The Australian parliament has approved a new treaty with Timor-Leste governing how the two nations share oil and gas deposits to provide ‘commercial certainty’ for the neighbouring country.

Legislation passed allows for the two countries to split deposits in the long disputed Greater Sunrise fields on the maritime border.

Under the treaty, Timor-Leste will get the biggest share of revenue from exploiting Greater Sunrise.

The Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the NSW government to end routine strip searches of children in juvenile detention centres.

The Law Centre says the latest data reveals strip searches are "unnecessary" and "ineffective" as the searches revealed minimum contraband. 

They suggested the government look at alternative methods, such as the use of wands and body scanners similar to those used at the airport.

More than fifty inmates were killed during a prison riot in northern Brazil on Monday, according to local authorities. 

The incident occurred in the Altamira prison in the state of Para where a fight between rival gangs left 52 inmates dead including 16 who were decapitated.

This clash marks the latest deadly outbreak of violence in Brazil’s over-crowded and riot-prone prisons. 

The source of a gigantic leak of radioactive material that swept across Europe in 2017 has been traced back to a Russian nuclear facility which appears to have been preparing materials for experiments in Italy.

The leak of radioactive ruthenium released up to one-hundred times the amount of radiation into the atmosphere than the Fukushima disaster. 

The Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Security in Paris found the source was in the Southern Urals where the Mayak nuclear facility is located.

An Australian gold mining company will donate $300,000 towards the development of a rapid cancer test at The University of Queensland.

The funding from Evolution Mining will help researchers optimise a new gold nanoparticle blood test which could give oncologists an early and more accurate diagnosis.

Professor of Nanoscience Matt Trau who leads the project said it is visionary for a mining company to support cutting-edge medical research.

The Summer Foundation has launched a new high tech housing unit scheme in Melbourne to keep young disabled people out of aged care facilities. 

Acting CEO Carolyn Finis said young people tend to lose confidence in their quality of life after being admitted to aged care facilities.

The new units will feature voice activated appliances and height adjustable benches and sinks drafted in collaboration with disability advisors and tech experts.

Researchers are using robotic skeletons designed to help people with spinal cord injuries stand up and walk in a world-first trial in Sydney.

Jess Collins, who was the first person to participate in trial, says doctors told her she would never walk again after her near-fatal surfing accident last year.

Physiotherapist Jodie Marquez from the University of Newcastle says their exoskeleton device can help build muscle strength and improve quality of life.

At least eight people have died after a 5.4 and 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck islands in the northern Philippines just a few hours apart on Saturday morning.

 Head of the provincial disaster-response office Roldan Esdicul said some people were crushed by rubble as they slept in their beds. 

Local mayor Raul de Sagon said local doctors were being inundated with people injured by the quake as rescue efforts continue.