Nissin, one of the world’s largest instant-noodle brands, has faced backlash after depicting Naomi Osaka, the half-Haitian, half-Japanese tennis champion, as white-skinned in their new anime-style advertisement.

The tennis player has not publicly commented on the backlash to the ad, but a Nissin spokesman apologised in an email on Tuesday for “the confusion and discomfort.

The Australian government has confirmed Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun has been detained in China as Defence Minister Christopher Pyne flies in to Beijing to mend ties following rising tensions over the last 12 months.

The Chinese-Australian dissident and democracy activist became the latest Western citizen to be detained in China.

Research commissioned by life insurance company TAL has found just 36 per cent of Australians have had a skin check in the past 12 months, while 29 per cent have never had one.

Given that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before they are 70, the results of the study are alarming.

Dr Sally Phillips says that a large proportion of Australians know that skin cancer is easily treated if diagnosed early, yet most people have not had a skin check in the last year.

More than 2,700 people are without power in north central Victoria where temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees due to an underground cable fault.

Adelaide is forecast to hit 45C, and the Bureau of Meteorology says the city's 80-year-old record high of 46.1C is within reach. However, the fault may not be fixed until at least 5pm.

Fire crews are on stand-by while extra paramedics and ambulances will be on call to assist those struggling in the heat.

Brisbane doctors are celebrating the treatment of the 1000th cancer patient to undergo a non-invasive gamma knife technique since it’s introduction in 2015.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital is the only public hospital in the nation equipped with this technology, and one of only two of its kind in the country.

The machine uses cutting edge medical technology that focuses beams of gamma rays to precisely target tumours. The PA’s gamma knife recently underwent a $1.5 million upgrade, making it even easier to treat patients.  

South east Queensland’s mayors want to see 47 road and rail projects across the region completed to prevent total gridlock by 2041 at a local cost of $63 billion.

The plan was announced on Thursday morning with the release of a SEQ People Mass Movement Study, investigating the impact population growth was likely to have on transport issues.

A white army veteran from Baltimore told investigators he spent several days stalking black men before he killed a 66-year-old man.

The man said it was “practice” for a larger attack he had planned for Times Square to incite a racial war on interracial dating.

Prosecutors of the hate crime said although New York is one of the safest cities in the US, the number of reported hate crimes has increased steadily since the 2016 election of President Donald Trump.

The eviction of refugees from Italy’s second largest centre for asylum seekers has continued amid protests from locals and opposition leaders.

The evictions began on Tuesday when 30 people were taken away, and another 75 were seen leaving.

The recently passed "Salvini law" cracks down on asylum rights by abolishing humanitarian protection permits issued to people who do not qualify for refugee status but deemed as vulnerable and barring them from receiving aid.

The law is set to leave thousands of people undocumented and without rights in the next two years.
 

International students looking to study at Australian universities may face higher English language entry requirements after a push from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Under current requirements, those wanting a student visa need a score of at least 5.5 out of nine in the International English Language Testing System. While students need to pass, they do not need to resit the language test.