen National Union; US Marines to investigate video of soldiers urinating on Taliban corpses; Mexico's drug war increasingly unpopular
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday January 12
US and Israel accused of assination after Iranian nuclear scientist killed in mysterious motorcycle bomb attack; Should America resort of bombing?; Geithner tells China to cool relationship with Iran; North Korea condemns US for "politicising" food aid; Mitt Romney close to line in race for Republican nomination after NH win; Italy's government looks to end monopolies and vested interests; Arab League mission to Syria labelled "a farce"
Read MoreBrian Tamaki goes to Destiny Town. Wanna come?
So Destiny Church has finally found a new home. But is that any reason we should help fund it? On the other hand, if other faiths get a go, why not them?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday January 11
Bashar al-Assad lashes out at Arab League in rare TV address, refuses to step down; Arab League key to getting Syria sanctions through UN; Aung San Suu Kyi to run for parliament in Burmese elections; China and South Korea agree aim of "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula"; Greece pressured to settle private debt deals or miss EU bailout; Iran's latest uranium enrichment is "further escalation" says US; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday January 10
Iran sentences 28 year-old American to death; Iran appears to be bracing for war and driving up oil prices; Merkel & Sarkozy have 976th summit to discuss debt limits and tobin tax; IMF leak says Greece still unable to pay debts; EU running out of patience with Greece as Euro slides; Malaysian opposition leader found not guilty of sodomy; Despite global mockery, Arab League plans to grow observer mission in Syria; and more
Read MoreNew Zealand's new Pacific role, as the US moves in
Amongst the news of crashes and weather, one story of immense significance to New Zealand has been widely ignored... The US has reviewed its defence priorities and is moving back into our neighbourhood big-time. This offers huge risks and opportunities
Read MoreMOM … Show me the money!
John Key’s hottest line from the last election campaign could come back to haunt him as he ploughs ahead with the expansion of the “Mixed Ownership Model” by selling shares in a batch of state-owned assets.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 6
EU agrees in principle to oil embargo that would ban member states from buying Iranian oil; EU move follows US sanctions on Iran's central bank, as Western countries call for Iran to stop work on nuclear programme; North Korea chides Japan for holding a security meeting in the wake of Kim Jong-Il's death; Australia says it will not pay $2 million ransom for Australian man taken hostage in southern Philippines; Taliban say they are responsible for deaths of 15 Pakistani soldiers; Rwandan militia kill 26 civilians in Democratic Republic of Congo; and more
Read MoreIt's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.
The election may be ancient history by now, but the controversy over the recorded conversation between John Key and John Banks is still brewing away. See what I did there?
Read MoreCri de coeur
On December 30 I wrote a draft of this for myself. I was not going to post it. This changed my mind: The Joy of Quiet, published the same day in the New York Times
Read MoreStratos is dead - who's next?
The death of Stratos Television last week is a sad, bad story – and we have not seen the end of it.
Read MoreThanks for 2011 – my how the world's changing
Wrapping up this year and looking ahead a bit to the next
Read MoreLessons from a recount – where Labour went wrong
Labour failed to learn National's lesson from 2002 and paid the price, so it's now time for the party to get start selling Brand Shearer
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