Cancer Council Queensland and the Heart Foundation have joined together to research soft drink consumption habits and public support for regulations aiming to reduce sugar consumption.

Cancer Council CEO Chris McMillan said sugar-sweetened drinks are known to have little nutritional value and cause increases in chronic disease as they contribute to weight gain and obesity.

Heart Foundation CEO Stephen Vines also said obesity is a major risk factor in developing heart disease, with soft drinks playing a big part in the issue.

85 local communities will receive $20,000 in Saluting their services grants to deliver projects commemorating Australia’s wartime history.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said funding will delivering meaningful projects to recognise the sacrifice of Australians who have served and will continue to serve our nation.

Over the years, Saluting their services grants have helped various initiatives such as getting a Boer War honour board at the Morwell Historical Society to recognise personnel from the local area.

A Western Australian Anti-corruption body has deemed the violent officer attacks on prisoners from released footage as unnecessary and dangerous.

The Corruption and Crime Commission released three reports last week that revealed management failed to follow reporting processes multiple times.

The commission has made a series of recommendations including action against prison officers and stricter controls.

Researchers in the Northern Territory are developing a DNA test to detect the presence of saltwater crocodiles to add another layer of protection to existing management methods.

The project is in early stages but the team have developed a probe that can differentiate between the DNA of saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.

The aim now is to test the probe in controlled laboratory conditions.

Thai Navy Seals continued to navigate through the flooded passages of the Tham Luang Cave in hopes of finding where 12 boys and their coach have been trapped for more than a week.

The football team had gone to explore the cave after practice but were trapped by flood waters from heavy rains.

The navy divers still had to navigate through three more kilometres of flood water towards a chamber where the team are believed to be.

Last Sunday, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union passed a resolution to support Chancellor Angela Merkel’s position on migration, in conflict with Horst Seehofer, the leader of their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union.

Horst has offered to resign his position as interior minister, according to reports within the CSU, as the BBC said the inside sources claim he and Chancellor Merkel had an ineffectual conversation regarding the matter on Saturday.

Queensland Government said no to call to reopen Townsville nickel refinery

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ruled out providing funds to help reopen the Yabula nickel refinery near Townsville.

Businessman Clive Palmer said the board of QNI Resources had voted to reopen the refinery but he would need to access the Port of Townsville with the government’s help.

The Port of Townsville said it was still owed about $1 million after Queensland Nickel collapsed in 2016.

The Gold Coast funeral insurance firm, the Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund is the latest company to come under scrutiny as the banking royal commission looks at how financial services interact with indigenous communities.

An aboriginal man from Katherine who lost his daughter to suicide was initially refused a payout by the company despite paying premiums for 23 years, as they claimed the policy did not cover suicide.

Anti-gambling advocates said that people signed up to a Crown Casino system designed to limit their losses are being given access to “dangerous” unrestricted features on poker machines.

Advocates have called on the Victorian Government to close a special exemption that allows Crown Casino to operate poker machines without the minimum spin rate.

Charles Livingstone, a gambling researcher with Monash University’s school of public health said machines without a spin limit were the most dangerous form of poker machine gambling