Former French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, is appearing before Paris’ Magistrates Court today, November 23rd, for the opening of his trial concerning charges of corruption and influence peddling.

Alongside his lawyer Thierry Herzog, he is suspected to have tried to obtain classified information from High Magistrate Gilbert Azibert in a judicial procedure.

The trial is at risk of being suspended in account of the absence of Magistrate Azibert, who submitted a medical certificate stating the risks linked to COVID-19. 

This week, Australian First Nation people with disabilities will approach the Disability Royal Commission and share their experiences of structural violence and discrimination within Australia’s child protection system. 

The royal commission will hear evidence from First Nation people with disability, as well as those responsible for implementing and overseeing the system. 

A study by Monash University reveals people who have been infected by the COVID-19 virus have sustained protection against reinfection for at least 8 months.

If past studies were raising concerns whether the antibodies to coronavirus quickly wane, this study is the first one concluding the likelihood for vaccines to be working for long periods.

From a cohort of 25 COVID-19 patients, they found the existence of a specific cell within the immune system, the memory B cell, can recall if the virus was present in their system for up to 8 months after they were infected. 

A small section of Noosa Main Beach was closed off on Sunday morning, after a large schoolies gathering overnight left volumes of rubbish, including broken glass, strewed across the sand. 

Noosa Council workers were able to efficiently clean up the area, allowing the beach to fully open by 11am. 

All  official schoolies celebrations were cancelled in Queensland this year, after Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young deemed large gatherings for school leavers a ‘high risk’ for the spread of COVID19. 

Environmental activist Ben Winch has won in the Supreme Court to have numerous bail conditions removed allowing him to take part again in Camp Binbee, an environmental camp hub near Bowen, Queensland.

In October 2020, Winch was arrested after he took part in direct action by attaching himself with a chain to a cattle grid near Adani’s Bravus coal mine. Since then, he has been on bail, with his restrictions including the prohibition to join Camp Binbee or being disallowed to go 100 meters away from any QR Railway.

Freedom of information laws reveal only 10 per cent of New South Wales travellers have paid their coronavirus hotel quarantine. Over 43,000 travellers were put up in hotels throughout the state as well as 12,000 Defence Force personnel. Exemptions on financial fees have already cost the Government over $30 million in lost revenue.