The United States has presented a draft resolution on Venezuela to the United Nations Security Council, and has announced their sponsorship of a campaign for Juan Guaido to be the head of the country's elected legislative body

17 Australian residents visiting family in China are missing and suspected to have been detained by the Chinese government as part of a national crackdown on ethnic muslim minorities.

Human rights advocates say some of the individuals are likely under house arrest, while others are detained in federal prisons and re-education centres in Xinjiang, alongside an estimated million other muslims that claim to be shackled and beaten by authorities.

Kate Miller-Heidke has taken out the vote to become Australia's entry into the 2019 Eurovision song contest.

Our homegrown, Kelvin Grove State College and Con alumni has been nominated by the Australian public, in the first nomination process of its kind.

The 37-year-old singer-songwriter performed her song Zero Gravity during the live TV final Eurovision Australia Decides on the Gold Coast on Saturday night.

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv, Israel in May.

Brisbane residents are relying on public transport more than ever, according to a Translink study showing a 6.5 percent increase in travellers over the last year.

Transport minister Mark Bailey says cheaper fares, the popularity of the Gold Coast’s light rail, the Redcliffe peninsula train line and the roll-out of the new generation rollingstock are responsible for the increase in popularity, creating almost a million additional trips across the network in December.

Concerns have grown for Brisbane man Hazem Hamouda who has now spent over a year falsely detained in Cairo jail.

Just minutes after the beginning of what he thought would be the vacation of a lifetime, the devoted father of six was whisked away by Egyptian security.

Egyptian authorities accuse him of being associated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false information — but no charges have been laid.

Measles cases in Europe tripled between 2017 and 2018 to over 82 000 - the highest number recorded this decade according to data from the world health organization.

While vaccination rates are improving, the World Health Organisation  says coverage is not high enough to prevent circulation of the virus in many countries.

Ukraine reported the highest number of measles cases last year with over 53 000, more than 10 times that of the next highest, Serbia.

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 will attempt to collect a sample from an asteroid on 22 February.

During sample collection, the spacecraft will approach the 1km-wide asteroid with an instrument called the sampler horn.

The spacecraft will embark on this three-and-a-half year journey from Earth.

The Tasmanian Labor Party has abandoned its hard-line gambling policy to remove poker machines from bars and clubs 11 months on from election loss.

Labor leader Rebecca White told ABC Hobart her party could no longer pursue its policy of removing poker machines from pubs and clubs because the Hodgman Liberal Government was planning to bring in legislation for a new licence deed in this term.

That is in contrast to comments Ms White made shortly after the March 2018 election, where she said Labor remained committed to the promise to remove the machines.