World news is the term used for news about a global subject, as opposed to local or national news. It can also refer to foreign news sent by a correspondent to a news organization or – more recently – to information that is received through distance communication technology such as satellite TV or the Internet.

In the modern sense of the word, a news agency typically publishes hard and soft news articles that can be distributed by wire (originally by telegraphy and later by telecommunication). It can also provide these reports to corporations, individuals, and intelligence agencies who subscribe to the service.

The world news concept was established in the 17th century with the advent of international trade, when newspapers such as the Daily Courant (England), the Nieuwe Tijudinger (Antwerp), and the Avisa Relation oder Zeitung (Wolfenbüttel) carried stories from abroad, often about trading partners or rival countries. The notion of the world as a marketplace was incipient at this time and the idea of nations as distinct from one another was in its early stages.

The world news concept has also been reflected in photojournalism, with the most famous being the Vulture and the Little Girl by Kevin Carter, taken in 1993 and whose image led to an outpouring of concern over the famine in Sudan. Other iconic images have included the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson and the photograph of a dead kitten in front of an electric power station that went viral on social media and helped raise awareness of the issue of animal cruelty.