Obama critics are disingenuous when they imply the Taliban would not have been fussy about which Guantanamo prisoners released in exchange for a US soldier they have held for five years. Their real issue is Obama succeeded - albeit with some questions stil to answer.
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Raising kids with grit, not high test scores
We are right not to get too bogged down in educational rankings, but we mustn't ignore their obvious warnings
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 MoreImagine a country so blue, backwards it's adanaC
Canada's Conservative Government is in the middle of trying to change its election rules to benefit itself - while its PM Stephen Harper has become the thing he once most hated.
Read MoreWhy 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 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 MoreThatcher's ghost still haunts - 1984 cabinet papers released
The release of UK cabinet papers from 1984 show that Margaret Thatcher lied about the number of mines she planned to close, and reveal her government's deep belief that a certain level of unemployment was not only necessary but good.
Read MoreNo, we’re not the most secular nation in the world
‘Jesus is the reason for the season’, says the bumper sticker; not according to three out of four Kiwis who didn’t go to any church on Christmas day, or any other day for that matter.
Read MorePalestinians pay for Iran deal
Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has been knocked back into his place by the world's most powerful countries.... including his key friend the US, so what does he do? He takes out his anger on the Palestinians of course
Read MoreUnglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat
Who should we really thank for the British House of Commons vote against attacking Syria?
Read MoreInternational law is on the side of intervention in Syria
The disastrous American led invasion of Iraq is exactly why the West should intervene now in Syria. Those who protested against the illegal war in Iraq should be calling on the UN and civilized countries to take action under international law
Read MoreEd Snowden could come to NZ
The latest leaker superstar, Ed Snowden could end up flatting with Dotcom in New Zealand says international lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. That's one way to reverse the brain drain
Read More15 things you need to know about Syria
Since Bosnia and Rwanda, it's been clear that the international community disgraces itself when it stands by and let's blood flow at the hands of murderous state thugs. Here are the arguments for and against intervention in Syria. You decide.
Read MoreHow do you make sense of more than a million leaked documents?
The story behind the massive leak of documents revealing the extent to which the world's wealthy go to avoid and evade tax and New Zealand's part in the investigations
Read MoreThe curious dispute over the Falkland Islands
Thirty years after the Falklands War, the dispute over who controls the British outpost simmers on
Read MoreCould Cyprus happen here?
Developed countries like New Zealand can learn from Cyprus; an economy overly dependent on its financial sector rather than the real economy, is vulnerable. And the rule of law exist in our minds as much as it does in laws, courts and banks. It’s like a handshake. If one sides looses faith in the deal, doesn’t matter how many law enforcers you have, the system collapses.
Read MoreThe Pope got on a bus
The new Pope faces South, away from the comfortable church of Europe, to a more restless church closer to New Zealand. Here's how that could mean big change
Read MoreGame of Thrones: choosing a new Pope
That a New Zealander won’t be part of the papal conclave was possibly the least interesting thing to say about the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
Read MoreTED comes to Auckland
Tickets now available for TEDx Auckland, a day of discussions around technology, entertainment and design, in the internationally-famous TED format
Read MoreGillard v Rudd: understanding this fight to the death
With most of the difficult policy changes made, it seems Australian PM Julia Gillard is now tidying house. Opponent Kevin Rudd is being swept to the backbenches to clear the path to the 2013 elections
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