Speculation is rife about the changing of the guard at the 18th Communist Party Congress and what a new leadership will mean for China and the world.

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.

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.

Bruce Logan argues if the state passes a law that changes the nature of marriage then every citizen's liberty is endangered.

Catherine Masters looks at why there is opposition to same-sex marriage, and the argument that debunks it.