The head of Delhi's Commission for Women is staging an indefinite hunger strike to push for stricter laws for rape in India, including the death penalty, after a series of horrific attacks on young girls.

Swati Maliwal, chairwoman of Delhi’s Commission for Women, has been refusing food since April 13, as protests flared nationwide over the separate alleged rapes of two girls ages 8 and 16.

Activists have rallied hundreds of supporters, speaking on her behalf, calling for stricter laws and equal rights for women.    

The international chemical weapons watchdog has entered the Syrian town Douma, where a suspected gas attack occurred which killed more than 40 people.

International investigators are waiting for the green light from a UN security team to begin work after delays and warnings by Western powers that crucial evidence had likely been removed.

Australian exporters of live animals have forwarded a proposal to decrease shipment sizes by an unspecified amount, allow inspectors from the RSPCA onto vessels carrying live cargo, and supporting an independent inspector general of animal welfare.

The framework for industry change comes after revelations about the poor conditions that livestock - sheep in particular - endure.

These voyages often see the health of transported animals significantly deteriorate and deaths amongst live cargos are not uncommon.

A same-sex couple in New South Wales South Coast reported they were asked to leave The Oaks Flats Roller Skating Rink after ‘pecking’ in front of an offended parent on Friday night.

Maddie Dellosa ad Amy Hudson were attending the rink on a date and after limited physical contact and a few pecks were approached by a manager at 9pm and asked to leave.

Queensland’s former electoral commissioner Walter van der Merwe has been charged with drug possession two months after he resigned over “serious allegations”.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath issued a statement saying the charge against the 54-year-old is of a very serious nature and must be dealt with through the court process.

Van Der Merwe is set to face Holland Park Magistrates Court next month where he will be charged with one count of possessing a dangerous drug - steroids.

Moreton Bay Regional Council are holding a 6-month trial of a dog beach at Scarborough near Redcliffe.

This is the second trial of a dog beach in Scarborough after feedback from the original 12-month trial showed the beaches to be ‘too rocky’ for dogs.

The new trial is currently being conducted at Queens Beach North, with positive feedback already inundating the council one month into the trial.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been dogged by activists protesting an oil pipeline development in British Columbia on a visit to London.

Trudeau said the construction of the pipeline is in the Canadian interest, however it is vehemently opposed by the British Columbian Government, environmentalists and first nations peoples.

Greenpeace activists in London hung banners in trafalgar square and blocked the entrance to the Canadian High Commission with a mock pipeline.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for early elections to be held on June 24, moving them forward by more than a year from their scheduled date.

Erdogan’s ruling party has never called early elections in the nearly 16 years it has been in power, Erdogan announced the decision in Ankara after discussions with the leader of the nationalist party as well as Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The election is set to transform the political system of the region’s largest economy, eliminating the job of Prime Minister centralising power in the presidency.