The Iran nuclear deal is within grasp but those tasked with finalizing it better hurry in order to avoid its unravelling at the trigger happy hands within the victorious Republican party which now holds both houses of Congress.
Read MoreOn War, restraint & Trojan horses
National's decision to stand alongside our allies but not to 'go to war' strengthens our narrative as a small country with its own mind, but beware mission creep
Read MoreConservation's changing climate
With world leaders failing and New Zealand ranked in the bottom five of the world's worst emitters for climate policy response, conservation campaigners have to think differently about ways to help nature weather the coming storm
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday November 5
Rebel elections threaten Ukraine-Russia ceasefire; South Korea and the Netherlands sign a $23 million deal to upgrade Dutch nuclear reactor; Japan's Nikkei index rises to seven-year high; EU cuts growth forecast; minimum wage rises 15 percent in Venezuela; and more
Read MoreFighting modern day fascism, New Zealand’s fight too
The Left rejects it’s historic commitment to international solidarity and protecting the innocent when it embraces a growing neo-isolationism. It’s all very well to say ‘not our fight’ in the face of ISIS terror, but the opposite on intervention isn’t peace.
Stare at that for a moment.
Most people exist, that is all
I think we've found the way to make electoral law interesting to people. Get some sports stars to break it.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday November 4
Pro-Russian separatists declare new leader for Eastern Ukraine; China to form anti-corruption bureau; US, Australia and Japan to meet during G20 to dicuss security and economic ties; suicide bomb kills dozens in Pakistan; pilot error cited in Virgin Galactic crash; and more
Read MoreWhen is an asset sale not an asset sale? & other questions about the Social Housing shambles
National is trying to the 'nothing to see here' line when it comes to its social housing policy, but the truth is it's in a tangle and has no mandate for sale
Read MorePenalising the Poor
Sloppy analysis is dividing us into the deserving and undeserving
Read MoreThe problem with our economy is too many tea breaks?
The labour reforms this week reveal a government that has given up on any hope for a competitive economy and is willing to engage in class warfare on behalf of its 'Judith Collins wing'
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday October 31
Israeli activist shot and wounded in Jerusalem; Beijing eases restrictions on foreign credit cards; Burmese political and ethnic leaders to meet to discuss cease-fire; ISIS releases Kurdish children; NATO raises concerns over 'unusual' Russian flights; and more
Read MoreGot a mystery? Just ask John!
I'm not saying that John Key is an incurable gossip ... but he sure seems to get told a lot of stuff by random people.
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Seabed mining: drums in the deep
The Environmental Protection Agency hearing into seabed mining for phosphate on the Chatham Rise is exposing questions about uncertainty - many big unknowns, including whether the applicant has done its job. If environment groups win this battle, what does it mean for the wider war?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday October 30
Iraqi Kurdish forces enter Syria; Hong Kong Liberal Party leader loses seat on political advisory board; India and Vietnam sign defense and oil deals; Afghan president visits China; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday October 29
US revises Ebola guidelines while Australia becomes first country to deny visas to people from West African countries; China and Vietnam seek to allay tensions over maritime disputes; nuclear plant reopens in southwestern Japan; UK says it will not support search and rescue operations for Mediterranean migrants; and more
Read MoreDoes Piketty Matter?
Thomas Piketty says economic inequality has been getting greater in the world, and will get greater. What about New Zealand?
Read MoreWhen do we reach 'peak cow'?
The Fonterra boss backs continued dairy growth but can see a day when we might cap cow numbers... and could China steal the milk right from under our noses?
Read MoreAnd if you have to carry a gun to keep your fragile seat at number one ...
Greg O'Connor thinks the shootings in Ottawa, and the way this was ended, demonstrates the need to routinely arm New Zealand's Police. He's completely wrong about that.
Read MoreGrant Robertson is not as much like Joseph Stalin as some would have you think
Chris Trotter wants a Labour purge. Again.
Read MoreEbola Fear outstrips risk
Panic has gone viral quicker than the Ebola virus, thanks to social media.
Not that there isn't something to worry about. Part of an entire continent is presently at risk - that's Africa not America.
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