We will never know precisely why a 29-year-old American went to a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and started shooting people.

COMMENT: This incident raises questions about the dangers of the pursuit of intolerance and hatred through political, social and religious teachings.

The gunman in America's worst mass shooting had been investigated by the FBI for terror links twice but was still able to purchase high-powered weapons.

In the grim statistics of terrorism in America, the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando appears to represent the deadliest attack on US soil since 9/11.

The first American captured on the battlefield after escaping to fight with Islamic State has a message for other westerners - don't go there

In March, a senior commander with Isis was driving through northern Syria on orders to lead militants in the fighting there when a drone blasted his vehicle to oblivion.

Followers of Islamic State doctrine face court in NZ.

The first person in the country caught with graphic terrorist propaganda will be sentenced in an Auckland court this morning.

Isis (Islamic State) insurgents faced major assaults on two fronts in both Iraq and Syria yesterday.

Australian counterterrorism police said they arrested a 24-year-old man in Sydney yesterday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack.

Senior police believed Sydney cafe hostages were "jovial" and didn't think gunman was preparing to kill them

The last member of the group of British jailers who supervised the torture and killing of Western hostages held by the Islamic State has been identified.

A drone missile strike said to have killed the Taliban's supreme leader has further undermined hopes of a peace process.

The US military has dealt a potential blow to the Taliban whose insurgent assaults pose a major obstacle to US hopes for ending the war in Afghanistan.

The younger brother of one of the Brussels airport bombers has qualified to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio.

A teenager has been arrested after Australian police alleged he had been planning to launch a terrorist attack in Sydney.

The final chapter, or "28 pages", of the US report on 9/11 has remained hidden because "it needs to be".

COMMENT: The internet has provided a skewed image of the world dominated by hero-worship and celebrity culture.

Virtually every mistake made then by the US national security machine found its analogue in Belgium on March 22.

A digital newspaper that is connected to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has published an article detailing the US presidential election.

An Egyptian man hijacked an EgyptAir plane on Tuesday evening and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus, where passengers were eventually freed and the hijacker arrested.

Belgian prosecutors yesterday released a man they had charged in connection with last week's deadly Brussels bombings.

The investigation into last week's bombings in Belgium extended farther across Europe after Italian police arrested a new suspect.

COMMENT: Donald Trump was everywhere, of course. He's always everywhere, but on the morning after Belgium he was even more everywhere than usual.

Kiwis are still expected to travel to terror hotspots in the wake of Brussels attacks, but insurance is unlikely to cover terror-related cancellations.

A top European security official warned yesterday that the threat of Isis (Islamic State) attacks is greater than previous assessments.

COMMENT: West will never thwart each and every attack, but the power to undermine propaganda is in our hands.

Brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had secretly filmed the daily routine of Belgium's nuclear programme chief, before they blew themselves up at Brussels airport and on a Metro train.

One of the Brussels bombers was arrested in Turkey and deported back to Belgium in June with a warning that he was a militant.

COMMENT: Outside of Brussels is a suburb - some would call it a ghetto - called Molenbeek, a breeding ground for the disenfranchised who, tragically, join the Isis cause.