If that change really is needed, then so be it, writes Andrew Geddis. "But I think the Law Society is wrong and the bill as it stands would not require anything new of any religious group."

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

A bill to legalise same-sex marriage is likely to be amended to explicitly state that churches would not be forced to marry same-sex couples.

The debate on same-sex marriage has stepped up with a former MP comparing the proposed law change to "apartheid".

What a strange code of moral values United States' spies live by, writes Brian Rudman, "The only people who will be able to make sense of this warped moral barometer is the USA's great enemy, al- Qaeda."

The United States was yesterday re-elected to another three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council.

Prime Minister's use of the word "gay" as a disparaging adjective has undermined their campaign against hate speech directed at gay students.

Justice Minister Judith Collins has backed a woman ordered out of court for breastfeeding, saying she "could not think of anywhere" it would be considered offensive.

Breast-feeding in the public gallery of a courtroom could be a "catalyst" to angry scenes in an already tense environment, Law Society president Jonathan Temm says.

A Wanaka mother asked by a judge to leave a courtroom for breast-feeding her baby said while she understood, "The way he went about it was not the best".

Closure is a long way off for the parents of an Auckland man who was bashed to death by Killer Clown Fiend gang members.

An Auckland sports club formed 32 years before women won the right to vote is keeping up its shutters against female membership.

A New Zealand rugby brand has met its Indian supplier and launched an investigation into claims that its sports balls are made by children in sweatshops.

Former NZ diplomat Warren Searell called Damascus home until the Arab spring made life far too dangerous. This is his story.

A Syrian job applicant was told he should change his name to something more Kiwi because conservative southerners would think twice about working with him.

Labour MP Maryan Street is proposing a law change to permit voluntary euthanasia under some circumstances. Two doctors argue the pros and cons. You can scroll down to the bottom of the page and vote 'Yes' or 'No' and also leave a comment.

The latest Herald DigiPoll survey shows the Conservative Party has had a poll bump from Parliament's passing of the first reading of the gay marriage bill.