Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully is preparing to lead a trade mission to Iran amid a thawing of relations between the Islamic republic and the west.

Malcolm Turnbull has flagged there will be more women in senior positions of his Government.

"You could drop a nuclear bomb on this Parliament and Julie Bishop would crawl out as deputy leader."

Tony Abbott lived by the political sword, and died by it.

Labour leader Andrew Little says he pities Australia if its new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, wants to be like New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

Pity the Australians - they have been watching Prime Ministers fail for too long. Leadership coups provide compelling drama but they should not happen when a party is in power.

Rich and famous, combative and ambitious, Malcolm Turnbull has lived a life full of glittering success.

Labour leader Andrew Little takes swipe at Australia's new Prime Minister for praising John Key.

Tony Abbott's critics claim to have seen his topple from power coming, with many directly linking his political demise to a series of slip-ups.

Malcolm Turnbull is the new Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Australia after winning a leadership spill tonight 54 votes to 44.

There is nothing nobel or brave about unworkable polices and promises that will never be delivered. There is only defeat, writes Josie Pagani.

Corbyn's rise echoes that of another senior-citizen socialist who has come out of nowhere this year to rattle his party's centre-left establishment.

Jeremy Corbyn will shake up British politics and represents a reaction against the legacy of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Labour leader Andrew Little says.

Bob Geldof is taking four families. Finland's PM is opening up his holiday home. When it comes to the refugee crises, there are ironies and glimpses of humour, writes Rodney Hide.

Amal Clooney and human rights lawyer Jared Genser have accused the Maldives Government of bugging them during a confidential jailhouse meeting.

Iraq and Syria may have been permanently torn asunder by war and sectarian tensions, the head of the United States Defence Intelligence Agency said yesterday in a frank assessment that is at odds with Obama Administration policy.

Paul Thomas asks, if there's a special pathos attached to death by drowning when in sight of a safe haven, what about the boatloads of Libyan refugees who didn't make it across the Mediterranean?

There have been ripples of criticism in Britain over the Cameron Government's revelation that RAF drones have killed two British nationals in Syria.

Europe, with its ageing population, needs to increase its younger population by several million to avoid a situation where pension systems grow unsustainable.

After being shouted at and manhandled in Hungary, a country that did not want them, thousands of refugees stared at the cheering crowd in Germany.

Britain should "crush" Isil by taking part in military action in Syria, a former Archbishop of Canterbury suggests today amid mounting calls for further air strikes.

Russia is providing "serious" training and logistical support to the Syrian army, Vladimir Putin has said.

If there's a positive to his stunning rise, it's that he's the absolute antithesis of the carefully groomed and packaged identikit candidate, writes Paul Thomas.

The newspaper mogul took to twitter to make his announcement saying that it's the "only hope" for a country that has become "almost ungovernable"

New Zealand trusts associated with a former Russian billionaire once known as "Putin's banker" are now subject to a worldwide freezing order by a London court.

Millions of refugees have fled Syria since 2011 but the number New Zealand has taken in would almost fit in one of Auckland's new double-decker buses.

Thousands of emails from former US Secretary of State have been released.

Hillary Clinton may have broken US secrecy rules by handling classified information from Tony Blair and the British government on her personal email account.

The European Union could be forced to bring back border controls because of the migrant crisis, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel.