Mexico is choosing a new president with citizens showing up to vote after months of violent campaigning.

Since campaigning began in September, more than 130 candidates and political workers have been killed.

Presidential front-runner and former mayor of Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is showing a double digit lead in opinion polls, pledging to crack down on corruption.

Brisbane is leading the war disposable coffee cup waste through the Responsible Cafe program that encourages patrons to bring their reusable cup.

Brisbane was first with 226 registered cafes, the City of Sydney was second with 149 and Melbourne was third with 109.

Cafes sign up with Responsible Cafe for free and are encouraged to offer an incentive, such as a discount, free upgrade or complimentary treat for patrons who bring their reusable cup.

Queensland legislation came into force over the weekend banning the use of single use plastic bags from being provided in supermarkets, takeaway stores, pharmacies, goods sold online and markets.

Woolworths and Coles announced a nationwide ban on the bags at the same time, which has been met with mixed responses and confusion.

To support the transition, Woolworths has offered free reusable bags for a week and Coles will have additional registers open.

Women experiencing homelessness in Sydney will have access to pop-up temporary accommodation, as Uniting Care repurposed one of their disused aged care homes to provide housing for older women.

Uniting’s director of property and housing said the project will provide 30 rooms, with second-hand furnishings provided by a major hotel chain who were refurbishing their premises.

The cost to taxpayers for the Australian Government’s six-year legal battle with the tobacco giant Philip Morris over plain packaging laws has been revealed.

According to freedom of information documents obtained by the Guardian, the commonwealth government spent nearly $40 million defending its world-first plain packaging laws.

Philip Morris Asia lost the multi-year case, with the court ordering the tobacco giant to pay Australia’s legal costs in 2017.

An pro-democracy protest was carried in Hong Kong on Sunday during the 21st anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China.

Police put the figure at 9,800, a record low turnout due to the weakening of the pro-democracy movement with prominent activists jailed.

Protesters chanted slogans against one-party rule in China with demands for universal suffrage in Hong Kong and mainland China and carried yellow umbrellas, a symbol of democratic activism.

Italian interior minister and leader of the far-right league, Matteo Salvini said he wanted to create a pan-European association of nationalist parties.

At a keynote speech at the party’s annual meeting he called for a league of a league of Europe, bringing together all the free and sovereign movements that want to defend their people and their borders.

The announcement came as the EU struck a deal on how to handle refugees and irregular migrants after a ship that carried 600 migrants was forced to divert to Spain after Salvini blocked entry.