Julia Gillard late last night appeared poised to become Australia's first female prime minister after a dramatic coup that caught Canberra by surprise.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he will put his leadership to the vote in caucus on Thursday.

NZ-Chinese representatives and a pro-Tibetan group are at odds over Russel Norman's anti-Chinese protest last week.

Liquor licences and event and planning approvals could be fast-tracked under a proposed law aimed at ensuring the Rugby World Cup runs smoothly.

Bridgecorp's receivers are investigating what to do after the Fijian military regime seized the failed Momi Bay resort against its wishes.

nzherald.co.nz readers give their views on the Russel Norman scuffle.

New Zealand food companies are being slippery about whether they use palm oil, according to a Green Party survey.

Will someone in authority please do something this time so we don't get yet another episode like the one outside the Beehive last Friday.

Four soldiers, three of them Australian, have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson believes about 2000km of NZ's coastline will eventually be covered by iwi customary title.

They have something in common, Chris Carter and the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club - they both keep digging when they're deep in the hole.

Several entities run by veteran Timaru financier Allan Hubbard have been placed in statutory management over irregularities involving investments worth $134 million.