Health professionals are planning an urgent move to incentivise an increase in pneumonia vaccination rates among older Australians.

Statistics show a decrease of 50 percent in the number of seniors who take the vaccine to prevent the disease, a disease that claims 200 elderly lives each year.

Pneumonia can be caused by virus, bacteria or fungi causing the small air sacs of the lungs to fill with pus and fluid, making breathing painful, causing coughing and limiting oxygen intake.

More than 40 people are dead after a new wave of sand and thunderstorms hit northern Indian on Sunday according to local authorities.

Emergency officials also confirmed the catastrophe brought down walls, trees and power pylons in Uttar Pradesh state, killing at least 18 people.

The deaths come just 10 days after a sandstorm left more than 130 dead in the same region.

At least five students have been killed and dozens more reported missing after a bridge collapsed at a tourist site in the Pakistan region of Kashmir.

The structure, located in the mountainous Neelum district, reportedly gave way as dozens of university students crossed it to view a waterfall.

Although local authorities cannot confirm an exact figure, they believe 20 to 25 persons were standing on the footbridge when it collapsed.

According to the latest poll by The Australian, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s approval rating has seen its biggest jump since 2016.

An eight-point jump in his approval rating has taken the Liberal leader to 46 per cent, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has slipped three points to 32 per cent.

The gap between the government and Labor has widened as well with the coalition trailing 46 to 54 per cent, from 48 to 52 per cent, in two-party terms, according to the survey.

Logan Mayor Luke Smith is likely to be stood down in the coming months, should new laws pass through Queensland Parliament, government authorities have told the ABC.

Under the changes, councillors and mayors charged with serious breaches of office would be automatically suspended without pay.

In March, Mr Smith was charged by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) with official corruption, two counts of perjury,  and failing to correct his register of interests. The mayor has vowed to strongly defend the charges.

Brisbane City Council’s infrastructure committee reveals 72% of Brisbane residents are driving their cars to work instead of taking public transport.

According to data from between 2011 and 2016 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, Brisbane was one of the Australian capital cities who saw a decline in public transport usage.

A council spokesman believes the decreased trend in public transport usage could be related to service interruptions on rail lines or fare escalation between 2011 and 2016.

French police have revealed the suspect of a deadly knife attack in central Paris on Saturday evening.

The suspect, named by the media as Khamzat Asimov, is a French citizen born in 1997 in Russia’s republic of Chechnya, who was on a French watch list of people who could pose a threat to national security

Police shot dead the attacker in the busy Opéra district after he killed a man and injured four other people.

The Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attack.

A new poll conducted by LBGT activists has shown that 4 out of 5 Australians oppose religious schools expelling students and firing staff based on their sexulaitiy.

However the Catholic church, Anglican diocese of Sydney and Christian Schools Australia refute claims of discrimination stating they have a right to religious freedom.

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek says Labor has no plans in removing existing religious exemptions allowing schools to remove staff and students based on sexuality.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has named Coles Express as the nation’s highest-priced petrol retailer in a new industry report.

The ACCC took the unusual step of naming and shaming Australia’s largest fuel retailers, who often use loyalty discounts to lure customers to their petrol offerings.

Major retailers such as BP, Coles Express and Caltex had the highest prices on average, while independent chains such as 7-Eleven and United had prices lower than the market average.