A tame beluga whale has been found by Norwegian fisherman wearing a tight harness with alleged Russian origins.

Joergen Ree Wiig of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries confirmed the harness strap was emblazoned with the words “Equipment St. Petersburg”, suggesting ties to the Russian Navy.

Scholars in both Russia and Norway have denied any knowledge of programs or experiments involving beluga whales.

Three months after the devastation of the Townsville floods, and a second wave of residents is coming forward to seek government assistance.

The Northern Townsville Community Hub says families who held off coming forward before are now feeling overwhelmed, having run out of money and still not having found a suitable home for their families.

Manager Sandra Elton noted community donations and not-for-profit organisations have been key in helping residents become re-established after the flooding.

RSPCA Queensland has reported that all of the 37 animals they seized from a disabled animal rescue group have been adopted, gone into foster care, or returned to their original owners.

Storybrook Farm Animal Garden Rescue owners are currently facing 80 criminal charges after a search warrant was executed that found extremely ill animals living in their own faeces and urine.

An external investigation is set to be carried out at Victoria’s Latrobe Regional Hospital after allegations of staff bullying and intimidation have surfaced in the mental health unit.

The hospital’s Acting Chief Executive Don McRae said the review would start next week and "cover the entire LRH mental health service including inpatient and community-based services".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten faced off in Perth last night for their first debate before the election next month.

The debate was strong but followed the usual headlines of the election to date, with Morrison pressing Shorten for the cost of his policies while Shorten attacked Morrison for favouring high-income earners and entering a preference deal with Clive Palmer.

25 of the 48 undecided voters who made up the audience gave the debate to Shorten, with 12 choosing Morrison and 11 remaining undecided.

Chinese debtors are being named and shamed on the big screen, with headshots of residents owing money to the state appearing before the highly anticipated premiere of Avengers: Endgame.  

Isolated reports of this phenomenon first appeared last year in the south-western Sichuan province, but now appear to have been rolled out on a much larger scale across the country.

A US Afghanistan war veteran has been charged over an alleged plot to detonate a nail bomb at an LA white nationalist rally following an FBI sting on Monday.

26-year old Mark Steven Domingo is a former US Army infantryman who later converted to Islam. He was taken into custody on Friday after repeatedly stating he wanted to cause mass casualties.

One Nation candidate for the Queensland Senate Steve Dickson has offered his resignation after footage was released of him at a strip club in Washington DC.

The footage was recorded during Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into One Nation and the American National Rifle Association and aired on A Current Affair last night.

Dickson has apologised for the video which shows him making derogatory comments about women and touching a dancer, claiming that it is not a true reflection of who he is.