World news is a term used in the news media to refer to foreign news or news related to global issues. The field of world news is generally regarded as being separate from national or local news, although there is sometimes a blurred distinction in the case of international events that impact the interests of many nations at the same time, such as wars or summits of multilateral organizations. The most prominent and established world news sources are news agencies, but individual journalists who report from abroad may also be considered part of the field.

A news agency is an organization that prepares hard news stories and other features articles that are sold to multiple buyers, typically to print or online newspapers, radio and television broadcasters, as well as corporations and individuals. The bulk of a major news agency’s service is world news, and the agency may also provide other types of information to its subscribers, such as weather forecasts or sports scores.

Some of the major sources for world news include AP, Reuters, BBC, Fox News and NBC. There are a number of subfields within world news, such as diplomatic coverage (which is often considered to be a form of international news), war journalism and environmental news. Reporters who work from a base abroad but are not full-time employees of the news source that they work for are generally referred to as freelancers or stringers. Some of these reporters produce material for several different news outlets at the same time, and are therefore referred to as multiple-source journalists.