The sons of a Muslim imam who was barred from his own mosque for allegedly teaching extreme Islam have denied their father is an advocate for jihad, or holy war.

Vladimir Putin made a triumphant visit to Crimea yesterday, as one of the bloodiest days of the conflict in eastern Ukraine pushed the country further toward civil war.

A touching snapshot of life in the trenches of the Western Front has been displayed for the first time.

They left in groups of threes and fours, soaked in the pouring rain and punching the air victoriously.

Strong local support for the rebel movement has proved a major barrier to Kiev in responding to the situation and the spate of violence.

Ukraine's Government said yesterday that the country was now at war with pro-Russia insurgents.

The mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city was fighting for his life after a daylight assassination attempt as the country's east is dragged toward chaos.

The star witness in the trial of a radical Islamic cleric has described how he received a hug from Osama bin Laden after he was given instructions for a "shoe bomb" plot.

Labour leader David Cunliffe’s incorrect claim that his grandfather won a Military Medal was the result of a family mix-up, his office says.

One of the most infamous battles of the Land Wars has been remembered in Tauranga this morning - the Battle of Gate Pa.

Heavily armed pro-Russian gunmen last night seized another town in east Ukraine, storming the town hall in Kostyantynivka and setting up barricades.

Pro-Russian gunmen in Ukraine demanded a "prisoner" exchange for a team of kidnapped Western officials yesterday.

New Zealanders gathered in their thousands to celebrate Anzac Day at dawn services around the country on Friday, and now attention turns to preparations for next year's centenary of the World War I Gallipoli campaign.

Married for just a month, he couldn't wait to enlist.

Kiwis commemorate April 25 as one today, from the child learning about war history, to the veterans who saw fighting at close quarters

A surf boat crew will stage a symbolic row down Auckland's North Shore tomorrow, as they prepare for a commemorative international race in Turkey next year.

With a generous smile and glinting eyes, Dipak Ghale speaks passionately and softly about the importance of family.

The desperate residents of a besieged district of Damascus are expected to run out of food today.

In 1942, at the age of 49, World War One hero Ormond Burton went on trial in the Supreme Court at Wellington.

Jews have reportedly been told to "register" with pro-Russian forces in the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk, in a move condemned by the US as "grotesque and beyond unacceptable".

Ukraine's armed forces and government suffered a public humiliation yesterday after pro-Russian separatists seized six of their armoured personnel vehicles and paraded them through the streets.

A prolonged and increasingly vicious confrontation in eastern Ukraine turned into armed conflict yesterday.