China has said Australian politicians are "wrong" to fear its investments in the Pacific, responding to Australian government criticism that Chinese aid risked creating unsustainable debt for the Pacific.

On Wednesday, Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, proposed Australia should set up a regional infrastructure fund to assist Pacific nations who face a "particularly acute" infrastructure deficit.

Police have identified several Russians as suspects in the nerve agent attempted murder of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in March, according to a media report in the UK.

Through CCTV footage, Police were able to identify the suspects and have cross-checked this with records of people who entered the country around that time.

This is the first time there has been a publicly revealed clue as to who wielded the poison.

Consumers have criticised Coles for giving away small toys made of plastic as they simultaneously ban plastic bags.

The marketing initiative was first attacked on social media, accusing Coles of having an irresponsible and contradictory stance on plastic waste.

Coles has replied by saying customers can refuse to accept the mini products, and that they are intended to be kept, not thrown out.

A Turkish court has rejected the Australian government’s request to extradite Islamic State militant Neil Prakash to face terror charges in Australia

The verdict paves the way for his release from a maximum-security prison, in south-eastern Turkey where he has been held since 2016 in an attempt to cross the Syrian border.

In a court hearing held in May, the Melbourne born and raised Prakash maintained that he was a “normal soldier” and not in any leadership position in IS.

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia has released a 2018 report which suggests Queenslanders are less concerned about the standard of their public transport, as residents from other parts of Australia.

The Community Pulse 2018 report said that Queenslanders placed less importance on quality and accessibility of transport, compared to the national statistics.

67 percent of Queensland workers were content with their commute time, compared with 63 percent nationally.

Two boys from the Toowoomba Grammar school have been hospitalised after two seperate, serious rugby union incidents.

The first incident occurred on July 13, where a year 12 student dislocated a vertebra and fractured a disc after hitting the ground.

The second incident occurred on July 14 and was of a similar nature.

The first student was flown to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for surgery, where he is expected to stay for four to eight pending his recovery.

Hot, dry conditions have sparked dozens of forest fires across Sweden and as far north as the Arctic Circle

Copernicus Earth Observation Programme said 60 fires are burning in Sweden, while more fires have also been reported in Norway, Finland and Russia.

With temperatures expected to reach higher than 30 degrees in the coming days, thousands of residents have been warned to remain inside to protect themselves from smoke inhalation, while others have been evacuated from their homes.