Home-schooling in Queensland has nearly tripled over the last five years. Gympie, Toowoomba and Caboolture were the top areas for home-schooling in the state last year.

QUT Lecturer Rebecca English has cited “accidental home educators” as cause for the increase, saying, “Usually it comes down to some kind of diagnosis, the kids might be ADHD, ASD, ODD or the child might have been bullied.”

There were over 3,000 students registered for home education in 2018, an increase of 192% from five years ago.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has refused to reverse the decision to deport a family of asylum seekers, despite a last-ditch bid to block their deportation by residents of Biloela, Central Queensland.

Peter Dutton told SBS news the family has gone through multiple court processes and at every single turn they’ve been found not to be refugees. From the 1st of February, the family can be deported back to Sri Lanka at any time.

Australians will remain hot and bothered for this week as heatwave conditions push temperatures into the mid- 40s in some regions around the country.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast daytime temperatures of up to 12C above average and 10C higher than usual at night from Monday to Friday.

An extreme heatwave is expected to sizzle across most of eastern NSW this week while the rest of the state will experience severe conditions.

The U.S. government shutdown has entered it’s 24th day, officially making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Beginning December 22nd, about one-quarter of federal government operations have been shut down by a lack of funding after President Trump demanded $5.7 billion from congress to build a wall on the Southwest U.S. Border.

The U.S. economy will have lost $3.6 billion by Friday, meaning that another two weeks will cost $6 billion, exceeding the cost of the proposed budget for the wall.

The Mayor of the Polish port city of Gdansk has died on Monday, following the stabbing attack that occurred on Sunday during a charity event.

The 53-year-old had been in a critical condition with a serious heart wound and cuts to his diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

Major of London, Sadiq Khan, has offered his condolences via twitter, stating it was a ‘devastating loss’ for those who ‘value public service, progressive policy and open accessibility to all democracy’.

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.