Protesters storm Libyan parliament preventing vote to approve new cabinet; South Korea brings foreign journalists to disputed islands; Tibetan man dies in fifty-third case of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule; Imran Khan to stage anti-drone protest; Mau Mau veterans win ruling against United Kingdom; and more
Read More100% pure Middle Earth: mine not ours
Middle Earth, as my colleague quipped: it’s like that’s what we’re aiming for, one massive hole in the ground. Our legal landscape is changing, with mining in view. It’s not just the EEZ, or the RMA, or the Crown Minerals Act - it’s all of them. The ground is shifting under resource management.
Read MoreI ain't no big city economist or nothing, but ...
The quantitative easing policies suggested by the Green Party may or may not be a good idea. But the arguments being put up against it don't carry much weight.
Read MoreWhy a Labour reshuffle just ain't enough
David Shearer is set to shuffle Labour's pack. The beltway crew seem to think it's overdue, but they're missing the deeper problem
Read MoreIn that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands ...
Fran O'Sullivan doesn't like it when commentators present their readers with "very thin analysis". Perhaps she ought to stop doing so, then.
Read MoreObama's train wreck, Romney's life boat
Romney took the first Presidential debate...of that there is no doubt, even if he was a stranger to the truth of his own policies. Post debate, Americans are left wondering if there had been an alien abduction of other guy. Love him or hate him, Obama was AWOL and squandered a massive audience at a critical time.
Read MoreWorld news Brief, Friday October 5
Turkey retaliates after Syrian mortar attack that killed five civilians; Philippines orders arrest of former president, Gloria Arroyo; China defers visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; Russia and Pakistan renew diplomatic ties; Luxembourg seeks seat on UN Security Council -- up against Australia and Finland; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday October 4
Series of bombings in Syria's largest city kill 25 and wound 70; Chinese banks withdraw from IMF events in Tokyo; Taiwanese citizens visiting US can now do so without visas; Iran's currency loses one third of value in a week; Georgia holds first democratic election in post-Soviet history; and more
Read MoreGoodbye Act, hello Libertarians
We already know there are 100,000 New Zealand voters willing to put a party into Parliament which upholds the principles of small government, choice, individual freedom and responsibility. Now that 'Brand Act' is well and truly stuffed, there's talk the Libertarianz Party might fill the vacuum.
Read MoreWorld news Brief, Wednesday October 3
Mikheil Saakashvili loses presidency of Georgia in parliamentary election; four Chinese ships re-enter disputed waters in South China Sea; North Korea warns of possible nuclear war on Korean Peninsula; Syria says refugee crisis invented by foreign foes; US withdraws all government personnel from Benghazi; and more
Read MoreGuantanamo's kid prisoner goes home...
Ten years ago Omar Khadr was a kid in the Afghanistan theatre of war. Now, instead of a rehabilitated child soldier he's a convicted war criminal - or "terrorist" as his native Canadian government prefers to call the man it has been forced to repatriate.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday October 2
Three NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- suicide bomber disguised as police; Japan reshuffles cabinet in bid to soothe row with China; protest at US aircraft transferred to base in Japan; bombs across Iraq kill 37, wound 90; supporters of Venezuelan opposition candidate killed; and more
Read MoreHow to pass national standards – according to Hekia Parata
In which I work my way through the minister's explanations of national standards and award myself a gold star for effort
Read MoreJohn Key risks being undone by first rule of politics
People won't change how they vote because some spies over-stepped the mark. But the Dotcom-GCSB saga still poses a threat to the government, one it can't afford to ignore
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday September 28
Spain to unveil $50 billion in spending cuts for 2013; China urges Japan not to infringe on China's "territorial integrity" in South China Sea; North Korea's stalled nuclear talks with six nations to begin again in China; US to ease import ban on Burma; China denies influencing Venezuelan election; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday September 27
Bombs explode at Syrian army headquarters; former Japanese PM is new head of Liberal Democratic Party; meeting between Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers fails to ease tensions; Iran unveils new spy drone with 2000 km range; Paraguay shut out of South American free trade organisation; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday September 26
UN gets briefing on Syria; Japanese fire water cannons at Taiwanese boats; China commissions its first aircraft carrier; two US marines face charges for urinating on Taliban bodies; IMF warns Argentina it must provide reliable inflation and GDP statistics; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday September 25
Police chief in Bo Xilai scandal sentenced; Japan sends diplomat to China over islands dispute; Kazakhstan's PM resigns after five years in power; Sudan and South Sudan meet; and more
Read MoreWe got the power... So now what?
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's visit marks a turn in New Zealand-United States relations. We have won the cake and are getting to eat it too, but that doesn't mean there aren't still risks
Read MoreWorld news Brief, Friday September 21
France to close embassies, consulates, cultural centres and schools in 20 Muslim countries; Aung San Suu Kyi receives Congressional Medal in US; software millionaire entrepreneur to run for South Korean presidency; Israeli airstrike kills two in Gaza; Greece to sell off palaces, airports and islands to stem debt; and more
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