Thirteen new cases of Ebola have been confirmed in north-eastern Congo, as attacks by armed groups disrupt international efforts to control the deadly disease.

The number of new cases has increased in the past month and World Health Organisation experts said the outbreak is likely to worse significantly unless greater steps are taken to curb the spread of disease.

Treatment, vaccination programmes, and the safe burials of victims have been hampered by a surge in violence and enduring local mistrust of health orders.

Dozens of inmates have been on an indefinite hunger strike in Hama jail in Syria protesting a Syrian court’s handling of a death sentence for some political prisoners.

In the latest updates, 11 people have been told they will be executed for taking part in protests, which were peaceful demonstrations in 2011.

Human rights groups say capital punishment is unjustified and appeal for the political prisoners' release.

The Shooting Foundation of Australia (SIFA) is seeking to unravel Australia’s strict gun regulations, and is using the Victorian election to lobby for more relaxed laws in hope that any newly elected independents in the state will be pro-gun.

SIFA is a key part of Australia’s gun lobby, and uses the same tactics as its American equivalent, the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Up to 80 confirmed cases of the swine flu virus have been reported across the Northern Territory since the start of November, in what authorities have named an ‘odd’ flu season.

With over 40 cases in the last week, doctors are urging residents to vaccinate against the virus, as some patients have become seriously ill, leading to hospitalisation.

Authorities have confirmed that the virus has drifted over the years, and is now a different strain to that declared a global pandemic in 2009.

An alternative all-girls school in Sunnybank is the first school in Brisbane to provide Share the Dignity PinkBox, providing free pads and tampons for students.

Carinity Education Southside is taking steps to ensure their student body, many of whom are at or below the poverty line, are not facing disadvantage by being forced to take days off school when their period comes.

Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (QSAC) has released a report showing current sentences for child manslaughter are inadequate and do no reflect community expectations.

The council made eight recommendations in its final report, including a new "aggravating factor" be applied when victims are under 12-years-old, forcing courts to consider the defencelessness and vulnerability of the victim.

Council Chair John Robertson said he hoped the report would provide some comfort to the families of victims.

The first ever “solid state” plane, with no moving parts in its propulsion system, has successfully flown 60 metres.

The propulsion system is entirely electrically powered, nearly silent, and with a thrust-to-power ratio comparable to conventional systems such as jet engines.

Long-term, the new technology could help reduce the harmful environmental impact of the aviation industry globally.

The impacts of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death in Istanbul last month continue to unravel with Turkey accusing the US of trying to turn a blind eye to his alleged murder. 

US President Donald Trump said the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, may have known about the plan to kill Khashoggi, a comment dismissed by Turkey as comical.

The CIA believes Khashoggi’s death was ordered directly by the crown prince, who is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, but Trump has said the US would remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia.