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.

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

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".

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.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has led a chorus of international leaders in condemning the attempted military coup in Turkey on Friday night.

Results are in for one of the most bitterly contested elections in Indonesia's recent history.

The world's first test-tube rhinos could be born from animals at a British safari park.

Poland's former president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, has admitted allowing the CIA to operate a "black site" prison in his country.

Five-year-old Julianna Snow, whose story about confronting terminal illness touched millions, has died at home in her mother's arms.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has declared "a state of lawlessness" after a bomb ripped through a popular night market in his home southern city of Davao, killing 14 people and wounding 67 others.

Australia has warned Myanmar to respond to attacks on its security forces in a "measured way" as tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims flee violence in the country.

Dallas Police chief has stepped into America's fierce gun rights debate, officially expressing what many have been thinking.

Drone strikes and other "targeted killings" of terrorist and insurgent leaders favoured by the US and supported by Australia can strengthen extremist groups and be counterproductive, according to a secret CIA report published by WikiLeaks.

Day one of the US-China talks was a decidedly undiplomatic affair. Rather than a trust-building exercise, it was a geo-political airing of grievances.