In the United States of America, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have had the first of four presidential debates in the lead up to the 2020 US election.

Although the debate has been criticised as being ‘chaotic’ on the part of both nominees, Biden continues to lead in the polls, though 1 in 10 voters are suggested to be undecided.

The major topic during the debate was the response to COVID-19, Biden criticising the government and Trump’s leadership during the pandemic.
 

An expert panel is being formed to address the impact of the bushfires on Australia’s environment, including on native species and natural assets. 

Panel members have been selected based on their expertise on Australia’s environment, ecology and conservation needs, with a focus on fire ecology and recovery.

The panel will advise the Australian Government’s continued response to the bushfires, seeking to collaborate with various government departments and independent organisations.
 

The Australian Government has announced that as part of the 2020-2021 Federal Budget, Australian film and media industries will receive funding up to $53 million dollars, to be used to increase the quality of local drama and children’s television and provide grants for Australian screenwriting.

Additionally, screen content regulations have undergone modernisation, however commercial television networks are still required to broadcast at least 55% Australian content overall.

Construction on Exhibition Station is underway as part of the Cross River Rail project, which seeks to establish new rail lines from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills.

Although Exhibition Station is primarily used during the two weeks of the Ekka, the revitalisation of the station will provide better access to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and improve transport options for local residents and businesses.

Brisbane’s national rugby team, the Broncos, have this week confirmed that former Maroons coach Kevin Walters will be head coach for the team in the 2021 NRL season.

This follows a disappointing and turbulent 2020 season which saw former head coach Anthony Seibold resign and the Broncos win only 3 of 20 games.

With the support of the Broncos chairman, Walters is focused on uniting the team and club for the 2021 season.
 

Cardinal George Pell will return to Rome today for the first time since he was accused of child sex abuse in 2017.

The reason for Pell’s visit to Rome is unknown; however, prior to taking leave to face child sex abuse convictions, he was in charge of setting up reforms for the Vatican finances.

An ABC correspondent claims Pell is no longer employed by the Vatican, making the reason for his visit unclear but that he is likely return to put his affairs in order.

Pell previously served a 13 month prison sentence which was overturned by the high court in April.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone has widened as Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each-other of firing intentionally over their shared border and into each others territory.

This comes after accusations that a F-16 jet belonging to Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey shot down an Armenian warplane.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied the accusations.

The 3.6 billion Santos coal seam gas project has been approved by the new south wales independent planning commission. 

The project is poised to construct 850 coal seam gas wells projected to supply half of new south wales gas supply.

A large number of concerns have been raised about potential ill effects the wells could have on the groundwater of nearby farmers.

The IPC has ensured that Santos would need to meet strict conditions in order to move into the construction and production phase. 

The Australia Defence Force is in talks to end their presence on the Queensland border as domestic travel restrictions begin to ease.

Approximately 500 troops have been supporting the Queensland governments efforts to maintain strict border regulations.

Deputy Premier Steve Miles has accused  the Prime Minister of using the ADF as a barging chip in to pressure Queensland into a more swift reporting of own borders.

The diversion come with the intention to redeploy troops to monitor hotel quarantine as more travellers return form overseas.