In the weeks and months before he was brutally murdered on camera by militants from Isis, James Foley was beaten, starved, subjected to mock executions and even waterboarded by his captors.

Ginger jihadist Abdullah Elmir could face 25 years in jail if he ever sets foot on Australian soil again.

Abdullah Elmi, an Australian jihadist, has been lambasted by his Australian relatives as an idiot for his chilling video message.

Islamic State (Isis) militants are believed to be learning to fly three captured fighter jets, which could signal the terrorist group taking to the air for the first time.

A summit of military commanders from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, including New Zealand, will meet in Washington tomorrow.

Australian special forces and aircraft will not be sent into Iraq until the Cabinet considers a risk assessment and the United Nations gives the operation the nod.

A cruise through ancient lands exposes kids to a diverse culture and religion, writes Heidi Douglas.

James Foley's death only perpetuates greater US involvement in the Middle East, writes Jack Tame.

Hundreds of Yazidi women who were captured by Islamic extremists are being subjected to deliberate attempts to co-opt them into service as the wives of fighters.

The Sydney grandfather of a 7-year-old boy pictured clutching the severed head of a Syrian soldier has urged the Australian Government to bring the boy home.

US air strikes are boosting Kurdish morale as they hit Isis fighters, and a road is now open for thousands of Yazidis cut off in the mountains.

An Australian jihadist has tweeted a photo of his young son holding up a severed head of a dead Syrian soldier.

Everything is on a huge scale in Dubai, discovers Peter Feeney.

Prime Minister John Key is rejecting claims the Government is too soft on Israel and should expel the Israeli Ambassador.

Dubai is more than skyscrapers, mega-malls and man-made islands, writes Linda Herrick.

Despite the danger of daily rocket fire, life carries on as normal under the Iron Dome, writes Rhys Davies.

Hamas has ruled out a ceasefire deal unless Israel "lifts the siege" on Gaza, the organisation's political chief has said.

Israel has resumed its air campaign against Gaza after Hamas rejected a six-hour truce and fired dozens of rockets over the border.

Social media has become one of the weapons of war. The Israeli army, which has been on Twitter since 2009, now has 286,000 followers.

Washington has warned Israel against any ground invasion of Gaza, as the UN says more than 40 of the 176 dead were children.

Kurdish leaders accuse Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of being hysterical and unbalanced, while he says the Kurdish capital, Erbil, is a centre for the Islamic State (Isis) and adherents of Saddam Hussein.

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.