Prime Minister John Key has arrived in Canberra for a flying visit with his new Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani scooped Barack Obama with a tweet revealing a break in the 34-year silence between leaders of the two nations.

The mouse might have roared very loudly indeed - but the elephants he was busy poking with his toothpick were far too busy to hear it.

John Key took to the stage at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday with an old message, made urgent by the crisis in Syria.

Prime Minister John Key has stuck by his criticism of the giants on the United Nation's Security Council despite their apparent breakthrough last night on a resolution to deal with Syria's chemical weapons.

Prime Minister John Key has mounted a scathing attack on the failings of the United Nations, saying it is hostage to the interests of the most powerful.

Prime Minister John Key was expected to discuss Fonterra with Sri Lanka's President this morning - the second damage control meeting he has had relating to Fonterra while on his Europe and USA trip.

Prime Minister John Key has taken a sarcastic poke at the excuses used by nuclear countries for moving slowly on disarmament.

Former PM-turned UNDP head Helen Clark says NZ's bid for a Security Council seat is a "David and Goliath" battle - but we could still win.

John Key is to meet with former Australian PM Julia Gillard in New York today, following a meeting with his predecessor Helen Clark.

Prime Minister John Key says NZ's rivals for a Security Council seat are likely to be spending up to secure the required votes, but we still have some tricks to play.

Syria says it's ready to state where its chemical weapons are and to halt their production, but the US says it'll have to do more than sign up to a treaty.

The US administration has bluntly accused Bashar Assad's government of launching a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 1,429 people - far more than previous estimates- including more than 400 children.

A probe into policing in the troubled new country of South Sudan has uncovered 11,000 fake names on the payroll.

This posh Seoul suburb is a hub of luxury and excess, discovers Sharon Stephenson.

Diplomats and ministers are grappling with thorny issues as they work to secure New Zealand a seat on the UN Security Council for 2015-16.

Seven al-Qaeda-linked militants on a suicide mission attacked the UN compound with a truck bomb and then poured inside, killing at least 13 people before dying in the assault.

More than half a million people fled Syria's civil war last year, and the UN says that number could double by the end of 2013.

Skiing destinations tend to be in well-heeled areas - from Queenstown to the Austrian Alps and Whistler. Naturally, North Korea wants to take its place alongside the well-groomed resorts.

A New Zealand Defence Force peacekeeper was abducted from an observation post in the Golan Heights and held for five hours today.

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has been appointed for another term as head of the UNDP.

Tauranga lawyer Belinda Pidwell will never forget a Bosnian man tell how he and his family were lined up and shot.