Yuan surges as China loosens currency controls (+ analysis and background); Japan points to tax reform to tackle debt; Iran bans nuke inspectors over "false" reports; BP's spill costs hit $2 billion as companies try to overturn deepwater drill moratorium; and more
Read MoreWelfare: even the debate gets privatised
Second Wellington welfare conference in two weeks locks out all but the wealthy or well-funded
Read MoreThe purpose of protest: In defence of Russel Norman
The debate over the Green party co-leader's protest in front of Xi Jinping is drawing out all kinds of criticisms, but surely the thing to remember is that protest is designed to confront
Read MoreThe good oil, on two biofuel bills
New Zealand’s biofuel market is, apparently, a model of sustainability and transparency; it might be our route to fuel independence. Fitzsimons’ Bill to regulate it looks likely to be rejected
Read MoreBP slick exposes NZ safety gulf
The US government can barrel oil giant BP into stumping up $28 billion to clean up the mess created by its disastrous deep water oil drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico – but could you see that happening here?
"Nigga needs to get got, yo"
Lockwood Smith is sending out a message. No-one disrespects the rules of his crib.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday June 18
BP's share prices rises on back of promises to pay up (+ backgrounder on deepwater drilling); Israel to lift part of Gaza blockade – allows in food but not shelter; new Japanese PM to slash deficit; China insists nuclear deal with Pakistan is peaceful; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday June 17
Obama addresses nation on oil spill as BP agrees to $20 billion fund; EU calls for further sanctions against Iran and US extends sanctions against North Korea; Order restored in much of Kyrgyzstan; Is Mexico losing control in war against drugs?; and more
Read MoreThe All White's equaliser – why Rupert Murdoch gets its significance
Sport has the rare and valuable magic of uncertainty in an otherwise formulaic world, as the All Whites proved again today
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday June 15
Ethnic violence spreads in Kyrgyzstan; human rights groups urge international involvement in Kyrgyz crisis; Taiwanese company that makes iPads and iPhones will more than double wages; trouble in Iran one year after election; US finds minerals in Afghanistan
Read MoreWe have found a witch, might we burn her?
Monty Python had it right. The only way to really determine if someone should be demoted for misusing expenses is to see what sort of cellphone plan they are using.
Read MoreOf windmills, and those who mind
Would-be wind farmer Meridian Energy has a problem, its opponents have a point, and there’s an unanswered question that challenges us all
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday June 11
BP share price plunges as oil spill weakens US-British relations (+ analysis); Iranian Opposition struggling a year after protests; Chinese exports grow reassuring investors; David Cameron arrives in Afghanistan as bomb rips through wedding; and more
Read MoreDreaming of speeding with Friedrich Hayek
There's what the law says. Then there's the law that gets applied. Why do we view the former so differently to the latter?
Read MoreThe ETS: a lemon nobody will buy
Nick Smith’s on the road again, selling his emissions trading scheme to a hostile public. It’s a green lemon: the less voters understand it, the better it will be for the government
Read MoreSideshow Mark and the Close Up circus
The world's fattest mum, the nutso who tasered a pregnant lady, and senior citizens making their own coffins. This is what constitutes quality current affairs? Come on, we deserve better
Read MoreG8 and G20 a billion dollar boondoggle
Canadians are aghast at revelations the government is splurging more than a billion dollars hosting the G8 and G20 summits for three days. While most goes on security and of course flowers, there's also cash for a fake lake
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday June 10
UN Security Council imposes new sanctions on Iran over nuclear programme (+ analysis); North Korean guards kill Chinese residents; NATO convoy attacked in Pakistan, seven dead; Germany and France press for faster regulations and wider short selling ban; and more
Read MoreForeshore & seabed: foundering again on the rock of property rights and fair play
Whether like Labour you believe the foreshore is everybody's or like National you think it's nobody's, this impasse was always coming. We need to debate ownership of the coastline as a whole
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday June 9
EU debt fears grow despite new promises and British and German cuts (+ analysis); New Japanese Prime Minister names cabinet; Spanish workers protest wage cuts; Ahmadinejad on his way to China; and more
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