World news is a category of news covering international events and issues. The term can also refer to the field of journalism, and is sometimes used to distinguish the news media’s focus on global affairs from the traditional focus on domestic events and local politics.

During the 19th century, as newspapers became established in Europe and America, innovations in telecommunications made it possible to distribute worldwide news more easily. The first news agencies were born, including Reuters (UK), AFP (France) and Wolff (Germany). There was also a trend towards reporting from a foreign correspondent based in a different city or country, rather than an envoy sent to report on a particular event, such as war.

Today, the concept of world news remains the same, though it has shifted to include more global issues such as climate change, terrorism and international politics. There is still a distinction between world news and national news, although there may be overlap in the areas covered.

As the world continues to face natural and man-made disasters, news of people from around the globe reaches us more and more frequently. The stories are a mix of the mundane and the extraordinary: an Australian cast away being rescued off the coast of Mexico, deadly mudslides in Colombia, a power struggle in Guatemala between the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the Prosecutor’s Office, an art installation on Copacabana Beach that pays tribute to missing Israeli teenagers, and protests and riots in France following the police shooting of a 17-year-old driver and war in Ukraine.