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.

Ukrainians living in New Zealand have mixed views about Russia's occupation of the Crimean Peninsula, with one warning of a Chechnya-type situation developing.

The Russians have set the trap perfectly. Their prey is the Crimea.

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.

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.

The disastrous results and huge job-shedding announced by Qantas yesterday is battering at the door of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

A Jerusalem Post photographer has snapped a completely unplanned and highly awkward photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German leader Angela Merkel.

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

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

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.

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

"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.

Australian voters appear to be finally warming to the Government they elected in September, but not because they like Tony Abbott any better, according to an opinion poll published yesterday.

Australia's faltering relations with Indonesia have been dealt another blow by secret documents showing the nation's electronic spy agency passed on to the United States confidential legal communications.

Italy's head of state, President Giorgio Napolitano, has set in train his third prime ministerial appointment in less than three years.

Let's play President. I'll be the public. You can be Bammy.

Belgian MPs are to press ahead with a child euthanasia law that critics say challenges the very basis of civilised society.

The fate of dozens of men detained by the Syrian security forces as they left the besieged city of Homs is continuing to cause international concern.