On Sunday, Chinese soldiers warned Hong Kong demonstrators that the protesters had direct contact with the mainland military for the first time in four months of anti-government demonstrations, firing lasers at military camps in the city.

The confrontation with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) ended with violent clashes at several locations after the rally of tens of thousands of protesters took place earlier on Sunday.

The police fired tear gas and crowded the crowd with batons, and some demonstrators threw bricks and petrol bombs at the police at night.

Another Queensland dairy farmer has sent his cows to the meatworks, saying that it would not have happened if major supermarkets had passed on the price increase to farmers.

Facing drought and growing costs, the Priebbenow family was finally forced to sell their herd due to the supermarkets’ price increase.

Brendan Hayden, state councillor with the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation, says “feed costs are not being covered by our milk sales”, with costs rising while farmers are paid well below $1 per litre.

A report has found that non-lethal shark relocation devices that catch and release the animals elsewhere would not work on the Great Barrier Reef.

SMART Drumlines, trialled in New South Wales and Western Australia, would not work, as intended release points include offshore areas such as islands and coral reefs that are frequented by swimmers.

The report into Queensland's shark control program is part of $1 million in annual government funding to trial alternative shark safety measures.

South-east Queensland residents have been told to prepare to evacuate as the state experiences its warmest October day in 15 years.

A major bushfire continues to burn in the Lockyer Valley, and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services say conditions will only worsen as the temperature creeps up.

“If you do not have a plan, or intend to leave, you should be ready to leave the area because the situation could get worse quickly,” QFES said.

About 80 asylum seekers have arrived by air every day since the start of July, fuelling concerns about exploitation and slavery.

“In 90 per cent of these particular cases, the individuals are not legitimate refugees and are often being trafficked to Australia for the explicit purpose of being exploited,” said Labor’s Kristina Keneally.

In the last five years, more than 95,000 people have claimed protection after landing at an Australian airport.

A huge garbage collection system designed to clean plastics floating in the Pacific Ocean could finally collect plastic, its inventor announced on Wednesday.

Ocean Cleanup, a Netherlands-based non-profit organisation, says its latest prototype captures and accommodates pieces of varying sizes, from huge abandoned fishing gear to as small as 1 mm micro-plastics.

Health authorities say the number of people dying from diseases related to the use of e-cigarettes in the United States has increased to at least 19, while more than 1,000 people have suffered from lung damage that may be related to smoking.

Officials have not yet identified the cause of the outbreak, which can be traced back to March, and they are conducting various investigations.

A Melbourne tram was derailed on Sunday for a third time after colliding with a car.

The tram ploughed into a Melbourne front yard, causing twenty-one people to need medical treatment.

“We’re thankful no one was seriously injured in Sunday’s incident,” said a Yarra Trams spokeswoman yesterday.

Since 2013, the same tram has been involved in two other derailments.