New research has found that a common disease in honey bees could be transmitted to native bees through flowers, causing them to die at about three times the rate of the normal mortality.

Associate Professor, Lori Lach said more research was needed to determine the impact the disease was having on native bee populations.

Professor Lach said native bees don’t sting and they do a lot of pollination, so we shouldn’t be so quick to run around with fly spray.

Chinese authorities approached the family of an international student who participated in high-profile protests at the University of Queensland and warned his parents of the potential consequences of political dissent.

His mother told him not to engage in anti-China rhetoric in Brisbane and warned him not to join any events where people are gathered together in order for both of them to be safe.

There have been violent clashes between police and protesters demanding the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernández in Honduras.

The protests come days after prosecutors in the US alleged that Mr Hernández's 2013 presidential campaign had been financed by drug money.

Pressure has been growing on Mr Hernández to step down ever since his brother Juan Antonio Hernández was arrested in Florida in November and accused of conspiring to smuggle large quantities of cocaine to the US.

More than five million people in Zimbabwe - about a third of the population - need food aid, with many coming close to starving.

The United Nation has launched a $331 million appeal for aid as the country battles the effects of drought, a cyclone and an economic crisis.

Zimbabwe's problems were exacerbated when Cyclone Idai swept through the region earlier this year. The huge storm, affected approximately 570,000 Zimbabweans and left tens of thousands of them homeless.

The Australian Medical Association has criticised “unnecessary and insulting” proposed amendments to a bill decriminalising abortion in New South Wales.

The AMA says the objective of the bill to remove abortion from the NSW criminal code risks being derailed by "unfounded fearmongering”.

Attorney-General Mark Speakman said on Tuesday, while he broadly supported dealing with abortion outside of criminal law, he was unsure if he could support the legislation without an amendment.

The High Court has upheld a decision to sack a public servant, Michaela Banerji, for anonymously criticising the government's immigration policy.  

The Court delivered its decision this wednesday, upholding an appeal from the workers’ compensation agency Comcare.

This case will affect 2 million federal, local and state public servants.

Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner has called climate protesters extremists.

34 men and 38 women aged between 18 and 73 were arrested at Tuesday's rebellion day.

Councillor for the Gabba, Jonathan Sri, who supported protesters, has called out the Mayor on social media, saying they are just are just ordinary people who believe a better world is possible.

An international university campus and a high-rise student accommodation are planned to tower above the Fortitude Valley train station.

In April 2019 the site for the accommodation  was acquired by Millinium Capital, which promised the development before the end of 2019.

Millinium Alternatives says it has secured a 12-year lease for the university in the Overells Building.