A replica viking longship set to sail across the Atlantic ocean will leave its current home of Mystic, Connecticut today.

There are more than 30 crew members on board, with the trip expected to see the vessel returning in October.

The ship was built in Norway, crossing the transatlantic to Connecticut in 2016, recreating the trip by the Vikings more than 1000 years previous.

The United Arab Emirates has extended its compulsory military service, amid the nation’s three-year involvement with the war in Yemen.

Emirati men with a high school diploma or equivalent must now serve for sixteen months, while those without will continue to serve for two years.  

The UAE introduced compulsory service in 2014, and have been a key member of the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen since 2015.

More police will be sent to the Cherbourg and Murgon regions following a visit from Police Minister Mark Ryan and local minister, Dr Anthony Lynham.

A tactical crime squad is being developed to work through immediate additional assistance which can provided by specialists in the short term.

Dr Lynham says more coordination between government services is needed to help address social issues in the area before more crimes are committed.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has backflipped on her stance to name a Suncorp Stadium stand after her late mentor Terry Mackenroth.

Palaszczuk faced a number of critics on the matter, calling the stance an act of “hubris.”

The government have yet to decide whether the stand will be rededicated, and whose name will be on the stand.

TasWater issued a boil water alert to the residents of Deloraine after treatment plant staff reported contamination in the local water supply.

General Manager of Service Delivery Bennie Smith says they have not confirmed the source of incident, nor how it could be stopped from happening again.

The alert was given on Friday, and TasWater gave no time frame for the alert to be lifted.

Potentially the oldest foreign artefact in Australia has been discovered off the coast of Arnhem Land.

A yet-to-be-confirmed Kilwa coin discovered on Elcho Island could be a part of Medieval African history.

Similar coins were discovered in 1944 by an RAAF serviceman, with the new discovery opening opportunities for weeks of research.

Global coffee chain Starbucks has made plans to eliminate all plastic straws from their stores worldwide by 2020.

Currently more than one billion straws are thrown out each year by stores, with a rollout of eco-friendly options to begin rolling out later this year.

With more than 8 million tonnes of plastic in Earth’s oceans already and laws passing worldwide to reduce plastic, time will tell whether Starbucks plan to scrap more plastic use in the future.

Eight members of the Thai soccer team have been rescued from a flooded cave, while five more remain trapped.

The boys rescued are undergoing medical tests, though otherwise reported to be in good condition.

Parents say they have not been informed which boys were out of the cave, and hospital visits have not been allowed.