Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on European countries to "step up" with stronger help to defeat the Islamic State during a brief, unannounced visit to Australian troops in Iraq.

WATCH LIVE: Barack Obama will be delivering his last State of the Union speech as the country's focus shifts toward the 2016 presidential race.

COMMENT: Trade Minister Todd McClay is not an openly combative politician, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Police in Sweden have been accused of hushing up a series of sexual assaults by asylum seekers at Europe's largest teen pop festival.

Despite local rumours that he could be lining up a round of golf in Northland, the government says there are no plans for Barack Obama to pay us a visit.

President Barack Obama's tearful intervention this week in America's gun control debate had an immediate impact.

For any rational military strategist, the risks of an armed response to North Korea's sanctions violations and pin-prick provocations are prohibitive, writes Benjamin Habib.

With 158 beheadings in the past 12 months, it is hard to tell whether it is Saudi Arabia that has gone mad, or the United Nations, writes Donna Miles-Mojab.

As tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the Saudi execution of a Shia cleric, countries such as ours will be reluctant to take sides.

The beheadings sent a clear message to militant Islamists and the Shi'a that the state would not hesitate to employ its monopoly on violence against those who challenged its authority, writes Ben Rich.

A British MP suspended from the Labour Party for sending salacious text messages to a 17-year-old girl is under fire from one ex-wife.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump blasted the Obama administration on its relationship with Iran and its handling of the Islamic State group. He also said Hillary Clinton "created ISIS with Obama."

Four gunmen and two troops have been killed in an attack on an Indian Air Force base near the border with Pakistan.

Barack Obama is the person New Zealanders most want to visit New Zealand this year, according to a Herald-DigiPoll survey.

On Twitter this week, Donald Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner, lashed out at Hillary Clinton, directly attacking her husband.

Prince Charles should be allowed to speak up on matters dear to him, a poll of New Zealanders indicates.

Trade deal gives polluters power to sue governments who try to implement the Paris agreement.

Australian election strategist Lynton Crosby is in line for a British knighthood, sparking a fresh row over cronyism in the British honours system.

Polls may be underestimating Trump's support as according to new research, the Republican who plan to vote for him are too embarrassed to admit it.

Here's a look at what the CIA's predictions in 2000 got right and wrong about the world of today.

In the year 2000, the CIA commissioned a report on what global trends will be in 2015. Here's what they got right and wrong.

Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton's restroom break was 'too disgusting to talk about' and that she was 'schlonged' by a male opponent.