Kiwis at Scott Base are offering support to neighbouring McMurdo base as it runs out of money because of the US government shutdown.

The United States will begin recalling its spies from overseas missions because of the government shutdown, the CIA says.

House Speaker John Boehner says President Barack Obama is demanding the GOP surrender the budget and debt limit fight unconditionally, but Republicans won't do it.

The US federal government shutdown is reaching all the way down to the South Pole.

The death of a man who set himself on fire on the National Mall was the result of his long fight with mental illness, not a political statement, his family said.

John Key has raised the issue of two Kiwi protestors being held in Russia with Russian President Putin - but it was not by way of protesting their treatment.

It is unfathomable that a nation that prides itself on its democratic ideals, capitalistic prowess and business leadership has dug itself into such a gigantic mess, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says it's "perfectly legitimate" for the public to pay for travel expenses related to his participation in community sports events.

Argentina's President will undergo surgery to remove blood between her brain and skull that has been causing new and worrying symptoms, her physicians said.

Governments ignore warnings of antibiotic-resistant strains, and the feeding of drugs to animals, at their peril, writes Sue Kedgeley.

Mortars and roadside bombs have exploded near the inspectors, says UN leader.

John Key defended New Zealand's "100 per cent pure New Zealand" tourism campaign in a speech to a tourism conference in Bali focusing on sustainable development.