Vladivostok has got a lot going for it. But out in the ‘Gulag’ – the concrete monstrosity that the Russians have plonked on Russky Island – it wasn’t so hot. It wasn’t the shoddy building standards (lifts stopping mid-floor; toilet doors too large for their frames) but the E-coli bug that did in several NZ delegates there for the prestigious APEC CEOs …

Former Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard beat a swift retreat from the recent Russian APEC. Bollard clearly wasn’t used to being tracked by big ominous looking Russians and did not hang about after being announced as APEC’s new executive director.The APEC role is the ultimate when it comes to “herding cats” – aka the many officials from around the region who …

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully left has left the ‘Big Apple’ to visit Jamaica and Cuba for bilateral talks. McCully displayed considerable prowess at the United Nations where he delivered a cut-through address slamming the Security Council’s failure to deals with the mounting deaths in Syria. He wants the P5 – the club of five permanent council members; the US, Russia, …