Real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle’s chief executive Stephen Conry says he does not believe pundits’ optimism for the stay-at-home work model, asserting that we will be returning to the office as soon as possible.bHe says if an employer asks workers to come into the office ‘then you are sort of obliged to turn up’ and that working from home has just as many inconveniences as an office environment. The statement goes against recent speculation that stay-at-home work may outlast the COVID-19 pandemic and become the work model of choice in the future.

A group of doctors published an article yesterday in the Medical Journal Of Australia on recent advances in non-invasive prenatal testing. Brisbane maternal-foetal medicine specialist, Doctor Joseph Thomas explains false positives for rare conditions can lead to invasive testing and unnecessary anxiety in pregnant women. Doctor Thomas works from Mater Health Services in Brisbane and says pre-test counselling needs to improve. 

Brisbane tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery says he will contribute a significant portion of the capital needed to build the proposed HyperOne national fibre network. The proposed one point five billion dollar project would work in conjunction with the NBN and would be capable of carrying more internet traffic than the rest of the country’s fibre optic networks combined. By connecting both cities and regional areas to the rest of the world, Slattery says he aims to position Australia as a hub for emerging industries.

Last night, Villefranche hospital became the second French hospital in as many weeks to be targeted by hackers demanding money in return for the release of hospital data.

The hospital staff were forced to move offline, managing to continue most of their operations without giving in to the hackers’ demands.

The French National Information Systems Security Agency says hospitals are a valuable target for hackers as the health system struggles to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will become the first female and first African to serve as Director General of the World Trade Organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala says she hopes to refocus the organisation after failed international negotiations and an inability to deal with China’s socialist market economy.

She will also prioritise the easing of export restrictions to expedite the transport of essential medicine and vaccines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for how a complaint of sexual assault against a former staffer was handled originally and has asked Curtin MP Celia Hammond to work with MPs and party whips to improve workplace standards. 

Morrison demands change after alleged the Parliament house sexual assault and denies there is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in his office.

Sunshine Coast Rail Line is being fitted with new signalling technology to improve safety on the rail line, with the project creating more jobs.

The $43 million dollar project involves about 60 workers to roll out the European Train Control System.

This work will occur ahead of major construction of the jointly funded $550 million Sunshine Coast Duplication Project.

A Brisbane family returning empty-handed from lockdown in Europe have furnished their whole house thanks to a group of Facebook donors.

The Mirto family had to flee their home in Italy in order to escape the country’s COVID-19 crisis, and arrived in Australia to an empty house, carrying nothing but their suitcases.

However, a family friend’s Facebook appeal changed this as a host of generous Northsiders offered to donate furniture to help the family.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has summoned the US’ ambassador to Turkey on Sunday over Washington’s perceived failure to condemn the killing of thirteen kidnapped soldiers in Iraq.

Erdogan blames the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party for the executions and says the US State Department’s statement that it would wait for confirmation of Kurdish guilt constitutes US support for the group.

In a statement, Erdogan accused Washington of supporting terrorists and abandoning its NATO allies.