May 13, 2013 One is painted as a despotic dictator, the other an over-cautious bore. But Vladimir Putin and Barry O'Farrell may soon be in the same company.

May 13, 2013 The Herald's picture editors showcase the best images from around the globe.

May 13, 2013 A stand-off involving dozens of asylum seekers will stretch into a second day in Bali as up to 75 people refuse to leave a boat intercepted bound for Australia.

May 12, 2013 Women have voted in record numbers in Pakistan’s general election, many defying tradition, party orders, and Taliban threats of violence to cast a ballot. But millions still missed out. South Asia Correspondent BEN DOHERTY writes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in north-west Pakistan.

May 12, 2013 Newborn babies are being bought and sold on a lucrative black market

May 12, 2013 Nawaz Sharif has declared victory for his centre-right party in Pakistan’s landmark elections, as unofficial partial results put him on course to win a historic third term as premier.

May 12, 2013 Obama administration officials have insisted the White House and State Department had a minor role in altering an erroneous account of a deadly attack on a US compound in Libya last year, after internal emails surfaced indicating it was shaped by political concerns.

May 12, 2013 The four Australians killed in Syria's civil war since August were fighting Assad forces and not providing humanitarian aid as claimed, jihadist websites say.

May 12, 2013 For days, every call for survivors in the rubble of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh had gone unanswered. On Friday, a female voice, weakened by 17 days trapped in a sun-baked ruin of concrete and masonry, called out, ''Save me'' - and a rescue hailed as a ''miracle'' took place.

May 12, 2013 As the last of three women imprisoned in a suburban Cleveland home was released from hospital, it was revealed that DNA tests had confirmed their accused abductor, Ariel Castro, had fathered the girl found with them in captivity.