The Great Barrier Reef is in danger of its 3rd mass coral bleaching in four years due to the recent heatwave in North Queensland. 

Chief scientist of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park authority said that the amazing temperatures above land were contributing to water temperatures running above normal in the region. 

Cooktown hit 40 degrees yesterday for the fourth consecutive day, adding to the many records the current heatwave has produced. 
 

A new report from RMIT University reveals that Brisbane has Australia’s worst capital city public transport. 

61% of Brisbane homes have public transport within 400 meters which is well below the state target of 90 metres. 

Only 12% of homes have access to a bus or train stop with a service running at least every 30 minutes which is the worst of all Australian capital cities.
 

The number of dolphins in Darwin Harbour has almost halved since the construction of a huge Inpex liquid gas natural plant and shipping channel began in 2011.

Northern Territory Government scientists who have recorded the drop say they aren’t able to find out why numbers have decreased so rapidly, but suspect several causes.

Researchers say that potentially increasing underwater sound, prey availability, and a number of issues to do with climate change may be causing it. 

A Canberra woman has been killed by her dog after she was trying to protect a visitor that the dog was attacking. 

The attack began when the dog behaved aggressively towards the visitor and took a bite out of his leg. 

The woman pulled the dog away and directed the man to lock himself in her laundry before the dog turned on her inflicting fatal injuries. 

Georgia has elected its first female president, Salome Zurabishvili.

With nearly all the votes counted, the French-born ex-diplomat has gained 59% of the vote.

This marks the last direct election of a Georgian president, as the country is switching to a parliamentary system, following constitutional reforms adopted last year.

The British Member of Parliament, Lloyd Russell-Moyle reveals HIV positive status during a House of Commons debate on public health. 

Russell-Moyle says “[he] finally wanted to be able to stand in this place and tell all those out there living with HIV, that their status does not define them.”

His revelation marks the first time a British MP has revealed that they are HIV positive and is a momentous step in breaking down the taboo. 
 

Reggae has been added to a list of international cultural treasures which the United Nations has deemed worthy of protecting and promoting.

The protected list began in 2008 and grew out of the UN's convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in 2003.

The music, which grew out of Jamaica in the 1960s thanks to artists like Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, was added to the collection due to its "intangible cultural heritage."

Kenya's government plans to restrict access to online pornographic sites in a bid to reduce pregnancies among schoolchildren.

Between July 2016 and June 2017, the Kenyan health ministry recorded almost 350,000 pregnancies in the 15 to 19-year-old age group.

He has ordered the communication regulator to see how children and teenagers can be blocked from watching pornographic sites.