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EUROPE REMAINS IN THE SPOTLIGHT, WITH ONE EYE ON GROWTH AND THE OTHER ON GREECE: Headlines on Greece ’s next tranche of aid and how to meet the predicted shortfall again generated some volatility in markets overnight. Policymakers seem to be making slow progress, although no final decision about the disbursement of the next tranche of aid will be made until …

UNDP’s Helen Clark says it is not difficult to draw up an inventory of global institutions and mechanisms which are struggling to reach decisions: The veto power in the UN Security Council can be a block to decisive action. The annual meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have often struggled …

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Perth for a summit to deepen defence links between Australia and the United States. The annual summit is the first since President Barack Obama visited Australia a year ago and upset  China by announcing that up to 2500 US Marines would rotate through a joint military training hub in the northern …

China’s vice president, Xi Jinping, is widely expected to take over from President Hu Jintao at the Communist Party congress under way in Beijing. The gathering ushers in a once-in-a-decade leadership change in the country. However, whether Hu will stay on as China’s military leader is still unclear. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Beijing.

A scandalous affair has brought down a man referred to by many as one of the greatest generals in US history. But how successful have David Petraeus’ strategies really been in Iraq and Afghanistan? Until a few years ago, few people had heard of Petraeus. But in Washington DC, he has been long revered. His counter-inserguency strategies in Iraq and …

New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Spain is career diplomat Michael Swain. “As a key member of the European Union, Spain is an important partner for New Zealand and there is scope to develop our trade and economic relationships,” Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says.  “We also share political and security interests with Spain, notably through our involvement in Afghanistan. Michael’s wide …

 Glidepath founder Sir Ken Stevens has been named this year’s Flying Kiwi, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement in export, business and engineering. Flying Kiwis Dennis Chapman, Neville Jordan, Rod Drury, Selwyn Pellett and Paul Hargreaves and guests from the high-tech industry saw Sir Ken inducted into the Tait Communications Hi-Tech Hall of Fame at a lunch at Te …

GREECE & FISCAL TENSIONS IN THE SPOTLIGHT. Yesterday we got news during the NZ trading day that the Greek parliament approved a package of austerity measures, seeing the 2013 budget pass by 167 votes to 128. However, as we warned on Friday, this is unlikely to trigger the next payment of the Troika’s bailout, as European Finance ministers have indicated that …

By Charles Finny As predicted in my last contribution to newzealandinc.com  President Obama made it home and will run the United States for another four years.  The Republicans have some lessons to learn and uncomfortable facts to digest, particularly around the changing demographics in the United States.  To win election to the Presidency the Republicans need to soften their stance …

By Ernest Z. Bower Forty-eight hours after winning reelection to a second term, President Barack Obama announced he would visit three countries in mainland Southeast Asia—Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand—from November 17 to 20. Actions speak louder than words; the visit shouts Obama’s intent for a purposeful focus on Asia in his second term. This is not a typical Asia visit …