Conflict between Yemen’s Houthi insurgents and a Saudi coalition has led to more than 100 fighter casualties and left thousands of civilians trapped on the coast of Hodeidah.

The alliance has amassed thousands of Yemeni troops despite recent calls from international leaders for an end to the country’s ongoing conflict.

The Norwegian Refugee Council Area Manager Isaac Ooko says all the people living between the airport and the university are trapped, and labelled the situation “beyond catastrophic”.

Over 80 school children have been kidnapped from a school in western Cameroon, according to government and military sources.

No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction from a Presbyterian school in the Nikwen village, in the region of Bamenda.

Conflict has been escalating within Cameroon between president Paul Biya’s French speaking government and separatists over issues of marginalisation.

The disappearance of a Japanese islet half a kilometer away from Hokkaido may affect Japan’s territorial waters, according to a coast guard official.

The coast guard says the islet may have been eroded by wind and snow, then hidden by rising sea levels.

Japan has taken a number of measures to preserve Japanese territorial waters, including naming 158 of their uninhabited islands and building an 148 million dollar observatory tower south of Tokyo.

Sister Patricia Fox, an Australian nun who has vocally attacked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, has returned to Australia after being blacklisted from the country.

Fox angered Duterte after investigating the leader’s record of killings, torture and harassment.  She strongly criticised his human rights record, describing his leadership as ‘a reign of terror’.

Refugee doctors are urging federal election candidate Brian Owler to place the medical needs of refugees on Nauru over Labor party politics.

As the former president of the Australian Medical Association, Professor Owler took the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and was a vocal advocate for asylum seekers.

Since entering the candidate race Professor Owler has toed the party line, telling Fairfax media that Australia needs a stronger border policy to deter people smugglers.

The former race discrimination commissioner has suggesting the federal parliament should take caution as to not ‘normalise’ white supremacy.  

Speaking at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney,  the commissioner outlined his believe that certain members of parliament such as Pauline Hanson’s recent comments on race are causing a ‘dangerous precedent’.

He also questioned the backlash against identity politics in Australia which is due to a sense of disempowerment as well as a lack of civic literacy.

Brisbane families are concerned after Brisbane City Council revealed graves are intentionally flooded after burials at Mount Gravatt Cemetery.

Brisbane resident Doreen Awabdy (Ah-wab-dy) says the council broke ethical and moral boundaries by not informing the family of planned water damage prior to paying over 6000 dollars to bury their loved ones at the site.

Major Korean bank lenders have declined any involvement in the funding of Adani’s Queensland  coal project.

Anti-Adani supporters, including traditional owners, are currently lobbying these Korean lenders to continue non support of the project.

This comes as Adani continues searching for funding of the down-launch, in an estimated cost of $16.5 billion.  Traditional owners have also made a complaint to the United Nations in regard to the treatment of land exploitation.