Trump and his enablers tell us bombing a Syrian air-force base was driven by humanitarian principles. It was not. It was about ratings.
Read MoreSyria
Redrawing borders, supporting democratic forces & thinking on our sins
Three strategies to combat the Islamic State insurgency
Read MoreOn Britain & New Zealand's role in the western alliance
Britain is divided, and the British Labour Party even more so, over its role in leading Western nations. So does it offer lessons for New Zealand?
Read MoreSyrian refugees still coming to Canada
While American lawmakers try to stop any Syrian refugees from reaching their shores, Canada is pushing on with a pledge to bring in 25,000 by the end of the year….and that is in full knowledge of a passport complication connected with the Paris terrorist attacks.
Read MoreFour things we can do after Paris
The ISIS attacks on Friday the 13th in Paris, in Beirut, and when the Russia plane was attacked, were an attack on all modern civilisation and society from Lebanon to France. The target on Friday was the values first articulated on Paris streets in the 18th century that led to a modern liberal revolution and eventually liberty in speech and assembly, fraternity expressed in tolerance and plurality, and equality between genders.
Read MoreIt was a catastrophically wrong decision not to intervene to stop Assad
Today’s refugee crisis is one result of doing nothing to stop Bashar al-Assad after he used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.
Everyone talks about the human consequences of intervention. But we also need to look at the human consequences of doing nothing.
Read MoreGuts, guts, got no guts
New Zealand is a country that stands up for its values - unless it involves the inconvenience of bringing a few more desperate people into New Zealand for a new life.
Read MoreRiot police, razor wire and refugees
Europe takes in only a small proportion of the world's refugees yet when you consider the dog whistle politics and lack of human decency towards the men, women and children desperately trying to reach its shores, you'd think it was being wiped out by an alien species.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday May 22
Ancient Syrian city of Palmyra taken by ISIS; Malaysia orders search and rescue for migrant boats in Andaman Sea; new PM for South Korea; US intelligence releases Bin Laden documents; California declares state of emergency after oil spill; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday May 6
Syria peace talks kick off in Geneva; Indian PM Modi to make first visit to China; South Korea and Vietnam sign free trade agreement; EU revises economic forecast upwards; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday April 8
UN Security Council demands humanitarian access to refugee camp in Syria; explosions at Chinese chemical plant injure 14; Malaysia passes bill to allow suspected terrorists to be detained for up to two years without legal representation; Boko Haram storms village; Rand Paul to run for US President; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday March 13
Iraqi forces march on Tikrit; South Korea slashes interest rates; Thailand-China rubber and rice deal in the works; UN Security Council blasted on Syria response; IMF approves Ukraine loan programme; and more
Read MoreThe opposite of intervention isn’t peace
John Key hasn’t made the case for military intervention, which doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
Making the case means understanding what drives people to join ISIS and resisting the temptation to retro-fit our own causes onto theirs.
It means staring at the consequences of intervening - and not intervening.
It requires communicating clearly to New Zealanders, the legal premise for intervention, and telling us what peace looks like.
There are a few myths to debunk first.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday February 25
Greece submits reform plans to lenders; Indonesian president holds firm on executions; US and South Korea to conduct annual joint military exercises; UN climate change panel head resigns following sexual harassment claims; ISIS kidnaps 90 Christians in Syria; and more
Read MoreAfter Charlie Hebdo: What happens next?
We've seen how ordinary citizens around the world have responded to the Charlie Hedbo terrorism, but how will world leaders react? Is marching enough or is it time for troops?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday December 4
ISIS significantly weakened by air strikes in Iraq and Syria, says John Kerry; Taiwan's Kuomintang party chairman resigns; Japan launches six-year space mission;
Read MoreFighting modern day fascism, New Zealand’s fight too
The Left rejects it’s historic commitment to international solidarity and protecting the innocent when it embraces a growing neo-isolationism. It’s all very well to say ‘not our fight’ in the face of ISIS terror, but the opposite on intervention isn’t peace.
Stare at that for a moment.
World News Brief, Thursday October 30
Iraqi Kurdish forces enter Syria; Hong Kong Liberal Party leader loses seat on political advisory board; India and Vietnam sign defense and oil deals; Afghan president visits China; and more
Read MoreWhat's behind the rush to change our passport laws?
We're already stopping people from using NZ passports to go and fight in the Middle East. So why do we now urgently need to change the law to do this?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday October 9
US increases air strikes on Syrian town of Kobani; Hong Kong government and protest leaders to meet; Australian PM Tony Abbott seeks to legislate against 'preachers of hate'; Ebola unavoidable in Europe; Canadian military to head to Iraq; and more
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