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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 …

The long goodbye to Bo Xilai continues as Chongqing Governor Zhang Dejiang, current leader of the southwestern Chinese city, seeks to bury the legacy of its disgraced former top official Bo Xilai. Bo arrived in Chongqing in 2007, pumping money into social housing schemes and advanced infrastructure. It became a bold, alternative mode of growth for China known as the …

New Zealand and Japan are two countries that most people would not usually consider as having the potential for strong sporting relations, but it’s time to think again. With the 2019 Rugby World Cup being held in Japan and the exchanges of top level athletes, the opportunities for sporting ties between our two nations has never been higher. The 2019 …

A quiet clean-out of the Solid Energy board has begun, with two resignations by directors filed with the Companies Office this week and the appointment of an experienced Australian mining expert, Neville Sneddon, to the board. Deputy chairman John Fletcher, who has served on the Solid Energy board since May 2007, has resigned with six months still to run on …