A former fighter pilot whose bold march against the Russian soldiers occupying his airbase was one of the most stunning acts of resistance in this phoney war.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has launched another salvo at environmentalists, declaring that Australia has enough national parks and more forests should be open to loggers.

There is a huge amount riding on just how the West deals with Putin's incursion, with the Ukraine merely a pawn in the Russian president's geopolitical chess game, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is heading for a bitter political fight that he is almost certain to lose as he hardens his "end of the age of entitlement" mantra.

Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand athletes should complete in the Sochi Winter Paralympics despite Russia's intervention in Ukraine.

Ukraine is Europe's second-largest country, made up of wide, fertile agricultural plains and large pockets of heavy industry in the east.

Editorial: All that can be done within reasonable bounds must be done to condemn Russia's seizure of the Crimean peninsula.

New controversy has erupted around the decision to allow 3 million tonnes of dredge spoil to be dumped near the fragile Great Barrier Reef.

The trouble in Ukraine has left NZ in a critical position as it vies for selection to the United Nations Security Council, an expert in international relations says.

Oz PM Tony Abbott never said a truer word than his message to a joint party room meeting this week: Australians are becoming increasingly anxious as the May budget approaches, writes Greg Ansley.

If you're looking for a textbook example of how not to launch a political career, it's hard to go past Act's Jamie Whyte, writes Paul Thomas.

Those who know exactly what happened in Singapore will not tell us. But I have made by own informed assessment, writes Jane Kelsey.

The referendum may still be 200 days away, but it is very much in the foreground of British news, writes Toby Manhire.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison announced last week that an asylum-seeker had died and scores of others had been injured.

Viktor Yanukovych, the ruler whose attempt to put down a protest movement with brutal force started his own downfall, is now a fugitive with a warrant issued against him.

The fatal riot at the immigration detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island continues to drag down the Australian Government.

A Ukrainian protester fell in love with a policeman in Kiev, then leveraged the affair to criticise Government forces on live TV.

Manufactured misery that has created rampant self-harm and suicide attempts, writes Tracey Barnett. There is no will to process their cases for years.

One-time university boxer Tony Abbott has confirmed his pugilistic approach to politics.

"What do I think of Matteo Renzi? I don't trust his face," said Danielle Barrese, 23, a trainee chef from Calabria.

In every revolution, a moment comes when the beleaguered leader loses control and a metaphorical trapdoor opens beneath his feet.

This weekend the fates of President Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko once again took dramatically opposite turns.

The southwestern state of Arizona has passed a law allowing businesses to refuse to serve gay people if homosexuality is against their religious beliefs.

Former prime minister Helen Clark, whose Labour government froze relations with Israel in 2004, now hopes to strengthen United Nations-Israel ties.

Proposed new rules concerning international tax will increase information sharing between tax authorities and add to the growing compliance burden on multinationals, writes Diana Maitland.