Thousands of residents poured out of eastern neighbourhoods of Mosul yesterday, the first significant wave of people to escape the city held by Isis.

The United Nations have said that at least 239 migrants have drowned this week in two shipwrecks off the coast of Libya.

More than 300 child soldiers, dubbed the "cubs of the caliphate", have reportedly been killed after being sent into battle.

Iran's supreme leader says the statements made by the frontrunners in the US Presidential race are proof of the destruction of human values in the United States,"

COMMENT: It is time to sober up. The superpowers are drunk on rhetoric, mistrust and posturing. They are dragging us all towards the brink.

Qatar Airways will start flying next year and is offering fares as low as $1455 from Auckland to Europe return.

Nick Jenkins discovers a friendly way to visit the turbulent Middle East.

Iraq has launched its biggest fight against Isis. PM Haider al-Abadi pledged to raise the Iraqi flag over Mosul once more.

A 22-year-old woman is to be hanged this week after being found guilty of killing the husband she says abused her.

On a clear afternoon last Monday a line of humanitarian aid trucks eased to a stop in front of a cluster of warehouses packed with aid supplies 24km outside the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Alison Stephenson realises why her luxury hotel was so cheap - it's 50C outside.

'Magnificent mosques, diverse history and unrivalled hospitality,' are drawcards for the country.

COMMENT: Burkinis be damned is the one-sided debate raging here in France. Comeback king Nicolas Sarkozy has promised voters he'll ban the burkini.

Graham Reid spends 24 hours in Dubai International's famously huge and busy terminals.

A Kiwi team is battling sweltering and dusty conditions in the Middle East.

Dubai's new rainforest hotel will make for a unique guest experience.

An Islamic State insider has revealed the never-before-told story of the shadowy meeting that spawned the bloodthirsty terror group.

In parts of the world right now, it feels like 60C. Experts fear it won't be long till the scorching heat threatens human survival.

Isis fighters shot down a Russian helicopter above Syria, killing both pilots on board.

Relatives of Marie Colvin, a Sunday Times journalist, have filed a lawsuit claiming that Syrian government officials killed her.

Massacres attributed to Isis have struck on four continents this year, reflecting how its appeal is growing despite setbacks in Iraq and Syria.

This year is turning out to be one of the deadliest for asylum-seekers who try to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

COMMENT: David Shearer's article last week, "Border decisions condemn countries to conflict", seems conflicted.

The non-combat deployment in the battle against the Islamic State had been set to finish early next year, but would now last until November 2018.

In the same way, people in 100 years will live with the consequences of the decisions we make now.

A disfiguring tropical disease has spread across the Middle East as millions are displaced from the war-torn region.

In the Middle East, the luxury-goods industry is grappling with shifting sands.

Lebanon's Hizbollah militia has blamed the killing of a militant described as its top commander in Syria on extremist Sunni insurgents.

It is not often that international solutions work so well but when it happens, it deserves a tentative cheer.