The Russian Soyuz rocket made an emergency landing last night after an unknown failure forced the flight to abort and astronauts to make a parachute landing 400 km from their launch site in Kazakhstan.

The two crew members had to abort the rocket after only 2 minutes into their launch towards the International Space Station.

This the most serious safety incident for the Soyuz rocket and it could be months before Russian space agency Roscosmo identifies the cause of the incident and clears the rocket for another mission.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says no school should be allowed to refuse LGBTIQ students, following a Commonwealth review into religious protections leaked to the media this week.  

Mr Morrison originally refused to take a stance on the issue on Wednesday, simply acknowledging that "existing laws" allowed certain schools to turn away students, based on their sexuality.

One of Australia’s top energy officials says the nation’s electricity supply would continue undisrupted if the coal industry shut down within 30 years - in contradiction to the Morrison government’s warning of widespread blackouts if coal was to be phased out.

Australian Energy Market Operator chief executive Audrey Zibelman says green energy, storage and gas will be the most economical way to replace electricity capacity lost when ageing coal plants close.

Brisbane City Council and hotel owners are assuring locals that the council’s hotel incentive is delivering hotel rooms that are in demand across the city, after figures released an average of 1200 hotel rooms have opened every year.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says despite the significant number of new 4-and-5 star hotels, the occupancy rate levels are staying up.

The average hotel occupancy rate in Brisbane is around 76 per cent compared to the national average of 71 per cent.

More than 4000 homes have been left without power after damaging winds and large hailstones tore through parts of south-east Queensland yesterday afternoon.

Five-to-seven centimetre hails stones were reported through Kumbia, Dalby and Gympie while Emergency Services are calling out 280 jobs, for leaking roofs and fallen trees in the Kingaroy, Gympie and Fraser Coast areas.

Mental health workers caring for refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru have left the island, after being told their presence was ‘no longer required’.

On Wednesday, the Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, confirmed that its international staff left the island, five days after being told their services were being terminated.

The organisation are deeply concerned for the health and wellbeing of its patients on the island, describing their mental health as ‘beyond desperate’.

A flash flood in the Spanish island of Majorca has killed at least 10 people, including at least three foreigners.

A wave of muddy water engulfed the town after heavy rain broke the banks of nearby river. Vehicles were swept away as water gushed through narrow streets.

A five-year-old is missing as a result of the flood. Hundreds of emergency workers and sniffer dogs are involved in the search-and-rescue effort.

The Australian high court is hearing appeals from activists who say that laws banning protests outside abortion clinics infringe on their rights to free speech.

Currently, Victoria has active legislation that establishes a 150 metre zone around abortion clinics where protesters are barred from protesting which is designed to reduce harassment and intimidation of potential patients when entering clinics.

Australians experiencing severe mental health issues will be better catered to, as a result of changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

NDIS social services minister, Paul Fletcher, says among the changes will be better linking of mental health services and the authority who runs the NDIS; this is aimed to benefit around 64,000 Australians with psycho-social disabilities.

Mr. Fletcher says we need to make sure those who are eligible for coverage within the scheme are given the support they need.