A new option for HPV testing is being rolled out nationwide, where instead of pap-smears, the new do-it-yourself option will involve self-inserting a swab like a tampon.

This is a part of the new HPV testing system that also only needs to be done every five years rather than every two.

It is hoped this test will mean people uncomfortable with traditional examination will be screened for the disease which kills over 200 women a year in Australia, with many of those deaths preventable.

Two anti-establishment parties are competing for power in Italy after no party gained a majority in the national election.

The populist Five Star Movement became the largest single party, with 33 percent of the vote, but the anti-immigrant League party says it has been endorsed to lead as part of a centre-right alliance.

The leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, says that he is not interested in forming a coalition with the Five Star Movement.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hosted a landmark dinner for South Korean delegates earlier this week, marking the occasion as the first time officials from the south have met the young leader since he took office in 2011.

While partly aimed at restarting diplomatic dialogue between the North and the United States, the landmark  meeting will also look into the North's nuclear program and how the two states will manage their relationship in the future.

A freak storm dropped nearly a month’s worth of rain in just half an hour on Singleton, a town in the News South Wales Hunter region yesterday afternoon.

Families have been left homeless, several houses have been severely damaged and trees have been uprooted throughout the town.

News South Wales SES member, Simon Merrick, said in the first 10 minutes of the storm he had 32 requests for assistance and responded to more than 40 calls for help.

Queensland Parliament is likely to pass legislation that will allow police access to driver’s license photos without a warrant.

Authorities said that a comprehensive database of photos is necessary to ensure security.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope argued that when driver’s license photos were introduced in Queensland the government accepted that the database would never be searched without a warrant.

The Electoral Commission for Queensland could issue more than $900,000 in fines to Brisbane residents after more than 25 per cent failed to vote in the recent Brisbane City council by election.

The Morningside by election following the resignation of councillor Shayne Sutton saw 7369 people failing to vote.

Councillor Peter Cumming said the blame lies on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s refusal to fund an official Queensland Electoral Commission mail rollout.

An investigation has been launched into how a can of red bull drink stuffed with Crystal Meth came to be found in a staff access fridge in a Brisbane prison.

The fridge was located in the reception store of Wacol prison where prisoners are initially processed.

A Queensland corrective services staff member attempted to open the can after no one had claimed it and discovered it was full of the drug ice.

A landmark agreement is set to be signed today at the UN to help resolve the long dispute between the maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor.

The agreement will draw a permanent boundary between the nations for the first time and set a formula for sharing large amounts of revenue in future oil and gas from the Timor Sea.

Several people, however, are concerned this may ‘unravel’ borders with Indonesia’s outdated maritime boundary.