The name of the beer here in Bali is a tad corny, Bali Hai, the haunting tune from the musical South Pacific.

A New Zealand freelance journalist has been released after being detained in Egypt amid clashes between rival groups.

Instead of trying to inspire voters to get out and do their democratic duty in a few weeks, Local Government Minister Chris Tremain has as good as conceded turn-out is going to be poor.

Winston Peters claims the Government co-operated with Fiji's military regime when the SIS "raided" a NZ-based member of Fiji democracy movement.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the Opposition will be offered a formal briefing on Syria before any parliamentary motion is put by the Government.

New Zealand has been asked to pledge moral support for a potential US military strike against Syria but the Government says it is yet to make any commitment.

Kiwi journalist Wayne Hay has been celebrating his release from detention in Egypt with a cold beer.

The ordeal of David Miranda at Heathrow Airport is a critical moment in the conflict between press freedom and national security.

A Chinese New Zealander who entered China illegally to see his parents claims he was detained, chained and tortured for five days before being deported to Auckland.

New Zealanders must stand up for their democratic rights when they are threatened, or they'll lose them.

The nation is divided against itself. On one side are the liberals who want to live in a tolerant, secular society.

Several correspondents have taken me to task for presuming to speculate on what writer George Orwell of Animal Farm and 1984 fame would have made of American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The bus fares were a huge deal to a lot of people, but it seemed to be the fact the people were uniting against the rise that opened the floodgates, writes Jeremy Wilson.

Information on trillions of emails, web chats and Skype conversations carried out by Americans has been harvested along with their phone records.

The Guardian reports the UK spied on its G20 partners in 2009 - tricking some delegates into using fake internet cafes so their email could be read.

A prominent Australian barrister has suggested US intel leaker Edward Snowden could seek refuge in 'pleasant' NZ, joining Kim Dotcom in resisting extradition.

What many were predicting would be a one-horse race for one of the biggest political prizes in the land, could at last come alive, writes Brian Rudman.

Eight men accused of an alleged Auckland Super City voter scam have had their trial shifted to the High Court.

No Western government is going to condemn the country's rulers, writes Gwynne Dyer. That would seriously annoy Saudi Arabia, and they will never do that.

Democracy is the best form of government but it relies on high participation and eternal vigilance over its health, writes Steve Liddle. At least, this is what most of us learn from parents or teachers.

I was surprised to read in Deborah Coddington's recent Herald column that the Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document. Of course some New Zealanders mistakenly believe that is the case.