Washington has ordered the withdrawal of "non-emergency employees" from Iraq while the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned of a possible "full-scale confrontation", as tensions between the US and Iran mount.

The US State Department said employees at both the US embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, were being withdrawn immediately due to safety concerns.

A public consultation process for a new Queensland coal mine has not received a single submission from any environmental group despite its plans to clear 55 square kilometres of koala habitat and 11 wetlands.

Queensland’s independent coordinator-general approved the Bowen Basin mine proposed by Pembroke Resources, which will be about the same size as Adani and will clear koala habitat the size of Sydney Harbour.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care has heard that a lack of staff is resulting in the chemical sedation of patients in aged care facilities.

A panel of three nurses and one diversional therapist gave evidence on Wednesday, saying aged care facilities are understaffed and they often had to work unpaid overtime.

When asked why chemical restraints are used, one nurse said that it shouldn’t be happening at all but is often used because there aren’t enough staff.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said the Federal Court’s decision to allow freight operator Pacific National to buy an Acacia Ridge rail freight terminal gives the company a monopoly on rail freight and will leave Australians paying more for goods.

The Commission lost its case in the Federal Court trying to prevent rail freight operator Aurizon from selling the Acacia Ridge terminal where rail freight is transferred between New South Wales and Queensland.

Brisbane City Council has commissioned auditor reports on the status of the heritage-listed School of Arts building on Ann street ahead of restoration.

The building was closed to the public several years ago due to public safety concerns but is to be restored after the council pledged last year to begin the refurbishment.

Last year’s budget allocated almost $9 million for the refurbishment over three years, with council to go out to tender for appropriate contractors to begin the restoration work in the future.

A global drug survey has shown that UK drinkers get drunk more often than anywhere else in the world.

The results showed that English-speaking countries were in the lead for how often their citizens get drunk, as the US, Canada and Australia also found themselves at the top of the global rankings.

Researchers based in London conducted the survey last year, claiming it to be the largest in the world, and said while fewer people are drinking, those who consume alcohol are doing so in a potentially harmful way.

The Senate in the US state of Alabama has passed strict new abortion laws that ban the procedure in almost every circumstance.

If the republican governor signs the measure, abortions in Alabama will only be permitted in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.

Under the measure, abortions in cases of incest and rape will be banned, as sixteen other US states seek to impose further restrictions on the procedure.

An assistant principal at a Western Australian school will return to work after video showing he restrained a student during a school brawl left him suspended by the education department.

The local school community rallied behind Mr Grant Walton of Eaton Community College, 145 kilometres south of Perth, after video emerged of him grabbing a student by the arms and tackling him to the ground during a scuffle.

Qantas has refused to let an acclaimed writer travel to the Northern Territory Writers’ Festival on Friday aboard a Sydney flight bound for Alice Springs, claiming evidence that her disability support dog is properly qualified was insufficient.

Acclaimed Sydney writer and critic Fiona Wright completed paperwork so her support dog Virginia who helps her with mental health conditions including anxiety, showing the dog followed an educational syllabus under properly qualified dog trainers and passed a public test.