The legend of the Loch Ness Monster is likely to be sightings of big eels, scientists say after studying DNA found in the body of water.

The research was led by Professor Neil Gemmell from the University of Otago in New Zealand who says eels are very plentiful in Loch Ness, with eel DNA found in almost all locations sampled.  

"…our data doesn't reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we can't discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness," he said.

Associate Professor Fay Johnston says national air quality needs to be monitored as bushfires become a major source of air pollution.

Professor Johnston leads a team of researchers deployed in response to persistent smoke from a bushfire that has been burning for nearly two months in Port Macquarie on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.

Smoke particles from bushfires can cause health problems such as itchy or burning eyes, throat irritation, a runny nose and illnesses such as bronchitis. 

A Tamil family, that was due to be deported, has been given a 12-day reprieve from deportation after the court delayed the final decision. 

The Morrison government has refused to intervene, despite widespread support for the family to be allowed to remain in Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday that he would accept the court's decision but again pointed to previous court rulings that found "there is no asylum claim here".

Brisbane Festival takes its place as the largest major international arts festival in Australia. 

Each September, Brisbane’s array of arts and culture is on display in the city’s biggest cultural event.

From thrilling theatre to immersive music, Brisbane Festival takes over the river city and invites everyone to this world-class event. 

This event starts today and goes until the 28th of September 2019.

India is looking to become only the fourth nation to land on the moon as their Chandrayaan-2 mission will attempt to touch down in an unexplored region near the moon’s South pole on Saturday.

Launched in July, Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration attempt by Indian Space Research Organisation.

Pallava Bagla, co-author of a book about Indian space exploration, says that the mission is all about national pride, as the nation continues to assert its technological prowess.

Youtube is fined U.S. $170 million to settle allegations it collected personal data from children without parental consent.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Google 136 million US dollars. Google will also pay 34 million US dollars to New York state to resolve similar allegations.

Commissioner Rohit Chopra said that this was the third time since 2011 that the agency has sanctioned Google for privacy violations.

Western Australian Parliament is no closer to passing a bill legalising voluntary euthanasia, despite sitting for 20 consecutive hours.

The Lower House began debating the bill on Thursday morning, only wrapping up at 5:00am this morning when the Government conceded defeat.

Just 50 clauses of the 184-clause bill were debated.

A new two cat policy has been introduced in Mount Barker to cull millions of cats by 2020.

 Ann Ferguson, Mayor of Mount Barker, said that she is a 'cat lover’ and that the decision to change the policies came after a series of unfortunate incidents. 

“Cats defecating on people’s lawns, cats spraying on people’s front doors and cats fighting in the garden and also killing wildlife,” she said.

A development application has been lodged for a mixed-use development that aims to activate the Boggo Road precinct and complement local tourism offers for the Boggo Road Gaol in Dutton Park.

Designed by Buchan Group, will consist of retail and commercial tenancies within a two-storey building with basement and ground level parking, situated between Boggo Road Gaol and the CSIRO Ecosciences building.