A study has found malaria parasites resistant to key drugs are spreading rapidly in South East Asia, with half of patients in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam not responding to first-choice treatment. 

Professor Olivo Miotto, from the University of Oxford, says the “resistant parasite strain is capable of invading new territories and acquiring new genetic properties.

A similar resistance to a long-time front-line malaria drug, chloroquine, contributed to millions of deaths across Africa in the 1980s.

Scissors, box cutters and a knife in a holster were among the dozens of weapons seized from visitors to the Queensland Parliament. 

In the past year at Parliament House, over 95,000 people were screened with 186 visitors surrendering banned items and seven security incidents requiring police to be called. 

Speaker of the Queensland Parliament Curtis Pitt says the quantity and nature of last year’s incidents is not abnormal.

South-East Queensland could be nominated to host the 2032 Olympic Games with the Queensland and federal governments joining forces to investigate the possibility.

Federal MP Ted O'Brien says the Brisbane and Gold Coast regions are tourism meccas that would appeal to the International Olympic Committee, who will make the final call.

Queensland Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk will chair a new taskforce that will use a $20 million budget to envisage and examine the costs of hosting the event.

A proposal to end a decade-long dispute over the radioactive contamination of properties on Sydney’s north shore has been rejected by residents and council. 

Council voted against a recommendation by its own consultants to “encapsulate” the low-level radioactive materials in cement “cells” and store it onsite. 

Nelson Parade Action Group member Philippa Clark says residents feel the plan would have made lives worse, with the proposed cells making stigma permanent and impacted houses unsellable.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says unemployed regional Australians should show some ‘innovative spirit’ and move towns to find a job. 

Responding to calls to raise the Newstart allowance, Mr McCormack says the payment was designed to be a safety net during transitions between jobs.

The Australian Council of Social Services has rejected the Deputy PM’s comments, with acting CEO Jacqueline Phillips saying many regional jobs are temporary, making moving a big gamble.

A blackout left over half of Venezuela without power on Monday, causing traffic congestion and forcing businesses and schools to close for the following day.

Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez blames the power cut on an “electromagnetic attack”, although he didn’t provide evidence for the claim.

Venezuela was hit by a series of blackouts in March, including one that plunged all states into darkness for a week.

Authorities in Singapore have seized 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory worth an estimated $12.9 million in the largest haul in the country to date. 

Nearly 12 tonnes of pangolin scales valued at $35.7 million were also seized from the shipping containers after a tip-off from China’s customs department. 

Authorities discovered the animal products after inspecting a shipment from the DR Congo, which was passing through Singapore on its way to Vietnam.

As few as three wombats are alive in Tasmania’s Narawntapu National Park following an outbreak of mange disease in 2010, which reduced the population by 90 per cent.

Wildlife ecologist Dr Scott Carver says wombats were treated with a chemical drench in an attempt to eradicate the disease, but the treatment was not successful in the long term.

Zoologist Michael Driessen says there is still hope, with his team looking for a treatment that could protect wombats for up to three months at a time.