Israel revived one of its most controversial policies by blowing up the home of a Palestinian man who killed two people, including a 3-month-old baby, by smashing his car into a crowded tram stop.

Shades of Silicon Valley are bubbling up in Tehran, which is home to a growing tech ecosystem, despite significant challenges.

Would-be jihadi fighters are increasingly booking tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass efforts to thwart them in neighbouring Turkey, said Interpol officials.

In Oman's capital, a devotee of Islam tells Jim Eagles why violent zealots are giving the world a bad opinion of the faith.

Three NZ Defence Force personnel have already left for the Middle East to scope out a role for New Zealand forces to help train Iraqi forces fight ISIS.

The Prime Minister's landmark speech on national security has two messages for New Zealanders, but they are somewhat discordant.

A video has emerged purportedly showing Isis fighters haggling over the price of captured Yazidi women during a "slave market day".

John Key says any NZ commitment to the campaign against Isis in the Middle East would be for a long time, pointing to the 10-year deployment of troops to Bamiyan.

Palestinian leaders accused Israel of an act of war in closing the sacred Temple Mount religious site after a dramatic rooftop ambush of an Arab accused of trying to kill a far-Right Jewish activist provoked rioting.

A teenage jihadist who ran away from his family in Australia to join the Islamic State terror group in Syria, has reportedly appeared in a new video.

In the weeks and months before he was brutally murdered on camera by militants from Isis, James Foley was beaten, starved, subjected to mock executions and even waterboarded by his captors.

Ginger jihadist Abdullah Elmir could face 25 years in jail if he ever sets foot on Australian soil again.

Abdullah Elmi, an Australian jihadist, has been lambasted by his Australian relatives as an idiot for his chilling video message.

Islamic State (Isis) militants are believed to be learning to fly three captured fighter jets, which could signal the terrorist group taking to the air for the first time.

A summit of military commanders from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, including New Zealand, will meet in Washington tomorrow.

A cruise through ancient lands exposes kids to a diverse culture and religion, writes Heidi Douglas.

James Foley's death only perpetuates greater US involvement in the Middle East, writes Jack Tame.

Hundreds of Yazidi women who were captured by Islamic extremists are being subjected to deliberate attempts to co-opt them into service as the wives of fighters.

The Sydney grandfather of a 7-year-old boy pictured clutching the severed head of a Syrian soldier has urged the Australian Government to bring the boy home.

US air strikes are boosting Kurdish morale as they hit Isis fighters, and a road is now open for thousands of Yazidis cut off in the mountains.

An Australian jihadist has tweeted a photo of his young son holding up a severed head of a dead Syrian soldier.

Everything is on a huge scale in Dubai, discovers Peter Feeney.

Prime Minister John Key is rejecting claims the Government is too soft on Israel and should expel the Israeli Ambassador.

Dubai is more than skyscrapers, mega-malls and man-made islands, writes Linda Herrick.

Qantas has reassured passengers it's still safe to fly over Iraq, despite network partner Emirates' deciding to steer clear of the conflict-torn nation.

A plan to blow up a plane on Christmas Day in 2009 failed because the explosives became 'degraded' after he wore the same pair of underpants for two weeks.