The Western Australian government is considering mandatory methamphetamine contamination testing in an Australian first to try and combat the states ice epidemic.

If approved, the tests would accurately check if houses had been previously used as meth labs, or had residue from meth use, which can be harmful to following residents who are often unaware of the properties history.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a Pharaonic tomb holding 50 mummies in Minya, south of Cairo.

The chambers, which were cut out of rock, are likely to have belonged to a middle class family who lived in the period from the fourth century BC to just before the birth of Jesus.

The archaeological finding was the first of 2019 and was unearthed through a joint mission with the Research Centre for Archaeological Studies of Minya University.

Pope Francis has admitted that clerics have sexually abused nuns, and in one case kept them as sex slaves, the first time such issues have been acknowledged.

He made the comments on Tuesday while on a historic tour of the Middle East, saying the issue was being addressed, but the problem was ongoing.

Days before, the Vatican’s women’s magazine, Women Church World, condemned the abuse, saying in some cases, nuns were forced to abort priests’ children, something that is forbidden in Catholicism.

The Productivity Commission has found airports aren’t ripping off airlines who use their runways or travellers who pay up to $17 to park near their terminals.

The report comes as a blow to the QANTAS and Virgin Airlines groups, who claimed they were being gouged by the airports and wanted a new body that could rule on disputes.

Scientists fear the white lemuroid possum, found in the cloud forests of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in far north Queensland, could soon become extinct due to climate change.

The white possum was nearly wiped out by a heatwave in 2005, and can die in temperatures above 29 degrees as it has not evolved mechanisms to cool its body down.

The Wet Tropics World Heritage region covers only a tenth of one per cent of Australia’s land mass, yet contains 50 per cent of the nation’s species.

The nomination of former Brisbane councillor, Margaret de Wit, to the South Bank Corporation Board has been rejected by Labor councillors.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk nominated the now retired councillor, who served for 19 years, but opposition leader Peter Cumming refused to support this, saying it was a job for a former councillor, rather than merit-based.

The South Bank corporation manages the key stretch of river frontage in South Brisbane for public use.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out calling out a snap election if his government loses a vote against a bill which would enable refugees from Manus Island and Nauru to come to Australia for medical treatment, should two doctors recommend it.

If the bill passes it would be the first time since 1929 that a sitting government has lost a vote on legislation, however it is not clear if this would trigger a constitutional crisis.