COMMENT: Blistering summary exposes Tony Blair's failures, writes Toby Manhire.

John Chilcot produced his verdict on the Blair Government's decision to join the US' invasion of Iraq. None of its findings are a surprise.

Suicide bombers suspected of links to Isis struck for the fourth time in less than a week when they targeted three locations in Saudi Arabia.

Tell Obama his drone operations are unacceptable, writes Brian Rudman.

Six years in the making, a report into the UK's involvement in the Iraq war will be released this Thursday and families of fallen soldiers are planning to boycott what they believe will be a vindication of Tony Blair going to war

Elie Wiesel, Nobel laureate and memory keeper of the Holocaust, dies at 87.

A Kiwi who helped discover a Lithuanian escape tunnel used by Jewish prisoners in World War II, says the project was a "real eye opener".

Thousands of children across the country are spending most or all their years of education in a poorly performing school. EU leaders have responded angrily to Nigel Farage attending the European Parliament in its first debate since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Ten young New Zealand students are travelling to France in September to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

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.

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.

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.

Syria has used sarin nerve gas for the first time since 2013, dropping bombs laden with the chemical agent on Isis fighters outside Damascus.

Howard "Slim" Holmes momentarily stood in terrified wonder at the sight of thousands of Nazi paratroopers dropping out of the sky.

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.

COMMENT: To increase military budgets as a justification to stir the pot in this region which needs to be demilitarised is questionable.

Russian's plan is "the best opportunity the Syrian people have had over the past five years for lasting peace and stability".

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.