Agreement on a definitive ceasefire is one of the last steps towards ending Latin America's longest civil war.

The Kiwi and Australian commandos of elite special unit ZSU, many of whom died without their family ever knowing what they did, will finally be recognised.

Families of a forgotten World War II crack commando unit are calling on Govt to officially recognise their behind-enemy-lines feats more than 70 years on.

Letters written 100 years ago by a NZ sailor have revealed how he survived a catastrophic naval battle in World War I by smearing his body with heavy oil.

Demonstrators have formed a human chain near a U.S. air base in western Germany to protest against lethal drone strikes.

COMMENT: New Zealanders understand the importance of bringing back the remains of our dead who have ended up overseas.

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

On NZ Herald Focus – The Treasury is warning that record levels of immigration could push New Zealanders out of low-skilled jobs and Islamic State militants launch a major counter-attack on Iraqi government troops in Fallujah. Also Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is a father again at the age of 68 after his wife gave birth to twin girls.

Today - The search for a missing kiwi woman continues after she was taken by a crocodile in Northern Queensland and the Iraqi army is facing fierce resistance as it attempts to retake Falluja. And doctors advise the Duke of Edinburgh not to go to the events to mark 100 years since the Battle of Jutland.

COMMENT: Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, but those who ignore it will never learn anything.

Exactly a century ago, when New Zealanders marked the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, they would have been heartily sick of war.

Corazon Miller pays tribute to those unsung women who served in a time they were expected to 'sit down and sew things'.

Former soldier Glyn Harper, now Professor of War Studies at Massey University, has written numerous history books and children's books.

A NZ soldier executed for mutiny during WWI will finally be commemorated at a memorial in Britain after a campaign by an amateur Wellington historian.

It is difficult to view Saudi Arabia's relentless war of attrition in Yemen as anything other than a destructive failure.

Historian discovers how close five young Kiwis came to being among first victims of Irish insurrection.

For five years Syria has suffered through a civil war that has tortured its people and destroyed the country, writes World Vision's Chris Clarke. For five years too long children have witnessed things no one should ever see.

There are over a million refugees living in Europe. Living in squalid and challenging conditions. And witness how that influx of humanity has destabilised Europe, writes Rachel Smalley.

As the Syrian conflict approaches its fifth anniversary, not far across the border in Jordan an altogether more hopeful milestone is being celebrated.

A cessation is the most basic good-faith requirement as a first step towards discussions about what peace may look like, writes Alexander Gillespie.

A $3 million World War I memorial in Auckland Domain may not proceed after concerns the five shortlisted designs do not meet the original vision.

Charles "Chook" Fergusson narrowly escaped death when his plane was shot down. Then he found himself in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

There is a danger that this conflict will draw us ever deeper into a quagmire, writes Gehan Gunasekar. There is a danger of escalation should the current proxy conflict spill into conflict between the great powers involved themselves.

The US deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally Sth Korea yesterday, in a show of force after North Korea's nuclear test last week.

In the event of a nuclear war, the Pentagon in 1956 penned a report that listed 1200 cities that were prioritised for various levels of destruction.

Coalition air strikes have killed 10 Isis commanders, with some linked to last month's attacks in Paris.

Iraqi forces broke into Ramadi's city centre, closer to its main government buildings as commanders hope to recapture the capital from Isis militants.

The elite troops being sent in to help dismantle Isis are men who have been waging a secret - or not so secret - war for 14 years.

In the years since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Alaa Aljaleel has become his hometown's unofficial feline caretaker.

Western countries face the prospect of being dragged further into the war in Syria as it prepares to support a new "ground army" from Muslim nations.