After seizing a heat stressed dog in Marsden yesterday with its mouth taped shut, unable to pant or drink, the RSPCA urges pet owners to take extra care of their animals in this current heatwave.

Last year, the RSPCA received almost 1500 calls about dogs being left in hot cars and more than 2000 calls about animals being left out with no shade or water.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has committed to investing $112 million towards the third stage of the Gold Coast’s light rail project, in an attempt to win over voters in south-east Queensland.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has already committed funding towards the project if he is re-elected in May, and Bill Shorten has now matched that promise from Labor.

This comes after Shorten has already pledged to spend $2 billion on Brisbane’s Cross-River Rail Project.

The ALP and Climate Change have come out on top of the latest opinion polling.

With a federal election two months away, Newspoll has placed the two-party preferred vote at 54% for Labor and 46% for the Coalition - and the Guardian Essential Poll puts the vote at 53%-47%.

The Essential Poll also found that 51% of Australians say not enough is being done to address climate change.

Uber has responded to claims regarding its drivers are gaming the app for cancellation fees, claiming it will roll out a new solution by the end of next month.

Drivers are accused of deliberately taking long routes, or stopping long distances away from the rider’s location, to encourage them to cancel their trip request.

An Uber spokeswoman says that the practice is rare, and that of the 3.8 million Australians that regularly use Uber, driver cancellations represent a minute portion of all trips.

Last Saturday, a woman was attacked by a jaguar and left with minor injuries after stepping over the barrier at the United States’ Arizona Zoo.  

The woman crossed the barrier and approached the enclosure to take a selfie with the jaguar, but when she got too close, it swiped through the fencing, leaving deep gashes on her arms.

Wildlife World Zoo director Mickey Ollson said that the barriers are there for a good reason. He said the incident was a result of human error and the animal would not be euthanised.

Eleven people have been killed in intense floods rocking Latin America’s business hub, Sao Paulo.

Nearly 110 mm of rain fell over the region between Sunday and Monday afternoon, which according to experts is 70% of the total expected rainfall for March.

Commuter trains in Brazil’s largest city have been partially shut down, with buses and cars stuck in gridlock due to the resulting mudslides and road closures.   

Queensland drivers could face a possible five years in jail and be fined thousands of dollars due to new laws proposed by the Liberal National Party.

For the safety of all Queenslanders, drivers who ‘lose their cool’ behind the wheel can face up to 18 months in jail, whereas drivers who chase and act in a ‘physically threatening’ way can face up to five years behind bars.

Liberal National Party Leader Deb Frecklington says that innocent lives are at risk because of these angry drivers and violence on our roads needs to stop.

A Brisbane Principal has issued a warning to parents about what they say online, claiming the abuse of teachers over social media has reached “unacceptable” levels.

The Gap State High School Principal, Anne McLauchlan, claims that the rates of abuse have risen dramatically in the past 12 months, after a new uniform rule was implemented resulting in 100 students receiving detention.

Virgin Australia has no plans to cancel its order of 30 new Boeing 737 MAX 8s in the wake of Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Representatives of the airline claim it is too soon to comment on whether they would be cancelling the order, despite this being the second unexplained crash with the same Boeing model in six months.

Virgin Australia is due to receive the 737 MAX 8’s later this year, along with 10 of the MAX 10s.