Pope intervenes in child sex abuse case

Diego's complaint about a priest received no attention until he contacted the Pope.

Putin makes first public appearance in 10 days

1:24 AM   President Vladimir Putin has appeared in public for the first time since March 5, quelling intense speculation about his health.

Israel's election down to the wire

Ruth Pollard 8:15 PM   An increasingly desperate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rallying right-wing voters with expansive promises.

Egypt's brazen plan to build new capital city

Over the weekend, Egypt unveiled plans to build a wholly new capital.

Vanuatu president begs world to help rebuild, blames climate change, after Cyclone Pam

Claudine Wery 7:03 AM   The official death toll rises to 28, with many more feared dead, as the country slowly picks up the pieces amid apocalyptic scenes.

Republican presidential hopeful shocks little girl: 'The world is on fire'

Josephine Tovey 6:34 AM   While the catastrophic language Republicans use to describe Democratic president Barack Obama and his policies may no longer surprise the American public, it still has the power to shock very small children.

France to outlaw ads with anorexic models

5:37 AM   France's health minister says she supports plans to criminalise the use of advertising with anorexic models in France.

Jihadi John's mock executions: journalist recounts how 'he caressed my neck with the blade'

Lindsey Bever 5:20 AM   Mohammed Emwazi took the lead in mock executions, a rehearsal for death that leaves hostages wondering whether they will actually die. Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of beheadings.

What is love? Scans of human mind take us step closer to eternal question

Camilla Turner 11:42 PM   It is one of life's most enduring mysteries. A question that music, poetry, myth and legend have, for thousands of years, tried to answer. However, we may now be a step closer to discovering what love is.

Putin puts Northern Fleet on alert for Arctic exercises

10:57 PM   President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet and paratrooper units to go on full alert as part of snap military exercises in the Arctic, according to state-run RIA news agency.

Cyclone Pam 'as frightening as the Blitz'

Natalie Bochenski 1:00 AM   90-year-old compares Vanuatu storm to German bombing of London.

Daughter of Anwar Ibrahim arrested for sedition

10:04 PM   Nurul Izzah, 34, a member of Parliament and popular public figure, confirmed her arrest by phone while in custody.

Saddam Hussein's tomb destroyed in heavy clashes

7:58 PM   The tomb of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein has been virtually levelled in heavy clashes between militants from the jihadist IS group and Iraqi forces in a fight for control of the city of Tikrit.

Phone-tapping rumours surround delay in executions

Jewel Topsfield 6:51 PM   Indonesian parliamentarians are publicly questioning the fact that 10 prisoners on death row have not yet been killed.

Is it time for a category-6 cyclone rating?

Peter Hannam 5:38 PM   The unusual strength of Cyclone Pam, which devastated Vanuatu over the weekend, could enliven debate about the need for a category 6 reading for storms to reflect their increasing severity.

Disgraced general Xu Caihou dies of cancer

Philip Wen 4:00 PM   His death was reported with none of the ceremony usually reserved for senior leaders. Instead the official news website of the army carried a scathing editorial, saying Xu died "with his reputation in tatters”.

Israel election: Netanyahu may be on his way out

Laura King, Batsheva Sobelman 3:28 PM   Voters may finally be turning away from Benjamin Netanyahu, but if the country's longest-serving prime minister since founding father David Ben-Gurion is on his way out, he is definitely not going without a fight.

Straight from TV to jail: Robert Durst charged in killing

Charles V Bagli, Vivian Yee 3:20 PM   Since his first wife vanished more than three decades ago, Robert A. Durst, the eccentric and estranged son of one of New York's most prominent real estate dynasties, has lived under the suspicious gaze of law enforcement officials in three states.

Vladimir Putin whereabouts still a mystery

Howard Amos 3:19 PM   Media speculation reached fever pitch over the weekend about the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin - now missing from the public eye for 10 days - with swirling theories of bloody Kremlin coups, secret births or sudden deaths.

Angela Merkel urges closer ties with rising tech giant China

Frank ZELLER 3:12 PM   German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged closer high-tech cooperation with China as she opened a major IT business fair where the Asian giant is the official partner country.

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Impeach Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff say a million protesters

Paulo Prada 2:57 PM   Unexpectedly large demonstrations in Brazil's cities and towns are a sign of a polarised country.

Ferguson: suspect arrested in shooting of police officers

Manny Fernandez, John Eligon 2:23 PM   A 20-year-old man has been charged with first-degree assault in the shooting of two police officers in front of the Ferguson Police Department.

Vanuatu rescue effort as bodies picked up after Cyclone Pam

Lisa Visentin, David Wroe, Rory Callinan 2:23 PM   Dazed Vanuatu residents and tourists find devastation in the wake of category-five storm Cyclone Pam.

Another textbook gun law victory for National Rifle Association

Nick O'Malley 2:16 PM   While political attention in the United States last week was focused on Hillary’s emails and the Republican Party’s attempts to derail nuclear negotiations with Iran, the National Rifle Association enjoyed yet another victory.

Churches bombed during prayer services

Arif Ali 1:03 PM   Fourteen people were killed and more than 70 injured when two Taliban suicide bombers attacked churches in Pakistan's Lahore on Sunday, sparking mob violence in which two other suspected militants died.