The graphic contents of an anonymous letter in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation called Martin Luther King a "filthy abnormal animal" have been made public.

PM John Key met new Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Myanmar today, and foreign fighters and boat people were on the agenda.

This month we receive onto our shores the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, undoubtedly the most dominant political figure in the EU.

It was all business for John Key at NZ's new consulate in Chengdu yesterday, but it was all pleasure for his wife, Bronagh - a little bundle of it called Xing Yu.

One leader is staying in a luxury suite that costs $2782 a night, while another will be bunking down in a relatively cheap $344-a-night room.

The polling stations were makeshift, the election officers all volunteers and the whole process suspended twice for being potentially illegal, but Catalonia's much-disputed unofficial referendum on independence from Spain finally went ahead.

Paul Casserly investigates the biased world of cable news.

Ed Miliband's leadership of the British Labour Party was plunged into fresh crisis as senior Labour MPs revealed that at least 20 shadow ministers were on the brink of calling for him to stand down.

The euphoria associated with Barack Obama's elevation to the United States presidency six years ago is now just the dimmest of memories.

The coalition of young and minority voters that handed President Barack Obama both of his election victories failed to show up for the Democrats in the US midterms as Republicans celebrated their first black female member of Congress.

The Government has taken its time to decide New Zealand will not join Western allies in military action against the terrorist group that has taken over part of Iraq and Syria.

Three NZ Defence Force personnel have already left for the Middle East to scope out a role for New Zealand forces to help train Iraqi forces fight ISIS.

The Prime Minister's landmark speech on national security has two messages for New Zealanders, but they are somewhat discordant.

The Cricket World Cup and the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings are being treated as potential terror targets by New Zealand and Australian Governments.

John Key says any NZ commitment to the campaign against Isis in the Middle East would be for a long time, pointing to the 10-year deployment of troops to Bamiyan.

London Mayor and would-be MP Boris Johnson is backing a report by a British think-tank which calls for Kiwis and Australians to freely live and work in Britain.

Democrats in the United States are bracing for punishment in tomorrow's midterm elections as voters express their dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, who mostly stayed away from the campaign....

Despite clocking up more than 1000 flights in his time as President, Barack Obama still lopes up Air Force One's steps with his trademark bounce, exchanging banter with journalists and the public....

He has been called "a scaly old dude" by former US President George W Bush and derided as a "sick old man" by Zambia's opposition, but yesterday Dr Guy Scott assumed a rare title: Africa's only white leader.

A 'massive mystery explosion' shook residents outside of London, before two RAF jets reportedly escorted a Russian-made Latvian cargo jet into Stansted airport.

Everything hinges on a deal on agriculture and automobiles between the US and Japan, writes Jane Kelsey. Despite intense negotiations for more than a year, they remain poles apart.

British PM David Cameron's security detail is under investigation after a passing jogger ran right into him.

Clinton was in North Carolina to urge support for Kay Hagan, but it is clear that 'she's taking a second chance for herself': Hillary Clinton is going to run again.

Pro-European parties look to have swept Ukraine's first parliamentary vote since the revolution that toppled Viktor Yanukovych's Government in February.

Queensland's Health Minister is not aware of any deaths linked to defective software that manages medication for some of the state's most ill patients.

In a few weeks, Australia will welcome leaders of the world's major economies to Brisbane for the G20 Summit.

Canadian politicians have praised the quick thinking of a security chief, believed to have shot the gunman who opened fire in Ottawa's Parliament today.

The New Zealand High Commission's building in Canada is in lock-down following a deadly shooting a couple of streets away in Ottawa this morning.

Prime Minister John Key has laid out his Government' agenda for the next three years, with housing and the fight against terror groups at the top of the list.