Russia votes to stop using force in Ukraine; Chinese envoy visits Taiwan for first time; China plans global financial institution to rival World Bank; UK set to become first Western country to sell Islamic bonds; Libyans cast ballots for new government; and more
Read MoreUkraine
World News Brief, Wednesday June 25
John Kerry pushes for more conciliatory leadership in Iraq; Japanese PM Abe unveils economic reform package; another South Korean politician bows out of PM race in wake of ferry disaster; Syria hands over last of declared chemical weapons; Putin renounces right to use force in Ukraine; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday June 5
Tight security at Tiananmen Square on 25th anniversay of student-led demonstrations; South Korea holds elections; Libyan general survives assasination attempt; Ukraine to be focus of G7 discussions; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday May 13
Pro-Russia separatists claim victory in referendums calling for greater autonomy for two Ukrainian states; ASEAN refrains from criticising China over South China Sea clashes; Thai protest leader calls for interim prime minister to be replaced; Boko Haram release video claimed to be abducted girls; Indians vote in final phase of election; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday May 2
Children killed in Syrian airstrike on school; Uighur terrorist attack on train station in China; UNESCO criticises Australian decision to allow dredging of Great Barrier Reef; 60 percent of eligible voters turn out for Iraqi election; IMF approves $17 billion loan for Ukraine
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday April 30
EU sanctions 15 Russian and Ukrainian political and military figures; North Korea conducts live-fire drill near border with South Korea; Chinese president visits home of Uighur separatists; Iraqi PM seeks third term; Nigerian military negotiating release of schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday April 24
Disputed East China Sea islands covered by Washington-Tokyo defense treaty, says Obama; labour strikes at Chinese factories spread to include 30,000 protestors; Ukrainian politician believed to have been tortured and killed; Brazil hosts conference on future of internet governance; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday April 17
Tensions rise in Ukraine; Chinese economy slows; rescue efforts continue for passengers of South Korean ferry; Syrian opposition obtain US weapons; Boko Haram seizes 200 girls from Nigerian school; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday April 9
Ukraine expels pro-Russian separatists from government building in Kharkiv; Hagel warns China against making unilateral moves that could escalate tensions in Asia Pacific; Australia signs pact to free up trade with South Korea; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday March 20
New concerns for Syria; China dismisses any link between Uighur ethnic minority and missing Malaysian Airlines flight; Taiwanese activists break into parliament to protest trade deal with China; Ukraine's naval headquarters seized; Sri Lanka releases two human rights activists; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 19
Putin moves ahead with plan to annex Crimea; Thailand to lift Bangkok's State of Emergency; owners of Fukushima nuclear plant turning to unskilled workers to decommision site which may have contributed to recent leak; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday March 18
Crimea declares independence from Ukraine; missing Malayasia Airlines flight strains international co-operation; China rejects UN report accusing North Korea of crimes against humanity; Russian arms exports surge; as US withdraws from Afghanistan, Pakistan eyes unwanted military equipment; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 12
Unrest intensifies in Venezuela; North Korea getting around UN sanctions by using embassies in Cuba and Singapore to facillitate illegal weapons trade; Thailand cops flak in continuing search for missing airliner; Pakistan suffers heavy losses in conflict with Taliban; Tibetans arrested to prevent anti-China demonstrations; new claims as to responsibility for Lockerbie bombing; ousted Ukrainian president insists he is still commander in chief; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday March 11
Pro-Russian forces seal off another military airport in Crimea; search for Malaysia Airlines jet continues; North Koreans endorse government in Parliamentary elections offering just one candidate per seat; Middle East drought threatens global food prices; Nigerian healthcare hit by Boko Haram violence; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday March 6
EU offers Ukraine $15 billion aid package over seven years; China warns Japan it will "safeguard victory of World War II"; 814 million people registered to vote in Indian election -- world record; UN estimates 3.2 million in South Sudan need humanitarian aid; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 5
US puts together $1 billion aid package for Ukraine; Xi Jinping expands China's anticorruption campaign; descendants of Japanese samurai and feudal class overrepresented in upper echelons of society, finds study; UN recommends sending more troops to Central African Republic; Osama bin Laden's son-in-law to go on trial in US; and more
Read MoreTime to put the punch into ‘punch above our weight’
Words are easy. Don’t just ask the world to vote for New Zealand to get on the UN Security Council because “Our foreign policy has been tested by significant confrontations with some major powers, when we have proved our independence and resilience".
Show the world what we mean. Show we deserve a position of global leadership.
Read MoreIs this the "new" Sochi-sanitized Russia?
It's a week since the world was watching Putin's "new Russia" on display at the Winter Olympics. Ukrainians might say the new Russia looks a hell of a lot like that of old, and they'd be right.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday February 28
Ousted Ukrainian president hiding out in Moscow; US warns China and Japan to ease tensions over East China Sea to avoid "unintended consequences"; Chinese companies face billions of dollars in losses if currency continues to weaken; Syria agrees to new chemical weapons deadline; Norway opens up new coal mine in Arctic; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday February 26
Unrest grows in Venezuela; China's property market slows down; Chinese man sues government over air pollution; India to double price of natural gas; Russia questions legitimacy of Ukraine's interim government; and more
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