Lucky escape for hundreds who trained for famed race

Dan Proudman, Megan Levy, Hamish Boland-Rudder Angela Clarke had stood for hours in the 10-deep crowds near the Boston Marathon finishing line before catching a few frames of her husband, Adam, as he pounded his way towards his best run yet.

Jesuit Pope a first for 'God's Marines'

Megan Levy They are sometimes referred to as "God's Marines" or the church's "storm troopers" - a band of priests and missionaries who live sparse lives and are willing to accept religious orders anywhere in...

A 'miracle' deadly chopper crash wasn't worse

Adrian Lowe Police believe it was ‘‘something of a miracle’’ that many more people were not killed when a helicopter crashed into a crane on a construction site in central London on Wednesday while trying to...

Notorious poacher now leads a fight to save Africa's elephants

Jeffrey Gettleman ARCHERS POST, Kenya: Julius Lokinyi was one of the most notorious poachers in this part of Kenya, accused of single-handedly killing as many as 100 elephants and selling the tusks by the side of the...

Election sidelined as the battered try to restore order after Sandy

Colum Lynch New York AS THE rest of the US frets about a nail-biter of a presidential race, New York and its surroundings are still racked by the effects of hurricane Sandy.

Deep 5.2 quake rattles New Zealand

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake has been recorded centred 15 kilometres southeast of Tokoroa in the central North Island.

Whey to go: Kiwi boffins breed GM cow

Scientists have altered the genes of a dairy cow to produce milk that's rich in a protein used in many food products and lacking in a component that causes allergies in humans.

Adrian Hamilton

Syrians deciding their future, but West must be ready to help

Adrian Hamilton THE BEST thing about the Damascus bomb is that it was done by the Syrians themselves. Both the Free Syrian Army and Liwa al-Islam have claimed credit, as well they might.

Iron Lady supplied her own ironing board at No.10

Former British PM was concerned about how expensive refurbishment might be used against her.

Muammar Gaddafi dead

Muammar Gaddafi has been killed by Libyans he once scorned as "rats", succumbing to wounds, some seemingly inflicted after his capture, in his hometown of Sirte.

Incest siblings spared jail

LONDON: A brother and sister from Scotland who admitted having sex in a railway station lift have avoided jail, although the court ruled the brother should be put on the national register of sex...

Retired officer first to help says US was wrong to declare war on Iraq

Mathew Murphy, New York Retired Lieutenant-Colonel John Lock doesn't focus too much on his S11 ''sliding doors'' moment.

Mother killed after attending son's funeral

Belinda Feek A 58-year-old Perth woman struck down and killed by a car on the outskirts of Hamilton, New Zealand, last night had attended her own son's funeral less than a week earlier.

Ex-governor guilty in plot to sell Obama's Senate seat

Rod Blagojevich, who rode his talkative everyman image to two terms as Illinois governor before scandal made him a national punch line, was convicted on Monday of a wide range of corruption charges,...

Jobless figures give Obama glimmer of election hope

Chris Cillizza WASHINGTON: The unemployment rate in the US, 9.1 per cent last month, paints a grim picture for the country's President, Barack Obama, as he turns his attention to the 2012 election.

Penis prank visible from space

England has the Cerne Abbas giant and the Uffington White Horse, Peru has the Nazca Lines and now a Waikato school, rather unfortunately, has been captured with it's own aerial art - six giant...

Debris everywhere: ship sinks off NZ

Debris and oil is floating from the mess of the sinking Rena as it slips off the Astrolabe reef in New Zealand.

Quake hits Christchurch

A large earthquake has hit Christchurch, causing evacuations and disruption to power and phone services.

'It's time to start a new, united Libya'

Muammar Gaddafi is dead, but once the celebrations are over, Libya's new rulers will still face a hard road to build a democratic state.

Terrorists court silent treatment

Philip Sherwell He has previously chosen to brag about his role as the mastermind of the worst terrorist atrocity in history.