World News Update, what you need to know

An American student has stabbed 19 teenagers and a security guard in a bloody 30-minute rampage in the classrooms and hallways of a Pennsylvania high school, officials say.

ELSEWHERE:

WASHINGTON - The US says it is going into an upcoming meeting with Russia, Europe and Ukraine on the crisis in the former Soviet republic with low expectations.

SHANGHAI - The Abbott government is getting all the right signs from China that they're keen to fast-track talks on a free trade deal with Australia.

WASHINGTON - Australia's finance minister has blasted the US Congress for holding up reforms at the International Monetary Fund, saying the delay has weakened Washington's standing in the world.

PRETORIA - South African Olympic star Oscar Pistorius has faced fierce cross-examination at his murder trial, with the prosecution demanding he admit his girlfriend's death was more than just a "terrible mistake".

DAMASCUS - At least 25 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday when two car bombs exploded in the central Syrian city of Homs, the state-run SANA news agency reported.