Defence ties between Australia and France will be reinforced by a two-day industry symposium in Adelaide.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne will open the defence sector event on Monday along with French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly.

Mr Pyne says: "Australia's future submarine program is the cornerstone of our defence industry relationship with France, but the symposium demonstrates the relationship is set to grow further”.

A learn-to-drive program in south-east Queensland is empowering refugee and migrant women by tackling the barriers they face in obtaining a driver's licence.

The Women at the Wheel program was created by Access Community Services in Logan last year and helps women gain the required knowledge and practical experience of Australian road rules to gain a provisional Queensland driver's licence.
 

Brisbane City Council's overseas travel expenses soared to $185,000 in the past financial year, more than double the previous period's figure and a six-fold increase on 2015-16.

There were 30 overseas trips made by staff and counsellors in 2017-18, which was double the number of trips from the previous year.

An Egyptian court has sentenced 64 people to varying prison terms and one man to death over violence in 2013 when the military overthrew the elected Islamist president.

The Sunday decision by the Minya Criminal Court included a life sentence for Mohammed Badie, over events in the city of el-Adwa, south of Cairo, where a crowd raided a police station and a sergeant was killed.

The case ran for over three years included more than 35 hearings, with testimony by the defence and witnesses.

Needles have been found in strawberries across New Zealand.

On Sunday, Woolworths-owned supermarket chain Countdown announced it was removing Choice brand strawberries, imported from Western Australia, from shelves across New Zealand after an Auckland customer reported discovering needles.

The Australian Industry Group says an analysis of Labor's policy to improve the retirement savings of women shows it would be ineffective and burden to businesses.

Federal Labor has proposed to remove the $450-a-month income threshold,  below which employers are not required to make super contributions.

Labor leader Bill Shorten says this will give women a fairer go when it comes to superannuation.

Companies with more than 1000 employees will be forced to publicly reveal their gender pay gap, named and shamed if they fail to comply, and excluded from lucrative government contracts, under a Labor government.

Australia’s national gender pay gap is 15%, or $250 per week, which the agency says is its lowest level in two decades. This means that women earn around $27 000 less compared to men.

The Queensland Children's hospital is overhauling its security systems after a man posed as a doctor and roamed the hospital for 6 months.

The man in question, Nicholas Delaney has been charged with fraud, unlawful entry and committing an indictable offence.

In response to this security breach, the hospital has ordered an overhaul of its entire CCTV network and swipe card access system.

The man is said to have an intellectual impairment.