The Irish are descended from early Middle East farmers and from bronze metalworkers on the steppes around the Black Sea, scientists have found.

COMMENT: Russia's President has been taught a lesson with the shooting of a warplane over Turkish air space.

Mohammed Emwazi was killed by a missile fired from a Reaper drone over Raqqa in Syria.

One of the men impersonated a pregnant woman and was pushed in a wheelchair.

Fighting to protect the tyranny of Assad because of the fear of the evil of Isis would be pointless.

A sudden surge of population puts too much strain on the social and physical infrastructure of receiving countries, but it also severely diminishes the hope that the forsaken country can ever recover.

Having accepted that President Bashar al-Assad will stay in power for a "transitional period", the US is trying to persuade Russia and Iran to curb the worst excesses of their ally.

Nothing less than a multifaceted strategy is required to address both the political causes and the military symptoms of the rise of Isis, writes Robert Patman.

The generosity of Kiwis has helped that the plight of millions of refugees.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are dead, millions are displaced or living as refugees, and 13.5 million people are relying on aid just to sustain their lives.

Rachel Smalley meets a couple of children affected differently by the ordeal but with equally unclear futures.

Every parent does it. I know I do. We have great hopes for our children.

Josh Emett dines out in Dubai and discovers the best creme brulee he has tasted.

Hazara family tell Rachel Smalley they are in Serbia to escape the resurgent Taliban in their home country.

Rachel Smalley reports about a couple's 2000km trip over land and sea with handicapped twins getting closer to their goal: 'To live respectful lives'.

The Forgotten Millions Campaign travels to the epicentre of the refugee crisis in Europe. Today, we reveal the human toll of the crisis.

My role, as a journalist, should be to act as a witness; to report on the situation as a bystander and then leave it as I found it, but an incident in 2013 changed my perspective, writes Rachel Smalley.

The one-off intake will go "over and above" New Zealand's annual refugee quota, but will not number into the thousands, Prime Minister says.

Today the Herald restarts its campaign The Forgotten Millions to help refugees from the Syrian crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told fellow leaders that Europe has a duty to shelter refugees, rebuffing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Rachel Smalley is set to return to the Middle East this year as she continues to spread awareness and raise money for the growing refugee crisis.

The three US airlines say competition from rapidly-expanding Persian Gulf carriers has cut their passenger load to the Middle East and Asia by more than 20%.

Celebrated New Zealand author Charlotte Grimshaw follows Ramadan, starting in Dubai and ending on the West Bank.

Forts and watchtowers by the hundred in the sultanate of Oman point to a fierce past.

NZ has told members of the UN Security Council that there is a window of opportunity for the council to act to restart negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is quite blunt about the Security Council and the Middle East peace process.

Once upon a time Patricia Greig had the good fortune of a luxury stopover in Dubai.

In several of Oman's tiny villages, some clinging to the sides of cliffs, Jim Eagles finds plenty of hospitality from friendly locals.

Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre is visited by Christians from everywhere, writes Kate Shuttleworth.