Pakistan has been hit by violence on the day of its general elections - with at least 31 dead in the worst attack.

According to unofficial results, the PTI party is currently leading in 109 national assembly seats, while PML-N is ahead in about 67 seats, with only 26% of the votes have been counted so far, according to local media

The campaign has been overshadowed by concerns of fraud and violence, and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says there have been "blatant" attempts to manipulate the polls.

A satellite orbiting Mars has found evidence of a huge underground lake of liquid water, in a discovery greeted by scientists as “stunning”, “incredible”, and “of extraordinary significance”.

“This is currently our best, albeit slim chance of discovering life elsewhere in our solar system,” says the executive director of space engineering at the University of Sydney, Warwick Holmes.

The water is likely sludgy, filled with salt, and under incredibly high pressures, all of which keeps it from freezing in the minus
68 degree temperatures.

The Australian Medical Association’s president, Dr Anthony Bartone, has promised to do “whatever it takes" to safeguard patient privacy ahead of a meeting with the federal government.

Dr Bartone did not rule out pushing for the legislation governing the scheme - which allows patient information to be handed over to certain agencies, without a warrant - to be scrapped and rewritten.

A man living with a disability who featured in ads across the country for the National Disability Insurance Scheme when it launched has had his own NDIS application rejected.

Jeremy Hawkes, 46, lives with Parkinsonism and chronic pain from a spinal injury, and was cast in a nationwide NDIS campaign in 2013.

Mr Hawkes said when he received a letter this year informing him that his application was rejected, he was devastated.

An international koala protection group is engaging a barrister to challenge the Queensland government in court over failing to protect the koala’s habitat.

Sue Arnold from Australians for Animals, said state and federal governments were now dragging their feet in protecting koalas.

Ms Arnold said neither the Queensland nor New South Wales governments set up koala protection zones “as promised” and neither set aside land for koala habitat “as promised”.

When it comes to public transport, Queenslanders are less concerned than the rest of the country.

According to national research by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Queenslanders placed less relative importance on high quality and accessible public transport compared with the whole of Australia.

More than two-thirds of Queensland workers were satisfied with their travel time to and from work, with 85 per cent reporting their trip to work took less than an hour.

Residents in Britain have been urged to stay indoors as ongoing heatwaves cover large parts of the nation’s south east.

The unfamiliar temperatures have prompted government advice to combat the heat. Some areas have reached 34 degrees, making it the hottest week of 2018.

A Syrian fighter jet has been shot down by Israeli forces after allegedly breaching Israeli airspace. However, Damascus claim the jet was struck down whilst in Syria.  

The incident comes amidst Israel and Syria joining forces against the Islamic State, as Assad-backed forces seek to recapture the Golan Heights.

Over the weekend, 400 white helmet rescue workers were evacuated from Syria with Israel citing an ‘immediate threat to their lives’.

Off-duty police officers in the Northern Territory have found a wanted man while playing golf yesterday.

The 25 year old man was wanted by police after cannabis and large amounts of cash were found in a hotel room raid.

The man was spotted at a local golf course and charged with drug trafficking.

Senior Sergeant Tanya Woodcock said the Northern Territory Police are committed to preventing the exploitation of Indigenous communities.