Indian and Bangladesh authorities have raced to complete the evacuation of more than one million people out of the path of an extreme cyclone.

The cyclone is currently heading towards the Bay of Bengal coast with winds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.

Major airports were closed in India's eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal and the railway network virtually closed down ahead of the arrival of Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani - expected to be the biggest storm to hit the region in more than two decades - on Friday morning.

A Polish tourist has been jailed for five years in Indonesia after being convicted of plotting with rebels in the east of the country.

Jakub Skrzypski, 39, was arrested in Papua province last August and accused of treason after allegedly making contacts with separatists there.

In a statement made to the BBC, skrzypski texted "I didn't have the opportunity to speak in my defence or to present any favourable evidence. I reject the trial as well as the verdict.”

A federal election candidate for the United Australia Party is in hot water for racist and sexist comments posted on social media.

United party candidate Tony Hanley, who is running for the seat of Bean in the ACT, called Saudi Arabians ‘tea towel heads’ and referred to lesbians as ‘dykes’ and ‘big fat fugly chicks’.

The posts were made to a Facebook page under Mr. Hanley’s name which have since been deleted.

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths are facing pressure from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) to sever their business ties to suppliers that do not comply with fair work laws.

The ACCR’s Director of Workers Rights Katie Hepworth points to the two companies consistent failure to pay their supply workers the correct amount under the law.

Woolworths has stated it has since introduced ‘targeted requirements that would only include certified labour providers in its’ supply chain.

Two koalas have been released back into the wild yesterday by Queensland researchers for a project aimed to tackle koala extinction due to habitat loss and diseases.

Amelia and El Yungo the two koalas were released through the Living Koala Genome Bank project which was designed to use proven breeding strategies to protect koalas.

Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation general manager Al Mucci says the two animals have been cleaned, treated for chlamydia and vaccinated for future infections.

The Queensland Government is investing $15 million for 45 projects across Queensland to encourage more women and girls into sports and recreation activities, to lead and maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle.

Minister for sport Mick de Brenni says it is unacceptable that women and girls across Australia are missing out on the chance to play sport, with only about one third of women in Australia being able to meet Commonwealth physical health guidelines.

A quarantined cruise ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology has a confirmed case of measles onboard, according to health authorities in St. Lucia.

After learning from reputable sources that someone on board might have measles, health officials from the Department of Health and Wellness, ordered the ship to stay in port to prevent the spread of the disease. Since then, no one on the ship has been allowed to disembark.

Facebook has banned conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and black nationalist Louis Farrakhan from its platforms, stating they violated the companies policy on hate and violence.

The company said on Thursday it had also banned right-wing extremists Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Nehlen, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones' site, Infowars.

Jones has previously claimed events like the September 11 terror attacks and the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting were hoaxes.