Thousands are taking part in the social media #BlueforSudan campaign to show solidarity with protesters in Sudan.

The blue wave has spread across Twitter and Instagram via the hashtag as users attempt to honour one of the victims, Mohamed Mattar, whose favourite colour was reportedly blue.

A friend of Mattar’s who is also an Instagram beauty influencer said once he was murdered his friends and family changed their profile pictures to match his and now the colour represents all of the Sudanese people who have fallen in the uprising.

A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals two hours a week in nature is the threshold we need to reach before feeling the benefits to our health and wellbeing.

The results were the same regardless of whether participants spent their nature time in small chunks or saved up their time outdoors for a weekend, and the effects were similar for all participant incomes, abilities, ages and genders.

Nature as defined by the study included beaches, city parks or farmland and the study used survey data from more than 19 thousand participants in the UK.

The Indonesian Consul has visited the shores of Northern Australia for new ways to help prevent plastic waste on Arnhem Land.

An estimated one tonne of discarded bottles, thongs and nets has been washed up per kilometre with much of it originating from Indonesia.

The Australian Marine debris team welcomed the Indonesian visit and says it could signal the beginning of a solution to the rubbish issue.

The Australian government is preparing artificial intelligence guidelines which will aim to keep Australians safe and employed including more than 29 million dollars in its last budget to support the responsible development of AI.

Federal Minister for Technology, Karen Andrews says the government has recently sought on the use of AI and raised the concerns of job losses.

She has recently attended G20 meetings in Japan and heard how other nations are approaching AI but businesses are still weighing up the benefits of AI as cyber-security.

Research as part of the New South Wales Government’s Saving our Species program reveals dingoes are helping the endangered Manning River Helmeted turtles survive by preying on foxes who are a major threat to the freshwater turtles.

Office of Environment and Heritage researcher Andrew Steed says surveys in 2018 found 87 turtles while the surveys done in March and April this year found a further 188 turtles at 47 sites including a new location.

New direct flight services from Brisbane to San Francisco and Chicago will be announced today by Qantas and flights to begin early next year.

It is the first direct flight to Chicago from any Australian city and will be serviced by Qantas Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners which is the same aircraft used for non-stop flights from Perth to London.

The Department of Education said in a statement earlier today, Upper Mount Gravatt State School and the after-hours care centre will remain closed today, but both are set to reopen tomorrow.

The DES department says new book packs will be provided free-of-charge to students who lost their supplies in the fire, and guidance officers and other support staff will be available for any students or staff who require it.

In local news, Darwin has just finalised a $10million project to make the city smarter with Chinese inspired surveillance technologies.

The project rolled out 900 LED lights, 24 environmental sensors, parking sensors, free wifi and a network of 183 new cctv cameras throughout the Darwin CBD.

Lord Mayor of Darwin, Kon Vatskalis said technologies would help people feel safer and create a new opportunity for business in the city but privacy experts question the appropriateness and have privacy concerns.