A free trade deal between New Zealand and the GCC was concluded in 2009 but has not been signed or ratified.

Helen Clark says her aim is to still be standing before the "shoot-out at the OK Corral" takes place over the next UN Secretary General.

COMMENT: This is the perfect time to launch a fundamental rethink of New Zealand's trade policy that starts from first principles.

Labour MP Phil Goff says Australia should turn down Kevin Rudd's request to run for UN Secretary General and back Helen Clark because she was more likely to be successful.

Trade Minister Todd McClay says he will be asking officials to contact the Chinese embassy in Wellington to clarify its position on competition issues.

The injured New Zealander freed from Nigerian kidnappers is not yet well enough to return home.

New Zealand lifting diplomatic immunity from an official accused of shoving Korean policemen is only the second such waiver in 10 years.

Many get into trouble overseas through 'cultural insensitivity'.

Foreign affairs officials will not say whether an official who was blamed for the Malaysian diplomat scandal was paid to stay silent about the case.

"It's come as a shock - we weren't expecting it," says the mum of the man jailed for insulting Buddha.

A spokesman confirmed the ministry was considering a new residence for Leon Grice, the consul-general in Los Angeles, because the current home needed "major works."

Buying unnecessary mansions is a poor look for a Government preaching surpluses and sparse expenditure, writes Jack Tame.

We need to know why that deal went ahead. Who authorised it? And why? What did we stand to gain by spending $11 million on a so-called Agri-hub in Saudi Arabia?

We were heading into the global financial crisis but the fire of the dragon's breath kept us warm in the international financial storm.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will meet United States Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington DC tomorrow.

Joyce this week got cabinet approval to develop what he calls "the New Zealand Investment Attraction Strategy".

Now that it is our turn to chair the United Nations Security Council Murray McCully says we will attempt to revive peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Not an easy task.

A bankrupt business trainer whose companies are in liquidation has been revealed as a taxpayer-funded envoy hired to teach the secret of success.

A spend of more than $360,000 on pay television subscriptions by Government departments has been criticised by Labour.

Phill Goff says there is nothing in the papers to embarrass Labour nor is there any reference to a "commercial solution" as Mr Key suggested.

If NZ taxpayers have provided a businessman with a sheep farm in compensation for his loss, it raises many more questions than Minister Murray McCully has been inclined to answer.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s office issued an edict to National MPs not to attend upcoming Falun Gong celebrations because of China’s “sensitivities”.

A number of New Zealanders still unaccounted for after Saturday's destructive earthquake in Nepal.

Prime Minister John Key has met with the Saudi Arabian king and raised the issue of human rights.

John Key will arrive in Saudi Arabia today with the hope of getting high-level commitment from the new King to a free trade agreement with the Gulf states.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Brazil had had a "very measured response" to news reports that New Zealand spied on its campaign to get Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo elected.

The death toll from the "monster storm" has risen to 16 and aid agencies have begun a measles vaccination campaign to contain the virus.