Australia and Indonesia trade ministers signed a free trade agreement yesterday after eight years of negotiations between the two G20 nations.
 

Australian farmers are set to be some of the first to benefit from the deal which will see Australian tariffs gradually reduced by 100% and Indonesian tariffs reduced to 94%.
 

The agreement also opens the door for Australian Universities to expand into Indonesia while retaining up to 67% ownership compared to the current 40% cap.

The site of a South Korean waste-to-energy recycling business is filled with piles of burning trash after rubbish built up to more than 80 times than the site’s 2000 ton limit.

It is reported gas build up beneath the piles is what caused the site to combust.

This case has drawn public attention to the increasing 1.2 million tons of illegally abandoned waste across South Korea, according to their Ministry of Environment.

A US Democratic Congresswoman has been falsely linked to the 9/11 attacks in a poster displayed at Republican Party-sponsored event.

The poster has been condemned by the featured Democrat Ilhan Omar and her colleagues and has reportedly encouraged threats of violence against her.

Democrat Omar took to twitter to share images from her local petrol station of graffiti calling for her assassination.

It is not yet clear who is responsible for the poster.

The government has put the ABC on notice after the broadcaster conducted a confidential settlement using taxpayers money to compensate sacked managing director Michelle Guthrie.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield expects the payout given to Guthrie should have transparency,  as it includes taxpayers.

Future annual reports conducted by the ABC  will reflect the payment made to Guthrie.

McKinsey & Company have released a major research report today, examining how automation and artificial intelligence will affect Australia’s economy and personal income growth over the next decade.

It is estimated 25 to 46 per cent of current work activities could be automated, providing every Australian with $4,000 to $11,000 in additional income by 2030.

A call from the public transport advocacy group “Rail: Back on Track” has asked for level crossing replacements across Queensland’s south-east, after a 70-year old woman died at Wynnum West’s Lindum Station on Tuesday night.

It’s been reported that since 2009, eight people have died at rail level crossings in south-east Queensland, with 248 near-misses last year alone.

Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk says he will continue to work with Brisbane City Council to study crossing in local government to identify upgrade priorities.

A man has pleaded guilty for drink driving a lime scooter in Fortitude Valley.

The man was pulled over for running a red light and had a blood alcohol reading of .174.

The man claimed “he was doing the right thing” and “just wanted to get home” however, a  magistrate says his behaviour was stupid and has fined him $400.

With Dodie and Amy.

South Korea and the United States have announced they will scrap huge annual military drills as a peace offering to North Korea who have long seen the drills as invasion rehearsals.

The Pentagon and South Korea’s defence ministry say the move is part of an effort to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula, and aid the resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Some military experts say the cancellation will likely weaken the allies’ military readiness, amid fears of tensions erupting in the wake of the failed nuclear summit in Vietnam last week.