Four European countries have withdrawn from an online business forum in Iran’s capital, Tehran after the execution of journalist Ruhollah Zam. .  

The ambassadors boycotting the forum are from France, Germany, Italy and Austria.

On Saturday, Zam was hanged for documenting mass protests in Iran in 2017 on his online news feed. 

France called the execution "barbaric and unacceptable" and said it ran counter to Iran's international obligations. The EU also strongly condemned the killing "in the strongest terms".

Politicians in Argentina have voted yes to a bill that’s one step closer to legalising abortion.

This unprecedented decision was fought for long and hard by women’s rights activists in the largely Catholic country. 

Many women in Argentina who have an abortion can face prosecution.

President Alberto Fernández proposed the bill which would permit abortions to be carried out up to the 14th week of pregnancy. 

Before becoming law, the bill must also pass the Senate. The vote is expected before the end of the year.

A Northern Territory police officer was caught on tape grabbing, shoving and verbally abusing a teenage boy in the Alice Springs watch house.

Footage obtained by the ABC shows highly inappropriate police conduct in the handling of a group of Indigenous boys arrested for stealing a car and leading police on a chase. 

The incident took place in March 2018, less than six months after the end of a royal commission sparked by revelations of mistreatment of young people in the Northern Territory's youth detention system.

Australian researchers at Southern Cross University are excited by the success of their ‘coral IVF’ experiment on the Great Barrier Reef.

The experiment on Heron Island has been underway since 2016 where they placed larvae onto certain parts of the reef in order to reproduce more.

Professor Peter Harrison said after four years of growth the size of corals ranges from just a few centimetres to dinner plate size.

Frontline workers in Queensland’s hotel quarantine who do not get tested for COVID-19 every week face up to six months in prison or a $13,000 fine. 

On Monday, a new testing regimen came into effect which means workers at all quarantine facilities will be swabbed on a rolling weekly cycle. 

If a worker develops symptoms, they must remain in self-isolation until they receive a negative result and are symptom-free.

Workers waiting for test results with no symptoms will not need to self-isolate unless they have been identified as a close contact.

A public health specialist said prolonged increases in temperatures are causing more injuries in outdoor workplaces.

Associate Professor at JCU, Richard Franklin will undertake a new study to determine how heat has impacted our ambulance, emergency and hospital figures over the last 10 years.

Dr Franklin said the findings will help advise workplaces on how to best keep employees safe as the climate continues to warm in the future.