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.

The two former executives at the centre of a bitter dispute at the ABC have stepped up their public attacks on each other before they are set to face a Senate inquiry in Canberra.

A parliamentary committee will today confront former managing director Michelle Guthrie and former chairman Justin Milne about allegations of political interference in the public broadcaster.

ABC board members who have been accused of failing to protect the organisation’s editorial independence will also face questions from senators.

The Tasmanian government has delayed discussion on the Marriage Amendment Bill which should have been debated in the Parliament's Upper House, yesterday. 

The proposed amendment would remove the need for couples to divorce if one person transitions gender, which is currently the status quo with all other states and territories. 

However, the Tasmanian Parliament won’t discuss changes until March next year which a prominents transgender activist says “the Government has chosen to be in breach of Commonwealth law rather than provide equality to transgender people.”

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath has announced the appointment of two new judges to the  Supreme Court in Brisbane.

Elizabeth Wilson QC and Thomas Bradley QC will begin their appointments on December 3rd and have more than 50 years experience in the legal profession between them.

Minister D’Ath says that the two have shown the dedication to justice, objectivity, and integrity needed to fulfill the important role of a judge in the Supreme Court.

Queensland authorities are warning locals to remain on high alert whilst bushfires eases across the state.

Firefighters battled 200 bushfires during a six-day emergency, whilst thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes.

Currently, there are three fires which authorities are concerned about and monitoring closely.