Deadly Heatwave Kills 33 in Canada

A Canadian heatwave has caused the death of 33 people in Quebec as high summer temperatures reached up to 45 degrees.

With an average temperature of 26 degrees, the majority of the victims have been men between 50 and 85 years, living without access to air conditioning.

The record breaking temperatures are expected to drop over the weekend but Quebec’s regional capital, Montreal, has kept their response level at ‘alert’ after the spike in deaths.

Coles Removes Capilano Honey's Allowrie Product Off The Shelves

Coles says it only wants to support Australian production, so will no longer stock Capilano Honey's controversial Allowrie product which contains honey sourced from China and Argentina.

According to Allowrie labels, the product only contains 30 per cent Australian ingredients, which is why Capilano has received criticism from some local beekeepers over its use of international ingredients.

Chief executive of Capilano, Ben McKee, says the Allowrie Brand will be replaced by a range of new product innovations in Capilano Brand that are 100 per cent Australian honey.

Australian Iconic Shoe Brand to Open 50 Stores in China

Australia’s iconic shoe brand, Volley, is set to open a chain of 50 stores in China with online demand soaring, after Asian pop star Faye Wong was photographed wearing them at Hong Kong airport two years ago.

The 79-year-old Australian tennis shoe brand will open its first standalone store later this month in Shanghai.

Since opening of Volley’s first pop-up store in May, the brand has seen the biggest growth month in China ever, with 70% of wholesale sales now being sent to China.

Unmarked Grave in Belgium Identified as Australian Soldier

Brisbane woman Kristine Broadway has identified the unmarked grave of an Australian soldier in Belgium as her great uncle, Private Robert Bowness.

Broadway used her skills as a history teacher to search for the grave, which was one of nearly 18,000 unmarked graves in Belgium.
The gravestone was found at Villers-Bretonneux, as Private Bowness was killed by a German artillery shell in Northern France.

$5 Million New Environmental Learning Centre in Boondall Wetlands

In Brisbane City Council’s plans to build a $5 million environmental learning centre in Boondall Wetlands, trees will be removed and other vegetation potentially damaged.

A new centre was part of Brisbane mayor Graham Quirk’s 2016 election commitment, when the council sought community feedback on a proposal for the new centre.
 

According to the assessment report, the proposed work would complement the existing Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre and car parking and accessibility improvements.

Brisbane a "place of culture"

Sydney and Melbourne have been skipped over as one of the world’s leading ballet companies decides to come to Brisbane.

Teatro alla Scala director Frederic Olivieri said "big numbers of costumes and equipment" will be brought for the shows at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in November.

QPAC had been negotiating for the past five years before announcing in March that La Scala had chosen in favour of performing exclusively in "a very important part of Australia with lots of culture": Brisbane.

One notion for One Nation

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party has told support to put federal Labor last in the super Saturday of by-elections held on July 28.

The One Nation Leader has drawn support from locals as she toured around the seat of Longman, being re-contested by deposed Labor MP Susan Lamb.

Senator Hanson said.“We will actually be putting independents and minor parties before the majors to give them a go, and I have no intention of supplying preferences directly from One Nation to Labor,"

Snow in desert country

West Australia’s high peak, Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges national park, could see snow fall for the first time this year.

As Perth receives a cold front and unrelenting rain, temperatures at the peak are expected to drop to as low as three degrees celsius.

West Australians are rushing to the area to see the rare event, snow outside of an eastern state. The Great Southern Area is one of the few places in the state where snow has historically fallen.

Far-right sentiments felt in the school

A year seven student gave the Nazi salute to taunt one of his classmates amid a series of anti-Semitic bullying incidents at an inner west Sydney high school.

The Balmain Secondary College is reported to have had several such incidents in the previous month, and three students have been suspended from the state run school.

Around fifty per cent per cent of students at the campus are from the top socio-economic percentile. The state school has around eight hundred students, and forty per cent speak a language other than English at home.

Riots over police killing in French city

Rioting protesters clashed with police in the French city of Nantes after a young man was killed by a police officer.

When trying to avoid a checkpoint, the man reversing his car hit a police officer, prompting another officer to fatally shoot the driver, a police source says.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb condemned the violence, saying all necessary resources will be mobilised to calm the situation and prevent further incidents.