Since the start of the Syrian uprising, influential groups have emerged on the ground which have been eclipsed in the media by the high-profile exile politicians who enjoy international backing.

Al-Radeef al-Thawri (“The Revolutionary Reserve”) shares with other armed Syrian opposition groups the goal of toppling the ruling regime. But it insists that Syria must not be destroyed in the process

Opposition leaders inside Syria are increasingly at odds with exile groups over the future course of the revolution and the need for a UN-mediated solution to stem the bloodshed.

Syrian opposition sources concur that the three largest armed rebel formations active in the country are the Rijal Allah (Men of God) Brigade, the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Battalion, and the al-Farouq Battalion.

They ea

Tony Marryatt is back in Christchurch

Libya might well be remembered less for the fate of Moammar Gadhafi than for the fact that this was the first significant strategic break between Germany and France in decades. German national strategy has been to remain closely aligned with France in order to create European solidarity and to avoid Franco-German tensions that had roiled Europe since 1871. This had been a centerpiece of German fo

Perhaps even more serious, from a military standpoint, was an incident that took place on Thursday, March 31, when a helicopter-borne US attack in Kunar province, in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, ran into heavy fire from Taliban fighters. Six US soldiers were killed, one of the largest death tolls in any military engagement, outside of transport helicopter crashes.

ABC tel

The world’s attention is focused on Libya, which is now in a state of civil war with the winner far from clear. While crucial for the Libyan people and of some significance to the world’s oil markets, in our view, Libya is not the most important event in the Arab world at the moment. The demonstrations in Bahrain are, in my view, far more significant in their implications for the region and poten

Fears of sectarian uprisings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have set off the
first serious wave of investor flight from the Gulf, compounding market
turmoil as civil war in Libya pushes Brent crude over $116 a barrel.

An amateur wine group paid a record 57,000 euros ($77,000) Saturday for a 237-year-old bottle of wine from France's eastern Jura region at a local wine festival auction.

When the day began for Lt. Col. David Flynn on Oct. 6, Taliban insurgents were using three southern Afghanistan hamlets as bomb factories. By the time the

Brisbane faces a housing crisis amid fears bodies could be lying undiscovered in the flood-hit city.

AS Brisbane residents were urged to "get back to work" amid food shortages, traffic chaos and mountains of rotting debris, Premier Anna Bligh will convene a special cabinet meeting this morning to discuss the recovery plan for the flood-devastated state.

Ms Bligh warned many people would be

The Wellington City Council has decided to close the Feeling Great website, “Wellington’s guide to recreation and events”. Visitor numbers have been dropping and there are “many other event websites and publications” which provide the same information, in a livelier and more focused way. [...]

You think it’s hard selling a house these days? Try unloading a subdivision.

And not just any subdivision, but one with few if any completed homes and a weedy patch where the swim-and-tennis center was planned.

That’s the reality many Georgia banks find themselves in amid a foreclosure c

Gerry Brownlee tells us New Zealanders aren't able to build a train engine. He and John Key are always talking us down. Key thinks Australians are better at everything. His Australian minders, Crosby Textor, are thrilled.

The New Zealand Resilience Trust - a not-for-profit organisation that aims to improve the lives of New Zealanders through helping develop resilient communities - is announcing the formation of the country's newest ambulance service.

The announcement will be made at a subsidiary Trust's prize

Australia's natural boundaries can't prevent the intrusion of intellectual honesty. From it's treatment of the subjegated Aboriginal people to Howard's nonsense in East Timor, Australia bears a self appointed "white man's" burden that no one asked it to assume. Enough.