The information just released suggesting William Sutch really was a KGB agent means I've personally known two potential spies during my sojourn in New Zealand.

The Labour Party came out of the weekend looking surprisingly smart, and still in the game, writes politics commentator Bryce Edwards.

This could be the Tweedledee and Tweedledum election, with Labour struggling to differentiate itself from National, writes Bryce Edwards.

Is New Zealand an independent global citizen, or a US ally in all but name? That's the big question after the PM's visit to the US, writes Bryce Edwards.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says he knows New Zealand stands with America on Iraq - and he doesn’t need to ask to know that.

The UN Security Council has not always adequately addressed some issues, says Foreign Minister Murray McCully, but it should be given time to show leadership over the Iraq crisis.

US Secretary of State John Kerry used a reception at the NZ embassy in Washington last night to pointedly promote US nuclear-powered warships as safe.

When someone pulls a rabbit out of a hat, it's natural to be suspicious. Magicians are professionals in deceit - and so are diplomats. But sometimes the rabbit is real.

The United States yesterday thanked New Zealand for its "strong and unambiguous stand" against the Bahsar al-Assad regime having used chemical weapons against the people of Syria.

The landmark conviction of former Guatemalan dictator General Efrain Rios Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity and United States backing for the scorched earth campaign, was a grim reminder of bloody footprints left by Washington.

When Prime Minister John Key lands in Mexico tomorrow it will have been more than a decade since the last New Zealand prime minister toured Latin America, and he concedes the region has been neglected in favour of Asian economies.

As John Key wraps up an important Burma visit, he talks to Herald Political Editor Audrey Young about what he's learned and seen.

The British Foreign Secretary hopes New Zealand and Australia will join an initiative to share diplomatic missions with Britain and Canada in remote countries.

In a key shift, the United States is lifting a ban on New Zealand navy vessels visiting US ports, and will remove obstacles to defence talks and exercises.

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says deepening military co-operation with the US won't endanger NZ's relationship with China, saying we can be friends with both major powers.