Foreign Minister Murray McCully says winning a seat on the United Nations Security Council does not mean New Zealand is committed to military action in Iraq.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is quite prepared to test friendships including with China and the US during New Zealand's two-year term on the Security Council, starting in 2015.

New Zealand's appointment to the UN Security Council will afford a number of benefits, and also open up a raft of complexities to navigate.

Although a small country, New Zealand will have "a loud voice" on the United Nations Security Council as it works for global peace and stability, Prime Minister says.

NZ winning a seat on the UN Security Council 'proves small countries have a role to play' says the Prime Minister, as his Foreign Minister expresses relief.

If New Zealand becomes a member of the UN Security Council early tomorrow, hoping to get a pay-off for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in schmoozing we've done to get there, let us see how much of an independent voice we will retain.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says whether or not New Zealand wins a seat on the United Nations Security Council tomorrow morning, the campaign has been of huge benefit to New Zealand.

Tony Abbott vowed Australia’s “unflinching” support for the fight against Islamic State as he backed an ambitious United Nations plan to stamp out the terrorist threat.

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has brought star power to the UN summit on climate change on Tuesday, urging leaders to stop treating global warming as "fiction".

The planet will be drowned in love and good intentions from the United Nations today when leaders from around the world gather for a climate summit that will try to give fresh impetus to global negotiations.

The PM has accused Glenn Greenwald of acting against NZ's interest after the US journalist said he'd release details of NZ's spying activities on its allies ahead of UN vote.

International child mortality rates have dropped by half since 1990 but will still fall short of 2015 targets, new data released yesterday by the United Nations shows.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has touched down for a two-day visit, but won't be drawn on NZ's chances of securing a seat on the Security Council.

With the UN warning sugar could be ‘the new tobacco’ because of its risks to health through obesity, you might think a diet that cuts it out would get the thumbs up from experts.

Until last week, the Rohme family lived in a house on the eastern fringe of Gaza City near an open field.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says New Zealand has used a special sitting of the UN Security Council to call for a full investigation into the crash of flight MH17.

Australia's decision to repeal its levy limiting fossil-fuel pollution makes it the first nation to turn back from a market approach to fighting global warming.

Israel has resumed its air campaign against Gaza after Hamas rejected a six-hour truce and fired dozens of rockets over the border.

Social media has become one of the weapons of war. The Israeli army, which has been on Twitter since 2009, now has 286,000 followers.

Washington has warned Israel against any ground invasion of Gaza, as the UN says more than 40 of the 176 dead were children.

Actress Angelina Jolie will visit the asylum seeker detention centre on Nauru in a move likely to put further international pressure on the Australian Government's harsh policies.

The legal escape route for Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail has not been updated for more than 50 years.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, has promised to lead the conquest of Rome.

This winter was not a good one for farmers in the Fertile Crescent.

"Which NZ will be turning up in New York should our UN bid be successful?" asks Dita De Boni. "Not just NZers, but citizens of other countries too, have a right to know."