Hungary has amended the definition of family in its constitution to permit an effective ban on adoption by same-sex couples, with rights groups denouncing the changes. 

The new constitution now defines family as “based on marriage and the parent-child relation. The mother is a woman, the father a man.” It also rules that parents raise children in a conservative spirit.

Hungary has never legalised gay marriage but still recognises civil unions. Adoption by same-sex couples was possible before the recent amendment if one partner applied as a single person.
 

Fiji is bracing for a severe tropical cyclone with the potential to be one of the most destructive in history.

Cyclone Yasa is tracking north-west of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, and is expected to directly hit both of Fiji's main islands as a Category 5 cyclone, the highest category for tropical cyclones.

The cyclone is expected to pass over the country on Friday with an estimated 600,000 people directly in the cyclone's path, based on tracking estimates from Tuesday night.

Four European countries have withdrawn from an online business forum in Iran’s capital, Tehran after the execution of journalist Ruhollah Zam.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