The 12-month trial will include the northern beaches at Sandgate, Shorncliffe and Nudgee Beach, as well as Manly in the south.

It follows years of petitions and requests to council as it is currently illegal to let dogs off leash on all Brisbane beaches.  

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the designated dog off-leash areas had been selected to ensure dog owners could have a great time without disturbing migratory shorebirds, which visit Moreton Bay every year between September and April.

The Queen's Birthday public holiday and Tuesday could push October records, with top temperatures 10 to 12 degrees above average.

Queensland is set to scorch this week, with hot, dry and windy conditions increasing fire danger, particularly in the southeast.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Kimba Wong says temperatures around the state are set to soar 10 to 12 degrees above the average.

Australians are reporting cyber crimes every 10 minutes, according to the country's cyber security watchdog.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre said it had received more than 13,500 reports of cyber crime since a new online reporting portal was established in July, according to reports in the Australian and the ABC.

It comes as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds launch Stay Smart Online Week on Monday, with a joint statement saying cyber security incidents cost Australian businesses $29 billion each year.

Hundreds of thousands of Scottish independence supporters have marched through Edinburgh, as calls intensify for Scotland to have another referendum on breaking away from the UK. 

The majority of Scottish people voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum. 

As the prospect of a no-deal Brexit looms, Scotts are worried about the impacts on their economy and society if it remains part of the United Kingdom.

More than a quarter of the world's pigs have been wiped out as African swine fever spreads across the globe. 

Australia is on high alert amid fears the arrival of the disease is inevitable with it now reaching Timor Leste, a nation less than 700km from Darwin. 

The fever has been reported in around 50 countries including China, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.  

African swine fever doesn't pose a threat to human health — it's only harmful to pigs.

Brisbane City Councillors have been receiving extraordinary superannuation benefits that are more than double what the average Australian worker receives.

Ratepayers funded $959,000 in super payments last financial year, with the Lord Mayor entitled to more than $53,000 in super and the Deputy Mayor more than $40,000. The standard super payment to a council backbencher was $32,000. 

Emergency service authorities have warned the public to be on high alert, with potentially extreme fire dangers predicted today and tomorrow for areas already devastated by bushfires. 

Fire crews are preparing for serious conditions in Brisbane’s west, where high temperatures and a lack of rain are putting ­communities on edge. 

Residents of fire-prone areas are urged to be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen.

Several groups representing the Hong Kong Chinese community in Australia have called upon Scott Morrison's Government to allow Hongkongers to remain in Australia "unconditionally" in light of ongoing unrest in the semi-autonomous territory. 

In addition, the groups have urged the government to postpone a pending free trade agreement that was signed earlier this year with Hong Kong, that is yet to be ratified.