Julia Gillard's nail-biting victory over Opposition leader Tony Abbott, 17 days after Australians went to the polls, has hardly been convincing, writes Greg Ansley.

Julia Gillard has finally been confirmed as Australia's first elected female Prime Minister, more than two weeks after an election that has now given her a razor-thin majority.

Julia Gillard will continue as Prime Minister of Australia after two independent MPs pledged allegiance to the Labor Party this afternoon.

US troops yesterday found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the centre of Baghdad.

Australians probably won't know who their next prime minister will be until tomorrow.

One upside of the Christchurch earthquake is that nature has unleashed the biggest job creation scheme NZ has seen.

A decision on who will form the next Australian government could still be a while away.

Britain is facing calls to set out a detailed timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Iran has sentenced a woman facing execution for adultery to 99 lashes for allowing an unveiled photo of herself to appear in a UK newspaper.

"It was like a giant had picked up our house and was just shaking it, shaking and shaking," said one resident.