The US and UK governments are investing in maggot therapy to assist in crisis zones around the world.

The ‘do it yourself’ greenbottle blowfly maggot laboratories will enable people in areas without traditional medical facilities to effectively clean dead tissue, disinfect and heal wounds.

The department for international development says each field laboratory can treat up to 250 wounds per day and save hundreds of lives.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has been released after government forces detained him en route to a political rally yesterday.

Information minister Jorge Rodriguez told state television the operation was carried out by rogue agents and not approved by President Nicolas Maduro’s administration.

Maduro was sworn into a second term last Thursday, despite polls reporting 72 percent of voters want him to resign.

The Australian Treasury is proposing a reversal of the onus of proof in its attempt to crack down on billions of dollars lost to the black economy.

Tax experts say boosting the ATO’s powers further could be detrimental, after media reports last year showed the ATO exerting unfair influence during tax disputes.

Institute of Public Accountants member Tony Greco says the proposal creates concern for those wrongly persecuted who cannot disprove their charges.

A ban on single-use plastics, including straws, cutlery and coffee cups, is being considered in South Australia.

Environment Minister David Speirs says South Australia is a national leader in recycling and resource recovery and it's important to have a discussion about single-use plastics.

Environmental groups have welcomed the government's move with the chief executive of Conservation SA declaring it in line with SA's leadership role in recycling.

The strawberry needle sabotage crisis has created a 14% drop in Queensland’s strawberry industry, according to a new report from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The contamination of strawberries in September of 2018 saw the fruit pulled from supermarket shelves, farmers dumping en masse and local job losses.

The report says strawberries are due for a comeback this year, with record seasonal yields, improvements to standards and training in the supply chain, and the installation of metal detectors in packing sheds.

The ongoing disagreement between Brisbane City Council and the state government over who is responsible for Woolloongabba’s derelict Broadway Hotel is compounded by the state’s ineffectual heritage legislation.

The heritage-listed Broadway Hotel caught fire for the third time in 10 years in September, worsening the building's already destroyed state and sparking calls from Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch for the council to take action.

The mayor of a Northern Polish city has survived an assassination attempt at a charity concert last night.

Thousands of constituents witnessed a man climb onto the stage and declare his wrongful imprisonment before stabbing the mayor in what the Polish interior minister describes as ‘an attack of inexplicable brutality.’

The mayor is in a critical condition after being resuscitated at the scene and undergoing surgery.

Torrential rains and freezing temperatures threaten the lives of 11,000 refugees in Syria, according to aid workers.

Over 361 Camps in Idlib province report a shortage of blankets and heating fuel which could have dire consequences after tents were washed away by storms.

Save the Children communications manager Caroline Anning says outbreaks of local violence have prevented the delivery of further aid and the situation remains tense.