What was supposed to be on the trip of a lifetime for a pair of young Aussie backpackers has become a nightmare for the family of Rye Hunt, in the fortnight since he vanished in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Israel said it had uncovered a new network of Jewish extremists in the West Bank that was responsible for several recent attacks against Palestinians, including the attempted arson of at least one home as people slept inside.

Finance News Update, what you need to know

Los Angeles Times

Australian suspects may be involved in the booming Chinese meth trade.

The treaty organisation has traditionally focussed on the threat of Russia, but is increasingly concerned about China’s nuclear arsenal and lack of transparency.

Ongoing record warmth in the world’s oceans has increased the likelihood that 2014 will be declared the hottest year since reliable data began more than a century ago, US and Japanese agencies say.

The US official co-author of the contentious memo permitting water-boarding and other interrogation techniques, now seen as torture by many around the world, has conceded operatives might have "crossed the line".

Five people are dead and eight have been injured after a shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport.

US intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean government was "centrally involved" in the recent attacks on Sony Pictures' computers,

Cubans, weary of decades of isolation from the rest of the world, are relishing the rapprochement with the United States.

“How on earth can I offer up evidence for something where there is no evidence?” she said, her voice rising in anger during the brief, unscheduled conversation.

A local leader in Tanzania who had been accused of adultery has been attacked and beheaded by a gang of men, who then cooked some of his body parts, police say.

A selection of photographs from around the world by Fairfax picture editors.

If this fight has taught us anything, it’s that Ukraine shouldn’t become more like the West.