Latest FromInternational Politics
![Liam Dann: Why our China challenge is too big for petty politics](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Liam Dann: Why our China challenge is too big for petty politics
It is unfortunate that some Government sloppiness about business relationships has clouded the coverage of John Key's trip to China, writes Liam Dann.
![Sanctions against Russia 'symbolic'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Sanctions against Russia 'symbolic'
New Zealand's modest travel sanctions over Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine are largely symbolic, says Foreign Minister Murray McCully.
![Western leaders search for a strategy to contain Putin](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Western leaders search for a strategy to contain Putin
Jolted by a sense that history has changed course, Western leaders meet this week to ponder a strategy for neutralising the threat of virulent Russian nationalism.
![Base raid brutal show of power](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Base raid brutal show of power
Russian armour smashed into a base of Ukrainian troops yesterday in the first serious military action in the confrontation over Crimea.
![Expat Kiwi golfer offers China tee](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Expat Kiwi golfer offers China tee
Selling tea to China might not be a good business proposition, but Northland professional golfer Gareth Winslow expects selling a good tee shot will be a different story.
![Kiwi's year caring for Thatcher](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Kiwi's year caring for Thatcher
Aides of Margaret Thatcher expressed little surprise when Kiwi nurse Pip Easterbrook didn't want to work for the woman known as Britain's Iron Lady.
![French political mood darkens](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
French political mood darkens
France heads to the polls this weekend in council elections that will provide a benchmark of voter hostility to mainstream parties at a time of deepening national gloom and a resurgent far-right.
![Money now rules England, says author](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Money now rules England, says author
An American-style pursuit of wealth has finally defeated the British obsession with social class, claims author Martin Amis.
![Minister in strife over water deal](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Minister in strife over water deal
The corruption that fatally afflicted New South Wales' former Labor government has crossed both state and political borders.
![Tony Abbott grilled by high schoolers](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Tony Abbott grilled by high schoolers
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott faced tough questioning from a group of smart high school students about the carbon tax, gay marriage, immigration policy and his women’s minister.
![Venice to vote on independence](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Venice to vote on independence
There has been much water under the Bridge of Sighs since Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Venice, ending 1100 years of independence in the city state.
![State results taste nation's mood](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
State results taste nation's mood
With a sweeping Liberal victory in Tasmania and another hanging in the balance in South Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces two more major tests.
![West eyes sanctions to punish Russia](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
West eyes sanctions to punish Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin's Crimean gamble will face its biggest test tonight, when the EU and US ready sanctions to punish him for a land-grab.
![Labor accused of racism in South Australia poll](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Labor accused of racism in South Australia poll
In a row reminiscent of a notorious incident just before a key federal poll, the Labor Party has been accused of whipping up racism against a Liberal candidate standing in a marginal seat.
![Michelle Grattan: Changing flag a radical thought? For Australia, maybe](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Michelle Grattan: Changing flag a radical thought? For Australia, maybe
Just imagine what would happen if Labor's Bill Shorten proposed a referendum to change Australia's flag.
![Caribbean states seek compo for slavery past](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Caribbean states seek compo for slavery past
A coalition of Caribbean countries has unveiled its demands for reparations from Britain and other European nations for the enduring legacy of the slave trade.
!['Inequality Chile's enemy'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
'Inequality Chile's enemy'
Socialist Michelle Bachelet has promised to tackle inequality as she returned to power in Chile after four years.
![$164k for one day's work](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
$164k for one day's work
France's cash-strapped Socialist Govt approved Dominique de Villepin's return to the diplomatic service for one day after an absence of 20 years so that he could retire with a €100k payoff.
![Abbott starts to stem losses](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Abbott starts to stem losses
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Coalition Government continues to trail Labor in the polls as job losses mount.
![Pro-Russian mobs hit unity rallies](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Pro-Russian mobs hit unity rallies
Vitaly Klitschko, the former boxer turned Ukranian presidential hopeful, has been forced to cancel a rally in the eastern city of Donetsk.
![Australia undermined disarmament bid](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Australia undermined disarmament bid
Australia's newly elected Abbott Government applied secret diplomatic pressure to undermine a NZ-led push towards nuclear disarmament, newly released documents show.
![Jack Tame: A little heat left in that old cold war](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Jack Tame: A little heat left in that old cold war
Mitt Romney's election campaign description of Russia as America's "Number One" geopolitical foe suddenly doesn't seem so silly after all, writes Jack Tame.
![Light thrown on world of 'dark money' and the Kochtopus](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Light thrown on world of 'dark money' and the Kochtopus
Note to Scott Walker: take more care with your communications.
![John Armstrong: Putin 1, Western powers 0, in battle over Ukraine](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
John Armstrong: Putin 1, Western powers 0, in battle over Ukraine
Russia's President is deserving of respect - the kind you would show if you were in close proximity to a hissing cobra, writes John Armstrong.
![The colonel who defied the invaders](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
The colonel who defied the invaders
A former fighter pilot whose bold march against the Russian soldiers occupying his airbase was one of the most stunning acts of resistance in this phoney war.
![Abbott wants national parks on chopping block](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=795)
Abbott wants national parks on chopping block
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has launched another salvo at environmentalists, declaring that Australia has enough national parks and more forests should be open to loggers.