Israeli-Palestinian relations in new crisis with violent clashes following the discovery of body of a Palestinian teenager apparently abducted in revenge attack.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, has promised to lead the conquest of Rome.

This winter was not a good one for farmers in the Fertile Crescent.

New Zealand is not likely to be part of a military intervention in Iraq, according to Prime Minister John Key.

Liam Dann asks, "What sort of economic fallout can we expect if Baghdad falls? It is a question that has carried serious geopolitical weight for thousands of years."

Pope Francis sacked the five-man board of the Vatican's financial watchdog - all Italians - in the latest move to break with a murky past under his predecessor.

Socotra has been called the Galapagos of the Middle East, writes Bhanu Bhatnagar.

A billionaire businessman that was responsible for the biggest bank fraud Iran has ever seen has been executed, Iranian state media has said.

Egypt's former Defence Minister, Abdul-fattah al-Sisi, has failed to make any personal appearances in his campaign to win next week's presidential election.

On a three-day Dubai stopover, James Hacon looks past the city's shiny veneer to discover some local secrets.

A British helicopter has crashed in Afghanistan, killing all five people on board, the UK Ministry of Defence announced.

Faltering Middle East talks are in tatters after two rival Palestinian factions agreed to form a new unity government that could include members who oppose Israel's existence.

Alan Fitzsimmons still gets a buzz out of opening up new markets for Fonterra after more than two decades selling New Zealand dairy products to the world.

To some, they are heroes ready to trade their personal liberty for the sake of high principle. To others, they are spoiled rich children, shirking their national duty on the backs of the less fortunate.

A New Zealand consultancy firm has found a lucrative niche taking Kiwi intellectual property to the Middle East.

Graham Reid visits one of the most famous sites in Christianity's history.

Three New Zealand citizens held for more than two months in the United Arab Emirates on drugs charges are due to appear in court today.

Three New Zealand citizens held for more than two months in the United Arab Emirates on drugs charges are due to appear in court tomorrow.

Former prime minister Helen Clark, whose Labour government froze relations with Israel in 2004, now hopes to strengthen United Nations-Israel ties.

Fresh plans are being drawn up to erect a modern complex on the site of what scholars of Islam contend is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Pakistan Government met the Taliban for the first time yesterday in a last-ditch attempt to end the group's seven-year campaign of terror.

A new finding about the domestication of camels in Israel casts doubt on the historical accuracy of some Bible stories.

This week the agonies of Syria and much of the Mid-East came sharply home to Oz, where the reps of 60 countries met in Sydney for Interpol's inaugural global security and counter-terrorism convention.

Wynyard Group has signed a global partnership deal with UK-based Arquebus Solutions to deliver gun crime intelligence software for the law enforcement market.