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
Read MoreIs global economy really on the mend?
The IMF's latest assessment of the world's economy contains a surprising policy suggestion. Should we be concerned (again), or is it just another part of the great plan?
Read MoreFor there are three that testify … and these three agree
David Cunliffe was dumb. The Taxpayers' Union have a challenge. You can say what you like about Colin Craig and gay people.
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 MoreLet's all pick on the deaf girl!
Need to know if your MP is giving you value for money? Just ask Jordan.
Read MoreIs this the "new" Sochi-sanitized Russia?
It's a week since the world was watching Putin's "new Russia" on display at the Winter Olympics. Ukrainians might say the new Russia looks a hell of a lot like that of old, and they'd be right.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday February 28
Ousted Ukrainian president hiding out in Moscow; US warns China and Japan to ease tensions over East China Sea to avoid "unintended consequences"; Chinese companies face billions of dollars in losses if currency continues to weaken; Syria agrees to new chemical weapons deadline; Norway opens up new coal mine in Arctic; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday February 26
Unrest grows in Venezuela; China's property market slows down; Chinese man sues government over air pollution; India to double price of natural gas; Russia questions legitimacy of Ukraine's interim government; and more
Read MoreWarning: Annual minimum wage debate could lead to hysteria and unscientific claims
It never ceases to amaze me how outraged the richest people get when you suggest paying poor people a little bit more.
Act’s new leader Jamie Whyte said it was "hard to think of a crueler policy" for people most in need of work than increasing the minimum wage.
Say what? Cruel to pay people on the lowest incomes 50c more? Surely he can think of something crueler than that, like not having a minimum wage at all.
Read MoreWhy the Maori Party could be left, right out
National has put in another commanding poll performance, yet the short-term prospects and long-term ambitions of the Maori Party could yet have a signficant impact on this year's election race
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday February 21
Shaky Ukraine truce collapses; growing chill between Japan and US; South and North Korean families reunited after 60 years; Facebook to buy WhatsApp; first round of Iran nuclear talks ends with timetable; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday February 20
Latest Ukraine protests kill dozens; Japanese economy may reverse 15 years of deflation; fatter, taller soldiers in China struggle to fit into tanks; North American leaders meet in Mexico for trade talks; tensions rise in bid to find successor to Robert Mugabe; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday February 19
Iran nuclear talks begin; China rejects UN criticism of its policy of sending North Korean defectors back home; antigovernment protests in Bangkok kill four; Pakistan suspends Taliban talks; US diplomats expelled from Venezuela; and more
Read MoreOmbudsman: Arthur Taylor & segregated prisoners subject to cruel inhuman treatment
The Ombudsman has released a highly criticial report into the eight month segregation of Arthur Taylor in Auckland prison. Dame Beverley Wakem says the conditions for segregated prisoners "could be described as cruel and inhuman for the purposes of the UN Convention against Torture"
Read MoreNeknominate: the Colin Craig version
Colin Craig is on a one-man mission to rid politics of untruths and distortions. Good luck with that!
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday February 14
Putin backs Egypt military chief's run for presidency; John Kerry's visit to South Korea, China and India hoped to ease regional tensions; China plans to curb coal consumption and reduce air pollution; five killed in Venezuelan anti-government protest; 65 prisoners released from Bagram prison over US protests; and more
Read MoreSex, Lies and Valentines Day.
No, reducing gender inequality doesn’t make income inequality worse.
Read More