Saudi Arabia and Russia are strengthening their relationship, after Russia relaxed its import laws for future Saudi wheat and grain imports. 

Russia is attempting to gain more market share in Middle Eastern and North African wheat markets from Europe and the US. 

The change has wider implications as Saudi Arabia, which is allied with the US, forges a stronger relationship with Russia.

A chain of 50 medical clinics across regional Australia has been under financial stress for 18 months, resulting in doctors, some on temporary working visas, often not being paid for weeks or months. 

Managing director for Tristar, Dr Khaled El-Sheikh said in a letter to staff in May he guarantees payments owed for services rendered are secure now and into the future.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that Newstart recipients' standard of living is going backwards.

Deloitte Access Economics partner Nicki Hutley said their money is not able to buy as much this year as it could last year. 

ABS figures show the problem now is that the cost of living for those on the welfare payments is rising faster than it is for the rest of the population.

Eight people whale watching off the Gold Coast have been rescued after their boat caught fire on Wednesday morning.

Investigations concluded that there was an electrical fault at blame. 

No one was injured in the accident, and a representative from the Queensland Ambulance Service said the group was examined once onshore.

A new Maroochydore CBD and diverse housing will be accommodated in the Maroochydore City Centre Priority Development Area, in the Sunshine Coast, after the state’s approval of the development scheme.

Sunshine Coast Mayor, Mark Jamieson, said the approval will help the council meet the urban infills targets set under the Shaping South East Queensland Regional Plan and capitalise on new opportunities.

The United Nations Human Rights Chief has cautioned that the newest US sanctions on Venezuela will exacerbate the crisis for millions, further threatening food security in a country already facing shortages to daily essentials. 

The move by the US is the most recent in a round of sanctions against Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, and includes authorisation for penalties against those who support Maduro’s government. 

Boris Johnson has urged MPs to "get on and deliver" Brexit as he repeatedly refused to rule out bypassing parliament to force through a no-deal break. 

The prime minister insisted he remained "confident" it would be possible to reach a new agreement with the European Union before Britain is due to leave on 31 October.

However, he was adamant there could be no more delay beyond Halloween and that the "unacceptable" Northern Ireland backstop had to go. 

The long-term financial viability of Queensland’s vocational education system is in danger as student numbers have stalled, meaning revenue from students is plummeting. 

Vocational education has received a $130 million increase in funding over the last four years, but there has been no increase in the number of vocational education students in Queensland. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has finalised his inner circle of advisers and is planning a series of brainstorming sessions for policy development that will ramp up by the year’s end.

All key positions for Morrison’s new team have now been finalised, following the appointment of the national security expert Andrew Shearer as cabinet secretary this week. 

Since the May election, the Prime Minister’s office has conducted a series of policy brainstorming sessions on issues including plastic waste, veterans affairs and Indigenous suicide.