Two teenage girls have been charged with arson after setting a fire in Nambour on Monday morning.

The teenagers, aged 13 and 14, lit the fire in a downstairs bedroom, causing significant damage and sending a woman in her 40s and her 20-year-old son to the hospital. The fire also took the lives of the family pets.

The girls were seen fleeing the scene by a firefighter called in to fight the flames.

The writing standard of Queensland school students is continuing to slide, according to 2018’s national NAPLAN results.

Despite improvements in reading, numeracy, grammar and spelling, Year 7 students are continuing to struggle with writing, with the average falling by 3.5% since 2008.

Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said the decline in writing standards is a nationwide issue, claiming the Morrison government is to blame for the lack of reform.  

A bid to trademark the Aboriginal plant name Gumby Gumby has sparked outrage amongst the Aboriginal community and fueled talks for reforming Australian intellectual property laws.

A couple in central Queensland have filed for exclusive rights to the name, in a move Ghungalu elder Steve Kemp remarks is problematic for his people, as it prevents them for using their own assets for commercial purposes.

Under current intellectual property law, any Australian individual or company can apply for the rights to Aboriginal products or language.  

The Federal government and the state of WA have committed to a $33 million makeover for Rottnest Island in a bid to keep up with the growing tourism surge on Australia’s west coast.

The money will be put towards redeveloping Rottnest’s Fuel Jetty, and the construction of a barge landing, so as to reduce pressure on the main jetty at Thompson Bay.

WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the move is the biggest funding commitment for the island in more than a decade.

Aiming for President Oman Al-Bashir to step down, a soldier has been killed while trying to protect protestors who have staged a sit-in outside of military headquarters in Sudan.

Clashes have broken out after Sudanese security forces used live fire, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse the anti-government sit-in outside the compound.

Footage was posted online by activists that showed the soldiers moving peacefully among the protest, which is one of the biggest demonstrations since protests erupted in December.  

US actress Felicity Huffman says she intends to plead guilty to charges accusing her of participating in a cheating scam for elite US universities.

It is alleged that the equivalent of $21,000AUD was paid in 2017 to have her daughter’s exam questions corrected by William “Rick” Singer - the confessed mastermind behind the scam.

14 people of the 50 charged will plead guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

A study involving a University of Queensland researcher has found that the presence of different strains of grass pollen in the atmosphere can help predict when hay fever and asthma is at its height.

A 71-year-old pilot has died after his light plane crashed in far north Queensland on Monday afternoon.

Authorities spotted the wreckage during an aerial search of the Herberton Range after the pilot failed to arrive at his destination in Atherton.