A needle has been found lodged in a pear in Melbourne just days after Queensland Police made their first arrest over the original strawberry scare.

The pear was purchased from a Woolworths in Berwick in Melbourne’s south-east, following nationwide incidents of strawberry contamination that had a crippling impact on the industry.

A spokesman for the supermarket said they were aware of the report and were currently investigating.

A snippet of Soviet history has been unearthed by a group of Russian history buffs in the form of an improvised minefield, which was discovered in woodlands by a busy road on the outskirts of St Petersburg.

The group reported the finding to local authorities, who have since begun dismantling the field, which is expected to contain almost 400 mines.

The minefield is a reminder of Soviet resistance to Nazi occupation in World War II.

Eight people have been killed in a border clash between Israeli and Palestinian soldiers in Gaza.

More than 460 rockets have been fired into Israel since Monday night after an undercover Israeli special forces operation inside Gaza was exposed.

Several Palestinian civilians died in the strikes on Gaza, while one Palestinian civilian was killed in a rocket attack in southern Israel.

Chinchilla has unveiled its newest attraction in conjunction with its annual melon festival; the nine-metre high, three-metre wide and four tonne, Big Melon.

Chosen by online travel company Wotif as Australia’s “Next Big Thing”, the Big Melon was selected ahead of a Big Peanut, a Big Kilt and a Big Tulip.

Daniel Finch, Managing Director of Wotif hoped the attraction would provide travellers with a fruitful experience, and encouraged Australians to road trip to the region 300 kilometres west of Brisbane.

4 in 5 Queenslanders believe the mining industry should meet the cost of clean up bills when a mine is closed, leaked ALP research has shown.

The research has come as Queensland Parliament, last Wednesday, debated a bill to introduce stricter rules that would make mining companies responsible for the rehabilitation of their own mines.

There is bipartisan support for this view, with only 4.1% of all people surveyed believing taxpayers should foot the bill.

More than half of Queensland hospitals and aged care facilities have tested positive to the deadly Legionella bacteria, a year after the State Government launched a crackdown on outbreaks.

The bacteria was detected in numerous water sources, including showers and hot water systems, and impacts 170 facilities in Queensland alone.

Queensland Health has not yet released a statement in regard to the outbreak of the deadly bacteria.

Studies have shown adults on the Autism Spectrum have been prescribed mental health medication without sufficient diagnosis to do so.

Dr Rachael Cvejic from University of NSW Medicine’s School of Psychiatry stated the drugs have been prescribed to support behavioural problems, such as aggression.

Dr Cvejic suggested clinicians and medical students should be properly trained to meet the needs of individuals on the spectrum to ensure accurate psychiatric diagnosis.

In an Australian first, the Brisbane Tool Library, operating out of the State Library of Queensland, will allow members to borrow items like lawnmowers, power tools and kitchen appliances.

Many of the items have been donated by downsizing baby boomers, with the project’s aim to share resources and extend the life of products that would normally end up in a landfill.

Volunteer Sabrina Chakori said libraries need to reinvent themselves, as people aren’t borrowing books as much as they used too.