The Tasmanian government has released draft legislation requiring priests to report child sex abuse, including when it is disclosed during confessions.

Catholic priests were previously exempt from reporting instances of child abuse under the Seal of Confession.

Attorney General Elise Archer, says this step makes it clear that all members of the community have an obligation to report abuse and do everything in their power to prevent child abuse.

A Brazilian surfer has set a new Guinness World Record for riding the largest wave ever surfed by a female surfer.

While Maya Gabeira successfully tackled the 20.7m wave in January, the record was only officially announced yesterday.

Gabeira said riding the wave was an ‘incredible sensation’.

NASA celebrated its 60th anniversary this week by unveiling plans for the next two decades of space exploration.

The organisation hopes to deploy humans to the moon in long-term expeditions, have astronauts on Mars by the 2030s, and potentially strengthen private and commercial space endeavours.

At a NASA Advisory Council meeting in August, Administrator Jim Bridenstine said there was substantial interest in offsetting the cost of plans by selling off naming rights to NASA’s spacecraft or rockets.

Conservationists have called for the Queensland Government to add more national parks to protect threatened species.

Despite being home to 1000 threatened species, only 8 per cent of the state is covered by environmental protection, compared with 42 per cent in Tasmania.

Conservation scientist Martin Taylor said the lack of funding is incomprehensible given the money national parks generate.

Every fortnight a Queensland teacher is banned or suspended, according to new data from the profession’s registration body.

The Queensland College of Teachers has launched disciplinary action against 24 teachers this year for inappropriate conduct, ranging from sexual relationships with students, sleepovers, and sexting.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal director John Ryan slammed this behaviour and said it was “unacceptable” for any teacher to cross the established professional boundaries.

International privacy groups and technology companies are scrutinising Australia’s incoming technology surveillance laws.

The proposed legislation is part of an initiative to allow authorities greater access to a suspects’ secure messages.

This international coalition, including Apple and Microsoft, opposes the new push, which “could have serious implications for online security overseas as well as domestically”.

Leaked copies of a new climate report said a swift withdrawal from coal and a global diet shift away from meat is needed to limit global temperatures rising.

Scientists and diplomats meeting in South Korea this week are scheduled to release the 400-page report describing a “complete transformation” of the current “climate mayhem.”

The draft suggests four pathways for policymakers to ensure carbon emissions peak no later than 2020, to allow the global economy to become ‘carbon-neutral’ by 2050.

A senior scientist working for the European Nuclear Research Centre, Cern, has been suspended after sexist comments.

Professor Alessandro Strumia was suspended after saying physics ‘was becoming sexist against men’.

A spokesperson for Cern has called the comments ‘unacceptable’.

India’s Supreme Court has ruled Aadhaar, the world’s biggest biometric identity database, does not breach citizen’s privacy.

Indian residents are unable to receive food rations without registering for the system, which requires mandatory iris and fingerprint scans.

Lawyer Shyam Divan said Aadhaar will enable the state to profile citizens, track their movements, assess their habits, and influence their political behaviour.