A New Zealand Army officer serving as a United Nations military observer was detained and released by armed men in Syria on Monday.

A senior Taliban leader thought to be behind a roadside bombing in which three New Zealand soldiers died has reportedly been killed by coalition forces.

Leaders of the 'real' and 'virtual' worlds will meet, en masse, for the first time in northern France today.

Could this year's G8 summit, in the French seaside resort of Deauville, break with tradition?