Allegations four 12-year-old girls were strip searched for drugs at a school in upstate New York has prompted a full investigation into the case.

The African-American girls were evaluated on the 15th  January by a nurse at Binghamton’s East middle school.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has said the case raises “serious concerns of racial and gender bias.”

The average Queensland household power bill could fall by $60 from next year, and small businesses by $100, as Queensland’s publicly-owned energy businesses streamline network costs.

Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham says the savings came from Ergon Energy and Energex’s proposed reductions in distribution network charges from 2020.

The savings are in Energy Queensland’s network investment plans for 2020 to 2025 and could reduce household charges by around 10 per cent and small businesses’ by around 11 per cent.  

A health alert has been issued in Tasmania due to thick smoke from bushfires, as local communities could be impacted for weeks to come.

Tasmanian health authorities are urging people with health conditions to leave their homes as dense smoke blankets Hobart from bushfires burning in the state.

State Public Health Director Mark Veitch warns that smoke levels at Cygnet, south of the capital, and surrounding areas, could cause serious health issues, and that residents should minimise exposure.

Australian mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto are set to join the push for an Indigenous voice to federal parliament.

The resource powerhouses are expected to make a joint statement on Thursday supporting the 2017 Uluru Statement From The Heart.

The statement will call for a constitutionally-enshrined advisory body and a commission to oversee
truth-telling and treaty-making.

Doctors, businessmen and other workers protested in major cities across Venezuela on Wednesday, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the country and for President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

Protestors claimed they were tired of not having accessing to medicine and of spending their days looking for food.

Millions have left Venezuela since 2015, fleeing hyperinflation, poverty and food & medicine shortages.

A British politician has been criticised for responding to concerns a no-deal Brexit would create food shortages at supermarkets by suggesting people go to a fish and chip shop instead.

Fellow politicians said Mr Wilson should be ashamed for making the joke about the impact of a no-deal Brexit.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas took to social media to air her anger at the comment, before raising the issue in the House of Commons.

Queensland Police are warning of a disturbing trend of people being ripped off by scammers when selling things online.

Police warn that scammers will not want to meet face-to-face and will contact the buyer via email or text and will normally avoid speaking on the phone.

Scammers will use any means possible to fool buyers, including the names and logos of well-known and trusted companies, banks and organisations, with police warn buyers to be aware.

Toxic smog has forced hundreds of Bangkok schools to close on Wednesday as authorities struggle to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread health fears and taken on a political edge just before elections.

Due to exhaust from traffic, unfettered construction, the burning of crop stubble, and pollution from factories, the Thai capital has been shrouded for weeks and has sparked social media criticism of the uneven response by the government.

According to new research, heavy drinkers can alter their DNA in ways to increase the desire for alcohol which may help explain why addiction is so powerful and hard to resist.

The study, conducted in the US, assessed two genes - one which influences the body clock, and the other which regulates stress responses, finding that the two genes had undergone ‘epigenetic’ changes in both heavy and binge drinkers, but not moderate drinkers.

Scientists say this may contribute to new ways of treating alcoholism, or to prevent at-risk people from becoming addicted.