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
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Why the Crimean border matters to New Zealand
There’s been a nasty dose of ‘border relativism' in the debate about Crimea and it misses the point; you can’t have a referendum at the point of a gun, doesn’t matter what history says.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank Act - time for a review
This year marks 25 years since the Reserve Bank Act 1989 was passed. While it has enjoyed a high degree of cross-party support over that period, the original settlement is unwinding and it is now time for a review. That need not involve throwing the anti-inflation baby out with the bathwater, nor the politicisation of a significant public institution.
Read MoreLiving in fear of full employment
The doctrine of the pre-emptive strike against inflation is self-immolating. Controlling (suppressing) demand growth invariably limits investment in new capacity and so the ability to improve productivity and/or maintain competitiveness.
Read MoreThe takeaway from Judith's Chinese dinner
While Judith Collins was in China, she perhaps should have read some Sun Tzu: “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday March 14
UN urges restart of Syria peace talks; Chinese economy cools; US investigators believe missing airliner flew four hours after last contact; Libyan PM flees; more killed in Venezuela protests; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday March 13
CIA accused of violating US Constitution; Chinese are using popular bank card to smuggle money out of country; middle class expands in North Korea; Swedish journalist killed in Kabul; Obama shows support for new government in Kiev; and more
Read MoreCollins & Cunliffe – how to win friends & influence people
Perception matters immensely when it comes to politics, but reality matters even more. So let's talk about realities
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 MoreFood, cheap glorious food
Forget the hype, food is as cheap as it ever was
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 MoreThe left missed a chance to score today
The announcement of the election date was an opportunity for the left to define the campaign. It can’t afford any more missed opportunities.
Read MoreOne of these things actually isn't quite like the other
David Cunliffe's Trust and the Dinner at Antoine's were not the same. I wish they were, but they just aren't.
Read MoreDon't walk away, in silence
Last year, John Key said New Zealand might send any refugee claimants who arrive by boat over to Australia's detention camps. That's not still a thing, is it?
Read MoreWhy do right wing parties not want women?
Some fruit loop Liberal MP in Australia wants her party to lurch to the left by (gasp) doing something to get more women into Parliament. Doesn't she know that parties on the right don't do that sort of thing?
Read MorePalestinians can not recognize Israel as a Jewish state
While the crisis in the Crimea has somewhat overshadowed him, Israel's Prime Minister has again this week goaded the Palestinians to do something he knows they can't - recognise not just Israel's right to exist which they did years ago, but now refer to Israel as the Jewish state.
Read MoreIt's not the computer that's racist, it's us
Ask Google what "Maori are", and you get some pretty nasty suggestions. Whose fault is that (hint - look at the people around you)?
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 MoreWith friends like these... the coalition questions
Uncertainty makes for fascinating elections, and David Cunliffe has added to that by not even being willing to show solidarity with the Greens. But as fun as the tealeaves game is, voters are going to need better answers from the major party leaders
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