A New Zealand journalist has been detained for several hours on Nauru after interviewing an Iranian refugee.

Barbara Dreaver, from TVNZ, was in Nauru to attend the Pacific Islands Forum but has now been stripped of her media accreditation.

Dreaver had been told by Nauru media officials she was permitted to talk to refugees as long as she didn’t go into a camp to do so and received the refugee’s permission.

The Spanish Defence Ministry has confirmed plans to end the sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia over concerns the weapons would be used on civilians.

The ministry launched a process to cancel the contract with Saudi Arabia and return the $10 million already paid for 400 laser-guided missiles.

According to Amnesty International, Spain is the fourth-largest provider of military equipment and weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Brisbane City Council’s new water development plans will see more than 20 long-term boat moorings removed.

The Brisbane City Council is proposing to build a river walk and access hub for water taxi services, privatised motorised boats, jet-skis, canoes, and kayaks.

With more residents living on the water due to rising housing costs, Greens councillor Jonathan Sri [shree] says the council needs to ensure there are enough moorings available in the inner city.

A Queensland police officer has been stood down due to investigations into alleged fraud.

The officer has been removed from official duties for alleged fraud and for providing false information while in duty.

Queensland police says the investigation does not mean the claims are substantiated .

Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy has reportedly spent millions of taxpayer money to confidentially settle a lawsuit over a botched planning decision.

Guy, a former planning minister, spent an estimated 2.5 million dollars to pay for the case where it was alleged he used his ministerial power to override a Bass Coast Council rezoning.

Guy was fearful he would lose his job if the lawsuit became public, despite repeated legal advice against it.

The NSW government will introduce new legislation to protect victims of domestic violence, introducing a new offence for strangulation.

If passed, this law will mean incidents involving strangulation will be easier to establish and will attract a maximum jail term of five years.

Indefinite apprehended violence orders and the increase of the default length of ADVO for adults from 12 months to two years are among other proposed changes.

Over $150 million dollars have been pledged by Germany and Norway to Africa’s Lake Chad Region, to aid the humanitarian crisis occurring due to violence, poverty and climate change.

These decisions were made at an international donor conference in Berlin yesterday, with promises made to stabilise the surrounding states of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas spoke at this conference, stressing the importance of the Lake Region as an economic hub between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

Google Earth satellite surveillance technology is being used to detect human rights abuses from space.

Organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are able to piece together evidence of atrocities in remote locations by comparing satellite imagery over time.

The images have been used to identify North Korean prison camps, Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, mass graves in Northern Iraq, and recently, a widespread campaign of arson against Rohingya villages in Myanmar.