INTERNATIONAL

Australian PM Tony Abbott says he and his Liberal party deputy leader Julie Bishop will “stand together” against a leadership challenge from MPs. Backbencher Luke Simpkins called the motion on Friday, saying it was “time to test the support of the leadership”. Mr Abbott has faced growing questions about his leadership in recent weeks. He was widely ridiculed for giving ...

The 90-year-old President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has been caught on film falling over in public. He had been speaking to supporters from a podium in the capital Harare, and was walking to his car when he appeared to miss a step and toppled. Some of the photographers who captured the fall said they were forced to delete their pictures ...

A plane carrying mostly Chinese tourists has crashed into a river in Taiwan, killing at least 23 people. Dramatic video footage emerged showing the TransAsia Airways plane clipping a bridge as it came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport. The plane, carrying 58 people, has broken up and the fuselage is lying half-submerged in the Keelung River. Rescue ...

The International Court of Justice has rejected claims of genocide by Serbia and Croatia against each other during the Croatian war of secession from Yugoslavia. The Croatian government had alleged that Serbia committed genocide in the town of Vukovar and elsewhere in 1991. Serbia later filed a counter-claim over the expulsion of more than 200,000 Serbs from Croatia. About 20,000 ...

The US administration is considering whether to send arms to help the Ukraine government against pro-Russian rebels in the east, US media report. They suggest officials are exploring the possibility of sending defensive weapons and other lethal aid. No decision has been made, but National Security spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said the US was “constantly assessing” its policies in Ukraine. The ...

Rupert Murdoch’s company News Corp will not be prosecuted in the US over the phone-hacking scandal that engulfed the media giant in the UK. US officials were looking into whether alleged payments to British police by journalists meant that News Corp, a US company, broke anti-corruption laws. But the US Department of Justice said on Monday it was not pursuing ...

Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste says he is relieved to be free, but feels “incredible angst” at leaving behind two of his colleagues in jail in Egypt. Mr Greste was freed from prison and deported on Sunday, after 400 days behind bars. He is now in Cyprus, en route to Australia. Mr Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested in ...

Jailed al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste has been deported from Egypt, state media say, and is flying to Cyprus. The Australian ex-BBC correspondent was arrested in December 2013 and imprisoned last June on charges that included spreading false news. He was jailed with two other al-Jazeera men – Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. Presidential sources said Mr Fahmy would be deported ...

Japan has reacted with anger and defiance to a video appearing to show the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto by an Islamic State militant. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan “would not give in to terrorism” and that he would expand his support to countries fighting IS. IS has cited Japanese aid as a reason for the hostage taking. ...

At least 40 people have been reported killed as fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels rages on in the east of the country. Ukrainian officials say 15 soldiers and 12 civilians died in the past 24 hours. The rebels report 13 casualties. The separatists also claim to have seized the town of Vuhlehirsk and surrounded the key hub of ...