Google has shut down its social networking site Google Plus after it was revealed the private data of over half a million users was leaked.

The leak, which reportedly occurred in march, was not disclosed to users because the company feared regulatory scrutiny.

Jacob Lehmann, director of legal firm Friedman CyZen, said users had a right to be notified that their information was compromised.

The QLD Ombudsman has found the housing department put profit over the safety of two domestic violence victims, evicting one woman from public housing because she couldn’t make rent payments.

In another case, a woman became homeless after the department refused to relocate her from a residence where her ex-partner discovered and abused her.

Domestic Violence support advocate Shaan Ross-Smith says “If you don't feel safe in your own home, where else can you feel safe?"

The Queensland government has been targeted by international cyber attackers in a string of online attacks over the past year.

State government IT experts defended 19 distributed denial of service attacks, with the specific intention of the attacks being unknown.

DDoS attacks such as these have the potential to cause major outages, with Spotify, Netflix and Twitter being affected in 2016, inconveniencing millions of users.  

The Melbourne National Centre of Excellence has been accused of inflicting “brutal” punishments on young gymnasts.

The organisation has been called out by parents who reported that their children were subjected to belittlement and harassment, including being made to swing from bars until their hands bled.

Gymnastics Australia board member George Tatai says the organisation is sweeping the issue under the carpet.

The NSW government is facing backlash after it announced plans to use the Sydney Opera House to market a $13 million horse race.

National Trust NSW conservation director, Graham Quint, says projecting commercial material onto the Opera House may be in breach of the Heritage Act.

In a public protest, more than 206,000 signatures have been amassed in a petition to stop the promotion.
 

Pakistan’s new government will be seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund in light of their economic crisis.

The country is currently struggling to overcome a balance-of-payment crisis with an 18 billion dollar deficit.

Finance minister, Asad Umar, stated at least $8 billion would be required to meet external debt payments until the end of the year.

Cameroon’s opposition candidate has claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential polls, despite a government warning to not announce results.

Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon candidate Maurice Kamto said he won the election and will organise a ‘peaceful way to transfer power’.

However, deputy secretary general Gregoire Owona accused Kamto of breaking the law, and said it was too early to know if anyone had won yet.

With $17 billion dollars worth of infrastructure expected to be delivered to Brisbane by 2026, residents are being advised to expect years of interruptions.

Ten city changing projects are now either under construction or working towards approval, which include the Waterfront Precinct, Queen’s Wharf Brisbane and Herston Quarter.

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner believes the years of disruption would be short term compared to the “pain the city would feel without…the Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro”.