Indonesian Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara announced that the government will require high-rise buildings to provide access for the installation of fiber optics to internet or phone operators saying the regulation should be implemented soon.

Jakarta is continuing to pivot to become a modern city with the new regulation hoped to spur digital economic growth.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe have opened the Sir John Monash Centre, a museum paying tribute to the men and women of World War I in Villers-Bretonneux in France.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe delivered a heartfelt speech saying the Australian soldiers defended the French land inch-by-inch, "as if it were their own country".

"We will never forget that 100 years ago, a young and brave nation on the other side of the world made history by writing our history”, he said.

A two-metre long scroll featuring “confronting” homophobic slurs left on a Facebook post for a pride march has been included in the Queer Country art exhibition in Bendigo.

Artist Noel Hourigan, known as a “provocateur” in the queer art scene, has included in his piece the names of the people who made the offending comments as a way of holding them to account.

Mr Hourigan said, "They would never be able to say some of these statements in their workplaces, where there is laws that stop them from saying these things.”

The call to ban plastic straws has raised some unintended issues for those with disabilities who rely on the convenient utensil.

The plastic utensil has proven to be a beneficial and cost-effective tool for those who struggle with physical disabilities helping them to drink, eat and exercise their lungs, which isn’t as easily achievable with metal or biodegradable straws.

The Wheelchair Aid Project in the Gold Coast are beginning to ship their excess bicycles to Africa after receiving an influx of old bikes following their plea for materials in 2015.

The Project, which uses old bicycles to create wheelchairs for people in third world countries, have had an ‘unbelievable result’ from the community donating bikes, with over 3,000 bikes in their possession.

A $20 million sports centre at Carrara on the Gold Coast is apparently shedding staff after their Russian billionaire owner was linked to a devastating mall fire in Siberia on March 25 which killed 64 people.

Employees of KDV Sport, which opened 18 months ago, said a number of full-time maintenance staff had left or been axed in the past few weeks.

An Australian Nun has been ordered to leave the Philippines by President Rodrigo Duterte after allegedly being involved in activities against the Country’s Government.

Seventy-one year old Patricia Fox, who has lived in the Philippines for 27 years was accused last week of participating in activities such as rallies, press conferences and fact finding missions by President Duterte, who has called her an ‘undesirable alien’.

French President Emmanuel Macron has made an hour-long speech to a joint sitting of the US Congress directed primarily at US President Donald Trump.  

Mr Macron, an ally and friend of Mr Trump, was both friendly and forceful during his speech speaking on a range of issues, including Syria, the Iran nuclear deal, free trade and the Paris climate accord, all of which the two Presidents disagree on.

Mr Macron is confident the US will rejoin the Paris climate agreement and said, “Let us work together to make our planet great again.”