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.

A 12 year-old South Australian girl has fallen at least 20 metres down a descent on the Uluru Summit, after losing her footing on the lower section of the climb.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service, who were initially very concerned about the potential injuries given the nature of the accident, transported the girl to Alice Springs Hospital, where she is in a stable condition.

Three of Brisbane’s foreshores are now open for dogs to run off-leash, after a year-long trial began on the weekend.

The three foreshore areas at Sandgate, Nudgee Beach and Manly will be open for the trial, after research conducted by the University of Queensland identified these areas as having low value for shorebird habitat.

Researchers will monitor the three sites throughout the year to observe any potential impacts on migratory birds.

A Queensland man has become the focus of widespread medical attention after his severed hand was successfully reattached by surgeons two months ago.

Brisbane factory worker Lawrence Cooper was operating a meat slicer when his hand was cut off below the thumb in August.

Surgeons say the extraordinary operation wouldn’t have been possible without the quick-thinking actions of a fellow worker, who immediately plunged the hand into a bucket of ice and applied a tourniquet to his arm.

An investigation has revealed the Chinese Government has co-funded at least four courses at the University of Queensland (UQ), that teach Chinese policy, music and language.

The courses have been accused of being vehicles of Chinese propaganda, and UQ is now being called to review its deal with the Chinese Government.

The ACT Government has sent a letter to the Commonwealth warning against overturning new cannabis laws, calling the laws the “will of the people”.

Senior federal ministers have criticised the ACT’s decision to legalise the possession, consumption and cultivation of small amounts of cannabis for adults in Canberra since it was announced last month.

The ACT attorney-general Gordon Ramsay said in the letter that the government did not condone the recreational use of cannabis but the laws are necessary to avoid “needless criminalisation”.