Russia's decision to play hardball with Western food producers could not have come at a worse time for the New Zealand dairy sector as the season starts to get into full swing.

The Foreign Minister is to be investigated over his decision to withhold papers relating to the Malaysian diplomat case.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has touched down for a two-day visit, but won't be drawn on NZ's chances of securing a seat on the Security Council.

Russia is "practically in a state of war against Europe", with the crisis in Ukraine rapidly approaching "the point of no return", warn EU leaders.

Britain faces the "greatest and deepest" terror threat in the country's history, Prime Minister David Cameron warned yesterday as he pledged emergency measures to tackle extremists.

The senior politician who caused outrage by comparing Italy's first black minister to an orang-utan now claims he is under siege from vengeful African spirits.

The psychiatric evaluation of the Malaysian diplomat facing sexual assault charges in New Zealand has reportedly been completed.

Power of monetary policy to drive global growth is nearing its limit. Further progress depends on government leaders.

Viewed from the vantage point of Standard & Poor's global chief economist the world economy does not seem too inhospitable a place right now, but not without risks either.

Russia widened investigations into McDonald's restaurants in what looks like a tit-for-tat retaliation against American interests after the West imposed sanctions over Ukraine.

As Muammar Gaddafi's regime began to unravel in 2011, amid chaotic fighting between Libya's military and rebels, foreign nations rushed to withdraw their citizens.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange last night argued that it was time he should be allowed to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

The Green Party is offering a simple answer to child poverty: give beneficiary parents the same wage subsidies paid to low and middle income earners with children. That, the party calculates, would give beneficiaries an extra $60 a week.

When the federal senator for the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, Ricky Muir, sounds like the voice of reason, you know you have a problem.

Australia is considering joining the United States in a limited military operation to rescue as many as 30,000 Iraqi refugees trapped on a barren mountain in the north.

The authorities in Pakistan are readying themselves for what could be a huge demonstration of anti-government feeling.

Cigarette-style warnings should be placed on wine showing its health risks and the number of calories it contains, a group of British MPs has said.

Despite all the talk of action against Vladimir Putin, Exxon Mobil, the largest US energy company is undeterred, starting work on $700m oil well in the Arctic.

According to the last national head-count, 130,000 people born in Scotland now live in Australia. I'm one of them, writes Billy Adams.

Up to 150,000 desperate refugees were still isolated on a barren stretch of mountain in Iraq, surrounded by Islamic extremists despite a major international intervention.

The 8-year-old boy's question seemed simple enough but was all the more tragically poignant for that.