Turkey to hold unexpected election in June
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for early elections to be held on June 24, moving them forward by more than a year from their scheduled date.
Erdogan’s ruling party has never called early elections in the nearly 16 years it has been in power, Erdogan announced the decision in Ankara after discussions with the leader of the nationalist party as well as Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
The election is set to transform the political system of the region’s largest economy, eliminating the job of Prime Minister centralising power in the presidency.
Cases of ‘super gonorrhoea’ detected in WA and Queensland
Super gonorrhoea has landed in Australia, infecting one person in Queensland and another in Western Australia - just weeks after a British man contracted the bug which has proved resistant to most treatments.
A Queensland Health spokesman confirmed two cases of gonorrhoea, resistant to multiple antibiotics, were detected in the past month and authorities believe one of the cases was acquired in South-East Asia.
The arrival of the disease in Australia and the global resurgence of gonorrhoea has highlighted growing concerns about antibiotic overuse.
Cost of kids on feeding tubes under review as parents plead for government help
The federal government is reviewing the plight of thousands of sick children on feeding tubes, after more than 37,000 parents who must pay thousands of dollars for equipment to keep their children alive called for the Commonwealth to step in.
This comes after Sydney mother Gabi Simpson started an online petition that called on Health Minister Greg Hunt to introduce a national scheme to help alleviate the costs from families with sick children.
Mother and children reported missing north of Brisbane
A mother and her three children have been reported missing from Strathpine in the Moreton Bay region, north of Brisbane.
The 25-year-old woman and her three children aged five, three and five months were last seen on Friday at a Strathpine address and were reported missing when they failed to meet with family on Tuesday.
Police said the woman is described as Caucasian in appearance with brown hair and anyone who knows of the family’s whereabouts are urged to contact police.
Sunshine Coast in bid to end Google's search for an Australian HQ
A golf course near the Sunshine Coast town of Maroochydore is being transformed into a high tech business district.
The developer, Sun Central, hopes that the 58 hectare site will become the Australian home for prestigious technology and new media firms like Google.
So far 10 million dollars have been spent installing underground infrastructure at the site, including pipes for Australia's first underground rubbish disposal network.
9am Zedlines
This is Lucy and Kelseigh with your 9am Zedlines.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Zimbabwean authorities fire 16,000 striking nurse
The Zimbabwean government has sacked 16,000 nurses who have been engaged in strike actions since Monday.
The nurses strike follows a month of industrial actions by junior doctors agitating for better pay and more funding for health infrastructure.
Evelyn Ida Morris: Evelyn Ida Morris
- Over the years Pikelet, the nom (-nom-nom) de plume that Evelyn Ida Morris worked under forever, has become an enduring fixture of experimental pop in Oz. An antipodean co-traveller to the likes of Jenny Hval or Julia Holter, like those artists they’re capable of putting complex subject matter to work in experimental songcraft, all the while weaving a catchy tune into sweet harmony.
Poll suggests Australia tax and regulate cannabis instead of prohibiting it
Released information from a 2016 Essential Media poll suggests Australia should tax and regulate cannabis rather than prohibit it, after 55% of Australians supported the idea.
The idea calls for similar arrangements as those surrounding alcohol and cigarettes for the drug, with required proof-of-age to purchase and plain packaging with health warnings and product information.
Protest over NT government moratorium on fracking lifted
250 people have protested outside the Northern Territory parliament house in response to Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s announcement that the moratorium on fracking would be lifted.
Local musician David protested "This is the first issue that's really engaged me and I think it's just because water is such a precious resource and we need it to live.” he said.