... was so far from pleasing Tigranes that he had his head cut off for his pains. History tells us that his name was Ira Bailey
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World News Brief, Tuesday October 16
UN Security Council approves plan for military intervention in Mali against Islamist extremists; Philippines signs peace pact with Muslim rebels to end 40 years of conflict; South Korea apologises for undetected defection of North Korean soldier; Turkey grounds Armenian plane on way to Syria; African Union chooses new head; and more
Read MoreIs it illegal to talk about coffee at the GCSB?
Did the person who told Labour that John Key (allegedly) mentioned Kim Dotcom's name at the GCSB really break the law?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday October 12
Turkey forces Syrian passenger plane to land; IMF chief calls on China and Japan to end ther row over East China Sea islands; Chinese writer Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize in literature; Spain's credit rating falls to one level above junk; Venezuela's Chavez chooses new vice president; and more
Read MoreInvictus
Has the Attorney General (gasp!) made up his own mind about what the NZBORA means?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday October 11
US State Department reveals new details of Benghazi attack that killed ambassador; China's decision to pull out of IMF meeting "regrettable", says Japan; Julia Gillard accuses Tony Abbott of hypocrisy and misogyny; Netanyahu calls for early election in Israel; Russia to sell $4.2 billion of arms to Iraq this year; and more
Read MoreWairarapa Maori own water in Wairarapa lakes
John Key says nobody owns the water. One hundred and sixteen years ago Richard Seddon told Ngati Kahungungu despite gifting Wairarapa lakes to the Crown, they still owned the water and the fish. Two prime ministers, which one is right?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday October 10
Hugo Chavez wins reelection in Venezuela; South Korea, Burma agree on investment talks; North Korea claims to have missiles capable of reaching United States; Afghanistan could descend into civil war following US withdrawal, says new report; Mexican drug lord killed; and more
Read MoreDemolition derby: National's approach to solving unemployment
National announces cuts to minimum youth wage levels - a disastrous policy that will destroy jobs, not create them
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday October 9
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.
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