Police in northern Nigeria have released hundreds of captives who were beaten, abused and held in squalid conditions at an Islamic boarding school in Katsina.

Nearly 300 men and boys from 7 to 40 years of age had been at the facility where police said they discovered “inhuman and degrading treatments” following a raid to free the remaining students.

67 of the inmates who were freed by the police were shackled in chains, and many were taken to hospital for treatment, police are now working to reunite the captives with their families. 

A Dutch family have been discovered by police after being locked away in a remote, boarded-up farmhouse in a secret room for nine years, where they were reportedly “waiting for the end of time.”

The five siblings, ages 18-25, were found with a 58-year-old man who was initially believed by police to be their father, however the man has since been arrested after this was found not to be the case.

Academics from across the globe have condemned Murdoch University’s treatment of a whistleblower who spoke out about international student exploitation.

The Western Australian university is suing associate professor Gerd Schröder-Turk for criticising its treatment of international students during an episode of the ABC’s Four Corners where he said that the university was admitting students who did not meet its own academic standards.

New federal regulations which promised to tighten the rules on the use of chemical restraints in aged care actually normalise the practice, a report has said.

The practice of using medication to modify the behaviour of dementia patients has come under scrutiny in recent years, prompting Federal Government to announce the regulation change in July.

The Queensland Palaszczuk Government has found that the issue of domestic violence should not solely rely on GPS trackers.

Trackers send out life alerts when the offender is approaching the victim and authorities. 

However, reports have found that their efficiency is limited because only a quarter of breaches are detected.

Non-profit organization, Beddown, has introduced a trial where vacant carparks are turned into pop-up accommodation for homeless people in the Brisbane 

The initiative was started by Norman McGillivray, who has been previously impacted by homelessness, noticed this potential to help more homeless people.

Services provided include toilets, takeaways and dental services, 15 homeless people are sleeping in the carpark every night.

The death toll caused by typhoon Hagibis in Japan has increased to 66 as rescue work continues.

More than 200 people were injured from the heavy storm, which made landfall on Saturday night, causing landslides and burst river banks.

Close to 14,000 households are still running out of water while approximately 24,000 homes are lacking electricity.

Female factory workers have reported receiving verbal and physical abuse while working at activewear company Lululemon in Bangladesh.

Complainants have reported feeling humiliated at work with sexual slurs allegedly directed at them by their managers.

In response, Lululemon has conducted in-house audits, however, these have been criticised by Human Rights Watch, which says that these women are not safe enough to disclose their abuse in a  mixed-gender environment.

The Bulgarian government has released Australian Jock Palfreeman, who was convicted of murder in 2009, from an immigration detention centre more than three weeks after the court granted him parole.

Palfreeman is not allowed to leave the country, but his release has still sparked political controversy in Bulgaria and abroad.