World news is a general term used to describe news that is international or global in scope. It can refer to a single story, an entire region or a global topic such as war or terrorism. News media organizations typically have a team of reporters stationed abroad to provide world news coverage. They may also employ freelance journalists, known as stringers, who work for multiple organizations to produce world news articles.

A major distinction between world news and national news (as opposed to local or state news) is that national news usually deals with a country, state or other entity that has a direct relationship to the home audience of the news organization. This would include things like foreign policy or military events that directly impact the nation’s security or economy.

A world news article usually deals with a subject that has some relevance to readers at home or to those who have the same interests, such as sports or the arts. The term can also refer to the broadest of news topics such as political or economic news that is affecting countries around the world. The earliest newspaper articles that were referred to as world news were the courants of the 17th century in Europe, which covered news from around the world, as opposed to regional or local events. The advent of telegraphy allowed these early newspapers to quickly distribute their stories to other newspapers. This led to the development of the first news agencies, such as AFP, Reuters and AP.