China’s new social scoring system is impacting how foreign companies operate within China, as well as outside of its borders.

Chinese scholars in the west have hypothesized that coming into line with the preferences of the Communist Party of China could ultimately impact the sovereignty of other nations.

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is to retire, giving President Donald Trump the chance to cement a conservative majority on the country’s top court.

The conservative justice has sided with liberals on many decisions, including the 5-4 rulings that decided same-sex marriage and upheld abortion rights.

In his letter to Mr Trump, Justice Kennedy expressed "profound gratitude" for having served in the highest court.

The Federal Government are planning to introduce laws to parliament today, to force companies with a turnover of more than 100 million dollars to annually report on the risks of slavery in their supply chains.

The laws will also be introduced to Commonwealth procurement, in a stated world first. Fine print in the bill shows that companies that fail to comply will not be penalised though.

The wrangle over Queensland's railway lines has worsened as freight hauler Aurizon hit back at mining-industry accusations that it is "playing games" with the state's coal exports.

The Queensland Resources Council took out advertisements in national newspapers on Wednesday accusing Aurizon of disregarding its mining customers.

Peak hour speeds are dropping as population increases in the Brisbane Metropolitan area, with the average speed generally at half or worse than the posted limit.

Motorist from the outskirts are leaving earlier, particularly from Springfield who on average are leaving around six am and are still encountering traffic, an analysis by the Brisbane Times has found.

Ipswich and Logan have been identified as south-east Queensland's best value areas for first home buyers.

Domain's 2018 First Home Buyers Report showed Ipswich featured an average entry price of $327,000 for a free-standing house, with it taking about 3.33 years to save a 20 per cent deposit.

The Redland Local Government Area was the most expensive place for entry price units at $385,000, taking an average of 3.92 years to save for a deposit.

In the US state of Indiana, a child has fired a loaded handgun in an Ikea store that they found inside of a couch.

It was left in the couch after another shopper had tested the furniture and the weapon had become dislodged from his person.

They only became aware of the missing weapon after hearing the gunshots inside the store. Ikea has stated that its stores are a no-weapons area to avoid such incidents.

A federal judge has ordered that US immigration agents can no longer separate parents and children caught crossing the border from Mexico illegally.

Dana Sabraw, a district court judge in San Diego, granted the preliminary injunction on Tuesday, which set a hard deadline for US immigration to work to reunite those families that have already been split up within 30 days.

The court also ruled children younger than five must be reunited with their families within 14 days.