Brunei introducing stoning as punishment

The small southeast Asian kingdom of Brunei is set to punish gay sex and adultery under punishment of stoning as of next week.

 

Beginning on April 3, any individuals found guilty of the offenses will be stoned to death, with the punishment to be ‘witnessed by a group of Muslims’.

 

The country's strict new laws were announced in 2014, and have been rolled out gradually. The latest phase of implementation, including the brutal new provisions, was quietly announced on the Brunei attorney general's website on December 29, 2018.

WMO report marks climate escalation

The World Meteorological Organization’s annual State of the Climate report shows that the physical and financial impacts of global warming are accelerating ‘at a dangerous rate’.

 

The report comes at the same time the International Energy Agency reported a surge in CO2 in 2018, with levels having risen by 13.6% in 25 years.

 

Major government parties commit to additional funding for breast cancer

Women with breast cancer have secured commitments from both the major parties for additional funding for MRI scans – $32.6m from the Morrison government coming in next week’s budget, and $47m from Labor if it wins in May.

 

The Coalition will use next Tuesday’s budget to create two new Medicare items for MRI of the breast, scans that will enable more accurate diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

 

Labor to withdraw support for Murray-Darling Basin

Federal Labor has announced it will withdraw support for a major part of Murray-Darling Basin Plan, if elected.

 

Opposition spokesperson Tony Burke has announced that Labor would change the way in which 450 gigalitres of water is recovered by restoring the socio-economic definition for delivering water.

 

It comes less than a year after the Government and basin states agreed on a way to measure the socio-economic impact of recovering water.

 

First export of 'green hydrogen' sent from QLD to Japan

Queensland University of Technology has taken part in the first export of ‘Green Hydrogen’ derived from water from Australia to Japan in a major step towards sustainable fuel innovation.

 

In the revolutionary trial, Japanese researchers from petroleum conglomerate JXTG used QUT's solar facilities operating at Redlands to extract hydrogen from water.

 

Education Minister calls for PM to commit to a 'comprehensive national review'

Education Minister Grace Grace yesterday released the findings of a first-of-its-kind state-wide evaluation of NAPLAN and again called on the Morrison Government to commit to a comprehensive national review.

Ms Grace says the Palaszczuk Government’s evaluation identified that NAPLAN had played a role in supporting improvements in Queensland’s educational outcomes.

Lawsuit filed against Ethiopian Airlines

A lawsuit has been filed against aircraft manufacturer Boeing in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash which killed 157 people on March 10th.

 

The lawsuit, filed by the family of Jackson Musoni, a Rwandan citizen who died in the crash, is the first to be filed against the company.

 

The claims in question are in relation to the manufacturing of Boeing’s 737 aircraft, which it is alleged contained a defective automated flight control system.

 

EU to faze out single-use plastics by 2021

The European Union have vowed to faze out single use plastics by 2021 following a vote by EU lawmakers as there is a push for manufacturers to step up their recycling efforts.

 

Increasing concern over plastic waste in oceans and China’s decision to stop processing waste have prompted the EU to take more drastic steps in tackling the issue of pollution.

 

EU countries will be able to choose their own methods of reducing single-use plastics such as take-out containers and beverage cups.

 

Call for relaxation of drug-driving laws in ACT debate

The Law Society of the ACT has called for a relaxation of drug-driving laws in Canberra as the debate over whether to legalise recreational marijuana in the Australian Capital continues.

 

Currently, a small amount of cannabis in the system of a driver, like that of someone who had smoked days previously but was ‘otherwise unimpaired’, results in the same penalties as that of blowing a 0.15 alcohol reading.