Syria's civil war has driven almost a third of the country's population from their homes, causing the humanitarian calamity of the century, says the United Nations.

Amid signs in Washington of deep anxiety about unintended consequences and unforeseeable outcomes.

Germany put a 92-year-old former member of the Nazi Waffen SS on trial Monday on charges that he killed a Dutch resistance fighter in 1944.

President Barack Obama, working to persuade sceptical lawmakers to endorse a US military intervention in civil war-wracked Syria, hosted two leading Capitol Hill foreign policy hawks for talks.

The Syrian crisis and Opposition leader Tony Abbott's competence to deal with international affairs have become a central issue in the fight for power in Australia.

Western powers' best option for responding to regime's gas attacks in Syria is to arm selective rebels, writes Alexander Gillespie.

The British Government was accused of "breathtaking laxity" in its arms controls after it emerged that officials authorised the export of two chemicals to Syria.

Editorial: Barack Obama said Syria's use of chemical weapons would be a "red line", yet flicking the issue of a US response back to Congress looks a lot like passing the buck.

Edging toward a punitive strike against Syria, President Barack Obama said he was weighing "limited and narrow" action as the Administration bluntly accused Bashar Assad's Government of launching a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 1429 people.

President Barack Obama is poised to become the first U.S. leader in three decades to attack a foreign nation without broad international support or in direct defense of Americans.

The New Zealand Defence Force is issuing new recruits with waterproof Bibles, endorsed by TV adventurer Bear Grylls, in a worldwide military first.

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.

Al Jazeera correspondent Wayne Hay, formerly a TVNZ reporter, was arrested while covering events in Cairo on Tuesday along with three others, Al Jazeera reported.

This is why the rest of the world cares about America's choice of president: what President Barack Obama decides on Syria is what matters.

A British and American attack to punish Syria for using chemical weapons will see the two allies launch a barrage of more than 100 missiles in a blitz lasting up to 48 hours.

If chemical weapons are being used in Syria with the intention of killing civilians then we have just reached a new level of barbarism for humanity, writes Alexander Gillespie.

United States President Barack Obama has the authority to launch air strikes against Syria.

Saudi Arabia secretly offered Russia a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia's gas contracts.

Prime Minister John Key says he is horrified by footage of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, and intervention by the US may be inevitable.

The US says chemical weapons had been used in an 'obscene' attack in Syria, and it has additional information about the attack it will make public.

A recent report by World Vision found there are increasing security concerns and resentment between refugees and local communities, writes Alison Maccoll.

A human "river" of tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds has begun flowing into neighbouring Iraq to escape jihadist violence, United Nations officials warned yesterday.

Egypt's army promised there would be no let-up in its confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood despite a death toll that was heading towards the 1000 mark.

Amid the chaos and bloodletting, some Egyptians despair the death of democracy, others want to fight on.

Riot police backed by armored vehicles, bulldozers and helicopters Wednesday swept away two encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, setting off running street battles in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. At least 192 people were killed nationwide, many of them in the crackdown on the protest sites.

Israel's Cabinet endorsed the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners, paving the way for the resumption of peace negotiations in Washington DC as early as tomorrow.

A far cry from the stinking ruins of the war-ravaged city New Zealand's war veterans saw here 60 years ago, Seoul is now an attractive destination.