Renowned Australian Artist Charles Blackman passed away yesterday at the age of 90, surrounded by friends and family in Sydney.

Blackman was most famously known for his works inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, after being introduced to the classic works by his Former wife Alice.

He was known as one of Australia’s greatest painters of the human condition, and recognised as a pioneer of Australian art in the post-war era.

China will continue to provide financial aid to island countries in the Pacific, such as Tonga, to help them achieve sustainable development.

Tonga is amongst the eight island countries with significant debt to China.

Despite China’s lending programs increasing to more than US $1.3 billion outstanding in the past decade, there are fears the debt burden carried by small economies may lead to increased political pressure from China.

Around 90 families from North and South Korea have been reunited after being separated by the Korean War for more than six decades.

Separated relatives will meet over next three days after North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and South Korean president Moon Jae-in, agreed to host the reunion event at this year’s summit in April.

With more than 57,000 South Korean survivors estimated to register, this is the first reunion event in three years.

Bicycle Queensland is calling for 1 million cyclists to ride weekly by 2020.

The organisation is aiming to increase current cyclists by 12 and a half thousand per month, after an international study found cycling lowers stress and promotes better mental health.

Bicycle Queensland chief executive Anne Savage hopes the push will inspire Queenslanders to opt for alternative forms of travel and increase fitness.

The state government is considering giving demerit points for drivers who park in disability spots.

After a successful grassroots campaign, Transport Minister Mark Bailey says he is happy to discuss penalising what he calls arrogant and reprehensible behaviour.

Currently, drivers who park in disability spots face a $261 fine.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s seat in Parliament may be under threat after a potential Constitutional breach regarding his financial interests in the Commonwealth.

Channel 10 reported that two childcare centres connected to RHT Family Trust, which Mr Dutton is a beneficiary of, have been receiving direct subsidies from the government.

The accusation has surfaced amid speculation of Mr Dutton challenging Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership due to lackluster poll results.

Commonwealth Bank customers were left high and dry yesterday morning when online banking services and cards were rendered useless during a random outage.

It wasn’t until 12:30pm that the bank issued a statement claiming that services were beginning to return to normal, with thousands still experiencing difficulties.

This is the second incident this year for the Commonwealth Bank, with digital problems in April affecting home and personal loans, debit and credit card transactions and BPAY.  

In Italy, at least eight hikers have died, with five people still missing after heavy rain caused flash flooding in Italy’s southern region of Calabria on Monday.

Regional civil protection chief, Carlo Tansi, says powerful lights are being used to help rescuers work throughout the night.

23 people have been rescued so far, two of which were children, including a girl with hypothermia who was flown to hospital in the region’s capital via helicopter.

After years of suspicion but no formal confirmation, scientists have found direct evidence of water ice in craters on the moon.

A team of planetary scientists at the University of Hawaii believe this discovery boosts the moon’s potential as a habitable destination for humans.

Dr Shuai Li, head of the study, says we could also use the moon as a stepping stone to explore the rest of the solar system