A former British diplomat has accused Hillary Clinton of contributing to Iraq's disastrous meltdown during her four years as Barack Obama's foreign policy chief.

The Syrian Government has been accused of again using chemical weapons against civilians as fighting intensifies with fresh rebel attacks in the north of the country.

David Cameron was stumped when a 10-year-old girl asked him the toughest question of the election campaign so far.

Hillary Clinton hits the road in a humble van to her first campaign appearance since declaring on she is joining the 2016 race for president.

Hillary Clinton would be a good political partner for NZ if she became the US president, Prime Minister John Key says.

President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro symbolically ended more than a half-century of official estrangement between the countries yesterday in a historic-face-to-face meeting.

Hillary Clinton would make a fine US president, Barack Obama said on the eve of the expected launch of her candidacy for the Democratic Party's nod in 2016.

A large protest opposing the closure of remote indigenous communities in Western Australia yesterday shut down streets in central Melbourne.

Pressure is mounting for the abolition of a law allowing Queenslanders who kill homosexuals to have a murder charge reduced by arguing that their victim propositioned them.

Two Australians on death row will face a firing squad after a Jakarta court rejected their bid to appeal against the Indonesian President's clemency refusal.

The Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, has repeated his call for New Zealand to be kicked out of the Pacific region's main decision-making body.

Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have lost their appeal in Indonesia to challenge the decision to deny them clemency.

The Governor of Indiana has caved in to national criticism and promised to revise a controversial law that some say discriminates against gay people.

Either a former dictator or a "weak" leader could emerge as President of Africa's most populous nation this morning.

Fijian nationals will be eligible to register for a residency ballot under the Pacific Access Category for the first time since the military coup in 2006.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy bolstered his chances of a return to France's top job after his conservatives gave the Socialists one of their greatest election thrashings.

There are 15 major contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Together, they own at least 40 guns.

Queensland's six-week-old minority government hung in the balance yesterday after Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was forced to expel one of her MPs, opening up the possibility of a byelection that could hand power to the Liberal-Nationals.

Mike Baird's comfortable victory in Saturday's New South Wales election has taken some of the heat off Prime Minister Tony Abbott, according to pundits - but has also highlighted the differences....

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for democracy in Africa yesterday as Nigerians resolutely cast their votes amid shootings by Islamist militants and technical glitches.

Big-name departures are a fact of life for US Presidents as their influence wanes in the second term, but few White House exits in recent memory have caused as much intrigue as the departure of the Obama Administration's chief florist.

Confounding many expectations, mainstream conservatives prevented the far-right National Front from breaking through in local elections seen as a test of faith in France's battered political....