Much has been gushed about the rise of Aaron Cruden into the All Blacks ranks as the heir apparent to first five-eighths Dan Carter.

A former Israeli soldier has been condemned for mocking Palestinian prisoners on her Facebook page.

There are plenty of lies being told on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, writes Gwynne Dyer.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer says heading an inquiry into a fatal Israeli raid on an aid flotilla will probably be the hardest job he has done.

A Palestinian man who masqueraded as a Jew to have sex with a Jewish woman has been convicted of rape "by deception" and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The Iranian Red Crescent is planning to send humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza in a brazen challenge to Israel's sea blockade.

Israel has said it will not accept a UN plan for a multinational investigation into the lethal commando raid on an aid flotilla.

Former New Zealand prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer has been suggested to lead an inquiry into the raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla a week ago.

Six days after Israel's bloody assault on an aid flotilla that left nine foreign protesters dead, nobody can recount precisely what happened.

Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel peacefully and without meeting resistance on Saturday.

NZ activist Nicola Enchmarch says she saw a man shot in the head by Israeli forces after they stormed her Gaza-bound aid ship.

The NZ woman detained in Israel after a raid on an aid flotilla headed for Gaza has been released overnight.

The Israeli Embassy in Wellington says Nicola Enchmarch is about to be deported from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport but her destination is unknown.