Kurdish forces ready to fight to keep historic capital
RUTH POLLARD 5:43pm There was no chance the Kurdish Peshmerga would let Kirkuk, the city that is held so dear in the hearts of Kurds, fall to Islamic militants.
Top world stories
Israel blames 'terrorist' group over missing trio
1:45pm As the search continued for three Israeli teenagers who were missing in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused a "terrorist organisation" of kidnapping the trio.
Violence erupts after rebels down plane
12:50pm An irate mob smashed the Russian embassy's windows in Kiev and tore down its flag following the downing by pro-Kremlin rebels of a military plane that killed 49 troops.
Obama ridicules climate change deniers
12:14pm US President Barack Obama ridiculed members of Congress on Saturday for denying climate change or pleading scientific ignorance as an alibi for avoiding an inconvenient truth.
Dead or meditating? A guru awaits his fate
Jason Koutsoukis in New Delhi Sometime in the early hours of January 29, doctors agree that the heart of Indian guru His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj stopped beating.
Pentagon orders aircraft carrier to Gulf
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier be sent to the Gulf on Saturday, readying it to pursue a military option.
For sale: Joseph Goebbels' country retreat
ISIL Twitter terror: gruesome photos and candid selfies
Singapore grapples with smartphone addicts
Afghans ignore Taliban threats and vote again in final test
Parents of Oregon high school shooter are "horrified"
Will Fleet Street be brought to heel?
Electric car company patents opened to all
Latest world news
Support but no Aussie soldiers for Iraq, says Julie Bishop
DAN HARRISON Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she does not expect Australian troops to return to Iraq to battle a jihadist insurgency which has seized control of a vast swathe of territory in the north of the country.
Massacre photos set Twitter alight and inflame tensions in Iraq
Andrew J. Barden and Tarek El-Tablawy 3:13am An al-Qaeda-affiliated group uses social media to post photos and boast about killing a reported 1,700 Iraqis in claims that could propel the country closer to civil war.
A day of mourning in a divided Ukraine
Timothy Heritage and Alessandra Prentice 1:49am A national day of mourning was ignored in the east of Ukraine as the rumblings of war continue in the divided country.
More than 50 suspected militants killed in Pakistan strikes
8:57pm Pakistani fighter jets have launched air strikes against militant hideouts in the country's troubled north-west, killing more than 50 insurgents, the military says.
'Allo Allo!' and Porridge actor Sam Kelly dies at 70
5:44am British actor Sam Kelly, who starred in 'Allo 'Allo! and Porridge, had died at the age of 70 after a long illness.
Pro-Russian rebels shoot down Ukrainian military transport plane killing 49 people
KIEV, June 14 AFP - At least 49 people were killed when pro-Russian rebels shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane in the separatist eastern region of Lugansk, a military spokesman says.
Blue diamond may be a world beater
Rebecca Clancy and Claire Carter An "exceptional" 122-carat blue diamond, which could be one of the most valuable found, has been unearthed at a South African mine.
Errors led to botched execution of Clayton Lockett, autopsy reveals
An autopsy done after a 43-minute US execution that drew world outrage says the prisoner had healthy veins but his body had multiple punctures from the execution team trying to find them.
Prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl returns to US
Manny Fernandez and Eric Schmitt Exactly 1809 days after he was captured by Taliban fighters who kept him in a metal cage for weeks and possibly months during nearly five years in captivity, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has returned to the US, to a homecoming void of any of his relatives and dampened by a swirling controversy over his capture and release.
Discovery raises hopes for Alzheimer's sufferers
Sarah Knapton in London A drug to prevent the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease is a step closer after scientists discovered why people with dementia cannot form new memories.
Ukraine separatists shoot down military plane, 49 dead
At least 49 people were killed when pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane at the eastern city of Lugansk, a military spokesman says.
Obama faces doing a deal with Iran as Islamists sweep south in Iraq
Richard Spencer in Cairo and Robert Tait in Jerusalem President Barack Obama is under growing pressure to set aside years of hostility and start co-operating with Iran to counter the jihadist threat engulfing Iraq and its capital, Baghdad.
Pope shuns bullet-proof car, saying he's too old for protection
Nick Squires Rome: Pope Francis says he refuses to travel in a "sardine can" bullet-proof Popemobile because, despite concerns for his security, at his age he has nothing to lose.
UK makes Angelina Jolie honorary dame
Angelina Jolie has been made an honorary dame in Queen Elizabeth II's birthday honours list, as Britain paid tribute to the Hollywood star for her efforts to combat war-zone rape.
Pope Francis reveals doubts over Scottish independence
Simon Johnson in Edinburgh The Pope appeared to raise concerns about Scottish independence yesterday for the first time.
Hollywood Dame: The Queen honours Angelina Jolie for leading fight against sexual violence
Patrick Sawer in London Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood actress, has been singled out for recognition in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours for her campaigning work against sexual violence and the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Barack Obama makes first visit to an Indian reservation as president
Katie Zezima Barack Obama has made his first visit to an Indian reservation as President.
Army chief David Morrison a 'bigger star' than Angelina Jolie at UN summit
Australia's army chief has told a global audience that militaries that don't become more inclusive, particularly by allowing women to serve on the front line, "do nothing to distinguish the soldier from the brute".
Call to arms as Iraq sinks into sectarian violence
Ruth Pollard in Erbil Iraq sank deeper into all-out sectarian conflict overnight with the country’s most senior Shiite cleric calling for volunteers to take up arms against Sunni militants who are threatening to stage an attack on the capital Baghdad after securing key towns in the north.
