Australia's conservative Government intends to dump laws that ban hate speech on the grounds that they inhibit free speech.

The world's great powers are channelling John Lennon and Yoko Ono: "All we are saying," they are saying, "is give peace a chance", writes Paul Thomas.

New Zealand is lying relatively low amid increased tensions in the East China Sea dispute between China, and the United States and its allies, and seems determined not to criticise anyone.