French President, Emmanuel Macron, scrapped a fuel tax rise amid fears of violence after weeks of nationwide protests and the worst rioting Paris has seen in decades that left four people dead.

Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, told lawmakers yesterday the government is ready for dialogue, something made evident by the dropping of the tax increase from the 2019 budget bill.

French protesters welcome Macron's decision to scrap the fuel tax rise planned for next year but said it may not be enough to contain public anger.

Treated sewage water is set to become tap water in the US city of El Paso, as several cities around the world struggle to meet city water supplies.

El Paso is set to become one of the first cities in the US to use treated sewage water as drinking water, with the city working on building a facility to treat sewage.

A Greens-led Senate inquiry has recommended.Australia’s obesity epidemic should be targeted through a sugar tax and advertising restrictions. 

Greens leader and committee chair, and former general practitioner, Richard Di Natale, said similar taxes in other countries has led to manufacturers reducing sugar content in products.

Di Natale said that this is not something that only affects consumption, but production, forcing healthier products to be made available.

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has ramped up his attack on Labor as he faces prospects of defeat on a bill to get more refugees off Nauru and Manus Island.

Labor, the Greens, and crossbenchers have teamed up to legislate faster medical treatment for refugees in offshore processing and remove children from the islands.

The Government is strongly opposed to it but there is a chance the bill has enough support to pass the Lower House.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) show the former federal environment minister rejected advice from his own department that a $1.4 billion development on protected wetlands being proposed by a major Liberal Party donor was “unacceptable”.

One of Australia’s largest private diversified development companies, Walker Corporation, wants to build a precinct that includes 3,600 apartments, a hotel, convention centre and marina on a stretch of coastline south-east of Brisbane.

Former rugby league star, Chris Dawson, has been handed over to the police in Sydney where he will be charged for the murder of his wife Lyn Dawson in 1982.

Mr Dawson was in a relationship with one of his students Joanne Curtis, 16, at the time when Lyn, then aged 33, disappeared. Ms Curtis moved into the family home two days after Lyn went missing.

All eyes are on the 70-year-old former Newtown Jets star and high school teacher as he is expected to be charged with the murder of his wife.

Seven US military personnel are missing after two Marine Corps aircraft crashed in an unexplained mishap off Japan.

The Marine Corps say the aircraft launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regularly scheduled training when the unexplained blunder took place.

The Marine Corps say Japanese search and rescue aircraft immediately responded to aid in recovery efforts. It is unclear if US military officials are assisting with the search.

An Indonesian city has launched a new campaign against the LGBT community, with locals viewing homosexuality as a "social sickness" which can be cleansed through religious exorcisms.  

There is the belief that homosexuality and transgenderism are caused by a mental health disorder triggered by supernatural and demonic influences. Locals believe exorcisms can be used as conversion therapy to rid the body of such influences.