Latest FromInternational Politics
![Quiet rage as Russians honour slain leader](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Quiet rage as Russians honour slain leader
The mood in Moscow was grim, a quiet rage running through the crowd.
![Poll hints at stay of execution for Abbott](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Poll hints at stay of execution for Abbott
Liberal Party rebels were urged to "pull their heads in" yesterday after a second opinion poll within a week suggested that the Coalition's fortunes are improving.
!['Netanyahu speech on Iran will backfire'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
'Netanyahu speech on Iran will backfire'
Hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set off for Washington, a group of 180 retired Israeli generals and former top security officials warned that his address to a joint meeting of Congress....
![Mugabe's 'obscene' 91st birthday party](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Mugabe's 'obscene' 91st birthday party
Guests at Robert Mugabe's million-dollar birthday party were fed a young elephant, while a lion and a crocodile were also sacrificed as gifts to be stuffed.
![Jihadi John linked to UK bombing plot](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Jihadi John linked to UK bombing plot
"Jihadi John" was able to flee the scrutiny of the security services despite being a member of a terrorist cell known to have links to the failed 21/7 attacks on London in 2005.
![I don't back execution - governor](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
I don't back execution - governor
Jakarta's Governor has reportedly said President Joko Widodo is considering different views on the death penalty, including his own advice that it should be removed from Indonesia's laws.
![Russian rebels pay with their lives](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Russian rebels pay with their lives
Boris Nemtsov is not the first Russian dissident to die in mysterious circumstances in recent years. These rebels also paid with their lives.
![Offsiders deflect leadership challenge](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Offsiders deflect leadership challenge
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull have steered clear of increasing speculation that their Prime Minister could face another leadership crisis.
![Toby Manhire: Troops to Iraq - There are many ways to show guts](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Toby Manhire: Troops to Iraq - There are many ways to show guts
Bad news, peaceniks. If you oppose the deployment of NZ troops to Iraq, you are gutless, a coward, at least in the estimation of the Prime Minister, writes Toby Manhire.
![Critic's claim not so super](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Critic's claim not so super
The Taxpayers' Union's trenchant criticism of the NZ Superannuation Fund, over its poor investment in Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo, shows the dangers of viewing problems through ideological goggles.
![Wife charms where Abbott fails](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Wife charms where Abbott fails
Australia's First Lady, Margie Abbott, is a former teacher who grew up in Wainuiomata.
![Bryce Edwards: The backlash against war](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Bryce Edwards: The backlash against war
There’s been widespread sceptism and outrage in response to the Government’s announcement that New Zealand troops will be sent to Iraq, writes Bryce Edwards.
![Dita De Boni: Don't oversell the moral case for war](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Dita De Boni: Don't oversell the moral case for war
I believe the decision to commit our troops to Iraq was made a long time ago, and was a decision our Prime Minister had to make for geo-political reasons that gave him little option, writes Dita De Boni.
![Greece wins temporary reprieve](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Greece wins temporary reprieve
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won four more months to sell his policy program to creditors while keeping domestic voters on board.
![Fran O'Sullivan: Economic issues deserve PMs attention](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Fran O'Sullivan: Economic issues deserve PMs attention
Iraq will inevitably dominate Friday's talks between John Key and Tony Abbott - but it should not obscure progress on the vital transtasman economic agenda.
![McCully calls for UN to reform standing](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
McCully calls for UN to reform standing
Foreign Minister Murray McCully told the UN Security Council that its future credibility and effectiveness depended on its permanent members making progress on reform.
![Brit MPs in new 'cash for access' scandal](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Brit MPs in new 'cash for access' scandal
Two former British foreign secretaries offered to use their positions on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for payment of NZ $10k a day.
![System let us down on siege: Abbott](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
System let us down on siege: Abbott
Tony Abbott has flagged shifting the balance between upholding individual rights and ensuring community protection following a report into the Sydney cafe siege.
![Greece wins reprieve, decisions follow](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Greece wins reprieve, decisions follow
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras began the task of selling domestically a provisional deal with eurozone partners to extend bailout funds after securing a reprieve.
![Moscow gets junk rating by Moody's](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Moscow gets junk rating by Moody's
Just over one month since its last downgrade of Moscow's credit rating, Moody's said Russia "is expected to experience a deep recession in 2015 and a contraction in 2016".
![The PM, the dinner & the $25k donation](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
The PM, the dinner & the $25k donation
Electoral returns out next week will confirm that a National Party MP received $25,000 from a controversial businessman after Prime Minister John Key had a private dinner with him.
![Fight against ISIS: Back to Baghdad](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Fight against ISIS: Back to Baghdad
NZ troops are preparing to return to Iraq, a decade after Kiwi soldiers were last in the violence-wracked nation. On Monday the cabinet is expected to set the ground rules for the deployment.
![Bryce Edwards: Is NZ being conned into war in Iraq?](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Bryce Edwards: Is NZ being conned into war in Iraq?
The public could be wise to be sceptical or wary about politicians trying to manipulate them about the global fight against ISIS, writes Bryce Edwards.
![Juha Saarinen: Obsolescence threatens digital Dark Age](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Juha Saarinen: Obsolescence threatens digital Dark Age
Vint Cerf, one of the people who helped build the internet (and who's now been assimilated by Google of course), is warning about a digital Dark Age.
![Growth in Japan below expectations](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Growth in Japan below expectations
Japan's economy expanded less than economists estimated in the fourth quarter, underlining the difficulty in stoking growth while export gains are undermined.